مرد غمگین

Chapter nine

An unhappy man

Liter that afternoon I had to meet Mr Jackson. I didn’t want to, but I had to. He came into my office unhappily, and sat down in front of me. He still had a bandage around his neck.

‘Good afternoon, Mr Jackson,’ I said. ‘I’m sorry, but I have investigated this accident very carefully now, and I will have to prosecute you for dangerous driving.’

His face went white, and I could see his hands begin to shake. ‘But– I’ll lose my job,’ he said. ‘You know that, don’t you?’

‘Yes,’ I said. ‘I understand that, and I’m very sorry. But your car swerved and stopped suddenly for no reason, and two people were badly hurt in the other car. They were lucky. You nearly killed them.’

‘But what about the man,’ he shouted. ‘I told you, I saw a man! He crossed the road in front of me! I’m not crazy, you know - I saw him!’

‘I know,’ I said. ‘And I think you believe it yourself. But we’ve looked for that man, and we can’t find him. Two students saw the accident from the side of the road, you know, but they didn’t see a man who crossed the road either. I’m sorry, Mr Jackson, but nobody else saw this man - only you. Perhaps your doctor can explain it, but I can’t.’

His hands were shaking even more now, and for a moment he couldn’t speak. Perhaps he’s going to have a heart attack now, I thought, here in this room. After a moment he stood up and walked to the door.

At the door he turned and stared at me. ‘You–’ he began. ‘You’re wrong! I’m not mad, you know, and I’m not ill either! You wait! One day you’ll see something like this, and no one will believe you either. Then you’ll know how I feel!’

He walked out, shutting the door loudly behind him.