CHAPTER 7
Is this a joke! Am I a murderer! I chased this person so hard to find answers and all that only to find out that I am a murderer? What does Mr. X mean by this? How could I kill someone? and why can't I remember a damn thing if I did? I did not experience any black out or felt time lost how did this happen? Considering that Mr. X has been right about everything until now, I started to panic. I started falling into jeopardy. I was going crazy and I really didn't know what to do.
I couldn't sleep the whole night. I was tossing and turning on my bed. Even if I did manage to get a nap, dreams woke me up again. The next morning, I went to the office as usual. Jack was waiting for me on my desk.
"Hey Richie. What's up? Feeling better today?"
"Hey. Yeah I am alright now. Thanks"
"I collected all the samples from the scene yesterday as you said. They are in the lab.
You can go and start whenever you are ready."
To be honest, I was a bit nervous about this. If I was the killer as said by Mr. X, then there would be a fingerprint match. I didn't quite feel good doing that.
"Thanks man, Appreciated. By the way Jack, who is going to be in charge of this investigation ?Is it going to be Martin again?"
"Well, No. There is a new officer who has been called in from the NYPD for investigation of this case as the victim was a fugitive from a prior case of his.
Oh ! There he is"
I turned back to see who he was. I couldn't believe my eyes for a moment. Because another person from my dream had come to life. Initially I had my doubts, but on a closer look I was sure, I definitely saw that man in my dreams. My dreams are slowly turning into the reality I never asked for.
Before I could even regain my composure, I saw him walking towards me.
"Hello, I believe you must be Richmond Thawne, the forensic analyst for murder investigation of Steve Spindler. I am Inspector Robert Kocher, NYPD. Nice to meet you!"
"Oh the pleasure is mine. I will try my best to give you the test results as soon as possible"
"Sure thanks. I am counting on you"
I hastily left that place as I was still trembling with shock. I reached the lab and settled down in the chair. Thoughts started running through my mind. What if I really am the murderer and I just have no knowledge of it? Do I have the courage to confess it to Robert? I really didn't know.
I started removing the samples from the box. There were a lot of evidences taken from the site. There were fingerprints, blood swabs, footwear impressions that Jack had already casted in dental stone and lots more.
I started reading the report, and the more I read the more depressed I became. Based on the site of trauma to head, Jack had determined that the culprit was about 6 feet in height and was left handed, similar to me. Based on the footwear print, the report said that it was a US size 10 which was again same as mine. The wound on the head was caused by an object which could have been of similar width as a pistol. Again something I do have.
The evidences were already pointing in my direction. I ran the fingerprints through our database and no match was found. The blood work showed that there was blood belonging to two people. One was blood type O+ve which belonged to Mr. X and the other was AB-ve which is a rare blood group, and again it was same as mine.
I was desperately trying to find evidence that would point to any other person than me. Just then I found another evidence in the box which I had missed before. I took it out and it shattered my heart. It was a wrist watch which belonged to the culprit and it definitely seemed familiar.
It was mine.

CHAPTER 8
I was terrified now. There was just one way now to confirm if I was the killer. I tried to match the fingerprints found at the crime scene with mine. It was a perfect match. All my hopes of being innocent were just shattered. Yes, I was the murderer of Mr. X a.k.a. Steve Spindler and I don't really remember it.
I was at the end of my wits. I really couldn't understand what to do next. If this comes to the notice of any of my colleagues, I was sure to be dead meat and surely I would end up behind the bars. The investigation officer Robert Kocher was unknown to me too. There was no way I could talk my way out of it; all the proofs were against me.
I felt like I was trapped in an unescapable vicious typhoon. The only way I could prove my innocence was by getting hold of the actual culprit; and now more than ever, I needed to know the truth behind my dreams.
Jack was my best buddy in the office. He was the only person here I could trust, with my life and this truth. I decided to tell him everything about the weird dreams I was having and how they have started to become the reality. I also told him that, there was almost 100% chance that I am the culprit in this murder but I was not aware of doing it.
Jack heard every word of it patiently and he was astonished to hear all that.
"Are you doing fine Richie? You have been through a lot of shit brother!"
"No Jack; I am not good at all. The fact that I am a killer is haunting me. The dreams and all the running I had done behind that man had already been rough on me. This is now way more than I could take."
" I can understand you bro, but what are you planning to do now? Robert is not gonna believe anything you are going to say. All the evidences are against you."
"I know and this is where I need your help. I am going to call in sick for a couple of days and try to investigate this personally. I need you to somehow stall Robert till then.
Please Jack! This is my last chance to solve the mystery as well as prove my innocence."
"Okay, I am all ears. Tell me what are you planning to do"
"Thanks a lot Jack. So this is what you gotta do.
You've got to misdirect Robert by throwing in some false data. Try being as convincing as possible and lead Robert into a rat chase, which will keep him occupied for a couple of days. I'll try my best to get to the roots of the matter in these two days, otherwise I've got no option but to turn myself in."
"Richie, you know right you are taking a big risk here?"
"I know Jack I know. Not only am I risking my life here but also your career. I will go to prison but you too will be charged of felony and hiding a crime and that is why I really want you to know that, it is okay if you don't wanna do this. I will think of something else"
"No brother, I will do this because I trust you. I am sure you won't kill anyone. There is something fishy going on in here and I want you to find out the truth. I'll handle the things here. You can focus on solving the case."
"Thanks Jack! I will never forget this. Thanks a lot for taking the risk and I will make sure this doesn't go to waste."
I left my office and called Alice. She was the only person who could help me find answers to all my questions and help prove that I am not guilty. I started blabbering as soon as she answered the phone.
"Hey Alice. This is Richie here. I desperately need your help. A lot has happened and I need to talk to you. Are you free? Can we meet? Please."
"Calm down Richie, Calm down. Take a few deep breaths first."
I was palpitating. I was drenched in sweat all over and I was shivering with fear and anxiety. How could I be calm knowing well enough that I could land up in prison in two days and on top of that I had dragged Jack into this mess too. But still I tried to collect myself and stay calm.
"Now say, what happened? What is wrong?"
I gave her the entire narrative with full details of what was going on.
"That's really horrendous that's going on in your life.You have my sympathies. Sorry to hear all this mess and I will do whatever I can to help you. Come here at once. Let's talk about it."
"Thanks a lot Alice. I'll be there in about an hour."
I took a cab and reached S.T.A.R labs. But there I was greeted with a heart wrenching site. It was as if the whole universe was acting against me now.
Someone had snuck into the lab caused a security breach into the systems there and caused a lot of the machines to fail and on their way out they had stabbed one person who was in a serious condition now.
That person was Alice!