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MuSR / Who is the most likely murderer?
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question
Who is the most likely murderer?
narrative · full text (6,412 characters)
In the bustling labyrinth of a city mall, a grisly murder sends shockwaves as Xenia is killed with a nail gun, leaving Detective Winston with two perplexing suspects: Van and Wilfred. Detective Winston had always maintained a level of personal fitness as part of his job. Staying in shape was crucial for catching suspects on foot. But even he was taken aback by the sheer enormity of Van, the local bodybuilder. The rumor in town was that Van had been recently struggling with large debts. The man stood near six and a half feet tall, his enormous physique a testament to the countless hours he obviously spent in the gym, instead of accepting invitations to the various social events. Winston felt like David meeting Goliath as he marched towards the muscular man. "Hey, Van?" He called out, to which the man gave a mere grunt in response. Several people in the gym watched as the scene unfolded; in this place, Van was a sort of brawny legend who preferred the solitude of his weights over any socializing. Just the other day, a friend had asked him about his dating life with Xenia, but he brushed it aside. "Detective Winston. I'd like to ask you a few questions," Winston showed his badge. "About Xenia." Van was taken-aback by the upfrontness of the question. He grunted again, this time out of exasperation. "Detective, didn't expect that one coming," he said finally lifting his head to acknowledge the detective. "Alright, shoot." Winston pulled out his notebook and an envelope from the local hardware store, "Did you take a construction safety course recently?" "Yeah, I used to build furniture for fun," Van answered in between grunts, continuing his reps, "Safety first and all that." "And did this fascination with construction lead you to buying a nail gun?" Winston asked, pulling a purchase receipt out of the envelope. "The receipt I found in your wallet indicates you bought the same model used for Xenia's murder." Van's expression changed for the first time, a small frown appeared on his face. "Yeah, why?" "There's no easy way to say this..." Winston gathered his words, "but Xenia, she's been killed. She was shot with a nail gun. The same type that you recently bought." Van's barbell dropped onto the floor with a loud crash. "Xenia is dead?" he asked in disbelief. Winston confirmed with a solemn nod. "She recently updated her life insurance policy, which you had changed to make you the sole beneficiary." He added, "The payout would be considerable, enough to solve your debt troubles." Disbelief crossed Van's face. He ruffled his hair nervously before swiftly changing the topic, "I hit a new record today. 350 pounds." A change in topic wasn't unusual when dealing with shock, to Winston's experience. He however, decided to dive ahead, "Xenia's will and her life insurance policy, which amounts to a hefty sum of $1.2 million, put a lot of money in your name, Van." Van swiftly stood from his weight bench, a scowl deepening on his face. "Are you implying I killed her for her money?" "Just figuring out what happened," Winston calmly replied. "Well, if that's all detective, you'll have to excuse me. I've got to... digest this information," Van said, storming out of the gym. Winston watched him leave, noting that for someone who'd just lost someone close, Van seemed to recover pretty fast. He jotted down a final note: 'Van wasn't much for social events, but he certainly had his priorities set on the gym.' With a sigh, he reached for his phone... There was more investigation to be done. Winston pulled into his usual parking spot at the bustling shopping mall, where Xenia had been found dead. Taking a moment, he observed the familiar sight of storied storefronts and the commotion of shoppers going about their business – everything seemed normal, but its surface was marred by the undercurrent of a sinister act. Stepping out, Winston headed towards the scene of the crime, where Xenia's body was discovered amongst the kaleidoscope of mall storefronts. Suddenly, his phone rang. Winston answered it briskly, "This is Winston." "This is Janet from Dispatch. Got a preliminary report back. The murder weapon was a nail gun... reportedly missing from a nearby construction site." Janet informed him. "Interesting... thanks, Janet." Winston said before hanging up. One person in mind, Winston mused, Wilfred, a city lawyer handling the lawsuit against the mall’s recent haphazardly built expansion – he was known to have some construction experience with a reported affinity for nail guns. Funny little detail that used to be an innocence quirk of Wilfred’s. After all, the nail gun was reported missing from Wilfred’s construction project. Winston walked into the site of construction, observing the works and chaos of a massive project, evidence of Wilfred’s connection with the site. Later, Winston decided to pay Wilfred a visit. Finding him in his office, Winston pulled out a photo from his coat pocket and tossed it on Wilfred's desk – a grainy shot from a CCTV footage showing Wilfred in the mall at the time of Xenia’s death. Wilfred squinted at the image, evidently uncomfortable. With his back turned to Winston, working late at his desk, he seemed just as any other lawyer. "Wilfred, doing some moonlighting at the mall, were you?" Winston asked, his tone casual yet probing. "I... I do my evening walks there sometimes," Wilfred replied. Winston pulled out another document from his coat pocket, "You may want to come down to the station, Wilfred. Answer a few questions about your whereabouts last night." Wilfred hesitated, then nodded, "I understand." As Winston left Wilfred’s office, he couldn't help wonder about Xenia’s last desperate plead to Wilfred, about specifically taking down the corrupt politician down, waving her damning evidence. As allegations of political scandal were beginning to surround Wilfred, Xenia had somehow been caught in the crossfire. She paid a high price, killed during a time when Wilfred had no alibi, when his whereabouts were unknown to all. The lawyer’s life slowly gave away a shade that Winston hadn't exactly expected. Packed with political scandal, hurried construction projects, controversial missing nail guns, and unaccounted for times, life was never meant to be this complicated. Winston closed the car door behind him, a deep sigh escaping him. The case had just begun.
choices
- Van
- Wilfred
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