Impetuous Masquerade

‘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 bent her head. ‘They wouldn’t know that.’

‘What do you mean?’ Rhia felt sick.

‘I’ve told you, Glyn hit the windscreen. It—it was shattered. I managed to pull his legs across——’

‘Oh, God!’ Rhia gazed at her sister in growing contempt. ‘I thought you said you panicked.’

‘I did. I did.’ Valentina’s chest was heaving. ‘Rhia, you don’t know what I felt like, sitting there, in the dark, knowing Glyn could be dead!’

Rhia expelled her breath weakly. ‘You realise you could be guilty of manslaughter, don’t you?’ she cried. ‘Oh, Val, how could you? How could you?’

Valentina thrust her hands into the pockets of her anorak, and looked about her a little sullenly now. ‘It’s all right for you to talk,’ she muttered. ‘You don’t ever have these kind of problems. Your life is so—so dull! My God, Rhia, there are times when I wonder if you’ve ever even made it with anyone! Not Simon, I’m sure. Supercilious prig!’

‘Val!’ Rhia’s hand on her arm silenced her sister, but she still looked mutinous. ‘You’re not going to gain my sympathy by insulting Simon Travis. He’s been a good friend to me, and—and I’m very fond of him. I’m just wondering how he’d react to all this.’

‘You won’t tell him?’ For a moment, Valentina’s face was anxious, but then, recognising the impatience in her sister’s eyes, she relaxed again. ‘Fond,’ she muttered, as if by speaking about Rhia’s relationships, she could eliminate her own. ‘What a god-awful word to use about the man in your life!’

Rhia ignored this, concentrating on what Valentina had just told her. At least her sister had not been joking. This was more serious than any scrape Val had got herself into before. And the awful thing was, Rhia didn’t honestly know how to advise her. Oh, it was a simple enough choice between what was right and what was wrong; but as the minutes passed and logic took the place of emotion, Rhia acknowledged her own uncertainty in the face of subsequent events. What good would it do to make Val confess? Would it help Glyn’s recovery? The answer was evidently, no, and while allowing her sister to escape the justice of her culpability was wrong, if Glyn recovered, her conviction could injure both of them.

Rhia knew she was acting as devil’s advocate, that nothing could alter the fact that Val had driven Glyn’s car both illegally and carelessly; and that, if he died, she was responsible. But if he didn’t die, if he lived, what possible good could be gained from exposing her sister to the process of law? Valentina was irresponsible and reckless, but surely the experience alone would serve as sufficient punishment, and teach her never to do such a crazy thing again.

‘Do you want another drink?’

Valentina was watching her from beneath lowered lids, and Rhia shook her head. ‘No, thanks,’ she said, steadying herself for what she had to say. ‘I’ve got to be leaving soon.’

Valentina nodded, then she clutched her sister’s sleeve. ‘Rhia?’

‘How do you know Glyn’s still unconscious? Did you phone the hospital?’

‘No.’ Valentina gave a negative reply. ‘They phoned me.’

‘They phoned you?’ Rhia’s brows arched. ‘But——’

Valentina hunched her shoulders. ‘It was my handbag. I—I left my handbag in the car.’

‘Val!’

Valentina sniffed. ‘That’s why I had to see you, don’t you see? I—I want you to tell them that I spent the night at the flat.’

Rhia gulped. ‘But—why?’ She looked blank. ‘What good will that do?’

‘Glyn’s flat isn’t far from the hospital. Like I said before, he could have dropped me and been on his way back to his flat.’

‘Dropped you—at the flat?’

‘Yes.’

‘Why? Why not at the hospital?’

Valentina sighed impatiently. ‘Rhia, I’ve got to have an alibi, don’t you see? I told you what happened. I—I walked the streets for hours. I didn’t go back to the hostel until this morning. That’s when I discovered they’d been—trying to find me.’

Now Rhia understood everything. Valentina hadn’t wanted to confide in her. On the contrary, had she not made the mistake of leaving her handbag in the car, she, Rhia, might never have learned of Val’s part in the affair. But now she was cornered and, as usual, she expected Rhia to provide a solution.

‘So what did you say?’ Rhia asked now, her voice cooler than before.

‘I told them I’d been with you,’ cried Valentina fiercely. ‘What else could I say?’

Rhia was angry. ‘So all this is just academic. You’re not really asking for my help, you’re telling me I’ve got to give it.’

‘Rhia, it’s not like that.’

‘Then what is it like?’