Silvertroll

Anatomy of an Accident

Where is the debris?

Usually, when I revisit the site, I find evidence of the accident. A piece of fender plastic. Granules of broken tempered glass. Orange or red fragments of a taillight. But this time, as I sit on the curb, the site is clean. Even the skid marks have faded away. Only the scrape on the concrete barrier remains, barely noticeable among the cracks and dirt.

The traffic grinds past, each car possessing some insatiable hunger to get somewhere. The air is freezing but I persevere. I look at the curve, imagining the sequence of events that culminated in disaster. I study, on my phone, the headlines from that dreadful night. I bookmarked them all, but not read any. I haven't even finished reading the coroner's report.

This is what denial looks like.

Now, something within me urges me to look over the facts. My rage has grown curious. It has taken a life of its own, and now that it has come alive, it 'wants' to know what happened.

Exactly what happened.

A car has flipped over a concert barrier along Highworth Avenue in a bizarre incident overnight.

According to the article, the vehicle rolled and ended up on its side on the footpath near The Range Hotel about 9.30 pm that night.

Pedestrians were not present at the time.

...no street surveillance cameras exist on this stretch of road. A photograph by a commuter shows the vehicle speeding along Sovereign Road just minutes before losing control and crashing into the steel pole on Highworth Avenue. The two stretches of road are connected by a sharp bend. It is not clear how the crash happened but the report claims there is nothing to suggest that a third party caused the driver to execute a ninety-degree turn. Police spokeswoman Senior Constable Bridget Morris said the man driving the car and his passenger were severely wounded in the incident. The Mercury has contacted the Police Crash Investigation Unit about the incident.

I ransack the internet for that photo, searching everything with a search box, but find it nowhere. It has vanished. I kick myself, for not copying it when I had the chance. I kick myself again for not knowing how to.

I have reached a dead-end, physically, and mentally.

My mind turns its attention to the asshole, Silvertroll. The more I think about the disgusting words, the more I suspect Silvertroll may have a personal connection with Julian. Maybe a rival for his girlfriend's attention. They'd been going out not even a year. No other character seemed to be in the picture. All the usual friends drift apart when a girl is involved. I witnessed no animosity. I heard no bitching nor gossip from neither of them. They seemed happy and content, with each other, with how their lives were going.

I sensed no discord.

But then again, what would I know?

No. I would have sensed it. My maturity, my parenthood status, qualified and equipped me with the tools to detect such things.

I would have known something was amiss.

My mind proposes that I seek Alicia's help in tracking down this Silvertroll. With her skills and connections as a police officer, this would end quickly.  If only I can face her. I know she's pissed at me. She feels betrayed, I saw it in her eyes. I feel the rift between us growing, darkening, getting colder. I can't understand her, and she probably can't understand me.

I guess I'll have to figure this out on my own.