was an accident? Val darling, I know you’re very upset, but you’ve got to try and be a little more coherent.’
Valentina swallowed. ‘There—there was a crash, yes.’
‘A car crash?’
Valentina nodded, and Rhia’s tongue emerged to circle her dry lips. It would be futile to admit that she had worried on more than one occasion about her sister, since Val had told her Glyn had acquired a fast sports car. It had seemed such a fragile defence against any other vehicle, and she had had to steel her emotions when Val spoke of its speed and acceleration. But at least Val had not been hurt.
‘Where is he?’ she asked, and Valentina blinked.
‘Where is he?’ she echoed. ‘Why, in—in the hospital, of course. Where else would he be?’
‘But what hospital?’ persisted Rhia patiently. ‘Not St Mary’s, I’m sure.’
‘Oh, no.’ Valentina put an abstracted hand to her temple. ‘He—he’s in Jude’s. They took him there, after the accident.’ She shook her head. ‘He looked terrible. I—I thought at first that—that he was dead.’
Rhia put out a hand and squeezed her sister’s arm affectionately. ‘Poor Val, no wonder you’re in such a state. But how is he? I mean—do the doctors expect him to recover?’
‘He’s got to recover,’ exclaimed Valentina fiercely. ‘He’s just got to. I—I don’t know what I’ll do if he doesn’t!’
‘Hey …’ Rhia had never seen her sister so agitated, ‘don’t get so upset. He’ll recover, I’m sure he will. They can do such marvellous things these days.’
‘Yes.’ But Valentina didn’t sound very convinced, and Rhia sought about for something else to say.
‘When did it happen?’ she asked. ‘The accident, I mean. Why didn’t you ring me, as soon as you heard?’
‘Heard?’ Valentina looked blank.
‘Heard about the accident,’ Rhia prompted gently. ‘When did you get to know? Last night, I suppose. Have Glyn’s family been informed? I expect they must have——’
Valentina interrupted her, her eyes wild and anxious, her words falling over themselves as she struggled to get them out. ‘Oh, you don’t understand, Rhia. I know I’m explaining myself badly, but surely you’ve realised: I didn’t hear about the accident. I was there! I was with him! I was part of it. It—it was all my fault!’
Later, Rhia acknowledged that perhaps she had been a little dense in not realising that Valentina’s grief stemmed from more than the mild infatuation she had had for Glyn Frazer. She should have known that her sister’s sympathies were unlikely to be strained to this extent by anyone other than herself. It was a harsh analysis perhaps, but the truth was that Valentina had seldom shown consideration for anyone, and latterly Rhia had sensed a cooling of the relationship between her sister and her boy-friend.
Now, however, she could only stare at Valentina, scarcely comprehending the import of what she was saying, and the younger girl’s face convulsed as she struggled with her frustration.
‘Don’t you understand, Rhia?’ she cried, glancing behind her to ensure her impassioned outburst was not overheard. ‘The accident happened last night—my night off. And—and I was driving!’
‘You!’ Rhia gasped. ‘But, Val, you don’t hold a driving licence!’
Valentina cast her eyes briefly towards the ceiling. ‘Isn’t that what I’m trying to tell you? Oh, Rhia, what am I going to do? Glyn—Glyn may die, and—and I’ll be to blame!’
Rhia wished she was sitting down now. Her legs felt decidedly unsteady, and she thrust the remains of her half-eaten roll into a nearby ashtray as nausea swept up her throat.
‘Well?’ Valentina’s eyes were tear-filled and intent. ‘Can’t you say anything? Can’t you at least tell me you understand? Dear God, Rhia, if you don’t help me, no one will, and—and I’m so—I’m so scared!’
Rhia put down her glass and rubbed her unsteady hands together. Then, shaking her head, she said weakly: ‘You’ve got to give me time, Val. I haven’t taken this in yet. Right now—right now, I just don’t know what to say.’
Valentina’s lips twisted. ‘How do you think I feel? I haven’t slept, I haven’t even been to bed!’ She sniffed. ‘I walked the streets for hours. I was exhausted, but I didn’t want to go back.’
‘Wait a minute.’ Rhia halted her. ‘What do you mean, you walked the streets for hours? I thought you said Glyn was taken to hospital, after the accident.’
‘He was. I rang for the ambulance myself.’
Rhia could feel a throbbing beginning somewhere behind her temple. ‘And they didn’t ask you to accompany them? The police—I assume there were police involved—they didn’t ask for a statement?’
Valentina bent her head. ‘I—it wasn’t like that. When we had the crash, there was no one else around. Oh, I don’t know how it happened. One minute I was driving happily along this side street, and the next this cat ran across the road in front of us. Glyn said: ‘Brake’, but somehow my foot hit the accelerator, and the tyres squealed and we—we hit a lamp-post.’
‘Oh, Valentina!’
‘I know. It was awful. Glyn’s head must have hit the windscreen. He—he was covered in blood. I—I just panicked.’ Her voice broke, and then, controlling herself again, she went on: ‘I knew I had to get out of there. If—if anyone saw me, if anyone identified me——’
‘Wait a minute.’ Rhia stared at her. ‘You said you phoned for the ambulance yourself.’
‘Yes. Yes, I did. There was a phone box quite nearby. I made the call—then I ran away.’
‘Val!’ Rhia was horrified.
‘I know, I know.’ Valentina threaded shaking fingers through her damp curls. ‘But what could I have done? I’ve told you, Glyn looked so awful! I couldn’t stick around and risk the chance of being arrested!’
Rhia swallowed the rest of her Martini, trying hard to think sensibly. Then, putting the glass aside, she tried to speak calmly. ‘Val, the police are going to know someone else was driving that car——’ And as Valentina began to shake her head vigorously, she went on: ‘And, let’s face it, you are the most likely suspect. You were Glyn’s girl-friend. He had probably told his friends that he was meeting you——’
‘No, no!’ Valentina interrupted her frantically. ‘It was late. We were on our way back to the hospital. We’d taken this roundabout route so I could drive. Glyn could have dropped me; he could have been on his way back to his flat.’
‘But he hadn’t!’ exclaimed Rhia forcefully. ‘Val, face facts——’
‘No one knows that.’
Rhia shook her head. ‘You’re not being realistic. Glyn wasn’t even in the driving seat!’
Valentina
