In this powerful tale of guilt, a short story from James M. Cain’s The Postman Always Rings Twice, Double Indemnity, Mildred Pierce, and Selected Stories , a desperate man is driven to the edge of madness after he accidentally kills a railroad detective. As the murderer works to get his alibi straight, he soon discovers that the prick of his own conscience is just as oppressive as the long arm of the law. A Vintage Short.