MuSR / Who is the most likely murderer?

question

Who is the most likely murderer?

narrative

In the dense, dank heart of the rainforest, Skylar's life was brutally silenced with a lead pipe, leaving Detective Winston to navigate a labyrinth of lies, offered up by the two prime suspects - Albert and Mya.

Detective Winston put down Skylar's phone, there was a series of text messages that stood out to him involving an invitation to a camping trip. He sat back and scratched his chin thoughtfully as it fell into place with the CCTV footage - Skylar and Mya entering the rainforest alone.

Making a note of this, he remembered another piece of CCTV footage from two days back, showing Mya packing for what seems to be a camping trip. The footage included one notable item within her gear – a lead pipe, distinct because Mya seemed to pay particular attention to it.

He decided to pay a visit to Mya. She was found at her regular gym, her movements were fluid and strong as she exercised, her biceps straining under the weight. She was in a very good shape, her fitness wasn't in question, that was sure. As she rested between sets, Winston approached her.

“Excuse my interruption," Winston began, "I’ve read that you’ve completed quite a few hiking and mountain climbing expeditions?”

A look of surprise flashed on her face, She nodded, panting a bit. “Yes, I’ve been fortunate enough to get around…” she replied.

“You met up with Skylar for a camping trip recently?” Winston probed, her eyes flickered away, a troubled expression crossing her face. “Yes, Skylar invited me."

"I understand there’s been tension in the family recently," Winston strayed towards less comfortable territories. "Skylar had revealed something personal about you to your family, is that right?"

"The accusation about a family heirloom…" Mya tensed, glancing sharply at Winston,"That was absolutely baseless. Skylar had no reason to accuse me.” She visibly wilted, there was an anger in her voice, fueled by embarrassment. “It’s been a dark chapter in my life.”

Winston nodded, understanding. He had been briefed about Skylar revealing Mya's secret and how the family had started ostracizing her due to the false accusation.

As Mya picked up her gym bag to leave, Winston noticed her camping gear in the open compartment. The video registered in his mind. The roll of duct tape, an aluminum water bottle, a headlamp but the lead pipe was missing. The same lead pipe that was seen on the CCTV footage when she was packing. It was a small detail but something that stuck with Winston.

Outside the gym, as Winston leaned against his car, one fact bore heavily on his mind - no other cars had been recorded entering or leaving the rainforest by any of the surveillance teams on the day Skylar had been killed. This little nugget of fact had been disturbing him the entire day.

Winston's face hardened while he made the drive back to his office. His mind was whirling; he needed to look at the bigger picture. He was only making sense of each piece that he was uncovering. Whatever was happening was complex, and he had a lot of facts to untangle.

Winston strolled past the line of cabs parked near the city center. He had a destination in mind - the beaten grey vehicle at the end. The driver, Albert, was in the middle of a losing battle with his customer inflow. Not that the local populace didn't patronize taxis. In fact, Skylar was the sweetheart of the city, everyone in town loved her and seemed to prefer her company rather than Albert’s. 

“Albert, have some free time for a chat?” Winston asked as he leaned into the cab’s open window. 

Albert’s gaze didn’t leave the rear-view mirror, covered with a pile of sunglasses. “Not like I have a lot of customers waiting, detective,” he grumbled.

"Skylar seemed to be collecting quite a few of your regulars. You seemed to think she was taking away your livelihood. Did you know her well?" Winston inquired, ignoring Albert's bitter tone. 

Albert's eyebrows furrowed as he fixated on the cab’s ornament-studded dash. "We met a few times. I was her cab driver for the day. Imagine the luck.”

“Skylar requested you to drive her to the rainforest that day, didn’t she?”

Albert gave a quick nod, the beginnings of sweat forming on his forehead. "Yes, and I took a detour. Figured it would save time.” 

Winston glanced at the windshield, spotting an almost perpetual darkness, and turned back towards Albert. "You always drive at night, don't you?"

"Yeah, and?" Albert's defensive demeanor wasn’t hard to miss. 

"No reason," Winston mused, shifting to open up his field of vision. “I find it interesting,” he moved on, "because you have a large collection of shades. You know, considering your night job and all…" 

Albert laughed, a hollow sound echoing in the cab. "I don't even know what you mean by light sensitivity, detective.”

With a nod, Winston changed topics, "Did you notice anything strange about Skylar that day? Anything about her demeanor?"

Albert scratched his cheek nervously, avoiding Winston's gaze. "She seemed pretty normal to me."

"Have any issues making eye contact, for example?" Winston asked, noticing that he himself hadn’t gotten much eye contact during the discussion. 

Albert's laugh returned. It was hollow, yet somewhat nervous. “N-never been a fan, detective. Just a thing.”

"Alright, Albert. Thanks for your time." Winston straightened up, taking one last look at Albert and the cab before turning away. As far as anyone knew, nobody else was in the rainforest that day - it was just Albert, Skylar, and a host of unanswered questions. Winston had quite a lot to ponder over.

choices

• Albert
• Mya