Gillian Jackson - The Accident

‘Oh, nothing’s wrong, everything’s wonderful!’ His sarcasm shocked her. ‘It’s all this — everything — why did it have to happen?’

‘How should I know? I didn’t ask to lose my leg, you know, and I like it even less that you do!’

Both their voices were raised now. Hannah couldn’t understand why her husband seemed so angry with her; did he somehow blame her for the accident? Mike looked at her for a moment and then grabbed his jacket.

‘I’m going out!’ he snapped and headed for the door.

‘Yes, go on then, run away while you can be sure I can’t run after you!’

As she heard the door slam Hannah regretted her last comment. She’d barely been home for two hours and they were arguing already. Perhaps she should have expected it; things hadn’t been right between them for a while, but she’d ignored the whole situation, head in the sand as usual. Now it would be twice as bad with the extra pressure of her injury, but she’d at least hoped for a little compassion from her husband. If he couldn’t show her any now, what did that tell her about the state of their marriage and their long term future?

‘What’s going on, Mum?’ Mel appeared in the doorway, looking anxious.

‘Nothing for you to worry about. Your dad and I are just both a bit stressed, love, that’s all. It’s all going to take some getting used to, I’m afraid.’

‘Dad shouldn’t be shouting at you though, it’s the last thing you need.’

‘Please don’t worry about it; it’ll all blow over soon.’ Hannah was trying to reassure herself as much as Mel, but Mike’s attitude was worrying — was there something else going on with him, she wondered?

Hannah was exhausted, which seemed to be a permanent state of affairs at the moment, but she needed to use the toilet and there was no option other than to ask Mel for help. Her daughter was less embarrassed than she was and soon Hannah was again back on the sofa, her eyes closed, hoping Mike would be back soon with an apology, which she would gladly reciprocate. They would have to address the tension they were both feeling, but perhaps if she slept now she’d feel more able to cope when he did come home.

The next thing Hannah was aware of was the sound of the car in the drive. Mike was home. Mel and Sam were both in their rooms which would give them opportunity to talk; she was almost holding her breath as he opened the front door.

‘There’s a policeman just arriving,’ were his first words, so any discussion would obviously have to wait until later.

The same young constable who’d interviewed Hannah in hospital stepped into the lounge.

‘Hello, Mrs Graham, how are you?’

‘Better for being home, thank you,’ she answered nervously.

‘Good, well I’m sorry to trouble you again and especially over the weekend, but it’s just to find out if you’ve remembered anything at all about the accident yet?’

‘No, I’m sorry, it’s still a blank. I’ve been trying not to worry about it in the hope that my memory will return soon. Is there a problem?’

‘Only in that you’re not going to be in a position to be a witness to what happened, and your vehicle was apparently key to the whole accident. If you can’t help us in any way then we’ll have to rely on the evidence of the others involved, although we’d rather have the complete picture. The coroner’s hearing has been set for Tuesday 20th February. You’ll be getting written confirmation of the date and will be expected to attend; will that be a problem for you?’ The young man looked automatically at Hannah’s leg, then quickly away again, embarrassed by the lapse.

Hannah looked at Mike for an answer; she was in his hands as far as being able to get anywhere was concerned. He answered for her.

‘Yes, we’ll be able to attend. It seems very soon. Is that usual?’ he asked.

‘The coroner tries to have the inquest as soon as possible, as the, er, the families of the victims are not able to arrange the funerals until it’s over.’

‘Of course, how very difficult for them.’ Hannah’s heart went out to those grieving. Waiting for the funeral must only serve to increase their grief.

‘Can you give us an idea of what will happen? It’s all very new to us. Is it like a trial?’ Mike asked.

‘No, it’s much less formal than a trial, and without a jury or anything like that. The purpose is simply to look at all the evidence and hear from the witnesses in order for the coroner to decide what caused the accident and subsequent deaths, and then to rule on his findings.’

‘Have you any idea what that ruling might be?’ Mike asked the question both he and Hannah were dreading hearing the answer to.

‘Well, he will be looking for possible culpability; what, or possibly who, caused the accident and depending on his verdict, charges might follow.’ The constable looked embarrassed to be telling them this, but his feelings weren’t anything like as raw as Hannah’s. She listened in silence, each one of the constable’s words reverberating in her mind, fear and uncertainty growing unchecked. If only she could remember!

‘So what kind of charges?’ Mike pushed the young officer a little further, despite his obvious reluctance.

‘At the very worst, manslaughter, or possibly causing death by reckless driving, or driving without due care and attention. Look, I wouldn’t worry about this now. Everyone’s agreed that the conditions were appalling and the coroner may decide on a no fault verdict. But if you do remember anything which could help us, please get in touch as soon as possible.’

The officer couldn’t get out of the house quickly enough. His words offered very little in the way of comfort to Hannah, who was now quite pale, her head spinning with the implications of what she’d just heard. Wriggling uncomfortably in her seat she waited for Mike to return, wondering how he would react to the news. His words shocked her even more.

‘Are you sure you don’t remember anything about the accident?’

‘Of course I don’t — do you think I’m lying?’ She was horrified that he felt he needed to ask such a question.

‘No of course not ... but perhaps it’s just that you don’t want to remember?’

‘Mike! You think I caused the accident, don’t you? How could you?’

‘Well, if you can’t remember, how can you be sure you didn’t cause it? I don’t mean intentionally, of course, but perhaps you tried to speed up a little to get onto the motorway, you know you’re always last minute for work, always in a hurry?’

‘But I wouldn’t do that! I’ve never taken risks while driving and you know it.’ She looked at her husband with wide, disbelieving eyes. ‘You don’t really think I could be charged with anything, do you?’

Hannah was really scared now. Remembering suddenly took on a whole new importance, and her head ached with the fear that she might somehow be to blame for the accident, to have had a hand in the deaths of three innocent people! It was an unbearable thought and tears rolled down her face as her mind raced ahead to the worst possible scenario she could think of — a charge for manslaughter! Could things possibly get any worse?

Liffey barked as the letters plopped through the letterbox and landed on the doormat. Joe collected them, sorting them into two piles, one for shredding and the other to be opened. Mostly they were the usual bills and circulars, but one envelope was unfamiliar and looked somewhat official, so he opened it first.

Staring at the page, he first noticed the words ‘Coroner’s Inquest’ and quickly scanning the page, the date, 20th February 2018. It was another stage in the process and one he’d be glad to get over, not least because then he would be able to arrange Alison’s funeral.