MuSR / Who is the most likely murderer?

In the eerie silence of the swamp, Jess was brutally murdered with a sai, leaving Detective Winston sorting through a mire of secrets and lies involving two prime suspects - Leona and Freya.

Winston looked out at the swamp that had claimed Jess's life. Following the cordoned path, the flash of evidence markers catching his eyes, he ran his fingers around the sai in his hand. It was of a unique make, identical to the style used in Freya's martial arts training and not commonly found. There were not many who could handle such a unique weapon, fewer still who owned them.

The path led him to Freya's home later that day. He was introduced into a crisp and clean living room, save for an empty slot in a display case filled with a fascinating collection of sais. He pondered silently, looking at the missing gap, like a puzzle awaiting to be solved, surely it must have been an important sai to her.

Off the bat, Freya seemed uncomfortable as she started nervously, "It's good to see you detective, I’m sure you've heard from my friends, they stopped by and I expressed to them my concerns about Jess threating to disclose my secrets. They comforted me, assuring me they would speak to her.”

Seeing that Freya seemed distressed, Winston decided to breach the topic divertedly, “Freya, I notice one is missing. Care to tell about it?”

With a hesitant nod, Freya spoke, “It recently went missing. The one missing held a sentimental value to me, Detective.”

"Picked up any replacements?" He asked. “Any practicing recently?”

"Well, I was at my dojo last week for training," Freya offered.

An interesting tidbit given the recent events. He was drawn by a peculiar object on a side table. A phone, separate from the one Freya had nervously returned to her pocket.

“This your personal phone, Freya?” Winston asked.

Freya’s cheeks reddened, and she quickly replied, “That's my private phone, detective. I find it easier to keep my personal lines separated from the world.” The device was quickly turned off, secure under her watchful gaze.

Throughout the conversation, she seemed uncomfortable whenever he moved too close to anything personal, quickly steering to another topic. Noted, Winston thought, but he was yet to bring up anything about Jess.

“Freya, let me cut to the chase. Jess was found to have written a letter to the local paper about exposing someone's dark secrets. We found a large payment from you to a private investigator. Want to tell me something?"

She seemed aghast. "Detective, Jess had been saying for a while that she had something on me that could ruin me. But we all have our secrets, don’t we? I hired someone to figure out what she had, it was all in my defense!”

Winston took a moment to consider her words. She was a charming woman, but he was trained to look past faces. "It's good to be honest, Freya," he added quietly, placing the sai back in the evidence bag and heading for the door. 

Once back in his car, he noted how stalwartly Freya switched off her private phone when he was around, an action that made him ponder as he started his vehicle to return to base.

Winston had never been a huge fan of pop music, he preferred jazz. Nevertheless, he found himself standing next to a stage that had, the previous night, been vibrating with the sound waves of Leona's music. Leona, a young singer with a dazzling voice that had jetted her to national stardom. Now, just twenty-four hours after her astonishing concert, she was being questioned by Winston, a detective, about the horrific discovery that morning of Jess' lifeless body beside the neighboring swamp.

He found Leona backstage, looking distraught.

"Your concert last night," Winston spoke patiently. "The venue was right next to the swamp, am I correct?”

Leona, with her tear-stained mascara, nodded. "Yes, detective. It was."

"And you had Jess present? Jess with the VIP pass?"

"Yes," Leona replied, her usually confident voice reduced to a mere whisper. "She even met my sister after the show."

"Interesting," Winston muttered, trying to keep his tone neutral. "Because I had a report that she was seen arguing with your sister. She seemed rather threatened."

Leona's face was a mask of sadness as she recalled the event. "My sister? Threatened? I...I saw it happen, she looked scared during their confrontation. Later, Jess also sent a threatening message to my sister after that confrontation. It really upset her and she's been in a distressed state since then."

Noticing the grim determination on Leona's face as her thoughts drifted to her sister, Winston probed further. "I heard you're protective of her," he added, watching Leona's reaction.

Visibly shaken, Leona admitted, "I always have been." She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. "We only have each other. That's why I didn't object when she wanted to come to my martial arts classes."

"Ah, your martial arts classes," Winston interjected. "I have on my record here that you've been seen attending those regularly over the past months."

Leona looked surprised. "Yes, detective. I needed a way to vent out my stress, and I found martial arts comforting."

"Martial arts, hmm?" Winston mused aloud. "Your instructor even mentioned that you've been progressing quite well and he admires your skill with certain weapons. Have you ever handled a sai?"

Fear was written clear on Leona's face as she quietly nodded, understanding where this conversation might be leading to. "Yes, I have. I just purchased a set and have been training with them. They stay in the dojo, though. I swear.”

Little did Leona know, but her confession perfectly fit the narrative Winston was trying to weave. He gave nothing away with his stoic expression.

"I heard," he continued slowly, "that after the concert, Jess was seen headed towards the swamp."

She nodded her head, "Yeah, people sometimes take that route to avoid the traffic..."

The conversation ended, and Winston didn’t probe further. As far as Detective Winston was concerned, he had all the information he needed. He had many clues to ponder over and a murder investigation to lead. The image of the sai next to Jess's body in the swamp was quick to return as he went back to his car.