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CHAPTER ONE

ASHLEY couldn't sit still She got up to pace her sister's kitchen again Dear lord, how er would they be at the police station? Surely by now they realised that they had the wrong person? Her brother wasn't a car thief or a joy rider He had respect for other people's property… hadn't he?

Tient He had a pro his final exao off the rails and atteoodness sake! Ti here with her sister for the past twoa long-anticipated reunion with relatives, there had been nowhere else for hio Unfortunately, Tim hadn't wanted to stay with Susan and Arnold And Ashley had understood his reluctance She wouldn't have wanted to live with Susan's rules and regulations either

The white space-age kitchen re theatre It was sterile There was no clutter, Susan would not allow clutter Her home was obsessively clean and tidy Just like Susan herself On the phone, though, she'd been hysterical, or as close to hysterical as soet Tihbours had suidelines of Susan's rigid moral code and you were out in no man's land all on your own A pariah Nobody knew that better than Ashley On the day Susan had discovered that her unnant, Susan had turned her back without hesitation When you threatened to become a social embarrassment, Susan would literally cross the street to avoid you

Ashley took sudden ironic strength frohtest suspicion that Tio to the police station alone

'Can I get you a cup of tea, Miss Forrester?'

Ashley spun round with a nervous jerk Her sister's housekeeper, Mrs Adaown, her discomfort palpable 'No, thanks I couldn't,' Ashley muttered

'Any word-?''Nothing yet'

'He's such a… spirited young man,' the older woman remarked

Ashley paled at the reminder Tim had his father's teressive Hunt Forrester rejoiced in Tirit and guts A girl wasn't Just as baby girls were thean all important son, the second chapter in her father's book of sexist 'do's' and 'don’ts' said that girls were supposed to be sugar and spice, rarely seen and never heard Ashley had never fitted the rulebook In one way or another she had always transgressed

Ashley had rebelled but Susan had always conforh he was nearly twenty years older, he had been her sister's first and last boyfriend Susan had never spread her wings in the outside world, never fought for a taste of the freedoranted Ashley had often wondered if her sister had rushed intobully of a father and a hory scenes

'That's the car…' Mrs Adao back to h her dishevelledbreath Susan didn't know she was here waiting and her sister would probably see her presence as an act of unwelcome interference As she heard the key in the front door, she walked out to the hall, praying that Tiry and shaken but unafraid… in other words, an innocent accused Dear God, she couldn't even bring herself to consider the alternative!

The lanky youth who lunged through the door at full tilt didn't even see her standing there Tih the house Arnold appeared next In the act of shedding his raincoat, the older man froze 'Ashley?'

Susan thrust past him Her oval face was a waxen ed red 'Ashley?' she exclai hand on his wife's sleeve 'Stay out of this!' Susan rounded on her husband furiously 'She's here and I'lad she is I want her to knohat she's done!'

'What I've done?' Ashley echoed after an incredulous pause

'This is all your fault!' Susan hissed at her 'What am I supposed to tell Mum and Dad when they come home? They put Tim in our care He was our responsibility When Dad finds out about this, he'll bla you near Ti on you for his pound of flesh!'

Susan in a rage was a stranger to Ashley She had the weird feeling that she had stepped into a crazy nisable As a rule her sister was frigidly uneht she was a woerence

Ashleyhand 'Susan, please I don't knohat you're talking about How can I be involved in this?'

'Aren't you involved in everything that drags our family down? Do you knohose car he wrecked?' Susan ranted 'Do you knohy he wrecked it?' Ashley was in a daze, devastated by the obvious aded

'Our stupid little brother went out to get his revenge on the ed face suddenly cruthe tears that were threatening 'So what does he do? He takes his car and goes berserk with it in the grounds of his home! He's caused thousands and thousands of pounds' worth of dae That car costvoice was rising steeply 'He's demolished their b-bl-blasted stupid fountain and ripped up their bowling-green lawn! And for that, he's likely to go to prison!'

'But that's ih bone-dry lips As Arnold attempted to comfort his wife, he was elbowed rudely away Her sister fled upstairs as Ti silence that she left behind, another door slahed, steering Ashley into the lounge 'Best leave her to herself until she calms down'

A wave of dizziness was assailing Ashley White as a sheet, she swayed and braced herself with both hands on the back of the sofa It was impossible It couldn't be true Tim didn't even knoho she had been involved hile she was at university So end of the stick, lost her head and made quite insane accusations

Over by the drinks cabinet, Arnold was talking to himself 'None of us is to bla before he came to us'

'Tim couldn't possibly have taken… Vito's car,' Ashley said unsteadily

Arnold sipped at his whisky He had forgotten to offer her a drink That oversight spoke volumes for his state of mind 'I'm sorry, my dear You're still in the dark, aren't you? Take it fro there,' he completed heavily

'Arnold!' Ash

ley wanted to screaoing on!' Her brother-in-law took a deep breath 'Tioes to school with-er… Cavalieri's nephew, Pietro'

'He never told me that!' Ashley burst out

'Until recently, Tim had no idea that there had ever been any previous connection between our farooved into Arnold's thin features 'At one stage, believe it or not, the two boys were actually firm friends Pietro moved with a fast crowd and Tim was popular with thehtclub, but since his family have more influence than we have, poor Tim carried the can alone-'

'What trouble?' Ashley interrupted blankly

Arnold groaned 'He was up before thefor disorderly conduct and criht'

Ashley closed her stricken eyes 'Does nobody tell ?'

'To be fair, he got in with the wrong crowd' Arnold sighed 'And after that nightclub business he did realise that he'd been handpicked as the fall guy The club had no intention of pursuing a Cavalieri to court'

'So this wasn't Tiistered in horror

'The friendship with Pietro cooled after that, but last month Tim attended a party at Pietro's home,' Arnold continued with visible reluctance 'Someone there identified him as your brother The two boys had already been involved in soon, -er-your past-er-relationship with his uncle, and there was a fight'

Ashley's knees gave She felt her passage down into the nearest seat, her stoed to avoid her anguished stare

'Tim thumped hell out of the little swine and he was thrown out,' he said grimly 'But unfortunately, Pietro wasn't prepared to take his co found Tim's weak spot, continued to bait him at school And last month, four of them cornered him and beat him up'

An inarticulate gasp of distress escaped her bloodless lips She remembered how uncoot nowhere when she tried to find out what had lain behind that attack Tim had stared at the wall He had almost stormed out when she'd persisted In the end, she had minded her own business She had been the black sheep of her family for over four years and her only recently renewed link with Tim had been too tenuous and too precious to risk

She bent her head sickly 'Go on'