MuSR / Who is the most likely murderer?

question

Who is the most likely murderer?

narrative

In the quiet tranquility of the city park, Bria's life was abruptly ended with a hatchet, leaving Detective Winston with two prime suspects - Serenity and Naomi.

Winston sighed heavily, his mind heavy with the task that lay before him. The park was silent, save for the distant rustle of leaves. The murder of Bria had sent ripples of shock through the community and it was up to him to uncover the truth.

Conducting a thorough search of Serenity's camping gear, Winston noticed a well-used hatchet, its blade well honed and sharp. It looked familiar, too familiar, when matched against an image of the murder weapon on his phone screen.

"Interesting..." He said to himself. 

Throughout her camping trips Serenity had, according to her camping mates, shown a flair for handling the hatchet. It was a tool she seemed to use routinely and they often spotted her concentrating on its blade, sharpening it with precision.

Winston turned his attention to Serenity’s usual haunt, the park. He had seen her there frequently, she was a familiar figure in the park that was practically her backyard. 

A bystander Winston interviewed had even pin-pointed her in the park around the estimated time of murder. It was a disturbing co-incidence, far too precise to be easily dismissed.

Serenity had recently obtained a letter from the deceased, Bria. It was a bold threat, an intention to testify against Serenity. From what Winston could gather, Bria had stumbled onto illegal activities involving Serenity. It was damaging information that could yield serious consequences if brought into the open. And the most unnerving fact was that Bria had vocalized her intended betrayal to others before they could put a stop to it.

With one final call to make, Winston dialed the number of a local gambling den. After conversing with the night guard, he found out that Serenity had been seen walking out of the den just before lethal blow was struck in the park.

Back in the station, Winston found Serenity, clutching a hatchet. It had been found in her bag after the murder took place.

“It’s for camping,” she answered, her gaze meeting Winston's. 

"Right…" Winston muttered, trying his best to keep his thoughts to himself. "Well, Serenity, thanks for your cooperation today."

But as he walked away, he couldn't help but wonder... what truths lay hidden beneath the surface, yet to see the light of revelation?

Winston was swamped, but when word filtered down from his chief that there was a body down at the park, his spine stiffened and he found himself standing, ready to go. As a detective, murder was his wheelhouse, and he was needed. Bria, a local girl, had been found brutally done in with what looked like a hatchet.

Naomi was in Winston's office when he got back from the park. She was slender and wore academic-looking glasses. Her workplace was the park, having an intern job that involved teaching survival skills to campers.

"It must be different from your old job, auditing building plans..." Winston said as he took off his coat. 

She nodded. "Yeah, it's a change. But that didn't suit me. I've always been a people person. I'm studying social anthropology, you know. I like observing and understanding folks and their behavior in a crowd, something we often relate to in our field."

Winston questioned: "So what sort of things did you show these campers?"

“Using tools mostly. And how to read trails. Ah! Just last week we were taught hatchet handling for chopping wood and other survival stuff.” She replied. 

“How do you end up teaching camping skills in the park?”

She answered, “I'm passionate about safety. Back in my old job, I used to volunteer for floor warden duties during fire drills. It's kind of a natural progression, I guess.”

“Were you at the park today?” Winston's question brought an immediate look of concern in Naomi’s eyes.

“Yes, yes I was. But I didn't see anything unusual. But Bria…” She sputtered, her eyes welling up, “She told me she was going to be there today. Can’t believe something like this happened.”

Her responses to Winston's reports seemed genuine, but he'd learned a long time ago that everyone was a suspect until proven otherwise.

choices

• Serenity
• Naomi