Page 72 of Ethan & Grace

“She’s stable,” the man who I guessed was Javier added.

“Then I’ll go see if I can make myself useful,” Garrett said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his scrubs. “But before I do—Javier, this is Grace, Amy’s sister. She’d like to know more about Amy’s accident. I thought you might be able to help.”

“Sure,” Javier replied. As I’d expected, he was the younger of the two. He had blond hair and a friendly face. I could easily picture him in emergencies, speaking calmly to people, giving them hope.

Garrett touched my shoulder. “Is it OK if I head in?”

I nodded. “Yes. Thanks for your help.”

He said goodbye and jogged back towards the hospital building.

Javier hopped out of the ambulance and gestured for me to follow so we could talk in private. We walked a few steps before he spoke.

“You look just like Amy.”

“You knew my sister?”

“No, but Garrett has a photo of her in his locker. Her death really hit him hard, poor lad—but I guess you know all about that.” He twisted his lips into a sympathetic smile. We stopped under a tree that offered a little shelter from the rain.

“So, what do you want to know?”

“Was Amy in pain?” The words burst out of my mouth before I could stop them, even though it wasn’t a question I’d planned to ask. But in that moment, I realised just how desperately I needed the answer.

Javier’s gentle, reassuring smile didn’t falter. “I can only speculate, but it looked to me like the car hit your sister head-on. She probably went over the bonnet and hit her head on the asphalt. She didn’t die right away, but she almost certainly lost consciousness immediately. So she shouldn’t have felt any pain.”

Tears welled in my eyes. “Did she die from the head injury?”

“You should talk to pathology about that. What I can tell you is that she had internal bleeding, a punctured lung, and several broken bones. We tried to help her, but her heart stopped before we could even get her into the ambulance. We tried to resuscitate her.” It was clear from Javier’s voice that, despite his job and experience, recounting all this was not easy for him. And it certainly wasn’t easy to hear. It took every last shred of willpower not to break down in tears. “I’m sorry Amy didn’t make it.”

“Me too.” I pulled a tissue from my pocket to wipe my nose and catch the first tears before they could fall. I would now have to live with the image Javier’s words had just planted in my mind forever, but it was a relief to know Amy hadn’t suffered. It was probably the best you could hope for in a situation like this—a quick, painless end.

Javier studied me. “Was that all you wanted to know?”

I swallowed hard. “No, I have one more question. Do you remember anything that might give a clue as to who caused the accident?”

He frowned. “I’m sure the forensics team can tell you more than I can. But I do recall seeing a bonnet ornament lying next to your sister. I think it was the silver one with wings. You know, from that overpriced car make.”

“Rolls-Royce,” I replied without thinking. I wasn’t interested in cars, but I’d seen plenty of fancy Rolls-Royces at The Darlington. Not to mention that the old men at the hotel loved talking about their showy rides. As a result, I knew more than I wanted to about the bonnet ornament Javier was referring to. Including the fact that its official name was Spirit of Ecstasy.

“Exactly!” Javier snapped his fingers.

My heart started racing. “Amy was run over by a Rolls-Royce?”

“I can’t tell you for sure. But I don’t see why else the thing would have been lying there. Maybe it broke off on impact. But like I said, forensics probably knows more than I do. My attention was on Amy.”

I thanked Javier, not just for the information, but for taking care of Amy. Despite the tears in my eyes and the lump in my throat, I left the hospital with a sense of hope. Javier had just given me what felt like the first real lead for my investigation, and a pretty valuable one at that.

26

The Darlington in Crisis Again: Is This the End of the Venerable Luxury Hotel?

INsider headline

Ethan

I missed Grace. I’d only been in Cambridge visiting James for a couple of days, but she’d been on my mind the whole time, and I could hardly wait to see her again in just a moment. It was a completely new feeling for me. I’d always liked the women I slept with, but my affection had only ever skimmed the surface, whereas what I felt for Grace went much deeper. It had taken hold of me, touching my heart in a way I hadn’t seen coming. If I was honest, it scared me.

“Hey!”