‘I already told you people. I didn’t know he was there.’
‘I know. How about running through it again just once more, Mr. Myers. So I can hear what happened for myself. Just in case you forgot something. Take your time. You want some water?’
‘Yeah, thanks. OK, so about a week and a half ago, we got an online inspection booking from a Peter Deemer. It said he saw bedbugs in his master bedroom. So, we sent an inspector out. His name was – hold on a minute – Mark Thomas.’
‘And Mr. Thomas went to the home?’
‘Yeah, that’s what we do. We send out an inspector who determines if there is an infestation. Mark said there was.’
‘Now, did he talk to Mr. Deemer, do you know?’
‘Hold on a second… No, the wife – her name is Elaine – was home. She let Mark in and he did the inspection.
‘Then what happened?’
‘What we usually do is, we do a proposal and then the customer agrees or not, and we go from there.’
‘And that’s what happened this time?’
‘I think so. I mean, we have an electronically-signed approval of the proposal.’
‘And who signed it?’
‘Hold on, let me look… Yeah, Peter Deemer signed it. Um, is there a men’s room? Could we take a break?’
‘Sure. Interview suspended at 1:25 PM.’
‘OK, are you ready?’
‘Yeah, I’m good.
‘I’m going to turn this back on now. Interview resumed at 1:35 PM.’
“So, you were saying that Peter Deemer signed the approval for the extermination?’
‘Yeah.’
‘What happened next?
‘So, my boss – he’s in charge of all the local technicians – assigned the job to me.’
‘Had you ever met Mr. or Mrs. Deemer before? Talked to them?’
‘No. They give me a contract, an address, and the job specs, and I do the job.’
‘So you had an appointment at the Deemer residence this morning.’
‘That’s right. I got there at eight this morning.’
‘And was Mr. Deemer there? Did you see him?’
‘No, his wife was.’
‘Tell me about your visit.’
‘I did a walkaround, to see what I was up against. The master bedroom was all ready, so I got my things and started prepping the place.’
‘Did you go around the whole home?’
‘No, I was only scheduled for the master bedroom and ensuite.’
‘So you didn’t go into any other rooms?’
‘No, that wasn’t in the contract.’
‘What was Mrs. Deemer doing?’
‘Scrolling on her phone, moving some trash outside, that kind of thing.’
‘OK, go on.’
‘I brought the chemicals in and started the job. Took me about twenty minutes or so.’
‘And then you left?’
‘Yeah. See, what we do is, we ask the customer to wait outside the home while we do the job. The chemicals we use are really strong. We don’t allow anyone in the home while we’re working.’
‘And Mrs. Deemer left when you asked her to?’
‘That’s right. She went outside to wait by her car.’
‘By her car?’
‘We tell customers to stay out of the home for at least two hours after we leave. That way, they aren’t at risk for poisoning. Mrs. Deemer was just waiting for me to get done so we could do the final sign-off.’
‘So you were in the house alone for about twenty minutes while you sprayed. Is that right?’
‘Yeah, but I swear I didn’t even know he was there. I did the master bedroom like I was supposed to. I mean, I went through the living room and down the hall to the bedroom, but I didn’t go into any other rooms.’
‘And you didn’t see Mr. Deemer?’
‘No! I had no idea…’
‘Take your time. You need another break?’
‘Yeah, if you don’t mind.’
‘OK, you wait here. I’ll have someone bring you some more water. Interview suspended at 1:50 PM.’
‘Thanks for the water.’
‘No problem. You ready?’
‘Yeah, I think so.’
‘OK, let me turn this back on. Interview resumed at 1:58 PM. So, we were talking about what happened when you finished the job.’
‘Yeah, so when I was done, I looked out the front window of the house, and Mrs. Deemer was in the driveway standing next to her car. I went outside and we finished the process.’
‘How long did that take?’
‘I guess ten minutes, something like that.’
‘Then what happened?’
‘I packed my truck and left. I saw her get in her car, but I have no idea where she went.’‘What did you do after you left?’
‘I took my morning break and then went to my next job.’
‘And you didn’t return to the Deemer house?’
‘No, I had other jobs to do. Then my boss called me about an hour and a half ago to tell me about Mr. Deemer. He said you people wanted to talk to me about what hapened. So I came right over.’
‘And you’re sure you didn’t see Mr. Deemer at all?’
‘No. I mean yes, I’m sure. My boss told me he was found in their home office, but I didn’t go in there. It wasn’t on my list. I swear if I’d known he was napping in there, I’d have told him he had to leave. I didn’t mean to kill him. I really didn’t. I’ve been on this job for twenty years. I’ve never had any trouble.’
‘Is there anything else you can think of that we should know?’
‘I don’t think so. It was all a routine job. I mean, until Mrs. Deemer found her husband.’
‘OK, I think I have all I need for now. We’ll be in touch if we have any more questions.’
‘You – you don’t think I did this on purpose, do you? I didn’t even know he was there.’
‘I get it. We’ll call if we need you for anything else. Interview terminated at 2:10 PM.’
‘Detective? Mrs. Deemer is here.’
‘Thanks. I’ll be right there. I have some questions for her.’
Crime Writer Margot Kinberg 