MuSR / Who is the most likely murderer?

question

Who is the most likely murderer?

narrative

In the chilling silence of a serene campground, Ernest meets his untimely end by a crowbar; now, it's up to the keen instincts of Detective Winston to unravel the mystery with only two suspects: Addison and Octavia.

Winston scratched his head as he reviewed the case files, his gaze lingering on the photo of the victim, Ernest. The sight of the young boy stretched out lifeless in the woodland was an image too jarring to easily forget.

Dropping his files onto the table, Winston decided to visit the scene of the crime, the local campground where Ernest and many others had gathered for a large party. As Winston walked around the now abandoned campsite, he noticed a few items left behind by the careless partygoers. It was here Ernest had been found, brutally murdered with a crowbar. 

Addison, a classmate of Ernest and a regular at the campsite, had been present on the day of the murder. Winston had his eye on him, based on the information he'd received. 

Next, Winston decided to pay Addison a visit at his place of work. As an apprentice mechanic, Addison spent his days working hard in the garage, using a variety of tools. The garage was a mess of wrenches, screwdrivers, and yes, even a few crowbars. It seemed only natural for a mechanic to possess such tools.

“Detective Winston. To what do I owe this pleasure?” Addison greeted him as he entered the garage, leisurely cleaning his hands with a rag.

Winston showed his badge, “ Investigating the murder of Ernest.”

“Yeah, very sad stuff,” Addison said sighing heavily. "Ernie and I went way back. Even went camping together at the same site."

Digging further into Addison's background, Winston found that this small-town mechanic apprentice was surprisingly also a scholar. He had been accepted, on scholarship, to a prestigious college based on his impressive grades.

Impressive, unless you got wind that perhaps not all of his grades were honestly won. Winston found out that Addison indeed did cheat on a major exam. This was not unusual, save that Ernest knew about it and had threatened to go public, potentially jeopardizing the prestigious scholarship.

As Winston confined his investigation for the day, he couldn't help but remember what Addison had said, "Getting that scholarship, it's my ticket out of this town," he had said. Then he’d paused, rubbing the back of his neck before adding sheepishly, "It could be revoked though, if my grades were to suddenly drop." 

And so the day came to a close, and Winston was left with his thoughts. But something told him that this case was far from being resolved.

Detective Winston rolled up to the police station for the task laid before him. Busy with daily hustle and tasks, it wasn't an unfamiliar sight, but today it felt unusual. He was at the station to interview one of the very ones who uphold the law – Octavia.

Approaching her desk, he saw Octavia fiddling around with her phone before tucking it away hastily. Winston noticed her coworker attentively watching Octavia, before briefly meeting his eyes and offering a sheepish nod. "I saw her deleting some of those social media apps off her phone this morning," the coworker whispered as Winston passed by him. He added quickly, "I could recognize the logos before she removed them." 

Taking a seat by Octavia, Winston introduced himself, while subtly inspecting Octavia. She seemed alert and in control - typical traits of a trained officer. 

After a brief conversation about her duties, Winston asked, "I hear you were on patrol last night?" 

"Yeah, I was," Octavia responded with a steady voice, maintaining eye contact with Winston.

"Did your route include the campgrounds?” Winston queried but Octavia was already nodding, her face passive.

Winston, attempting to glean more from her body language, asked for a photograph of her for reference. "I am afraid that's not possible," she responded tersely. "I don’t allow photographs of me to be taken. Privacy is valuable to me."

With this, she offered a polite smile, excusing herself to attend to her duties. Winston nodded, got up, and left the station.

Later on, he found himself at the campgrounds where Ernest was killed. The site was filled with chatter and murmurs of curiosity. Many among the crowd knew of Ernest who had somewhat of a reputation for exposing secrets.

Winston learned that Ernest had discovered Octavia's secret illegal activities carried out long back in her past. Moreover, he discovered a draft email on Ernest's phone, intended to be an expose of Octavia, indicating that Ernest was planning to reveal this secret. A secret – now known to him and evidently, Ernest himself – which Octavia would have wanted desperately, especially to kept hidden from her colleagues, from the department itself.

At a party, she was heard saying, "I value my privacy more than anything." This reassured Winston of her dedication to keeping her past hidden.

As dusk set on the campgrounds, Winston recollected the events of the day pondering his next move.

choices

• Addison
• Octavia