The doctors didn't reply.
"The girl," Lin said, "the one who was driving the other car? Was she hurt?"
"Yes. Pretty badly. But she'll live."
"What's her name?"
The two doctors looked at each other. One of them said, "I believe she gave her name as Dorothy Lake."
"Tell me, what was it that caused my car to go out of control?" Lin asked suddenly.
"I can tell you that," one of the doctors said. "The mechanic reported that your tierod, the rod that connects the front wheels together so they stay in line, had come off one of its moorings."
"Oh." Lin said vaguely. He was beginning to feel strange. The memory of that interlude atop the mountain had come back. He was remembering that bit of paper he had snatched from the flames. But of course there was nothing in that.... "Are my things here?" he asked abruptly. "My billfold?"
"Yes," the nurse said. "Your billfold is in the drawer here."
"Get it," Lin said.