Take a look at the hints below for guidance.
Hint 1
DO NOT PROCEED unless you have read ALL of the other clues and found alibis for as many of the suspects as possible. The following hints will gradually reveal who the killer was!
Hint 2
Big Mack did indeed die from a heart attack brought on by performance enhancing drugs, but the doctor’s report indicates something suspicious about the way they were consumed.
Hint 3
He’d consumed a large amount of PED’s in a three hour window before his death.
This means the PEDs could only have been consumed just before the game, or during half time. Let’s look at all the suspects, and where they were before the game started.
Rousse: Rousse wasn’t around during the pre-game, so couldn’t have administered the PEDs.
EJ3: EJ3 was busy during the shootaround, unable to poison anyone as he was in full view of the stadium.
Charity: Before the game, when she confronted him, Charity didn’t have PEDs on her to spike his drink and there were witnesses present.
McKinnskeep: McKinnskeep was in his Barry the Bandit bear costume, and stole Mack’s drink for some pre-game hijinks. But it was swiftly swiped back by Coach Vanzant before he could do anything to it.
Vanzant: In the intern interview we learn that Coach Vanzant was close to Mack, and even held his bottle before the game started, but didn’t have the time or the drugs to poison him.
Romero: According to his social media post, Romero was busy waiting in line and missed his VIP meet and greet, so couldn’t have administered the poison at that time.
Rousse berates Mack for not drinking his pre-game drink, saying he didn’t even open the can, so that can’t possibly be the drink that killed him.
Hint 4
So we now know the spiking of Big Mack’s drink did not happen before the game, so it must have happened during half time.
Hint 5
We know the PEDs can be mixed into a drink as a powder, and that the PEDs create a dangerous condition if blended with caffeine.
Hint 6
Big Mack had recently signed a contract requiring him to chug an energy drink during half time, setting him up for a lethal combination that could be exploited by someone with the knowledge and means to do so.
Hint 7
Let’s see where all the suspects were during half time:
EJ3: During half time EJ3 was in the locker room with the team doctor, assistant equipment manager, and the mascot who would have seen him, and there’s no indication that he had any PEDs in his possession he could have used to poison Mack.
Charity: Charity was missing from the court for 10 minutes during the first quarter, but she was turned away from the visitor’s locker room by the security staff. The cheerleaders, including Charity, were grouped together into “pods” during half time, meaning she was never alone during the time when Mack was poisoned, so couldn’t have spiked his drink without someone seeing.
McKinnskeep: McKinnskeep was back in his Barry the Bandit bear costume at half time, performing on court with the cheerleaders. This means he couldn’t have been the killer.
Vanzant: During the game Vanzant was visible to many people, and entered the locker room after the players so there were witnesses. As noted in the security report on Luis Romero, Coach Vanzant is also seen on television at 9.05 pm, so couldn’t have been the killer.
Romero: Romero’s ticket shows that his seat was in Section 207, one of the most remote parts of the arena. It would have been impossible for him to get to the locker room and back without being seen. The security report shows he was also detained by security over half time, meaning Romero did not have any opportunity to kill Big Mack.
Rousse: it seems Rousse wasn’t around during half time.
So who could have killed Mack?
Hint 8
Look at his phone to see if he was having an argument with anyone in particular.
Hint 9
The decoded phone message shows that he fired his agent the night of the game.
Hint 10
Could she have been at the game?
Hint 11
Read McKinnskeep’s interview.
Answer
Mack’s agent, Cathlyn Rousse, was in the locker room, using the mascot costume she borrowed from McKinnskeep, shortly after the half time supplies were delivered.
Rousse added additional powdered PEDs to the powdered energy drink Mack was contractually obliged to drink, knowing that the blend would be deadly. Killing Mack protected her name and reputation, as then no one would know she had been fired, or had been supplying him with the drugs. She was the killer!