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‘We’re not, though.’ Jason turned to grin at Laura, but she clutched at his arm.

‘Look out, Jase!’

Jason swore under his breath as a car, passing them at speed on the downhill stretch, cut in way too sharply. ‘What’s he in such a big hurry for? Idiot.’

The black BMW containing the idiot had reached the bottom of the slope. Laura’s mouth gaped as she saw the swerve when its outside wheels left the tarmac. An instant later, the car had vanished.

‘Oh, my God – it’s gone over the bank!’

Jason already had the hazard lights on Laura’s car flashing. He pulled off the road well before the bend so that oncoming traffic would see the vehicle.

‘Stay here,’ he ordered. ‘I’ll go and see what’s happened.’

‘We know what’s happened. That was a hell of a crash we just heard. It’s highly likely that someone’s injured. I’m coming, too.’

‘But we can’t just leave Megan.’

‘She’s sound asleep and perfectly safe in her car seat.’ Laura was pulling her first-aid kit, in a small green backpack, from the back of her car. ‘Come on, Jason. We’re wasting time.’

The bank was steep. They could see the wheels of the unfortunate car, one still spinning, as it lay upside down towards the bottom of the bank. They couldn’t see any occupants due to the shrubby undergrowth beneath the trees.

Laura’s foot slipped as she scrambled down after Jason and he caught her arm and steadied her.

‘Careful, babe,’ he warned. ‘Take it slowly.’

He released her arm but took hold of her hand instead and Laura was quite happy to make the journey a team effort. He was quite right, of course. The first rule for any rescuer was not to become one of the casualties, and it would be only too easy to slip and break an ankle or wrist on terrain like this when she was wearing trainers rather than her heavy work boots.

Jason was equally careful as they neared the wreck. ‘Don’t go downhill from the vehicle,’ he warned. ‘It’s not secure enough to be safe. Can you smell any fuel?’

‘No.’ Laura sniffed again just to be sure.

‘Good. Neither do I.’ Jason peered into one of the back windows of the vehicle. ‘I can’t see anyone.’

Laura looked at where the driver’s window was half-buried in soft earth. Or had the roof been compressed that far down? She knelt down and found she could see more than she expected of the front seats. Unexpectedly, she couldn’t see any people. Had Jason missed seeing someone crumpled behind the front seats on the roof that was now the floor of the vehicle perhaps?

‘Hello!’ she called. ‘Can anyone hear me?’

‘There’s a branch been knocked off this tree.’ Jason picked up what could have passed for a tree trunk with ease. ‘I’ll see if I can jam it somewhere on the other side to stabilise the— What the…!’

Jason dropped the tree branch and spun around. His laugh was one of embarrassed relief. ‘It’s a dog!’ he exclaimed. ‘I thought someone was grabbing my leg.’

The dog was black and curly and very fat. It cringed at the first movement from Jason but then wiggled apologetically closer and sat on his foot.

‘It’s shaking,’ Laura observed. ‘It’s probably been thrown clear of the car.’

‘Doesn’t look like it’s hurt too badly.’ Jason moved his foot but the dog moved swiftly and recaptured the contact. ‘It’s okay,’ he said. ‘You’re safe now. Can you get out of the way so we can find your owner?’

Jason was satisfied enough with his positioning of the branch to let them confirm that the car was empty. The dog obviously hadn’t been the only passenger to be thrown clear of the wreck. They searched the surrounding area in expanding circles, with Jason still insisting that Laura take the higher ground.

‘Up here!’ Laura shouted a minute later. ‘I’ve found someone.’

‘He can’t have been wearing a seat belt, then.’ Jason was beside her within seconds. ‘How is he?’

‘Unconscious but breathing well,’ Laura told him. ‘I can’t see any major head injury. We’ll have to assume he was the only one in the car for the moment. Can you come behind his head and keep his neck stable?’

‘Sure. Do you think he’s got a spinal injury?’

‘Given the mechanism of injury, it’s fairly high on the index of suspicion.’