Victim || dsmp (tommy & wilbur focus)

2: Niki's Opening

DETECTIVE SCHLATT
When Schlatt entered the interrogation room, Niki looked down from staring at the ceiling and clasped her hands on the table she was sitting at. Schlatt knew that this indicated a sign of anxiety, which aligned with her report from the dean. She also had just experienced a traumatic event and knew she was about to have to talk about it.

"Hey what's your name- right, Niki," Schlatt started off with. He thought that if he imposed he already knew her name he'd seem less like a friend. "I'm Jay." He used his first name to put her at ease and seem less intimidating and authoritative. He held out his arm to shake her hand.

Niki brought up a slightly trembling hand to shake his. "Hi, yes," She said with a shy voice.

"How are you?" Schlatt asked.

"Good," She immediately replied.

"Thanks for coming in," He told her. Again, he had to make it clear that she could leave by choice and at any time she needed. But, he sat in a chair in between her and the door to the room, psychologically making her feel more of a need to stay put.

Niki nodded in reply with a forced, closed-mouth smile.

"I just need some information from ya, what's your name?" Schlatt asked, pulling out a police report paper to file some more background information.

"Niki."

"Middle name?" Schlatt asked, already writing down the information.

Schlatt's goal here was to get the report filled out, as well as get her comfortable talking to him. He tried to keep a casual demeanor to show that he's not a threat. He also knew that since Niki was 17, she's legally a minor, so he had to be careful that she understood her rights.

He flipped to the next page to display the bulleted Miranda rights, reading through them aloud to her and asking her if she understood what each one meant before moving onto the next one. 

Finally, Schlatt cut to the chase. "Alright, who were you with all day yesterday?" He questioned.

"I was with- uh, Wilbur, Tommy, and Quackity-"

"Quackity as in Alex?" Schlatt clarified, interrupting her. It was important to identify who exactly she was talking about.

"Yes, sorry- we call him by his last name," Niki explained nervously. Her leg began to bounce.

"Anyone else?" Schlatt pressed on.

"Uh... well we met with Tommy's friend Tubbo in the morning but he wasn't there all day with us." Niki swallowed after saying this, briefly tucking her hair behind her ears. This was a self-soothing gesture, she was highly anxious at this point. Although she's nervous, this isn't a sign of deception. It's practically impossible to identify deception by a physical presence. However, Niki was facing Schlatt, suggesting that she was engaged in the interview, making her seem more open and honest.

"Alright," Schlatt murmured, writing down the name Tubbo. This could be an important person to talk to later if he was familiar with Tommy. "When did you all meet up?"

"We met up the night before, we had a sleepover at my house."

"Thursday night?" Schlatt asked her.

Niki nodded. "Yes."

"At what time was that at?" Schlatt continued.

"Umm... it was late," Niki paused for a moment as if she was trying to remember. Recollecting information from before a traumatic event could be difficult, which was why Schlatt was planning on cross-checking the story with the other students. The truth was crucial. "Like around 9:15pm or so."