Haunted
A violent argument shattered the midnight silence. A chair overturned, a glass broke, and a desperate cry for help echoed from a rented room. Moments later, everything fell ominously silent. Behind the closed door lay a motionless man. Someone nervously drew the curtains.
The following evening, a middle-aged woman walked into the police station, clutching a photograph.
“Inspector, my son hasn’t returned home since yesterday. His phone is switched off. Something terrible must have happened to him.”
Inspector Richard examined the photograph. The missing man was twenty-eight-year-old Daniel, an employee at a private manufacturing company.
Richard registered a missing person case and launched an investigation.
Daniel’s colleagues described him as cheerful, hardworking and approachable. He had neither financial problems nor personal enemies. His bank account showed no unusual transactions.
An examination of his call records revealed that his mobile phone had become inactive shortly before midnight. Its last recorded location was a densely populated residential neighbourhood.
Richard deployed his officers to question residents and examine surveillance footage. A camera outside a grocery store had captured Daniel walking into a narrow residential lane. However, there was no footage of him returning.
During subsequent enquiries, an elderly resident recalled hearing an argument that night but could not identify the house from which the voices had emerged.
Richard suspected foul play.
Days passed. Hospitals, railway stations and abandoned buildings were thoroughly searched. Despite extensive efforts, Daniel’s whereabouts remained a mystery.
His mother visited the police station every morning, desperately hoping for encouraging news. Her weary eyes and trembling voice disturbed Richard immensely.
On the twentieth night, an extraordinary development changed the course of the investigation.
A dishevelled young man entered the police station. His bloodshot eyes betrayed prolonged sleeplessness. He was trembling uncontrollably.
“Please arrest me, Inspector. I cannot endure this torment anymore!”
Richard offered him a glass of water.
“Calm down. What exactly have you done?”
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“He comes into my dreams every night. Wherever I go, I feel someone following me. Whenever I close my eyes, I see his face. Please save me!”
“Whose face?”
“Daniel’s!”
Richard straightened in his chair.
The stranger introduced himself as Martin, one of Daniel’s friends.
That fateful night, the two had been drinking together in Martin’s rented room. A trivial disagreement had escalated into a heated confrontation. Intoxicated and overwhelmed by anger, Martin had repeatedly assaulted Daniel. By the time he regained his composure, Daniel was dead.
Terrified of the consequences, Martin sought assistance from his landlord, Edward. Together, they disposed of Daniel’s body in an isolated canal.
Initially, Martin believed he had escaped detection. But his apparent relief gradually disintegrated into psychological turmoil. Recurring nightmares robbed him of sleep. Every unexpected sound frightened him. Even ordinary conversations seemed threatening.
Unable to withstand the relentless anguish, he finally surrendered.
Richard immediately dispatched a search team. Acting on Martin’s information, investigators recovered human remains from the canal. Subsequent forensic examination and DNA analysis confirmed Daniel’s identity.
Edward was arrested after independent evidence corroborated Martin’s confession.
When Richard informed Daniel’s mother, she closed her eyes and wept silently.
“My son trusted his friend. Was his life worth less than a moment of anger?”
Richard had no comforting answer.
As Martin was escorted towards the police vehicle, he turned towards Richard.
“Inspector, will I ever sleep peacefully again?”
Richard remained silent.
The law would determine Martin’s punishment. His conscience, however, had already imprisoned him.
One may escape the eyes of society, evade the machinery of justice and conceal a crime from the entire world. But no hiding place is distant enough to escape one’s own conscience. Never sacrifice a lifetime of peace to a moment of uncontrolled anger.
