Jill Simmons looked to be about thirty years old to Mitchell. She could even be kinda pretty if she dressed a little sexier and lost some of the bitchy attitude, Mitchell thought."Detective Mitchell - I'll have you know that I am a lawyer." Damn, forget it, thought Mitchell. "And you have no right to question or hold me here." Jill looked even more put out than she had at the store.
"You're absolutely right, Ms. Simmons. That is, unless if I arrest you for murder." Mitchell smiled imperceptibly as he saw some of the color drain out of her cheeks. "But if you cooperate and tell me what happened, that may not be necessary." He paused, but she didn't respond. Mitchell took this to be a tacit sign of cooperation. "Why don't you tell me how you happened to be in Brookline Jewelers this morning."
Jill seemed to regain some of her composure, and began talking. "Well, I'd gone in to look for a new pair of earrings. That crazy storekeeper kept on pestering me about these cheap necklaces he had on sale until I told him to just leave me alone and let me browse. I looked around for a few more minutes, and just when I decided that there's nothing worth buying and I should leave, this scruffy-looking man walked in. He went over to the storekeeper and said something which sounded like 'give me all the money and your most expensive jewels.' The shopkeeper screamed back at him 'What? Are you crazy?!?' - what a fool, he could have gotten us all killed - and so this man pulls out a gun and shoots it up in the air."
Mitchell, glad that she was warming up a bit, nodded and motioned for Jill to continue.
"So then he turned to me and told me to lie face-down on the ground, which I did. I saw the robber take the storekeeper into the back, and then a little while later he came out alone. He told me to stay down, and he took his gun and must have been using it to smash the jewelry cases, because I heard the glass breaking everywhere. All of a sudden, though, I saw the shopkeeper's feet, and he yelled at the robber to freeze and put his hands up. The robber turned around, and I saw him walk slowly towards the shopkeeper when BANG - the shopkeeper shot him. Again, I couldn't believe this crazy guy! We were better off with the robber." Jill rolled her eyes in exasperation.
Mitchell rubbed the stubble on his chin. "Well - what did you do then?"
Jill replied "Well, I went over to the robber to see if he was still alive. Apparently he was, because just as soon as I knelt down next to him, he pushed me away and staggered out the door. Then - and you will not believe this - this other woman runs up to him outside the store and starts screaming something like 'how could you do this to me?!?' He's standing there, bleeding, trying to talk to her when she grabs his gun and shoots him, right there on the sidewalk. I think I might have fainted after that, because the next thing I saw was police everywhere."
Mitchell looked at her. "And that's exactly what happened?"
"To the best of my recollection, yes." Jill looked back at him. "If you're going to keep me here any longer, I will call my lawyer and see you all sued."
Mitchell sighed. "Do whatever you'd like, Ms. Simmons, but I'm afraid no one is leaving until we have this all straightened out." He signaled for Murphy to take her away. On the way out, Murphy asked "Who do you want now?"
Who will Mitchell talk to next?