Easily detected.

“Get back to work you lazy schmuck,” barked Dilan, the manager of a big store, at the face of a 20 years old young Brat.

Brat wasn’t a school fan guy, maybe because he wasn’t smart enough to pass high school exams according to modern credentials, or he just quit school to help his sick mother paying hospital bills. Either way, poor Brat was nice, skinny and always has a naïve kind smile on his face, his mother told him to put it on all the time, whenever he is shy or anxious or does something wrong. But Brat wasn’t in need of a smile to get him off any trouble. He was sharp, well observing to people and his surroundings; he sometimes forgets his work and keeps creepingly starring at people, without noticing him. No one knows what’s really going on, in his little funny head of his.

One day when he was working, or pretending to be working, he saw Mrs. Stocks- a regular customer- shopping alone. Usually, her husband Colonel Jack Stocks always accompanies her. Brat put on his kind smile and went to Mrs. Stocks, “Can I help you with anything Mrs. Stocks,” said Brat.

” Oh, thank you, my dear, where can I find a shampoo”, said Mrs. Stocks. Brat had to stick his nose asking about the Colonel, it was strange, the Colonel- for an unknown reason- never skips a shopping day with his wife.

” Where is the Colonel?”, Brat asked Mrs. Stocks.

 “He is not feeling very well, my dear”, Mrs. Stocks answered.

 “Oh.. I am sorry Mrs. Stocks, I hope he gets better soon”, said Brat.

 “Thank you, will mind helping find the things in my shopping list?” asked Mrs. Stocks.

” Yes, sure,” said, Brat.

Brat helped Mrs. Stocks find her shopping list items. She gave him a piece of paper with a list of items she needed. A shampoo, a peanut butter, a shovel, a soup, a pair of new gloves, a long piece of cloth, a coal tar, a few snacks and a couple of towels. Just before handing her the last item on the list, he tried to calm down, took a long breath, held tightly his kind smile and gazed at Mrs. Stocks' eyes, ” That will not hide the body well”.

 Mrs. Stocks gasped, her pupils dilated and her lips trembled,” What the hell are you saying, Brat?!”.

Brat continued, “ You killed your husband, and you are trying to hide the body”, Mrs. Stocks irritated by Brat’s confidence,” Enough with the non-sense young man, on what basis you assumed I killed my husband and I was trying to hide his body?!”

Brat answered,” shampoo-”, Mrs. Stocks stopped him, “listen to yourself, you are accusing me of murder based on a shampoo?!,

Brat continued “ The type of shampoo in your list contains Amodemethicone, a substance used in shampoos and cosmetics, a substance your husband is allergic to. It makes his hair scalp irritated and itchy, it’s a rare type of allergy, he complained about it to me before”.

Mrs. Stock was shocked for a moment and wasn’t able to speak, Brat continued,   ” And not just the shampoo, there are the other things in your list that confirms my allegations”.

“like what?!” asked Mrs. Stocks.

” like the shovel”, said Brat.

 “What about it?! everybody uses shovels to clean snow out of their yards, in case you didn’t know it’s already winter”, said Mrs. Stocks.

” It’s San Francisco, it didn’t snow for 10 years now”, Brat hit the punch line.

 Mrs. Stocks couldn’t make up with a decent argument, “I’m planting my yard, I want to grow some flowers”, hastily said.

“Why didn’t you buy some fertilizer? it wasn’t in your list, and we happen to have some in our store, besides, not a very good idea to start planting flowers in winter, it's better if you wait till spring”.

 Mrs. Stocks realized it’s better for her to shut up a bit and organize her thoughts. Brat didn’t give her the chance,” You also bought a 70-inch of raw cloth, which is about your husband’s tall. Not a good choice in wrapping a body in it”.

 For a few seconds there Mrs. Stocks forgot the accusations pointed at her and wanted to know the right way to wrap a body, Mrs. Stocks looked at Brat and asked with her eyes only “Then what is?”, she couldn't say it out loud, so Brat said it, “ It’s the fiber, if you wrapped the body with the cloth, small fibers could stick to your cloth or on the rug or on a chair, the forensics won’t let it slip, besides its suspicious to by raw cloth these days. I would recommend plastic, hardly leaves a mark. You can buy lots of garbage bags and no one will suspect you”.

Mrs.Stocks’s eyes glazed as if she won the lottery. In front of her, lies a worthy accomplice. She stopped playing dumb and tried to think of a way to lure Brat into her side. Seduction wasn’t on the menu, she is in her mid-forties and not attractive for a young man to fall for her. So, she tried to fish,” What if you are right, what if I killed my husband and I was trying to hide his body, would you tell anyone?! Of course not. You don’t have proof, hardly anyone will believe my shopping list is evidence, and even if some lunatic believed you, it's all circumstantial evidence.”

Brat thought for a few seconds,” you are wrong Mrs. Stocks. If I was able to discover a lot by knowing your shopping list, I can prove it. Besides it’s your first time, isn’t it?!, you probably made lots of mistakes without knowing you did, not to mention your alibi. You don’t have a strong one, do you?! You don’t have friends who can confirm your being at the time of the murder. It’s true I don’t know how did you kill him, but I have a few theories about how you intend to hide his body. Theories the police won’t ignore. I may not tell the police, but it all depends on the Why?” Why did you kill your husband?!”.

Mrs. Stocks didn’t catch anything; she panicked and started to act crazy. She put her right hand in her bag and held tight a pair of scissors. She held a board meeting with her thoughts, brainstorming about how she is going to kill Brat.

 Brat approached her fearlessly despite knowing her intentions and whispered in her ears,” It’s okay Mrs. Stocks, I’ve always noticed your bruises, no matter how you were desperately trying to hide it with lots of makeup. That substance, the Amodemethicone is also found in makeup products. I always wondered if Colonel Jack is allergic to that substance, Why is he letting his wife puts a lot of it on her face?!, he couldn’t kiss you. Unless he wasn’t going to”.

Exorcised from the devils' thoughts. Mrs. Stocks' tears spoke on behalf of her, ” What you saw is just when he is sober; you should see him when he isn’t”.

Brat asked, “Why didn’t you go to the police?”.

“He won’t let me go out alone, and he always locks the doors when he goes out. I tried once to call the police, but he had connections, of course, he had. After serving your country for more than 20 years, the least thing your country will do for you is to believe you when you tell them your wife is depressed and delusional and keeps hurting herself all the time”.

Suddenly Brat whipped out his kind smile and his eyes went red revealing an angry, resenting beast. Out of his long-buried anger, Brat snapped, “ half”. Mrs. Stocks confusingly asked “Half?! What half?”.

 “ I will take half of the life insurance money, he did have insurance, right?!” said Brat”.

“Yes, I guess. I didn’t kill him for the money, I just wanted him to leave me alone”, said Mrs. Stocks.

For the first time, Mrs. Stocks sees Brat like this. She couldn’t believe her eyes. The nice boy with a kind smile could be hiding a monster. “Why are you helping me?” curiously asked Mrs. Stocks.

” They denied my mom her health insurance?”, said Brat.

 “Who are they?”, asked Mrs. Stocks.

 Brat threw flames out of his mouth making words strikes like cannonballs, “My mom’s boss, the insurance company, the union, the court. After 30 years working like a slave, 30 years of missing dinners and birthdays and holidays. Suddenly my mom wasn’t eligible for a cure. Why is everything wrong in this country?!, students get bankrupted seeking higher education, high prison inmates, corrupted governors, rich getting richer and more homeless. Well, screw it; laws can go to hell along with social justice. Everyone is on his own. Do as I say and they will never get you”.

“Okay,” said Mrs.Stocks.

“ How did you kill him?”, asked Brat.

“ I poisoned his food”, said Mr.Stocks.

“ What kind of poison?”, asked Brat.

“ Strychnin”, said Mrs.Stocks.

“Not good. Easily detected in the autopsy, they will know for sure it’s a murder. We need to make it look like an accident,” said Brat.

“ How?”, asked Mrs.Stocks.

“Okay, first you must………