Have you ever heard anybody say, 'It seems too good to be true'?
His name was Simon.
'Do you want your life to change? He asked. He had a deep, soulful voice. 'Come with me now, and your life will change forever.'
He turned and left. Fuck it, I thought, and I went with him.
Simon was just a driver. He took me to this huge manor estate, to a magnificent house with more windows than I could count. There, he took me inside and into a beautiful study with a desk and books all over the walls. There was someone else in there, his back turned to us.
'Drink?' He asked, without turning.
'Sure,' I said, and Simon had a whisky in my hand instantly.
Then, the stranger turned around and the glass almost slipped from my hand. He was my exact double, although slimmer and a little better looking.
'Fuck me,' I gasped.
'Fuck you,' he smiled. 'My name is Felix Gardner, and I'm about to make you an offer you won't want to refuse.'
'Yeah? What's that then?'
'Have you ever heard the story, The Prince and the Pauper?' He asked. 'I've always been enthralled by that tale. Rags to riches. Riches to rags. Fascinating. I've been searching for you for a very long time, and now I've found you. I would like to give you my life, and everything that comes with it. Money, women, cars, holidays. The life that everyone wants. A life of complete luxury. Of course, a couple of things on your part will have to change. Weight. Dress sense. Personal hygiene. So, Malcolm, are you in?'
'Where do I sign?' I said, without hesitating.
Felix smiled and nodded at Simon, and Simon punched me in the face.
Felix broke his nose when he was younger. That was the first change I went through. I hit the gym, got a haircut, my wardrobe was updated. I took on his mannerisms and his slight imperfections. After a few months, I was set. Felix and Simon disappeared and I became lord-of-the-fucking-manor.
It was great. I lived it up for a year. Splashing the cash, shagging gorgeous women, globe-trotting, snorting coke. Life was bliss.
Then it turned to shit.
I woke up with a horrific hangover and the doorbell blaring throughout the house. I answered the blistering call and the police were standing there.
'Felix Gardner?'
I groaned some kind of response.
'I'm D.I. Shaw,' said the only woman standing there. 'We have a warrant to search the premises. If you could please give us access to your wine cellar.'
I didn't have a chance to respond. My head was thumping and I just wanted to sleep. They pushed into the house and I led them downstairs. The wine cellar was dimly lit and cold. The uniformed officers crawled all over it like flies on shit. Then one of them called to D.I. Shaw. I followed. One of the wine racks had been pushed to the side revealing a hidden room with shelves laden with video tapes. A television and video player were the only other things in the room.
D.I. Shaw stepped into the creepy chamber, turned on the television and hit play on the video player. The room fell silent as an ominous anticipation swelled within us all. The screen came to life.
The camera was shaky, but there was no mistaking what was going on. Simon's voice could be heard from behind the camera, and there I was, there Felix was, naked and lying in bed with a girl who couldn't have been older than ten.
