How To Commit The Perfect Crime
Max returned to his laptop after a thorough shower and plugged in the flash drive.
He was once again presented with a browser window that resembled Google Chrome.
Instead of the standard 'Search', it was replaced with 'How To'.
Max was perplexed, unsure of what to do in this situation.
When he first typed in a query, he wasn't thinking properly.
He was acting out of pure rage, which prompted his spontaneous search.
He didn't expect that the actions taken from the result would lead to anything.
This caused him to be stumped.
He tapped on his desk for several minutes, unsure of what to do now.
'...How did a tennis ball manage to paralyse her?'
'I'm sure I waited a few minutes, but nothing happened.'
'Yet, as stated in the search result, she ended up paralysed.'
"I'd be an idiot to think it's a coincidence at this point..."
Max muttered, trying to piece everything together in his head.
"Okay, so recalling my actions that day, I arrived at the park around nine in the morning."
"Did a bit of exercise, played some sports, then headed towards the bench at eleven twenty-one."
"Eleven thirty-five, I let go of the tennis ball, stayed and watched for about five minutes, then left."
"Lastly, the crash took place at noon according to that article."
"Meaning something happened within that twenty-minute window that I'm not aware of."
"..."
"Aarrghhh"
Max racked his brain for a few minutes, but couldn't come up with anything that would lead to a tennis ball causing a car crash.
'I have no other choice. I need to test it one more time. This time, I have to see it with my own eyes.'
"The issue is, who will be the target, and what should be the punishment?"
Max contemplated as he crossed his hands behind his head.
"Maybe a scumbag Celebrity? Corrupt Politician? Vegans?"
"Another issue is I need to be able to see the result firsthand."
Grabbing a pen and a piece of A4 paper from his desk drawer, Max wrote down 5 criteria:
1. Target must not be someone I know.
2. Target cannot be from the same country. I.e. preferably from outside of the United Kingdom.
3. Target must be a corrupt or well-known criminal.
4. Target must preferably be a repeat offender.
5. Target must be in a public area. Preferably an area that is being live-streamed.
'This may seem a bit overboard, but if I've learned anything from watching Death Note several times, it's that one can never be too cautious. I refuse to risk my life due to one careless decision.'
***
It had been several hours since creating the criteria for the target, but Max had no luck.
"Have I been too picky with the criteria?"
Max had listened to dozens of news stations by this point but had to limit it to only English-speaking countries because it was the only language he spoke, causing his options to be reduced.
He switched to the last Live TV channel, 'BBC NEWS,' as he was about to turn in for the night.
He had held off on this channel last as it was a news station responsible for gathering and broadcasting news and current affairs in the UK, further narrowing his criteria.
========================================
"...And in other words, the verdict of Daniel Lindenberg is scheduled to take place tomorrow Tuesday at 5:30 PM.
For those who are unfamiliar, Daniel Lindenberg, a lab technician, 36, is accused of murdering Rachel Doyle, 34, a work colleague.
Video shows Lindenberg abandoning her car in a car park in Loughborough before hailing a taxi home.
He kept leaving Doyle love confession voicemails, to make it look like he thought she was still alive. But he had thrown her phone into bushes near the roadside where he dumped her body.
Doyle's family reported her missing to the police the following morning when she didn't return. They tracked her phone using a GPS app prompting police to launch a kidnapping investigation.
Her body was discovered in the early hours of June 23, this year.
In a tribute from her family, she was described as a 'Loving daughter and proud mother of two'.
They added: 'As a family, we're deeply saddened and shocked by the unexpected loss we've suffered. Rachel lived her life to the fullest and she had the kindest soul.'
The sentencing will be broadcast on TV and made available online.
Tomorrow, Doyle's family and friends will perhaps find some solace in knowing that the man who took her from them will be locked away for a very long time.
Emma Harrington, BBC News."
========================================
"This... this will have to do."
Although it didn't meet all of Max's criteria, it caught his attention as it was very rare for a court sentencing to be televised in England.
Max believed the man would be the best target. In fact, he was the only target he could find.
The issue was that this man was almost certainly going to be imprisoned for a long time.
Max didn't know how else he could be punished.
But thinking of it more, was this truly punishment?
'The man killed someone... a mother no less, is a long prison sentence a proper punishment?'
'What about her friends, her family, and her children? Where is their justice?'
'He lives on, but they must suffer in silence knowing that a loved one has been taken away.'
"Why should he be allowed to live and waste resources that could be used elsewhere?"
Max muttered, his mind seemingly coming up with reasons not to do what he was thinking.
'No... he should face the law's consequences... but does he care? He dumped her body on the side of the road like garbage.'
Max rose from his seat and began pacing back and forth within his room.
'No... maybe this is the only option.'
'If I need to find out the limits of the flash drive, then what better way than cleaning up the trash?'
'Scum like him shouldn't exist.'
'Yeah... people would agree with me, but would be too afraid to voice their opinion out loud.'
After pacing back and forth within his room for several minutes, Max clenched his jaw.
'But wouldn't that make me a murderer?'
'No... it's not like I'm the one killing him.'
'If someone else was in my position what would they do? Would they even do anything about this if they had the power to?'
'They may not understand what it's like to lose the people you love, but I know all too well. Only I am capable of cleaning up trash like him.'
Making his way back to his seat, he stared at the screen in front of him and steeled his resolve.
[How to kill Daniel Lindenberg by the end of his sentencing without leaving a trace]
[ > 443 results returned]
Max spent the next hour going through various results.
Some required him to stand at certain coordinates for several minutes, but he did not understand how that would result in death, let alone where the coordinates were.
Some required him to send a text message to certain numbers with specific instructions on the message to leave behind, but he wasn't comfortable with this.
Max eventually found a result that he could go with.
[ > On August 29, 2023, between the hours of 1:50 PM and 2:10 PM, place a Fountain Pen on the hood of a dark blue Sedan at the car park of East Midlands Airport, Ashby Road, Castle Donington. This will set off a chain of events that will result in Daniel Lindenberg's death.]
"They say there is no such thing as the perfect crime."
"Let's see if I can disprove that."