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anything. Then she placed her fingers on each side of the woman’s neck – that was what actors in television dramas did – and could have cried with relief when she eventually found a pulse. Just at that moment the woman’s eyelids flickered and she moaned.
    ‘Stay still. It’s all right,’ Nicole said, although it wasn’t all right. She would lose her licence over this and it was not her fault. The woman should never have walked in front of the car. ‘I’ll phone for an ambulance.’
    ‘No! I think I’ll be fine if you help me to my feet.’
    ‘But you might have broken something.’
    The woman grabbed Nicole’s wrist in a vice-like grip, preventing her from standing up.
    ‘No, you don’t understand. I can’t be taken to hospital. I just can’t.’
    Nicole, catching a glimpse of fear in her eyes, wondered what she was afraid of. And if she didn’t want an ambulance how would she react to police involvement? It would be interesting to find out.
    ‘The police have to be informed about accidents and they’ll probably insist on a medical check up.’
    The woman’s eyes widened. ‘No, you mustn’t. I’ll be all right if you just help me up.’
    ‘But it’s an accident. I have to report it.’
    ‘No!’ She struggled to a sitting position without releasing her grip on Nicole’s wrist.
    ‘Why not?’
    ‘Because he’ll find me, that’s why.’
    ‘Would that be so awful?’
    She laughed bitterly. ‘Awful doesn’t come into it.’
    Nicole’s brain raced. Maybe she would not lose her licence after all. But, if she left the woman here and someone else found her, she would really be in trouble for not reporting the accident.
    ‘You can let go now.’ Nicole tapped the fingers that grasped her wrist. ‘I won’t do anything you don’t want me to.’
    The woman closed her eyes and a flicker of something passed over her face. Nicole supposed it was relief.
    ‘But I can’t leave you sitting here.’ Nicole wobbled as she stood up, stared for a moment at her ruined shoes and then kicked them off. Reaching out her hand, she said, ‘Hold on to me and when I pull, grab hold of the front of the car and push yourself up.’
    Grasping her under the arms Nicole heaved, but she was heavier than she expected and she almost fell when the woman slipped sideways.
    ‘I’m sorry. I don’t seem able to help myself much.’
    ‘That’s all right,’ Nicole gritted her teeth as she struggled to regain her balance. If the bloody woman couldn’t stand maybe she would have to send for an ambulance after all. But one final heave had her on her feet.
    ‘My bag,’ the woman started to lean over.
    ‘Don’t!’ Nicole grabbed her. ‘I’ll get it. But let’s get you sitting down first.’ Nicole, afraid to let go of her in case she fell, helped her to the passenger seat in the car.
    ‘Thanks,’ the woman murmured, closing her eyes and allowing her head to flop back against the headrest.
    Nicole scooped up her shoes, threw them into the car, and then bent to rescue the bag, but the jacket inside it had spilled out and one of the sleeves was firmly pinned beneath the front tyre. Bloody lucky it hadn’t been her arm, she thought, as she reversed the car to release it.
    ‘I’m afraid your jacket’s probably ruined.’
    ‘It doesn’t matter.’
    ‘Don’t you care?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘Where’s your car? I’ll drive you over to it.’ Something about the woman was making Nicole feel uneasy.
    ‘I don’t have a car.’
    If she did not have a car what was she doing in the car park? It didn’t lead anywhere. A chill slithered down Nicole’s spine. ‘You meant to jump out in front of a car,’ she accused. ‘Why the hell did you pick mine?’
    The woman shrugged. ‘It was there and you were driving faster than most of them.’
    The weariness in her voice intrigued Nicole and she remembered a time when she too wanted to finish everything. She had a sudden urge to help this woman. Maybe by doing this she would