The tide beyond light

Tim Marvel

Chaos will exist as long as order persists

It all began 3 in the morning.

"Inspector, please come to the station immediately"

Of course! Everyone loved to build suspense, and Marvel was not in the mood for one.

"What is it this time?" 

"It's an accident down at Vermont. Rather bizarre details sir. It seems to be a planned collision from the details"

This sure woke up Tim. "I'll be there in an hour"

"Do not forget to bring your coat, Sir!"

Hallie was deep asleep. He kissed her forehead, put on his coat, and stepped out of his haven.

...

3:45 AM

Grafton, Vermont

The barricades were set, keeping the fatal events confined within the parameter. Inspector Marvel walked up to the site, about a quarter mile. There were no vehicles visible from the spot. The silence of the night disturbed him quite a bit. Marvel felt he very well would blend into the world of daily commotion, not the one sans it.

Sergeant Connor was there, vigil as the hawk, living up to the name given to her by coworkers. No time of the day would stop her from serving with all her might. Lest we forget the innumerable times her keen observations helped to nab even the infamous criminals in her so-called "Turf". 

"The accident happened today morning around 0:30 AM" said Connor. Forget about the pleasantries, down to work now, marveled the inspector.

"The two vehicle seemed to have been going in the opposite directions. One was away from Sierado, a Haul Truck, while the other was from somewhere else, a Suburban. The latter seemed to have had a prior collision recently, believed to hit a tree. The bumper was already pretty much damaged"

"Any fatal deaths?"

"This is where things get stranger. No bodies were found, nor any survivors. Literally, there was no one inside both the vehicles. The seats in the front were completely damaged, and even if anyone managed to escape, they would not have gotten far away in this terrain"

"Did you call nearby hospitals? Asked if any casualties early this morning? Maybe a good samaritan passed by" inquired Tim.

"We did. All the hospitals within the radius of 2 miles did not report of any patients at midnight. Not only that but the locals claimed they heard a message on the radio at 11:45 PM, stating all vehicles to stay off this lane. We inquired, only to find that it wasn't from the police force"

"So they managed to get a secure channel to convey a hoax message on behalf of the police force? ".

"We believe the message was from the truck driver. But that doesn't leave the other vehicle free of crime either. We found traces of gunpowder in the backseat" said the Sergeant.

Inspector was stunned to see the traces with his own eyes.

"What makes you think it was a he? We cannot jump to conclusions here"

"You are right. Though I do not see the possibility of a woman being able to drive with so much at stake. Must have been quite experienced in the business"

"Well, anything we could recover from the vehicles? The owner of the truck? The plate number?"

"Scrapped out. Both the plates. We literally have no information in that regard"

"Okay fine. What is today's date?"

The lady gave him a queer look 

"Sir, today is Christmas"

It was dawn, and Inspector Tim Marvel knew there was much more to the planned chaos.