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CHAPTER ONE

A Shocking Confession

Maybe he was mad. Maybe he had a sixth sense. Or was he really haunted? I He told me the first part of the story, and I saw the last part with my own eyes.

At school my friend Haldane and I hated a boy called Visger. When we did something wrong, he always told the teacher. One day we stole some cherries from a tree.

‘Do you know who did it, Visger?’ the teacher asked. ‘It was Haldane and Winston,’ he replied. Later, Haldane asked him how he knew it was us. ‘I didn’t know,’ he said. ‘I just felt certain. And I was right.’ Haldane and I grew up. Visger became a vegetarian and never drank alcohol. He also became Sir George Visger.

When we all left Oxford University, I went away to India. After a year I came back and wanted to see Haldane. He was always happy, kind, and honest. I wanted to see the smile in his blue eyes again and hear his happy laugh, so I went to visit him in London. But this time he did not laugh. He was miserable, his face was pale and he looked weak and ill.

He was packing his things, and there were lots of big boxes full of furniture and books around the house.

‘I’m moving,’ he said. I don’t like this house. There’s something strange about it; I’m going tomorrow.’

‘Let’s go out and have some dinner,’ I said.

‘I’m too busy’ He looked nervously around the room. ‘Look, I’m really happy to see you, but. Why don’t you go to the restaurant and bring back some food?’

When I came back, we sat by the fire and ate the food. I tried to tell jokes and he tried to laugh, but sometimes he looked into the shadows in the corners of the room. We finished our meal, and then I said, ‘Well?’

‘What’s the matter?’

‘You tell me,’ I answered.

He was silent. Again he looked into the shadows.

‘You’re very nervous,’ I said. ‘What is it? Drink? Gambling? Women? Tell me, or go and tell your doctor. You’re ill, my friend.’

‘I won’t be your friend if you talk like that.’

‘Well, I am your friend, and something is wrong. Come on, tell me.’

But he did not tell me anything. He asked me to stay for the night, but I had a room in a hotel so I left him. When I returned the next morning, he was gone and some men were putting his boxes into a van. Haldane did not leave his new address.

I saw him again more than a year later. He came to see me early one morning before breakfast. He looked really bad, worse than before. His face was thin and white, like a ghost, and his hands were shaking.

I invited him to have breakfast with me, but I did not ask him any questions because I knew he wanted to tell me something. I made coffee, talked and waited.

‘I’m going to kill myself,’ he began. ‘Don’t worry, I won’t do it here or now. I’ll do it when it’s necessary, when I can’t continue to live any more. And I want somebody to know why. Can I tell you?’

‘Yes, of course,’ I said, astonished.’

‘You must promise not to tell anybody while I’m alive,’ he said.

‘I promise.’

He looked at the fire silently. ‘It’s difficult to begin,’ he said. ‘You remember George Visger, don’t you?’

‘Yes. I haven’t seen him for a long time, but somebody told me he went to an island to teach vegetarianism to the cannibals.’ I laughed. ‘Anyway, he’s gone.’

Haldane did not laugh. ‘Yes, he’s gone. But not to an island. He’s dead?’

‘Dead? How?’

‘You remember he always knew when people did bad things, and told the teacher? Well, he told a girl some bad things about me. I loved her, but she left me. Then she died suddenly. oh, it was terrible! When I went to the funeral, he was there. I came back home and sat thinking about it, and then he arrived.’

‘I hope you told him to go away,’ I said angrily.

‘No. I listened to him. He came to say it was better that she was dead and we hadn’t got married. I asked why and he said because there was madness in my family.’

‘And is there?’

‘I don’t know, but he said he knew and had told my girlfriend. I said I never knew anything about madness in the family. And he said, “So, you see, it’s better you didn’t get married, isn’t it?” And then i put my hands round his neck. I don’t know if I meant to kill him, but that’s what happened.’

I was shocked. I said nothing; what can you say when your friend tells you he is a murderer?

Haldane continued. ‘I saw that he was dead, but I was very calm. I sat down and thought, there’s no blood, no weapon. Everybody knows Visger is going to an island, and he told me he’s said goodbye to them. So there’s no problem. I must get rid of his body, that’s all.’

‘How?’

He smiled. ‘No, I won’t tell you. You promised not to tell anybody, but maybe you’ll talk in your sleep or when you have a fever one day. I’ll be safe if you don’t know where the body is, do you see?’

I was sorry for my friend, but I could not believe he was a murderer.

I said, ‘Yes, I see. Look, let’s go away together. Let’s travel and see the world, and forget about Visger.’

He looked very happy. ‘You understand and you don’t hate me! Why didn’t I tell you before? It’s too late now.’

‘Too late? No, it isn’t. Come on, we’ll pack our suitcases tonight. We’ll go where nobody can find us.’

He said, ‘When I tell you what has happened to me, you’ll change your mind.’

‘But I know what has happened to you.’

‘No,’ he said slowly, ‘I’ve told you what happened to him, not what happened to me. That’s very different. Did I tell you what his last words were? Just before I put my hands around his neck he said, “Careful, Haldane! You’ll never get rid of my body.” Well, I got rid of his body, and I forgot about his last words. But a year later I was sitting here and I suddenly remembered them. “I got rid of your body very easily, Visger” I said. And then I looked at the carpet in front of the fire and - Aaah!’ Haldane screamed very loudly. ‘I can’t tell you. no, I can’t!’