The Sin

Robert Grayson sat in his armchair in his warm and cozy house after a rather long and exhausting day at work. He leaned into the armchair and sipped his evening tea. He was about take a second sip when there came a knock on the front door. He got up and opened the door. Standing on the porch was a tall and lean man with jet black hair and a thin mustache. He was dressed in a brown overcoat that looked dirty and shabby as if he had been travelling for many days.

“Good evening, Mr. Grayson. Sorry for my unexpected arrival. My name is Jason Smith. You might remember me as the adopted son of Arden Smith.”, said the man in a deep voice.

Robert recognized the man immediately. It was the adopted son of a distant uncle of his who lived in his country village. It had been a really long time since they last met.

“Oh, Mr. Smith, please come in and have some tea with me.”, Robert said.

“Thank you so much.” Mr. Smith said as he walked into the corridor and took off his coat. Robert noticed a strange twinkle in the corner of his eyes but did not understand what it meant.

       When they were seated in the sitting room with their tea on the table, Mr. Smith said,

“So, how have you been holding up all these years?”

 “Fairly well. I got a nice job that pays pretty good. What about you?”

“Well I’ve got a job alright. But, I’ve been having a lot of problems lately. One of them is money. A few months ago my father died. It was quite a tragedy in our house.”

“Yes, I have heard.” Robert said nodding gravely.

“He was murdered.” Mr. Smith said.

“What? I didn’t know that. Did they find out who did it?”

“No, they didn’t. But I believe you have a connection with this murder.”

“I’m sorry. What do you mean I have a connection with Arden Smith’s murder?”

“I know you have murdered my father!” Mr. Smith said in a loud and harsh voice.

“What? What kind of stupid joke is this?” Robert was so agitated that he banged the cup on the table and stood up.

“I am not joking, Robert.”

 “No. It can’t be possible. You are a damned liar. I could never have done such a thing.” Robert shouted.”

“It is perfectly possible. You have a kind of memory loss, don’t you? You murdered my father by poisoning him with Cyanide and you completely forgot about it. That memory was wiped clean off your mind. I am sure that this is what happened.”

       It was true that Robert had a kind of memory loss where certain memories of his life was completely wiped out of his mind. It was only after many months and sometimes years did those memories come back to him. This had happened quite a few times in the past. But, this, this was impossible. He could not have murdered a man, could he? Could what Mr. Smith was saying be true?

“This is what happened, you know it! You are a murderer, Robert.”

“No! No! No! This can’t be true!” Robert’s breathing was coming in harsh gasps. The more he tried to put away this absurd accusation, the more came back to him the possibility of him murdering Arden Smith and then forgetting about it.

“The police are coming for you, Robert. Your time is out. You will face prosecution. You will pay for your terrible crime!

“Noooo!” He shouted and pushed Mr. Smith out of his way. He then ran out of the house and into the street. He kept on running until he was far from that hateful man.

       Robert was on the run now. He spent the night under a bridge and next morning he decided to phone an old friend who lived in his country village.

“Hello, am I speaking to David Williams?” Robert said into the receiver in a telephone booth.

“Yes, it is me. Who is it?”

“Uh, it is me, Robert, remember me?

“Robert? How dare you call me after what you have done?” David said in a voice filled with hatred.

“You too believe that I have murdered Arden Smith?”

“Of course I do. Jason told me and also showed me sufficient proof of your guilt. You are a murderer, Robert.”

With that he hung up.

       Robert could not believe it. If Jason believes he is a murderer, everyone else must also do. If so many people were saying the same thing, then it could not be a lie. It was hard to believe the fact that he had done one of the foulest crimes in the world.

       The rest of the day Robert spent wandering about the city, laying low, lest he was caught. Whenever he saw a policeman or a police car, he would dodge into an alley or run as fast as he can away from there. All that time the terrible feeling of his crime kept coming back to him. Night fell and still he kept wandering and evading the police. At last when his legs could no longer carry him, Robert went and sat down on a bench by the riverside. It was the place where he would go when he was stressed out to relax or cool off.

       Robert was dead tired. He had not eaten anything the whole day and his stomach was churning. He could no longer take it, this suffering. He had started to hate himself for such a hideous crime that he had done. He could not live with such a sin. His whole life had been destroyed. What should he do now?

       Then suddenly a thought came to him. He felt the weight in his heart lighten. His restless mind calmed at the thought. He got up and slowly walked to the edge of the river. He had to do it. It would give him peace and solace and end his suffering. He would not have to run from the police or live in fear and guilt anymore. He cleared his mind of all thoughts. He was now really close to the edge now. He closed his eyes and jumped. There was a rush of water, striking cold and then it was the end.

***

Leonard Smith, the real son of Arden Smith was reading the morning news. The news was that of Robert Grayson, his father’s killer. His body had floated up at the north bank of the river. Hatred burned in his heart for him. Robert had been a good friend of his. They used to stay in same village. But, he was the one who put Cyanide in his father’s morning tea and killed him.

       Leonard put the newspaper aside and got up to go to his study. On his way there, he passed the room of Jason Smith, his father’s adopted son. He glimpsed a beautiful and elegant table clock on the mantelpiece. It looked costly. He picked it up, admired it for a few seconds and put it back. He turned round and was about to go when his shirt was caught in the drawer handle. The drawer was pulled open. He glanced inside  and saw a glass bottle.

       He picked up the bottle and saw that on it was written in bold red letters, “Cyanide”. At first he could not believe what he saw. Then he realized that it was actually cyanide in that bottle. He stood stock still with astonishment realizing with horror that he had found his father’s real killer.