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MuSR / Who is the most likely murderer?
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question
Who is the most likely murderer?
narrative · full text (6,404 characters)
"In the gritty underworld of professional wrestling, Jim's life ends abruptly on the mat with a bottle of bleach; now, it's up to Detective Winston to grapple with suspects, Clyde and Roxanne, to uncover the truth." Winston squinted at the wrestling ticket stashed away in an evidence bag, blew a puff of smoke, and looked at the date again. It was the same day Jim, the famous wrestler, had been murdered. He snuffed out his cigarette, pocketed the ticket, and made his way toward his interview with Roxanne. He found Roxanne nursing a cup of tea in a spacious apartment, its décor tinged with layers of transient life. Among various moving boxes, catching his attention were the remnants of a ticket in a drawer, aligning precisely with the one he pocketed, indicating it had been retrieved from there before the event. He noticed a handful of discarded sim cards on the table, each from a different carrier, indicating she had likely changed her phone number several times. “Roxanne, is it?” Winston began. His words were met with a curt nod. "That wrestling match ticket I found at your place, you attended the same event that Jim did, didn’t you?" Winston pushed the evidence bag toward Roxanne. She had meticulously planned to attend this wrestling show, as evidenced by the ticket fragments in her drawer. She squared her shoulders and admitted, "Yes, I'm a big fan of wrestling, and Jim always attracted the crowd." Flicking through his notes, Winston proceeded. "Looks like you work in healthcare, Roxanne, a nurse, correct?" With a tad of confusion etched on her face, Roxanne admitted as such. Despite her career, Winston saw her adeptness in subjects beyond her field. She had done her fair share of questionable research, she knew bleach could be a useful tool, not just for cleaning. Winston received a tip-off about her internet search history pointing toward research on bleach poisoning. He decided to dig a little deeper. "At the pharmacy, where you bought the bleach, the CCTV footage showed you making that purchase." He let her know how he came across the information. Her flinch of surprise was hard to miss. Snowballing into more dire topics, Winston mentioned a recent spat taking place on her front lawn. Roxanne's family had heatedly argued with her. "Your family has been trying to reach you," Winston gestured towards the stack of letters in the corner. Sighing, Roxanne admitted that things had escalated until she left the location in a huff, ignoring repeated attempts by her family to get back in touch. "No neighbors. I move... a lot," Roxanne confessed, changing the topic. Winston frowned. He needed to know why there were no reports of stolen bleach near pharmacies surrounding both the wrestling arena and Roxanne's current residence. But he decided to leave that for another time. On his way out, Winston muttered a quiet "thank you" before he left Roxanne to her solitude. As he departed, he stole one last glance at the stacks of unopened letters sitting forlornly in the corner. There was an awful lot to unravel here, it seemed. Yet, as always, Winston knew the truth was buried somewhere, waiting to be unearthed. Winston had spent the day visiting the wrestling ring where Jim’s body had been found. As the man responsible for orchestrating the match, including assigning responsibilities to the referees, the matter had naturally become deeply personal to Clyde. Not to mention, he was a plumber and was therefore in a kind of position that made it hard for people to not remember him. The wrestling match was held late at night, when he could manage time from his job, and it just so happened that most people had already left for their homes by the end of it. Winston remembered seeing Jim flirting openly with Clyde's ex-girlfriend during the event. It was a sight hard to forget. He picked up his camera bag, preparing for the night’s task. It wouldn't be pretty, but it was necessary. Winston decided to ask Clyde about the match first, "What are the criteria for a good referee in the match, Clyde?" The question was a simple icebreaker. Clyde shrugged, looking at Winston with a puzzled look. "Well... referees need to control the wrestlers, redirect their energy if it goes astray. Also, they have the responsibility to overlook the match, ensure that it runs smooth and everyone plays by the rules." Meeting with the burly plumber, who also moonlighted as the wrestling match organizer, was a step that needed to occur. He was seen leaving the ring after the night's wrestling events with Jim. It was a fact that couldn't be simply glanced over. Winston, with a voice steady as a rock asked, "A tad unusual, Clyde, you two leaving together. Was it not?" Clyde shifted uncomfortably, "Naw, detective. It was late, and most folks had already gone home. Just tidyin' up, you know." "Is that so?" Winston replied. Clyde’s bleach-streaked work clothes were a testament to his plumbing job. Always smelling strongly of bleach. "And don’t plumbers often use bleach for cleaning purposes?" Winston emphasised his point. A shrug from Clyde gave Winston the satisfaction of confirmation. "It's got plenty uses, detective. And yeah, a good clean ain't possible without some bleach." His coworkers could vouch for his frequent bleach-infused work clothes. A distinct, eye-watering odor. Winston recognized it as he walked towards him. Yes, he couldn't ignore the strong smell of bleach. Instead of pushing the issue, Winston decided to turn the conversation towards Clyde’s past. He had treated his ex-girlfriends more like possessions than partners and had recently been seen spying on Jim and his ex-girlfriend - a woman Jim had been openly flirting with at the wrestling matches and who had confirmed that she was now dating Jim. "Clyde," Winston began, all seriousness, "we got reports of you looking into Jim and his... interests, other than wrestling, can you shed some light on that?" Clyde shifted again, "Well, detective, that ain't nothing but...but concern, you see, for my ex." Winston simply nodded, staying silent. He had to stay neutral, had to listen to both sides of the story before he could make his conclusion. And that's exactly what he did. Letting Clyde make his explanation, was it concern or possessiveness camouflaged? Perhaps a bit of both. It was a tangled web, one Winston was sure to unravel eventually.
choices
- Clyde
- Roxanne
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