Then she turned on the light in the window, sat down in the half-darkness at the kitchen table, and pushed all her thoughts to one side.

20

Jan

HE BRAKED WITH RESTRAINT. He couldn’t slam on the brakes; if he did, he would lose control of the car. He also couldn’t swerve. He didn’t want to be close to that ravine on the icy road, so it was a conscious choice to keep left on the corner. How was he supposed to predict an encounter on this quiet road in the middle of the forest? The oncoming car was going far too fast—he based his assessment on how fast it was approaching—and it was something he was unhappily unable to do anything about.

He gently braked to mitigate the blow without spinning the car. Better to have a head-on crash than to be hit in the side by the oncoming car, he reasoned. Or to fly into the abyss.

But the idiot in the other car moved to the side and slammed on the brakes. He seemed to have the synapses of a reptile. So instead of the expected head-to-head collision, Jan watched with consternation as the oncoming car avoided him by a hair’s breadth and, travelling sideways at high speed, slid across the road and practically flew off the edge. He also managed to see the way it plummeted down the slope rear first before it vanished behind the crest and he had to concentrate on his own driving.

He brought the Audi to a halt about thirty metres beyond the scene of the accident and caught his breath for a few seconds. Then he reversed back to where the other car had disappeared, turned off the music, and hopped over to the passenger seat for a better view. He wasn’t sure whether to get out of the car or not—he was in shock and couldn’t think straight.

It looked bad. The other car had done a whole somersault before ending up at the bottom of the ravine with its nose facing the road. There was smoke coming from the car, but the engine was quiet. There was no movement inside: no signs of life from the driver or any passengers. And given how the wreckage looked, it would have surprised him if anyone had managed to survive the crash.

So what was he meant to do?

Should he climb down into the ravine and see whether there was anything he or anyone else could do? In these slippery, cold conditions and with ordinary shoes in this rugged terrain? Hardly.

Should he contact emergency services? Then the police would come—that wasn’t a great idea. Even though Jan was sober, he would definitely test positive on a breathalyser. Suspicion would be directed at him that would generate an unpleasant ripple effect, and that would be most unfortunate.

When all was said and done, that stupid driver had caused this and had only himself to blame. Someone else would have to find him and call an ambulance. If it was needed, which seemed rather unlikely given how things looked down there—how quiet and still things were.