The trip to the hospital was uneventful. Bill had always watched ambulances as a kid. As a kid, he wondered what it would be like to ride in one. It wasn't all that great after all he thought. But it was pretty nice knowing that everybody was moving out of his way. When he arrived, he was taken to the emergency room. The duty doctor looked at Bill's wounds. He noticed that wounds looked almost healed. He questioned Bill about the time and place his injuries had occurred. Bill confirmed that the incident had happened less than an hour before. The doctor asked Bill if he could take a blood sample. This was a precautionary measure. The possibility for infection was still there. Since nails, which had punctured his flesh had hit him; he fully cooperated with the blood testing. The doctor informed him that it would be a couple of days before the results are known.

"You are very fortunate that you were not hit one centimeter over to your left side. The nail could have punctured your brain stem and we would not be having this conversation", the doctor said emphatically. When asked if he had had a tetanus shot in the last five years, Billed replied,"Yes, Last Year". Bill complained about having an awful headache. The doctor prescribed painkillers that Bill could have filled at the hospital pharmacy, located in the basement. Bill was kept overnight for observation. He had a mild concussion and a little nausea.

After getting his prescription filled, Bill checked out of the hospital, called a cab and was driven back to his home. Every bump along the roadway caused his head to throb with pain. It was a 20-minute drive from the hospital, but I seemed like an eternity to Bill.

When he opened the door to his home he felt relief. He was home and wanted to do nothing else but relax. As he entered the living room, he noticed that his answering machine light was flashing. The first message was from a bail bondsman. The gruff voice on the machine asked if he would be willing to vouch for his cousin's bail. Bernard had defended Bill's life. Bailing Bernard out would not be a problem. In fact, he would get his lawyer, Billy Reston, to defend Bernard. Billy was the City's premier defense attorney. His southern accent and courtroom demeanor seemed to hypnotize most jurors and judges alike. Billy would, more than likely, have the charges dropped and no trial would be necessary.

The second message was from Jenny. She had heard about the accident and she wanted to know how he was doing. She insisted that Bill press criminal and civil actions against his assailant. She assured him that the office was being run smoothly and that he could take his time recovering. He didn't ever worry about the business when Jenny was in charge. He knew she would do a good job, maybe even a better one than he.

The final call was from some one whose voice Bill did not recognize. It was a very smooth and refined voice. The message said, "Once upon a half-filled pail, a witch jumped over a rusty nail. This isn't fiction, my friend, it's fact. Just ask the nasty holes in your back. Call your doctor!"

Bill was flabbergasted by the call. Who would call his machine and leave such a psychotic message. He wasn't at all shaken by the message, he was just mad. His head was already pounding and the message just made it worse. He reached for his pain pills. In a few minutes he would have relief. Just as the medication started to take effect, the phone rang. It was Bernard. He needed Bill to call the bail bondsman. Bill used teleconferencing to add the bondsman to the phone conversation. He secured the bond and told Bernard that he send Billy Reston down to take care of every thing. Bernard asked Bill how he was doing. "Other than the splitting headache, I feel just fine", Bill answered. Bill thanked Bernard for watching his back. Bernard indicated that it wasn't no big deal. Bernard had to hang up because his call time was up. Bill thought to himself,"B.O. or not, Bernard is a good guy."