How To Hide A Body

(Im)Moral and (Un)Ethical

"What now?" I muttered. I stood on the balcony, watching the sky dissolve into an array of colours.

"We wait for the next task, I guess,' Bart said from the couch. I retreated back inside.

"What do you think it could be?" Cléo asked, watering her new best friend, the orchid.

"Not sure. But, I may have an idea," I said, hopping onto the desk, "I've been trying to find a pattern among these crimes. They just seem all too random. But, like every serial crime, they must have something in common. I mean, all of them are different crimes, but more specifically, they are all obviously immoral crimes."

"What does that mean?" Cléo asked setting down her orchid on the balcony. She then sat next to Bart on the couch, who moved three inches away from her as she did so.

"Immoral crimes are crimes which are universally seen as wrong, if that makes sense," I waved my hands around as I spoke, "Everyone grows up with a different perception of good and bad, depending on their circumstance. For example, depending on one's religion or beliefs, sacrificing an animal on a religious holiday can be seen as right by some and wrong by others. Adultery can be seen as immoral or moral, depending on whether the relationship is open or closed, abusive or loving. I mean, of course most crimes can be more-or-less justified depending on circumstance, but, these crimes are, generally speaking, seen as wrong or immoral by everyone."

Bart stood up from the couch. I guessed it was because he couldn't stand to be that close to Cléo for such a long time. He started counting on his fingers, "First, poison. Second, theft. Third, kidnapping. Fourth, hacking. Fifth, prison break. Six... what would you call that? Arson?"

"Animal abuse?" Cléo added. Bart shot her an evil look.

"Six..." I muttered, "I think we will only have one last task." I hopped off the desk and started to pace the room.

"Why seven?" Bart asked. He straightened, "You mean like the seven deadly sins?"

"Well, not really the Seven Deadly Sins, but we did commit six sins," I tapped my chin. "But, most bad things come in sevens. Seven Deadly Sins-

"Seven dwarfs in Snow White," Bart added, "July, the seventh month is considered to be the ghost month in Chinese culture. My grandmother wouldn't let us out the house without a bazooka during July, remember Sol?"

"Those were the days," I paused, "A lot of bad things come in sevens. Except for me. There's only one of me." I winked at Cléo.

She scoffed. "Thank God. If there were more of you I'd probably kill myself," Cléo teased. She let that statement (would you consider it an insult?) float in the air for a while, before she asked, "What do you think the last task will be? It would outrank the previous six, which is why he must have saved it for last. Did we miss out on another obvious immorality?"

"Oh, yes," I said, my voice heavy with dread and excitement, "The most important, the most immoral one." For a moment it was silent. The air was heavy with what remained unsaid. Cléo's face paled at the realisation.

Then, my laptop began to vibrate and give off loud notification noises from the desk. Everyone whipped round and watched it gently hop around on my bed.

"It can do that?" Bart wondered, walking carefully towards my laptop as if it were another exploding pigeon. Cléo climbed over the back of the couch and I took a few paces back. Bart picked it up gingerly. He opened it up, revealing a flashing white screen with blinking red lettering:

!!MURDER!!

"The seventh sin," Bart breathed.

Cléo muttered a whispered, "No! You can't!"

"Finally, something exciting!" I said, jumping slightly into the air and clapping my hands.

"Cléo, you kill people all the time, what's the problem?" Bart pointed out.

"I don't kill them myself! And I only get rid of the worst!" she cried. I climbed over the couch and placed my hand on her shoulder to calm her down, but I only felt how badly she was shaking.

"Listen, the victim is not going to be the next saint, you know? It could even be someone who's on your hitlist. I mean Mother Teresa would not be wanted dead or alive by someone like Steve McQueen." I tried to explain.

"Sol's right. He'd be after someone who has done something wrong. Maybe the victim was someone who challenged him?" Bart explained, "It could be a mafia leader, a serial killer, a hacker, maybe?"

As if in response, the laptop gave another horrific shudder which made Bart drop it. On its way downward, the screen changed a dark blue and the lettering morphed to gold:

JASON VELENO

TWO DAYS

SALZBURG AUSTRIA

Then the laptop hit the floor, the screen cracked and the laptop went black.

"Bart! What is wrong with you?!" Cléo yelled at him. Bart spluttered as he tried to form a response, but instead, he just threw his hands up in the air and collapsed on the couch, exasperated. Cléo jumped over the couch and towards the laptop. She held the laptop in her hands and tried switching it on and off again. The screen remained blank and shattered as it refused to cooperate.

I ignored them and stood, "So, team," the word team made Bart let out an annoyed grunt, "We need to kill a man named Jason Veleno in two days' time in Salzburg Austria. No biggie. I'm thinking poison. Clostridium Botulinum, maybe?" I opened up the floor for more suggestions. But, before anyone could offer any criticism, it dawned on me. Of course! It had been in front of me this whole time! How had I been so blind? So stupid?

"Ok, sounds like a plan. I'm going to pack my bags," Bart exclaimed. He was on his way to the closet before Cléo's question stopped him in his tracks.

"Sol, who is Jason Veleno?" she could read me a bit too well, "Do you know who he is?" Cléo asked.

"Absolutely no idea," I said, taking a deep breath, "But, I do know who Steve McQueen is."