Mitchell sized up Tonya. She had stopped crying, but her makeup and hair were in disarray, giving her a comical, clown-like appearance. He decided not to be too harsh with her - he hated tears. "So why don't you tell me what happened, from the beginning." he proposed.Tonya sniffled a bit, and said "Um, OK.. When do you want me to start from?"
Mitchell rolled his eyes in exasperation. "How about you tell me how you got to the store. Did you go there with Blake?"
Tonya bobbed her head. "Uh huh. He was going to leave his apartment - to do errands, he said - and I said, 'well, I'm going with you.' We haven't been spending so much time together lately, you see. Anyway, he tried to argue with me, but I wouldn't take no for an answer. So, he made me promise to wait in the car. We drove around for a while, and then we finally came to the jewelry store. He parked the car on the street outside the store, and I waited while he went inside. I was really excited, too - we had been talking about engagement for a while, and I was sure he was going in to get the ring, even though he told me he was just having a watch repaired."
Mitchell prodded her. "Yeah. So what happened then?"
Tonya thought for a second, and replied "Well, I wasn't really looking into the store when Blake went in because I was doing my nails. But then I heard a loud BANG, and I looked over and saw Blake with a gun. He made that woman lie down on the ground, and went and yelled at the storekeeper. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but they both seemed to be gesturing a lot. Then Blake takes the other guy into the back."
"Could you see into the back room?" Mitchell asked.
"Not really. There's a window to the room next to the shop's window, but it's got those Venetian blinds, and they were mostly closed. All I could see was the shadows of two people moving around in there." Tonya paused for a second, and then continued. "Now, here's the weird thing - while the guys were in the back, the woman in the store got up, and she started smashing the display cases and taking the jewelry."
Mitchell furrowed his brow. "Now how did she smash the cases?"
Tonya answered "She took something out of her purse, and was using it to break them. I guess it could have been a gun. So then, Blake comes back into the store and starts yelling at her. I guess she was yelling back, but I couldn't see her because she was too far off to the side."
"And you were still in the car?" Mitchell inquired.
"Yup. I was frozen in place - I couldn't believe what was happening. And it only gets stranger. While Blake is yelling at the woman, I see the storekeeper creep in from the back room. Now, Blake's back is turned, so he doesn't see him. The storekeeper grabs a rifle from behind the counter, points it at Blake, and yells something at him. He turns around, and puts his hands up. He's trying to say something to the shopkeeper, when all of a sudden I hear two shots, and Blake is down on the ground." Tonya started to sniffle at the thought.
"Did you see who shot Blake? Was it the storekeeper or the woman?" Mitchell leaned forward expectantly.
"Well, it all happened so fast. I'm sure I saw the storekeeper's rifle go off, but I don't know if it was the first shot, or the second one, or both. So then, I see the woman go up to Blake and kneel next to him, like she's checking to see if he's OK. She's saying something to the shopkeeper, who doesn't seem to understand, when all of a sudden, Blake pushes her, and she falls on her butt. They're both sort of stunned, and just stare at him as he staggers out the door. At that point I finally manage to get my courage up, and get out of the car to help him, but he collapsed on the sidewalk before I could help him. And then you police showed up, but he was already dead!" Tonya started crying uncontrollably again.
"All right. Just calm down." Mitchell looked around helplessly, and Murphy came over and escorted Tonya out of the room. Just before leaving, he asked "Who do you want to talk to next?"
Who will Mitchell talk to next?
Phil Cohen, the owner of Brookline Jewlers
Jill Simmons, a customer in the store at the time of the robbery