Sink or Swim

Chapter 6

"Don't get your hopes up."

"Please can you just tell me what you've found?" Skye blurted, getting impatient. She stepped to the side to let Jake in and then sat down on the couch, waiting for him to join her. Jake followed her and sat down.

"A green car was found dumped on a side road in the Brecon Beacons. It had some significant damage on the bonnet. Not enough that it wasn't drivable but enough that it could have crashed into the side of your car." He paused. "Skye, can you remember anything else about the size of the car that hit you?"

The swimmer pushed her eyes together tightly and took a deep breath. "I think it was quite long."

"Could it have been a Volvo?" Jake questioned. Skye's eyes narrowed. She didn't know what a Volvo looked like. She'd always been happy in her blue Ford Fiesta which she only drove around locally. Now that was gone too. She would usually get the train to competitions or Adam would take her.

Jake took his phone out of his pocket and started typing. He turned it around after a couple of seconds to show Skye a photo of a green Volvo.

She nodded slowly. "It could have been that."

"They're going to check it over, see if they can find out who it belongs to."

Skye's brows rose. "It isn't registered?"

"No number plates." Of course. It couldn't possibly be that easy. "Skye, what is it you want from this? Sure, this is a crime but not a big one in the eye of the law. It's unlikely they'll face prison if they're found."

"I don't know," she spat out before thinking. She did know because she'd thought about this every day and every night. "That's a lie, I do know." She paused, trying to reach for the correct words. "I want to look them in the face and tell them how much they've hurt me." She shrugged and pulled her blonde locks over her right shoulder. "And some compensation wouldn't be bad. I can't get that without knowing who was driving, can I?"

"Afraid not, but the car wasn't empty. We may still be able to find something that tells us more. I can't promise anything, though."

"I just can't get my head around this, Jake," Skye said in a sudden outburst. "If it was an accident then they wouldn't speed off and dump the car. They would stop and help me or go to the police to tell them what had happened. That's why there must be more to this. There must be more than just trying to hide it from the police, there's something else, I can feel it."

"You'd be surprised how often this kind of thing happens. People do strange things when they think they're in trouble. Don't investigate it yourself too much until we get some more answers. I just wanted to come round and keep you updated." Skye nodded at Jake but she wasn't going to stop looking into it.

When Jake left, Skye grabbed her shoes and walked to town, crutches in hand, with determination on her face. She made her way to Craig's apartment and called through the interface, relieved when he answered.

"Hey Craig, it's Skye. I just got some information and I'm not sure what to do with it so I came round without even thinking."

"Sure, come up." She had only been to his apartment a couple of times before but it wasn't hard to find, it was the first door on the second floor.

The swimmer looked lost when she entered his place like she was floating in her own mind. She told Craig everything that Jake had told her. That the car may have been found, that there was little chance of comeuppance for the culprit and that she didn't care about that and just wanted closure.

"It sounds like they're getting there," Craig remarked. Skye hadn't felt so positive about it.

"I thought I'd feel better with some sort of answer but it just feels even more intense than it did before." Her eyes were tired and her cheeks red but at least her hair was down, straight and brushed today. Skye gripped the sleeves of her pink jumper and shrugged, trying to hold back her overwhelmed tears.