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Back Man at the Window Save as PDF
Chapters (61)
  1. Cover
  2. One
  3. Two
  4. Three
  5. Four
  6. Five
  7. Six
  8. Seven
  9. Eight
  10. Nine
  11. Ten
  12. Eleven
  13. Twelve
  14. Thirteen
  15. Fourteen
  16. Fifteen
  17. Sixteen
  18. Seventeen
  19. Eighteen
  20. Nineteen
  21. Twenty
  22. Twenty-One
  23. Twenty-Two
  24. Twenty-Three
  25. Twenty-Four
  26. Twenty-Five
  27. Twenty-Six
  28. Twenty-Seven
  29. Twenty-Eight
  30. Twenty-Nine
  31. Thirty
  32. Thirty-One
  33. Thirty-Two
  34. Thirty-Three
  35. Thirty-Four
  36. Thirty-Five
  37. Thirty-Six
  38. Thirty-Seven
  39. Thirty-Eight
  40. Thirty-Nine
  41. Forty
  42. Forty-One
  43. Forty-Two
  44. Forty-Three
  45. Forty-Four
  46. Forty-Five
  47. Forty-Six
  48. Forty-Seven
  49. Forty-Eight
  50. Forty-Nine
  51. Fifty
  52. Fifty-One
  53. Fifty-Two
  54. Fifty-Three
  55. Fifty-Four
  56. Fifty-Five
  57. Fifty-Six
  58. Fifty-Seven
  59. Fifty-Eight
  60. Acknowledgements
  61. About the author

‘Yes,’ the boy answered. Masters hung himself from a verandah roof. What sort of rope was keenly debated. Being all country boys the second formers knew about rope. Some rope would cut. Some rope would break. There wasn’t a mention of a chair, so other options were discussed. It was decided you would need plenty of time and that there wouldn’t be much height for the ‘drop’. You needed a good drop.

‘Do you know he killed himself?’ Mohr asked.

The boy felt guilty. That’s what he thought he should do, but he hadn’t told anyone. ‘Yes.’

‘Will you promise you’ll never do that?’ Carmody asked. The boy looked at the frozen splash of metal in his palm. He couldn’t promise that. The three boys stood in silence.

‘Edmund was hurting four other boys – that we know of – this year. They all made that promise. The pain that Edmund caused is over, you mustn’t hurt yourself because of it, otherwise he’s still controlling you,’ Carmody said.

The boy looked up sharply and frowned at Carmody.

‘Do you want him still controlling you?’ Mohr asked.

‘No,’ the boy answered.

‘Then you should promise,’ Mohr said.

‘I promise,’ the boy said to Carmody. Carmody and Mohr nodded and gave each other a quick glance. They were happy, the boy thought.

‘Do you know anyone who had a road accident?’ Mohr asked.

‘No,’ the boy replied, shaking his head.

‘If you were in a road accident would you punish yourself?’

The boy frowned, confused because he had been planning a road accident to stop the images. ‘No’, he replied slowly after a pause.

‘Same with Edmund. Not your fault. Wrong place, wrong time. Just put it behind you,’ Mohr said.

The boy looked back to Carmody. The boy’s frown was giving him trouble with his eyes. They kept closing and he had to keep opening them. ‘Are you going out of bounds with me?’ the boy asked.

This brought more laughter to the sixth formers. Their laughter wasn’t as dignified as he imagined it would be, they were more like second formers.

‘Yes. We are. We’re going to Justice Leggett’s house. Have you been there?’ Carmody asked.

‘No. But I know where it is,’ the boy said.

‘Good boy. We’re expected,’ Carmody said.

The boy’s mouth dropped at this, fear of humiliation dripped from his eyes.

‘Harper,’ Carmody snapped. ‘I’ve told you, no one is going to hurt you, I won’t let that happen no matter what, no matter what,’ he said and laid his hands firmly on the boy’s shoulders.

The boy nodded. Carmody gave the boy’s hair a ruffle. The boy wasn’t sure which way he had to walk when it finished. Carmody and Mohr laughed. He followed them down the corridor and into the night.