Chapter 4

//THIRD PERSON'S P. O. V//

"Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown." — Henry IV, Part II (Act III, Scene I)

"Throw me some questions quickly, after which I have to go through the lie detector test. I don't have much time." Xavier impatiently spewed, puffing contently.

"Why does the character in your book murder his wife?" Klein tapped his pen against the notepad he'd brought.

"For fun. Just to see if he could get away with it. Oh, and a scalpel was used." He quickly added the last part, still holding onto his calm demeanor.

"What's your next book about, Mr. Winter?" Walsh asked, visibly irritated due the load of composure the CEO had.

"It's about a cop. A detective also, if you would." He answered smoothly, twirling the cigarette in his hands.

"What happens in the story, sir?" Walsh looked at the CEO for an answer who just shook his head in response, silently smiling.

"The detective cum cop, falls for the wrong man. And then, the guy he fell for, kills him." He twitched his eyebrow, glancing at Klein long enough to make Walsh cough, and break the eye contact. Jase thought if that was a warning.

The lie detector reports were far from normal. There was no sign of fluctuations in his heart rate when questions about his wife's murder were asked. He was so oddly calm, that it seemed abnormal even to the man who was conducting the test. Soon, Xavier Winter was gone.

Jase couldn't believe this. How could this happen? He was more than sure that Winter straight out lied about every question thrown at him, yet, had no evidence to prove it so. Walsh came over to talk to Klein, who was massaging his forehead.

"What is happening, Klein? The reports aren't even suspicious. Are you sure that this man killed his wife?" His tone was faltering at every word, because hell, even he'd felt that the man was dangerous.

"I could see it in his eyes, Ray! He is the murderer. A brutal man who murdered his wife. And now the fucking book he wrote, is his alibi. He even lied to the lie detector and got the fuck away with it!" His voice rose too much for a civilized police station environment, while Walsh put his hand on his shoulder. He remembered that the sexual assault of Winter's wife wasn't through penetration. It was concluded that it still was a case of brutal sexual assault by the hot wax on her vagina, which was solidified by the time the cops reached the site. He winced at the mere thought of the pain the woman had gone through.

"I'm keeping my research ongoing. We need to know anything we can find. God knows what he hides behind that mask." Ray muttered, to which Klein nodded in agreement.

"Please do, and tell me what you find. I will have my eye on him from now on. He can't be possibly that clever to fool us all." He replied, and Walsh forced a smile, as he walked away.

The sun set, and dusk fell over. But, even that wasn't a time for Officer Klein to rest. He had salvaged all sites about Xavier, but couldn't find anything that struck as uncanny to him. His ex wife Elena had called him shortly after noon, as she wanted to meet him the next day for lunch.

He couldn't see how having company would hurt during these circumstances. Carrying on his research, he found a particular site which told him about Winter educational background. He'd dropped out of a medical college.

It was potentially weird. Why would Xavier want to be a doctor? And he wasn't exactly a drop out, rather, he was expelled. Now, he had to know why he was expelled. Someone being expelled, must have had a very strong reason for the authorities to take such a harsh step.

He took out his phone, dialing Ray's number, who picked up after three rings.

"Winter was expelled from University of California. He had a medical background. Find out why he was expelled."

"Will do."

He hung up on Walsh, about to pour himself a drink, when his doorbell rang. He rushed to open his door, but found no one at the porch. He sighed, thinking this to be a prank, when he noticed a sheet of crumpled paper at his doorstep.

He picked up the paper, hastily scooting inside his house, slamming the door shut. His fingers worked on the paper ball, opening it. He smoothened out the sheet to decipher what was written.

"He is innocent." Moreover, the paper had a Y shaped wax bead in the middle, as if the shape had been stamped on when the wax was still hot.