Relieved, he swung the car into the turning and immediately saw a man crossing in front of him, moving slowly.

What happened next was too fast to follow, although later his mind replayed it in slow motion. The man saw him and began to run, and at the exact same moment he slammed on the brakes. The sudden sharp movement made the car skid over the ice that lay on the road beneath the snow.

It was the merest bad luck that the car went in the same direction as the man. Whether he, too, slithered on the ice or the car actually touched him nobody could ever be sure. But the next moment he was lying on the ground, groaning.

Alex brought the car to a cautious halt and got out. By now a woman had appeared from a house and hurried over to the victim. She was wrapped up in a thick jacket whose hood concealed everything about her head.

‘Jimmy? Oh, God, Jimmy, what happened?’

‘That idiot was going too fast. Hell, my shoulder!’

He winced and, clutching his neck, gasped with pain.

‘Corinne, can you give me your arm?’

‘Corinne?’

Alex drew back the side of the hood to her indignation.

‘Hey, what are you-? Alex! Did you do this?’

‘He slipped on the ice.’

‘Which I wouldn’t have done,’ Jimmy said, ‘if you hadn’t been going too fast to stop.’

‘I was barely doing-’

‘Shut up both of you,’ she said fiercely. ‘This isn’t the time.’

‘Right. I’ll call an ambulance.’

‘No need,’ Jimmy groaned. ‘We were on our way to the hospital anyway. Corinne, let’s just go. I’m sure it’s only a sprain and they can patch me up before I do my stuff.’

He climbed slowly to his feet, holding on to Corinne and refusing all offers of help from Alex. But when Corinne touched his arm he yelled with pain.

‘Be sensible,’ said Alex, tight-lipped. ‘If you don’t want an ambulance I’ll take you. Wait here!’

He strode off to where he’d parked. Jimmy, clinging to Corinne, gasped, ‘Corinne, please, anybody’s car but Alex’s.’