MuSR / Who is the most likely murderer?

question

Who is the most likely murderer?

narrative

In the heart of the rainforest, Jesse meets his gruesome end by a lawnmower, leaving Detective Winston embarked on a puzzling quest with suspects - Sam and Steve.

Detective Winston stood at the edge of the rainforest, reviewing his notes. The scene was grim, even for a seasoned detective. The body of Jesse, a young boy, had been found. The murder weapon, found near his body, was a lawnmower, an odd choice for a murder weapon, especially in a rainforest.

One suspect was Jesse's fellow schoolmate, Sam. His name had surfaced around the investigation thanks to a tip-off from the school janitor. The man remembered seeing Sam at the lost and found desk, writing something.

It appears that Sam had found some incriminating texts on his girlfriend's phone, all of which were sent by Jesse. When confronted, Sam's girlfriend confessed that she had been seeing Jesse behind Sam's back. This all coincided with the fact that Sam had access to paper and pen during his visit to the lost and found desk. Winston also learned that the numbers from the confiscated phones were noted down on a piece of paper.

The field trip group Sam and Jesse were part of were the only ones in the rainforest that day. Sam was among them, having also been given special privileges, being the only student allowed to access the lost and found box. Winston made yet another note of it. 

"Winston," a fellow detective called out, causing Winston to look up. 

"What is it?" He asked, heading towards the man.

"Just wanted you to know, we've seized the phones. The numbers were written down."

"On paper?"

The detective nodded, "Yeah. At the lost and found desk, from what we've heard."

Winston's eyes squinted as he thought. He knew these facts were significant, but their connection was not clear. 

"Okay. Thanks." Giving him a nod, he moved towards his vehicle. 

His mind whirled with facts as he started the car. Conversations with Sam, his fellow schoolmate's murder, confessions from his girlfriend, and peculiar facts from a field trip in the rainforest. 

He knew his job wasn't done until he found justice for Jesse, until he was able to connect the dots and bring the story together. For now, he just needed to keep gathering facts and truths. 

Every puzzle piece counted.

Rain pattered on the windshield as detective Winston drove toward the rainforest. A call had come in, a body, Jesse's, found in the woods. As the victims' details appeared on his screen in flickering neon blue, Winston registered one significant point that had yet to be confirmed - the murder weapon was a lawnmower.

Upon arriving at the scene, he climbed out of the car, his shoes squishing and sliding in the mud. It was time to pay a visit to the prime suspect, Steve, a dedicated Rabbi trying to make ends meet.

His visit to Steve was brief but loaded with significant information. To the unsuspecting, Steve was a devout religious leader and a generous individual who devoted his time to frequent forest clean-ups, never too busy to lend a hand with his own set of lawnmowers.

"Lately, my congregation has been dwindling, " Steve confessed. "I had to set up a lawn care business to support myself and the synagogue."

While Steve rambled, Winston learned more about Jesse's aggressive approach to business. "Jesse... he had an ambitious streak. I couldn't compete," Steve admitted, "He was systematically undercutting my prices, offering ridiculous summer discounts and premium services."

This confirmed Winston's suspicion that Jesse had not only been a rival but was planning to put Steve out of business. Steve, however, was not unaware. He suspected Jesse of stealing his clientele and provided evidence to Winston. Steve's business was shrinking while Jesse's was blooming, a fact evidenced by the bitterness lurking in the Steve's voice whenever Jesse was mentioned.

Winston, maintaining a stone face, asked about Steve's activities on the day of the murder. As if on cue, Steve informed him that there was a clean-up event on that same fateful day, occurring at the exact time Jesse met his grisly end.

Officers at the scene had confirmed the unusual chains of Steve's lawnmower as the cause of death. Oddly enough, Steve owned several lawnmowers, all part of his lawn care business, and he was more than proficient in their operation.

As Winston drove away, he filed away the various pieces of this entangled puzzle. With Steve's confession, Jesse's ambitious undercutting plan, Steve's rapidly decreasing list of clientele, and the coinciding timing of the clean-up event, this case was far from over.

choices

• Sam
• Steve