MuSR / Who is the most likely murderer?

question

Who is the most likely murderer?

narrative

When Wendy's life brutally ended under the sharp end of a pickaxe at the local roller rink, it was up to the shrewd Detective Winston to untangle the web spun around two prime suspects, Marianne and Sidney.

Detective Winston tapped his pen against the mugshot of Marianne. She wore the hardened expression of a seasoned miner, and a sprinkle of white dust beaded her forehead. She had, years ago, spent a considerable amount of time underground before she traded the pickaxe for a ring. Even after her marriage, however, Winston knew that Marianne was not unfamiliar with the heft and purpose of such a tool.

His eyes consisted of the audit papers laid out before him, declaring a significant debt that Marianne owed in back taxes. She was circling financial demise, and the state was closing in. Then, his eyes shifted to the statement provided by a friend of hers, highlighting her strong assertion that she would rather perish than get sent behind bars. It seemed to Winston that Marianne was still filled with the spirits of the old miners, willing to risk it all in pursuit of her own freedom.

His venture out to her parcel of land a few days back had stamped the image in his mind of her mining tools lounging out in the open. They were well-kept and clean, the way old miners kept their tools. Marianne had been spotted around the community with the pickaxe, using it for various garden works and general maintenance.

Now Winston's attention moved to Wendy, the victim, an honest lady known for her earnest ways. She was found in a sequestered section of the roller rink, a roller skate still hanging onto her foot as if she was frozen mid-skate.

Placing a call, Winston requested the CCTV footage of the roller rink from the night of the murder. There, in the flickering low resolution, was Wendy locked in a heated argument with Marianne. The dispute ended and Wendy skated off, but Marianne stayed.

Later, another clip showed Marianne lingering along the outskirts, long after the other skaters had left. It was an eerie sight - the roller rink was empty, except for the flickering neon lights and Marianne, circling the rink with an unsettling calmness.

Winston slid an envelope towards himself and carefully extracted a photograph. It was Wendy's last piece of brave detective work - a picture of Marianne caught in a grim action that served as undeniable proof of her crime. But it was Wendy, with her unwavering integrity, who held this tight to her chest, vowing to expose the truth about Marianne.

Two cups of coffee empty, Winston switched off the lights and left the room. The image of Marianne and the pickaxe lingered in the darkness of the office, the unsaid words and whispers of the CCTV footage bouncing off the walls. The unwelcome truth seemed to have found a perfect partner with the impending dawn, unflinching and relentless.

Pencil in hand, a room full of boxes filled with countless pads of stationary and envelopes, Winston scrolled through the dossier one more time. Sidney, the geologist who loved to write letters and the company of a well-worn roller rink.

Winston headed to the local rink to further his investigation. The sticky, stale scent of overused roller skates greeting him as he walked in. The roller rink was bustling with murmurs about the murder that had taken place there the previous night during Sidney's usual hours at the rink, further thickening the air with tension.

The staff recognized him the second he walked through the door. "Detective Winston," they greeted. "Come about the Sidney matter?" 

Winston nodded, face impassive, “He’s a regular around here, isn’t he? And he was here last night too?"

“Heck, we'd see him here every other night, including last night,” one replied. "Always came in right around the same time.” Winston noted the staff’s response verbatim.

“And this uh…Wendy? Seen her around with Sidney?” 

Pausing, a staff member nodded. "Yes, they've been seen together few times at the rink. Wendy told us she knew a secret about Sidney, something that could humiliate him if it got out and that she already shared this secret with her friends. In fact, the secret she told was indeed damaging; it was about Sidney's misconduct in his reputable profession that if revealed, would certainly ruin him publicly."

The information tucked away in his mind, Winston thanked the rink staff. He turned his mind to Jack, Sidney’s imprisoned friend with notorious criminal record.

He walked out to his car, rummaging for his mobile, tapped a number. "Yes, I need to speak with Jack. Yes, the one in cell 108."

The next stop was the post office, where stacks upon stacks of letters, each written by Sidney using his large collection of stationary and postage stamps could be seen. "Yeah, he's in here often,” the postmistress shared without hesitation. 

Winston mulled over this, pocketed his notepad, and headed to Sidney's home with a stern knock on the door.

Sidney let him in, launching into endless stories involving Jack as if it were an unconcerned topic. But when Wendy's name dropped, his jovial manner evaporated and his demeanor drastically changed. "That's a lie!" Sidney protested vehemently when Winston cautiously picked up the subject Wendy had told her friends involving a ruinous secret that's been said she knew about Sidney. "She had no idea what she was talking about. All her talk was to intentionally defame me in public." The denial was fervent, almost desperate.

Winston offered no consolation. It wasn’t his job. He stepped away from Sidney’s house, a new puzzle piece in hand. His work, the unraveling of the truth, was far from done.

choices

• Marianne
• Sidney