MuSR / Who is the most likely murderer?

question

Who is the most likely murderer?

narrative

In the high-intensity world of a local fitness center, Tommy's exercise regime is abruptly terminated by a lethal shiv; now it's up to the grizzled Detective Winston to break through the sweat and secrets as he hones in on two prime suspects, Lucy and Jacqueline.

Winston let the fitness center door close and looked around the gym, glossing over the familiar sights due to his routine visits. He spotted his suspect, Lucy, practicing one of her dance routines in the corner, just finishing another session of her hauntingly dark paintings.

“Ma’am?” Winston lifted his badge out for Lucy to see.

She took a break from her routine to meet him, panting slightly. “You looking for Lucy?”

“I am,” Winston replied stoically.

Lucy chuckled lightly, tucking one hair strand behind her ear. She used her other hand to point towards a door. “I’ll clean up as I usually do after my painting sessions. I'll wash off the red paint from my hands and then we can sit down, alright?” She motioned to her red-stained hands.

Winston nodded to the suspect, observing her depart towards the sinks at the corner of the room. “Take your time, ma’am.”

Lucy returned a few moments later, now sporting clean hands. They sat down in a nearby seating area. A few stray paintbrushes and a vibrant pallet of red, visible even from afar, seemed to bring her comfort.

"Do you paint?" Winston asked.

She picked up a paintbrush. “Yes, I love it. It's therapeutic. In every stroke, I express my emotions. That's why my art sometimes gets a bit... dark." Red is my favorite color. And I like to dance.”

She lifted up a shiv she kept alongside her, remarking, "I use this in my dance performances too. It becomes a part of me." 

Later, Winston produced the anonymous letter sent to Tommy. "Have you seen this? Tommy claims to have received it."

Lucy looked away, avoiding his gaze. "I didn't mean for Tommy to get that letter. It was a mistake."

She then confessed, "The truth is...Tommy's been blackmailing me. He said he might let things slide if I gave him a huge sum of money, more than I could afford. I was going to reveal my secret but... that letter wasn't meant for Tommy." Lucy's face was filled with regret. "I didn't have any other way to stop him. I didn't know what to do... I even tried to give a large payment, but it wasn't enough for him."

She choked back tears, confessing softly, "My career... it would be over if my secret got out."

Winston watched her closely as she fought back tears, her hands clenched tightly around her paintbrush and shiv. Winston thanked Lucy for her time, promising to look into her claims.

As Winston left the fitness center he stopped to take a look at Lucy's paintings displayed on the walls. They were chilling images of detached body parts, made more unnerving by Lucy's enthusiastic use of the color red.

He glanced back, Lucy had resumed dancing, the shiv playing a critical part in her performance. Winston took one last look then made his way out the door, leaving Lucy alone to dance.

Winston considered the crime scene: a fitness center. An unlikely place for Tommy to meet his end - on a treadmill no less. Tommy was certainly physically fit, and recently had become quite popular among locals due to his polarizing political views. He was often the subject of public discourse, none more vocal than Jacqueline in her opposition to his ideas.

The forensic team gave him the breakdown, a shiv. Winston could only sigh at the gruesomeness of it all. NHS workers giving it their best shot trying to return the room to its former glory. However, whoever was responsible was not the type to make petty mistakes.

Jacqueline was next on his visit list. A regular protester at Tommy's rallies, her public denouncements of his political stances were well known. And since the murder had occurred during her workout, it would make sense to hear from her.

Jacqueline - a nicely aged woman, apparently physically fit and capable – was a regular at the gym. She trained there every day without fail. That day she was pulling off a routine on a rowing machine with a synchronicity one could compare to a clock tick. 

"Do you remember seeing or hearing anything unusual?" Winston asked.

Jacqueline halted her rowing, turning to Winston with a crisp look in her eyes. "No, detective," she said, dabbing a sweat towel on her forehead. "In fact, it was ironically business as usual."

Business as usual. In a way, Winston thought, it was. Tommy was known for riling up others, though nothing harmful ever really seemed to come of it. Until now. 

The talk around town was that Jacqueline had served time for 15 years nearly two decades ago. Interestingly, she'd also studied various forms of self-defense while in prison, and since her release, she had made herself a bastion of physical and mental fortitude.

"People don't change, detective," Jacqueline stated, seemingly reading his mind. "When I was younger I made some bad choices. I've paid for them. We all have a past and mine happens to be a bit darker than others."

"And Tommy," Jacqueline paused, searching Winston's face, "He was just like me, just on the other side of the fence. Got too comfortable and careless, people like Tommy have a way of doing that."

"All I can say is lots of people contribute to anti-Tommy campaigns, and I have my own ideas. It's free speech, right?" With unwavering determination, Jacqueline continued her pointed assertions against Tommy, echoing her public remarks. She went back to her rowing routine without missing a beat, her eyes now fixed on the TV that was flashing Tommy's controversial speeches on a news channel.

Winston thought for a moment before making his exit. He came across Jacqueline plenty of times, she was a regular - like an everyday murmur with a well-timed routine. Winston left with more questions than answers.

choices

• Lucy
• Jacqueline