‘As much as sitting in an office kills your arse.’ She gave a sarcastic smile and he laughed.
‘But how much is the markup on jam? You must have to sell a shedload to make what you were making at our place? You’ll never match the supermarkets for value.’
‘I get most of my fruit for free. It’s the ultimate in recycling. That appeals to my customers too, and they’re happy to pay a fair price for a home-made product.’
‘But still … must be tough.’
‘I’ll be honest, Alex. I’ve come close to giving up, but then I remember I have a load of arseholes to prove wrong and it spurs me on.’ She gave him her sweetest smile and finished her Coke.
‘You’re funny, Regan. I’ve missed you.’ He reached acrossthe table to take her hand, making her retract it sharply and knock over her glass.
‘It’s okay. It’s empty,’ she said, picking it up. ‘Right. Time to go.’ She stood up and a confused-looking Alex downed the rest of his pint and followed her.
She was keen to get back and forget the whole sorry episode. She stalked out of the pub and across the road. A screech of brakes and Alex’s hand on her shoulder stopped her from being run over.
‘Shitterama,’ she said, her heart pumping at warp speed. She waved an apology at the bloke in the white van, who was shaking his head. It was exactly like the night of the accident when she’d stepped in front of a car – the car that most likely killed Kevin. ‘History repeating itself,’ she said, with a glance at Alex. ‘Poor bloke looked terrified.’
‘Yeah. I know how he feels.’ Alex seemed to freeze.
All sorts of things ran through Regan’s mind. The rain the night of the accident. Seeing Kevin in the park and running into the road. The car that almost ran her over. ‘It was you.’ Her voice was so much calmer than she thought it would be. ‘The night of the accident. The car I stepped in front of. It was yours.’
Alex was biting his bottom lip. ‘Don’t go jumping to any conclusions.’
‘I’m not, Alex. You’re my friend.’ It was maxing out her acting skills not to rip his head off and boot it into The Level. ‘I stepped out. It was my fault.’ She could see it now: a flash of silver. She’d been completely focused on getting across the road. ‘But that was your car I stepped in front of, wasn’t it?’
She held her breath. Alex rubbed his chin. ‘Yeah. But it wasn’t me that …’
She waved his words away. Her mind was racing.Charlie was sure the car that had almost hit her had done a lap of The Level and had been the same car that killed Kevin. ‘Like I said, it was an accident. It wasn’t intentional. The dog runs out, the homeless guy chases him. You can’t see properly. You try to brake, but …’
Alex scratched his eyebrow, glanced furtively around and let out a slow breath. ‘I know this looks bad …’
Regan pushed her balled-up fist into her pocket. She needed to stay calm. She shrugged and tried hard to look like she didn’t care, whilst she silently focused on her breathing. ‘Hey. Accidents happen. You getting locked up won’t bring him back.’
‘Exactly,’ said Alex, with gusto. Relief swamping his features. ‘That’s exactly it. It was just an accident. It all happened so fast.’
You bastard, thought Regan, clenching her teeth. Her breath was shaky, but Alex didn’t seem to notice.
‘It was awful.’ Alex was shaking his head. ‘I felt sick and I panicked. But then when I found out it was this homeless guy, I figured my luck was in and I might get away with it.’
Regan’s body was fizzing from the inside out like a bottle of shaken Coke. ‘Hmm.’ She swallowed and nodded. She needed to get him back to his car before she was the one doing time. ‘We should get back.’
The atmosphere in the car was tense. Regan kept her eyes fixed on the road and gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles were white. As they neared the studio Alex started speaking. ‘Regan, you’re very quiet. You do understand about the accident, don’t you?’
‘Sure,’ she said, hardly able to speak for the tightness of her jaw.
‘You won’t say anything, will you?’
She glanced at him. His face was ashen. ‘You could say something.’ This was his opportunity to do the decent thing. She pulled the car into the kerb outside Brian’s unit.
‘Why? Why would I do that?’
‘Because it’s the right thing to do.’
‘I can’t. I’m scared, Regan.’ He shook his head. ‘Look at it this way. The bloke’s dead. Nothing is going to change that. What would be the point of me getting nicked? I would lose my licence. Possibly even lose my job.’
‘You might end up on the streets,’ said Regan, her face deadpan.
‘Exactly! And for what? The guy was probably a junkie anyway.’
