Chapter 3

“Good afternoon, Richard.” These were the words which greeted him as Richard opened his eyes. It was Bill who greeted to him. “Thank God that you returned back. I was so worried about what had happened.”
Richard looked around and saw that he most probably was in a hospital. “Where am I?” he asked in a feeble voice.
“You’re in one of New York’s best hospitals. Do you remember anything?” 
“Yes, I was escaping-”                  
“Escaping? From whom, Rick?” Bill asked, dumbfounded.
“I don’t know Bill. I went to Charles’s house and he was killed-”
“Charles was killed?” Bill was shocked this time.
“Yes, his head was snapped by someone.”
“Can you describe that person?”
Richard hesitated this time “Now you won’t probably believe this but his head just snapped by itself. It was as if some supernatural force was acting there.”
Bill said “You’re probably feeling that due to the after effects of the crash.”
Richard replied “I am telling you, Bill that’s exactly what happened.”
“Are you sure about this?” Bill sounded skeptical.
“I am damn sure.”
“Okay, I believe you” Bill said this even though Richard knew that Bill did not believe even a single word of what he said. “Anything else, Rick?”
“Well, there was also another person at that time. I believe that he may be in some way connected to the murder.”
This got Bill’s attention completely. He asked “What did this person look like?”
“Well he looked like he was at least 40; he had a bald head and an enormous moustache. He had a whitish complexion and was a bit fat.”
“Wait a minute, Rick, and I’ll get the police officers to talk to you.” Saying that he went out and a few minutes later walked in with two officers.
The first one said “I am Officer Jim Paterson and this is my partner Nick Howell. Mr. Bill here says that you can describe the truck driver who crashed into your vehicle.”
“Um... I remember only the physique of the person who attacked me and not the truck driver.”
“Someone attacked you, Mr. Brown?”
“Yes. Bill hasn’t told you about what I told him?”
The officer shook his head.
“Well, I went over to my friend’s house and I saw him being murdered-”
“Someone was murdered, Mr. Brown?” The officers looked alarmed.
“Yes, it was my friend Charles Xavier who was killed.”
“Can you give us his address, Mr. Brown?” asked the second officer Nick.
Richard gave them the address and Officer Howell immediately went out with the address. Officer Paterson said “My partner went check out the address to see whether what you have said is true or not. Please continue.”
“Well, this person looked as if he was a psychopath. He repeatedly said that I could not escape from him and said that I would be killed by his master.”
“Yes, he could be a psychopath. Can you describe his appearance? I will record what you say so that we can later create his picture.”
Richard described him again while the officer recorded this. Then he asked “Can you remember anything about the truck driver?”
At this point, Officer Howell walked in. He said “Okay, what Mr. Brown has said is true. We can check it out once we finish here.”
Then Officer Paterson repeated his question to Richard. He answered “No, I could only see that his eyes were red.” 
“Red?” Both the officers sounded incredulous.
“Yes, Officer. That was all I saw before I blacked out.”
“Okay, Mr. Brown. I’ll call you when I have some news.” Saying this, both the officers walked out of the room.
Seeing this Bill said “Okay, I feel that you need some rest. Call me if you need anything. I’ll be right outside.”
Richard asked “Bill, how long was I out?”
“For about 2 days.”
“How did you find me in that remote area?”
“Well, the afternoon you crashed I got a call from somebody who said that you were injured in a car crash. I was skeptical at first but then when he read out your car number and gave your accurate description, I knew that it was you. When I reached there you were lying on the ground. Then I took you to the hospital and here we are.”
“Do you have any idea, about the person who called you, might be?”
“No, I don’t. However, whoever it is, he is a Good Samaritan. He wasn’t there when I reached the place.”
“What happened to my Lambo?”
“Well, sorry Rick but it is damaged beyond repair. Leave that. The doctors are still flabbergasted about how you survived with minor bruises when it should have been worse.”
“Guess that day was my lucky day. What a coincidence that it was also my birthday.” Richard grinned.
“Yeah, you should thank your lucky stars for that. Anything else?”
“No, this was all I needed to know. You may go.” With that, Bill strode out of the room.

Everything what he heard just now and what he had seen two days ago left him with one question: What had actually happened?