Page 16 of Waste
“Hi, fancy meeting you here,” Drew quipped as Shelley’s panicked eyes met his.
“Drew?”
“In the flesh. Shelley, I offered you my number. You didn’t have to crash to get my attention,” Drew said as he looked for something to brace Shelley’s neck.
“I don’t want your attention,” Shelley replied, dazed. Her hand rose, and she tried to open her door.
“Don’t do that, Shelley. We don’t know what injuries you have,” Drew stated, and Shelley’s hand dropped.
“What happened?” Shelley asked.
“You crashed your car,” Drew responded, finding a sweater in the rear of her car. It would do. He rolled it up and placed it around Shelley’s neck. It limited her movement, and that was good.
“The brakes wouldn’t work. I tried dropping gears, but the vehicle didn’t slow down, and then the handbrake also failed.
Shelley touched her head and winced.
“Are you in pain anywhere else?” Drew asked as he heard the wail of an ambulance.
“Everything hurts.”
“Okay, help is here,” Drew soothed as he took Shelley’s small hand in his. He liked the way that felt.
“Don’t leave me,” Shelley suddenly begged, and Drew realised how scared she was. Strangers were surrounding her, and his was the only semi-familiar face she recognised. Plus, the way her car had failed meant this whole scenario had to be terrifying.
“I won’t, that’s a promise.”
“Thank you, Drew. I don’t deserve your kindness after I told you no.”
“Rest assured, Shelley, I’ll get a date from you soon enough.” Drew grinned.
Shelley smiled back, and warmth ran through Drew. “Good luck trying.”
Her eyes closed, and Drew squeezed her hand. “Stay awake, Shelley. The ambulance is parking up now.”
“I’m so tired.”
“I’m sure you are, but you need to stay alert,” Drew said and moved aside for the paramedics.
He quickly explained what he knew and stepped back to let them work. A police car arrived, and they took the addresses and names of the witnesses and brief statements.
“I’m PC Simmons. Who are you, sir?” a police constable asked.
“My name is Drew Martin. I was driving to my hotel when I happened upon this scene. I recognised Shelley from my coffee shop and stayed with her.”
“Ah, you know the driver well?”
“No, not at all. Truthfully, we met two days ago.”
“You came across the accident? You weren’t present for it?” Simmons asked, glancing over to Drew’s hire vehicle.
“No,” Drew replied coldly. “I was the fourth car back.” Drew guessed what the officer was thinking. Had Drew run Shelley off the road?
“The victim’s name is Shelley Evans,” another policeman said, approaching. “I ran her name. Miss Evans was involved in an incident where a stalker attacked her, and he ended up dead.”
“Parker, that goes above us. We’ll need to inform the detective inspector, who is investigating that matter. Miss Evans’s accident might be of interest to him,” Simmons answered.
“Miss Evans is claiming the brakes failed and then her handbrake too. The likelihood of that happening has to be a million to one,” Parker replied.
