Between the Noise: Scene 2 – Suspect Interviews

The squad room was quiet that morning—at least, quieter than usual. Gina and Valdez had cleared the schedule for back-to-back interviews in the Lena Glass case. Four names. Four connections to the victim. No clear suspect. Not yet.

Interview Room A — 9:03 AM

“She was brilliant,” Nathan Reid said, arms folded tight across his chest. “Hard to live with, sure. Stubborn as hell. But brilliant.”
Gina watched him carefully. He hadn’t asked for water. Hadn’t shifted in his chair. Just sat still, the way people do when they think movement will give something away.
Valdez flipped through the case file. “You were partners on the podcast?”
“Co-creators. Fifty-fifty.” Nathan’s voice tightened. “Until she started pushing me out. Said the new brand image didn’t fit me anymore.”
“When was the last time you saw her?”
“Three weeks ago. We had it out about back episodes—who had the rights to use what. She said I was dragging the show down with old energy.”
Gina glanced at her notes. “And where were you between 2 and 6 AM the morning she died?”
“Home. Alone. You can check the smart lock—I didn’t leave.”
“We did. No exits logged.” Valdez closed the folder. “But no one to vouch for you, either.”
Nathan’s jaw flexed. “Didn’t know I needed a babysitter.”

Interview Room B — 10:12 AM

Monica Glass kept her arms hugged around herself like armor. Her eyes were red, but dry now. She hadn’t cried since walking in.
“We hadn’t been close for years,” she said. “Not since… back when things were bad.”
“Meaning?” Gina prompted.
“When she was using. We weren’t allowed to talk about it after she got clean. Like it never happened. She cut people out for bringing it up. Including me. And now she wanted to make it public? Like our family’s pain was just backstory for her new chapter?”
Valdez raised an eyebrow. “You’re talking about the memoir she was working on.”
Monica looked away. “It just blindsided me, that’s all. After all the silence, the secrecy—why now? Why make it a headline?”
“Still, you saw her the week before her death?” Valdez asked.
Monica hesitated. “Yeah. She said she wanted to meet up. Just… talk. But it felt weird. Like she was trying to say something but couldn’t get it out. Kept looking over her shoulder.”
“Did she mention being afraid of anyone?”
“No. But I felt like something was coming. Like she knew.”
“And you were where, the night she died?”
“At home. I live alone. No security cameras. Just me.”
“No one can confirm that?”
“No. But I didn’t—” She stopped. Looked at her hands. “I didn’t want anything from her. I just wanted to understand. But she never let anyone close enough.”
Gina didn’t respond. Monica’s discomfort ran deeper than grief.

Interview Room C — 11:47 AM

Claire Ishikawa sat rigid, hands folded in her lap like she was holding something fragile together.
“She was everything to me,” Claire whispered. “A mentor. A friend. I owe her my life.”
“You worked together for how long?” Gina asked.
“Three years. She found me after I got out of rehab. Said she saw something in me. Structure, she called it. Said I had structure under the chaos.”
Valdez nodded. “You ever visit her at home?”
“All the time. We worked in her studio sometimes, or just talked.”
“And where were you between 2 and 6 AM the night she died?”
Claire looked up, eyes glassy. “I was home. Alone. I know that sounds bad, but… I wasn’t sleeping much that week. I journal at night. You can check timestamps, if that helps.”
“We will.”
She nodded. “She didn’t deserve what happened. No one loved harder than Lena. Not even herself.”

Interview Room D — 1:22 PM

Delaney Shore looked like she was about to fold in on herself. Her fingers trembled against the styrofoam coffee cup, untouched.
“She seemed off lately,” she said. “Not scared, exactly. But preoccupied. Like she was keeping something from everyone.”
“Did she say anything specific?” Gina asked.
“No. Just little things. She canceled a lot of meetings last-minute. One day she called me to come pick something up, but then acted like she never made the call. Said she was tired.”
“What about the night she died?”
“I was home. I used a rideshare to get back from a friend’s house. The receipt’s in my email.”
“And when you got to her place?”
Delaney looked up. “The front door was unlocked. That never happened. She was obsessed with locks. Cameras. Safety. It scared me.”
“Anything else unusual?”
Delaney hesitated. “Nathan had called her that week. I know because I overheard a voicemail. He sounded… angry. Demanding something about old content rights.”
Valdez and Gina exchanged a glance.
Back at her desk, Gina lined the interviews up, back to back. Four faces. Four timelines. No alibis. 
Valdez stood beside her, tapping a thumbtack against the corner of the murder board. “You want to start with motive or opportunity?”
“Let’s go with motive,” Gina said, pinning Nathan Reid’s photo to the board first. “Resentment. Jealousy. He lost control of something he helped build.”
She added Monica’s photo next. “Anger. Betrayal. Family shame turned public story.”
Claire followed. “Grief and loyalty. But she’s the only one who cried. And the only one who called Lena a mentor.”
Then Delaney. Gina pinned her image slightly lower. “Anxious. Observant. Possibly hiding more than she thinks.”
Valdez stepped back and studied the board. “Still no alibis. Still no clear suspect.”
Gina exhaled through her nose. “Somebody’s lying. We just haven’t pulled the thread yet.”

New Clues Added: Summaries of suspect interviews