MuSR / Who is the most likely murderer?

question

Who is the most likely murderer?

narrative

When Joel's life was abruptly ended by a nunchaku at the local bowling alley, it is up to Detective Winston to interrogate the prime suspects: Rosemary and Mia, in this chilling game of strike or spare.

Kneading the stub of his cigarette into the worn-out ashtray, Winston's gaze flitted between the photographs in front of him. A bowling alley, deserted, save for a solitary figure slumped over in the congealing slick of his own blood – the scene drenched in a chilling morbidity. 

His suspect was Mia, a waitress at the bowling alley. The late shift was her domain; her eyes, always heavy-lidded with fatigue, had fallen on a familiar figure, Joel, numbingly often. The man had his peculiar habits, including late-night bowling. Mia had a keen knowledge of that; it wasn’t easy to overlook when they regularly crossed paths during her shifts, Joel’s ball thundering and skidding down the shiny lanes.

Fiddling with a small, old key on his desk, Winston’s thought went back to his first meeting with Mia. He had found the key while cleaning her table after an interview and asked her about it. Almost flippantly, she mentioned it was for a private mausoleum in the nearby cemetery. The location was within walking distance from her workplace, an old cemetery cloaked in a gloom that seemed centuries old. The eerie part was her odd ritual; post her shift, her coworkers attested to seeing her trudge towards the graveyard regularly, a private pilgrimage in the dead of night.

Winston vividly remembered his surprise when he had found nunchaku, a pair of them, while searching Mia's home. The night visits to the cemetery coupled with the ominous presence of the martial arts weapon was undoubtedly unsettling. Unraveling further, he found out Mia had been practicing and honing her skills with the nunchaku at home, late into the night. For years, she had been devoted to martial arts, with a particular emphasis on the nunchaku, the significance of which crept up on him like a poisonous vine. Her gym was known for teaching the use of this weapon.

"I suspect you're quite adept at swinging these," Winston had said to Mia, gesturing towards the nunchaku that lay on the table between them when he'd confronted her about it later. 

Mia had smiled enigmatically, her eyes twinkling with the lethality of secrets untold. "Keep your eyes open, detective," she had replied, her voice a chilling sotto voce lingering between them, hang enough in the suffocating silence.

His thoughts whirling, Winston stubbed out the last of his cigarette. The available evidence was yet to form a coherent story, but Mia was conspicuous. He had ventured into labyrinthian investigations before, but the mystery of Joel's murder felt like uncharted territory. Winston felt a shiver creep into his spine as he got ready for round two with Mia.

Winston stepped into the dimly lit bowling alley, prowling between lanes like a panther on the hunt. An unusual place to be hammered to death, he thought, especially during the graveyard shift, but a good detective never questioned the chosen venues or the hour of the city's grim reaper. Winston surveyed the empty building, the only sound being that of his own boots echoing off the polished hardwood.

The bartender, one Rosemary – if her nameplate could be trusted – was scrubbing down a countertop at the far corner of the bar. Winston walked over, took a seat on one of the bar stools and introduced himself. 

"I hear you were working here the night Joel was killed," he mentioned, as he watched her movements. 

Rosemary looked up, her face impassive, "Yes, that's true. It was my usual midnight shift, and Joel got murdered after we had closed down for the night. Wasn't much else to do."

"You seem to have keys to this place," Winston noticed, spotting a set of keys on the counter. 

"Yes, I do, for closing hours," she replied, sliding the keys back into her jeans pocket.

He continued his questions, "I understand you practice martial arts, Rosemary?"

For the first time, Rosemary stopped her cleaning and smiled, "Yes, that's right. In fact, I work out regularly at a martial arts gym. Nunchaku workshops are my favorite," she added, her eyes twinkling with something akin to pride.

Winston nodded, imparting no judgement on her preferred pastime. 

Suddenly, a glint at the corner of the room caught his attention. A collection of weaponry displayed on a wall. Upon closer look, he recognized various martial arts weapons, including a pair of nunchaku.

“My father was a big fan of martial arts. He left me his collection," explained Rosemary, noticing his interest. "In fact, the nunchaku you see hanging on the wall is part of my personal collection."

As Winston stood up to leave, he turned to Rosemary, "Did you know Joel well?"

She hesitated for a moment, her eyes downcast, "Joel... he was a good friend. He always wanted to help. And he was the one person who could save me from this terrible debt I'm wrestling with. But to my despair, he... he said no when I asked him for a loan."

As Winston exited the empty bowling alley, he couldn't help but mull over Rosemary's last words. This was shaping up to be a long investigation, a fact he was all too aware of as he walked into the piercing chill of the night cityscape.

choices

• Rosemary
• Mia