‘Your turn now,’ Laura told Jason. ‘You get to have the afternoon off to do whatever you like.’
‘How ’bout a drive somewhere? We could take Megan to the beach. I’ll bet she’s never seen a beach.’
‘I haven’t seen one myself for a while.’ Laura also tucked away the fact that Jason had given up an afternoon’s reprieve in order to spend time with her and Megan.
As usual they took Laura’s hatchback car, because Jason still hadn’t cleaned out his own vehicle and she had declared it a health hazard for babies the first time they had taken Megan home. She wasn’t about to suggest he spend his free afternoon catching up with that task, though, not when the prospect of a family-type outing was in the offing for the first time.
And it was great.
They drove out of the city, taking the coastal road to the wide expanses of Paraparaumu beach. The warm spring afternoon held all the promise of a hot summer to come, and while the water was still far too cold to contemplate even a paddle, Jason eyed the gentle surf longingly.
‘Do you remember summer holidays when you were a kid?’
‘My family had a bach at Waihi. Corrugated iron walls, outside loo, no electricity. Must have been hell for Mum but we loved it. We’d spend the whole of January there some years.’
‘Good surf?’
Laura laughed. ‘Don’t tell me you really
‘What does she mean?’ Jason directed the question to the baby he was holding as they walked along the firm, damp sand just out of reach of the waves. ‘Look, Peanut.’ He turned his daughter and held her face outwards to the view. ‘This is a New Zealand beach,’ he said proudly. ‘It’s where most of us live for the summer holidays. We swim and build sandcastles and have picnics and barbecues. And
Except that Megan would probably be spending her Januarys in a cold, grey city on the other side of the world, but neither of them mentioned that.
They sat for a while amongst the tussock-covered sand dunes and Jason was the one who fed Megan. He laughed at the baby’s expression on tasting her milk.
‘Yeah, I know it’s cold. Food always tastes different at the beach. Better,’ he added wistfully. He glanced up at Laura. ‘Look at that-she’s not bothered that it’s cold. She’s a little trouper, isn’t she?’
‘She’s great,’ Laura said quietly.
Jason broke the short silence that fell a minute or two later. ‘Talking about food at the beach…I’m
‘I’m not surprised. It’s three o’clock and we haven’t had lunch. Did you see that fish-and-chip shop we passed just down the road?’
‘Let’s go.’ Jason put Megan upright against his shoulder and was rubbing her back with what seemed like an automatic gesture. She obliged by burping loudly only seconds later, and then Jason was on his feet. ‘She’s going to need a nap soon.’
‘She’ll sleep in the car.’
‘We could take a longer route home. I’ll drive this time, if you like. Let’s go over the hills and back through the Hutt Valley. I haven’t been out that way for years.’
Neither had Laura. ‘I never knew there was an animal park out here. Look, it says it has deer and donkeys and goats and you’re allowed to feed them all. Be great fun for kids.’
‘We’ll bring Megan some time when she’s awake.’
‘She might be a bit young to appreciate it.’
‘We’re not, though.’ Jason turned to grin at Laura but she clutched at his arm.
‘Look out, Jase!’
Jason swore roundly 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
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 OK,’ Jason told it. ‘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.’ Laura checked her phone but the reception had been patchy enough on the road when she had first alerted the emergency services. It had gone completely now and she would not be able to give them an update on the situation. Turning back to the accident victim, Laura ran her hands over the middle-aged man in a body sweep for any obvious bleeding. ‘He’s got a fractured femur,’ she told Jason, pointing to the obvious misalignment of the man’s leg. She carried on with a rapid secondary survey. ‘Pelvis is stable, that’s good.’ She was ripping open a woollen bush shirt as they heard a call from above.
