She’s Out

Chapter 11

DCI Craigh gave the signal and all vehicle lights went out; no sirens as the convoy moved slowly down the drive to the manor. There were lights on. The cars stopped and six men moved quickly to the rear of the house, six more positioned themselves around the front. Craigh, accompanied by Palmer and Mike, walked up the front steps. He tapped lightly and called quietly that it was the police. Receiving no reply, he stepped back, and Palmer hit the lock on the front door. At the same time, the men at the rear of the house got a radio message to enter via the kitchen.

The sound of the forced entry echoed like thunder inside the manor. Down came the front door as the back door splintered. They let rip with the information they were police officers.

Kathleen was putting coal into a scuttle when she heard the crash and the loud voices: ‘Police! Police!’ She chucked the scuttle aside, drew open the cellar window and climbed out.

Angela almost had heart failure. She was caught midway up the stairs and started screaming in terror.

Connie was the first to return. Big John had dropped her at the manor gates. She was picked up as she walked down the drive, two uniformed officers holding her between them as they pushed her towards the front door. By now every light was turned on, the place seemed to be swarming with police and she was as terrified as Angela. She thought they were arresting her because of Lennie; Angela thought they had come for her because of James Donaldson. They were questioned, asked for their names, dates of birth, and shown the search warrant: neither said anything.

Kathleen was equally terrified and, once out of the cellar, made a run for it, heading towards the woods. Two officers gave chase. By the time she was brought back, held between the two men, she was sobbing hysterically.

Ester and Gloria drove in just as Kathleen was being escorted from the woods. Both women were asked to step out of their vehicle, place their hands on the top of the car and stand with their legs apart. Gloria was yelling her head off, demanding that a female officer search her, as Ester shouted that she wanted to know what was going on. No one answered. They were shown the warrant as DCI Craigh walked out of the house. He instructed his men to run checks on all the women.

‘What you talking about?’ Gloria demanded.

Kathleen stood by the patrol car, head bowed, still crying.

‘What you think we are? Bleedin’ IRA? I’m from East Ham, she’s from Liverpool, you got this all wrong.’ Gloria was yelling and Ester nudged her to shut up. ‘I want to go to the toilet,’ Gloria shouted.

Ester warned her again to shut up but Gloria hissed back, ‘Have you forgot I got the dough in me knickers?’

The police received information that Kathleen O’Reilly was wanted for absconding from a magistrates’ court; there was an outstanding charge of fraud against her. She was ushered into the patrol car.

As Dolly and Julia drove up to the manor, they gaped at the scene: Ester and Gloria, spread-eagled over the van, Kathleen sobbing inside the patrol car, and everywhere uniformed officers carrying big-beamed torches.

‘Shit, now what?’ Dolly exploded.

‘Will you get out of the car?’ DCI Craigh gestured for more officers to assist in searching the new arrivals.

The women were herded into the house and taken into the drawing room where Connie sat with Angela as the room was searched by a uniformed officer. Dolly looked over the search warrant and then handed it back to Craigh. ‘You mind if I brew a pot of tea?’

He shook his head. If that woman had a stash of guns inside the house she was acting very cool about it but he wasn’t about to call the men off, far from it. They would comb every inch of the house and grounds.

The dawn light came and with it better visibility. The search continued, both inside and out. The women sat drinking tea, eating sandwiches, but did not offer either to the police.

At half past eight on Sunday morning, Craigh gave up. He returned to London with Palmer and Mike. They had found nothing and all they had to show for eight hours’ work was a missing felon, Kathleen O’Reilly. At least that was something.

Dolly examined the damaged doors and banister rails. She began making up a list of damages for which she would apply to be reimbursed and she would make damned sure they paid for it through the nose. She was angry, not just because of the warrant and the search but because it was obvious they had to have had a tip-off from someone. The question was, which one of them was it? She knew they had been very lucky: a few hours earlier and they would have been caught not only with the guns but with a dead body. The women were all on edge, waiting for the police to leave. They couldn’t talk, too scared they might be overheard. By one o’clock Sunday morning the remaining police called it quits and left. As soon as the women saw them moving out, they all began to talk at once.

‘Eh! Dolly, what about Kathleen?’

‘I don’t know what to think.’

‘I would never put her in the frame for being a grass,’ Gloria said, as she hitched up her skirt.

‘Somebody is, though,’ Dolly said.

Gloria tossed the money out of her panties. There you go. I had it stashed in me drawers — about the only thing I’ve had in them for a few years.’

Dolly arched an eyebrow. ‘Don’t be crude.’

They counted the money, discussed the sale of the car and then Dolly looked at her watch. ‘Right, I’m going to have a sleep, then I’m going to church.’

They were astonished. She yawned, asking if the boiler was on as she needed a bath.

‘Church?’ Gloria asked.

‘Yes, church. I intend making the locals trust me — I’ve got to if I’m going to open up this place.’ Dolly paused. ‘Even though they turned me down, I’m not finished yet. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy but unless I give it a chance—’

‘Why don’t you be realistic, Dolly? You don’t stand a chance in hell. As if they would let kids come here.’ Ester yawned.

‘Why not?’

‘Because you’re an ex-con, darlin’. Now maybe you’d stand more of a chance if you applied for teenagers — better still, ex-cons, young ones coming out. They all need a home and—’ Suddenly Ester laughed and clapped her hands. ‘I tell you something, with my contacts, if you got a houseful of young girls we could open this place again. Coin it! What a perfect cover.’

‘Run this as a brothel?’ Dolly asked with a half-smile.

‘Why not? It ran before and, like I said, I have contacts. Put in the cash we got from the guns, from my car — we’ve at least got a kick-start.’

Julia turned on her. ‘Use poor kids coming out of the nick? Is that what you’d do, Ester?’

‘Why not? It’s not as if we’ve not got a couple of tarts here for starters.’

‘Who you bleedin’ callin’ a tart?’ Gloria snapped.

‘Oh, come off it. You and Connie have been turning tricks and Angela’s done a couple. All I’m saying is be realistic’

Julia was furious. Well, before I’d get kids on the game, I’d pull a robbery. You sicken me, Ester.’

‘Do I? Well, maybe we should think about the latter then. What do you say, Dolly? You got anything in mind? You know this will never get opened as a foster home so I’m asking you. You got any ideas?’

Dolly said nothing as she moved slowly to the door. ‘No. The only thing I’ve got on my mind right now is trying to find out which one of you shopped me. Somebody here did — one of you did — and when I sort that out I intend, as I’ve said right from the word go, to open this place up. That’s what I bought it for. You lot may have changed your minds but I haven’t.’

They waited until the door closed behind her before they talked in whispers, wondering if she had been turned down because of the sauna episode, but they dismissed it. They started looking from one to another: was one of them a grass?

Gloria sighed. ‘What about Kathleen? She was the only one of us the filth had anything on. Maybe she was scared and wanted to make a deal.’

‘No way. Kathleen’s a lot of things but she’s not a grass,’ Julia said.

‘That leaves one of us in here, doesn’t it?’ Gloria said, looking at Ester.

‘It’s not fucking me,’ Ester snapped.

Julia opened the door. ‘This is ridiculous. We’re all knackered. Why don’t we do what Dolly’s doing and have some kip? We’ve been up all night.’

Dolly could hear toilets flushing, baths running. She was wide awake, couldn’t sleep. Ester tapped lightly on the door and peeked in. ‘Dolly, can I have a word?’

Dolly lay back on the pillow. ‘Sure, sit down.’

‘Look, I’m sorry if I spoke out of turn down there but I was just tired and right now I need a roof over my head. But at the same time, you know, that cash won’t go far.’

Dolly nodded. ‘No, it won’t.’

‘That said, you could make this work, I’m sure of it.’

‘I need that cash, Ester, I’m sorry. I know what you’re after and the answer is no. I need that money to pay builders, to keep the place afloat. If you want to stay on and give me a hand then you can.’

‘Okay, thanks.’ It wasn’t what she wanted to hear. She needed money, she wanted to get out of the bloody place. ‘Maybe check out Angela. She’s been making phone calls.’ Ester backed out and closed the door.

Dolly sat up and thumped her pillow. Next to turn up was Connie. She wanted Dolly to know that she believed in the project and was sure it would work, she loved the old house. ‘It wasn’t me, Dolly, I wouldn’t have told anyone about the guns, I mean, I wouldn’t, not with Lennie here, now would I?’

Dolly smiled ruefully. ‘No, love, but Lennie could have got us all in hot water.’

Connie was near to tears. ‘I know, I know. But I also want you to know that it wasn’t me.’

A while after she left, Gloria tapped at the door. One by one they came, just to make sure Dolly knew it wasn’t them.

The only one who did not appear was Angela.

She was lying wide awake in her bed, and jumped when Dolly walked in and closed the door. ‘I want to talk to you, Angela, and I want you to be honest with me. Who are you calling?’ Angela burst into tears and Dolly sat on the edge of her bed. ‘Now don’t cry, just tell me, we all know you’re always making phone calls.’

‘My mum and—’

Angela began to sob. Dolly waited as Angela blurted out how frightened she was about being arrested for running over Jimmy Donaldson. Between sobs and gasps she told Dolly about her boyfriend, who was married with kids, and now didn’t want anything to do with her.

Dolly patted her hand. ‘Well, maybe it’s best that you’re here.’

‘I’m pregnant.’

She cradled Angela in her arms, comforting her, asking if she wanted to keep the baby. When Angela sobbed out that she didn’t know, Dolly assured her that as long as she was at the manor, both Angela and the baby would have a home.

When Dolly came out Connie was passing Angela’s room.

‘She’s pregnant.’

Connie looked at the closed door, then back at Dolly. ‘So that’s why she’s been on the phone, is it?’

‘Don’t tell the others. She doesn’t want anyone to know.’

Connie scooted down the stairs and into the kitchen. Gloria was sitting with Ester as Julia washed up.

‘Okay, this is what we’ve decided, Connie,’ Ester said.

Connie’s eye was caught by a stack of bits and pieces of jewellery.

‘We’re all giving up what we can, you know, just to make it look like we’re really behind this foster home crap. We don’t think Dolly stands a chance in hell but...’

Connie pulled out a chair and sank into it. ‘I got a few pieces I can give.’

‘Good. It’s just that she’s got to trust us, Connie, we think she may be coming up with something. We don’t know but Gloria said three shotguns are missing.’

‘Yeah, I took them into the gym, they’re in a locker there.’

Ester turned to Julia. ‘See, what did I tell you? I knew she was planning something. This proves it.’

Julia was putting away the dishes. ‘So we all make out we love this place, is that right?’

Connie pouted. ‘But I do.’

‘So do I,’ said Julia.

‘Yeah, well, that’s ’cos of that bleedin’ horse. You’re never off the friggin’ thing.’

Julia glared at Gloria. ‘Okay, so I love Helen of Troy, but I also like this place.’

Ester slapped the table. ‘For chrissakes, can we get done with The Sound of Bleedin’ Music? All I am saying is she doesn’t trust us.’

‘Well, I’m not the fuckin’ grass,’ Gloria said angrily.

‘I think it’s Angela,’ Ester said.

‘No, she’s not, she’s pregnant,’ Connie said, and they all turned on her. She shrugged her shoulders. ‘She is, Dolly just told me, that’s why she’s been making all these calls.’

Gloria stood up. Well, she’s a bloody little liar. She’s not pregnant.’

‘How do you know?’ Ester demanded.

‘Because she borrowed my Tampax yesterday.’ Dolly walked in and Gloria whipped round. ‘We think it’s Angela. She’s not pregnant, Dolly, she’s a liar.’

Dolly clasped her hands in front of her. ‘Is she? Well, one of you get her down here. Get her in here right now.’

Angela was hauled out of her bed by Gloria and pushed down the stairs. She came into the kitchen like a frightened rabbit.

‘How many weeks gone are you?’ demanded Dolly.

‘Two months,’ Angela said.

Gloria pushed her. ‘No, you’re not. Why did you borrow my Tampax if you was up the spout?’

‘Because I had some blood, I did, I swear on my life.’

Connie went over to her and slipped her arms around her. ‘Don’t cry, we believe you.’

‘I fucking don’t,’ yelled Gloria.

Dolly scratched her head, and then said to Julia, ‘Take her upstairs and examine her.’

‘Oh, for God’s sake, Dolly, this is ridiculous,’ Julia said.

‘Is it? Well, I want to know, because if she isn’t then she lied to me and she could have been lying from day one. Somebody is tipping off the police, so examine her. Go on, do it.’

Julia led Angela out of the room, then Ester tapped Dolly’s shoulder. ‘This is for you. It’s from us, all of us. We want to help out in any way we can, Dolly. Some of it’s gold and—’

Gloria pointed. ‘That tie-pin belonged to Jack Dempsey and that Rolex Eddie gave me. It could be a fake, though.’

Dolly picked up pieces of the jewellery, strangely moved even as she noted that they still wore their best bits. But it was, as the old saying goes, the thought that counted.

About ten minutes later Julia returned. ‘I think she’s more like three months than two. She was telling the truth and you can often have a few spots, even a period during the early months.’

Dolly felt awful but she had needed to know.

‘So you think it’s Kathleen?’ Gloria asked.

‘I don’t know — I just don’t know,’ Dolly said, and drummed her fingers on the table. ‘I mean maybe, just maybe, it’s no one. Have any of you had dealings with DCI Craigh before?’

No one could recall having been arrested by him on a previous occasion. Connie said that she quite liked him, he’d been very nice to her; it was the younger bloke she didn’t like.

Angela was suddenly standing like a child in the doorway.

Dolly reached for her and took her hand. ‘I’m sorry about that, love, but I needed to know.’

Angela backed away, pressing her body against the wall.

‘We’re just talking about the coppers,’ Dolly said.

‘Well, I don’t like them, any of them,’ Julia said.

‘Me neither,’ Gloria muttered.

‘Funnily enough, I’m sure I’ve met that younger one, the dark-haired guy, the good-looking one.’

Ester looked at Angela. She was going to ask her if she recognized him and, for some reason, they all turned towards Angela.

‘I don’t know him. I wasn’t arrested, Ester, I wasn’t charged, it’s not him.’ Angela was trembling and no one knew what had got into Ester as she sprang forward.

‘Yes, you do! You know him!’

Angela ran out, and Ester took off after her. The women didn’t know what was going on but they could hear Angela screaming so they all followed.

Angela was running up the stairs, Ester giving chase. She caught hold of Angela’s foot and dragged it. As the girl fell forwards, she bumped and slithered down two stairs and Ester climbed over her, hauling her by her hair.

‘Ester! Don’t! Ester, she’s pregnant!’ screamed Julia.

Angela tried to fight off her attacker, pushing and screaming, but Ester smacked her face and then pursued her along the landing.

‘You little liar! You’re a bloody liar, Angela!’ Ester was terrifying as she punched and slapped Angela, who tried to defend herself, but Ester was like a whirlwind, kicking, flicking her hands at Angela’s face. ‘Tell me the truth! You’d better tell me the truth or I’ll fucking kill you.’

Angela dived beneath Ester’s arm and ran into her own room, but she didn’t have time to lock the door before Ester kicked it open and slammed it behind her. All that the others could hear was Angela screeching and Ester slapping and punching her. Dolly was first in after them, then Julia. She dragged Ester off Angela, who was sprawled over the bed. Ester was red-faced with fury.

‘Ester! Ester! Calm down!’ Dolly slapped her face.

‘You just slapped the wrong face, sweetheart. Ask that dirty piece of shit who her boyfriend is. He’s that bloke that was here, isn’t he? Isn’t he?’

Angela clung to the pillow, as if shielding her body from any further onslaught.

‘Is this true?’ Dolly asked calmly.

Angela was weeping but nodded. The others howled like dogs, all ready to have a go at her now.

‘You don’t understand,’ wailed Angela.

‘I think I do, love.’ Dolly spat out, prepared to walk out on Angela, leave her to the women, just like a cell fight in the nick.

‘He’s Shirley Miller’s brother,’ Angela shrieked. Dolly froze, her hands clenched at her sides. ‘Get out and leave her with me. All of you, get out.’

‘What you think she’s doing up there?’ Gloria asked. Dolly had been with Angela for about fifteen minutes.

‘Suffocating her, I hope,’ Ester muttered.

‘So it was her all the time,’ Connie sighed.

‘Yeah, the two-faced little bitch,’ Gloria snarled.

‘One thing worse than a snitch, a child molester.’

Thank you, Gloria, as ever subtle but...’

‘No buts, mate, she could have had the lot of us sent down. Ester was right. I just wish I’d got a few punches in.’

Gloria looked up. ‘You don’t think she’d bump her off, do you?’

Angela was red-eyed from weeping but calmer now. She had explained how she had first met Mike after Ester was raided, how he had been very kind as she was under-age. He had been helpful in getting her social workers and it was thanks to him that she was never reported. They had then become more than friendly after Ester was sent for trial, they had seen one another since, but recently Mike had refused to see her as his wife had found out. When Ester had called, she had contacted him and been asked to report anything she found out about Dolly Rawlins.

‘What did he tell you about Shirley?’

Angela snivelled. ‘Only that you were responsible and his mother...’

Dolly smiled inwardly. Audrey had such a big mouth but she’d kept her son’s part in it very quiet.

‘What are you going to do with me?’ Angela was crying again.

Dolly opened the door and held up the key. ‘You can stay here until tomorrow, then you pack up and leave. I never want to see you again. You betrayed me — the only one of them I trusted. Seems I was wrong. I’ll never forgive you, love, so get packed.’

The door closed silently but the key turning was loud. It made Angela sob even more.

Dolly shuffled along a pew and bent to pray. She sat back and opened the hymn book as the service began. No one paid much attention to her; she blended into the congregation. When the service was over, she shook hands with the vicar and made her way towards the gates. To her right was the big cemetery where only the night before she had buried Lennie. She hardly gave it a second thought because up ahead she had seen Mrs Tilly opening her car door. She hurried towards her.

‘Mrs Tilly!’ Dolly called, and was taken aback by the cold, aloof stare. ‘I got a letter,’ Dolly said, a little out of breath.

Mrs Tilly was in two minds whether even to speak to Dolly but her own anger got the better of her. ‘You lied to me, Mrs Rawlins. When I think how much work I did to persuade the board not only to see you but make an on-site visit.’

Dolly interrupted, ‘I’m sorry. Are you saying you’ve been to the manor?’

‘Oh, yes, we came, Mrs Rawlins. Didn’t Ester Freeman tell you?’

Gloria was looking out of the window as a stern-faced Dolly marched up the path. Well, the church has certainly done wonders for her! She looks ready for two rounds with Mike Tyson.’

The door banged shut and promptly banged open again because of the damaged lock. The drawing-room door was thrown wide and the women faced Dolly. She hurled her handbag on to the sofa and threw off her coat.

‘Something wrong?’ Ester asked innocently.

‘Oh, yes, you can say that again. Now I know why they turned me down. They only came here and found the lot of you bollock-naked in the sauna.’

‘Oh, come on, we weren’t all naked, Dolly.’

‘You, Julia, shut your mouth because you and that bitch over there were, and I quote, “in an obvious sexual embrace”. I presume before you turned the hosepipe on the governor of the board.’

They couldn’t make any excuses, not that she gave them a chance to as she paced up and down. ‘All of you knew you’d blown my chances and not one of you had the guts to tell me what you’d done. Eight years I planned this, eight years I waited and now you’ve done it. You’ve destroyed any hope I had of reversing the rejection. Well, the lot of you can pack up and piss off with Angela.’

She slammed the door so hard when she walked out that the chandelier shook dangerously.

‘Oh, bloody hell,’ muttered Gloria. ‘I knew it’d come out. How do we get round this one?’

Ester was up and heading for the door. She turned and winked. ‘Leave it to me.’

Dolly crashed the kettle on to the Aga as Ester walked in with her hands up as if held at gun-point. ‘Just let me tell you something, okay? Don’t shoot.’

Dolly was not amused. She threw tea-bags into the pot.

‘Listen, Dolly. There may, just may, be a way round this.’

‘Like what? You’ve blown it, all of you.’

‘No, no, just listen. That bloke who came with them, beaky-nosed, bald fella with a few hairs over the top of his head.’

‘Mr Crow. He’s chairman of the board.’

‘Ah, crow by name, crow by nature. Well, Dolly, I recognized him and maybe one of the reasons why the board turned you down, or he did, was because—’

‘You were all naked in the sauna!’

‘No. He used to be a regular. What you can do is pay him a private visit. Maybe he can do something for you. I’m sure he wouldn’t want that known, would he?’

Dolly put her head in her hands. ‘He was one of your clients?’

‘Yeah. Work him over, Dolly. You can do it — or at least try it.’

Mike was watching TV when the phone rang. He watched Susan jump up to answer it, making no effort to take it himself. He was sick and tired of being monitored.

Susan called from the hall. ‘She wants to speak to you.’

He didn’t know if she was referring to Angela or his mother. ‘Who is it?’

‘She said her name was Dolly Rawlins.’

Mike was half out of his seat when he fell back, his face drained of colour.

‘Mike? She said it’s important.’

Audrey was booked on the first flight to Spain on Monday morning, her third attempt to leave. She opened the door to Mike, all smiles, thinking he had called to say goodbye, but one look at his face made her step back, afraid.

‘What’s happened?’

She shut the door. He walked into the living room and flopped on to the sofa.

‘Dolly Rawlins just called my house.’

‘Oh God.’

‘She just wanted me to know that she knows about my involvement with the diamonds, with everything.’

‘What will she do?’

‘I don’t know but I’m in deep shit because if she goes to my governor, I’ll be arrested. So will you.’

‘She wouldn’t do that. It’d implicate her.’

‘I know. That’s what I’m banking on.’

‘What do we do?’

Mike sank lower into the sofa cushions. ‘Well, maybe you should leave anyway.’

She went to him and put her arms around him. ‘Come with me, love, you and the kids and Susan. We just up and run for it.’

He pushed her away. ‘I can’t do that.’

‘Why not?’

‘I can’t do anything that’ll throw any suspicion on me. Can’t you see? Don’t you understand? I’ll just have to wait, see what she wants.’

‘Maybe she won’t want anything.’

Mike looked at his mother contemptuously. ‘Bullshit. She’ll want something, question is what?’

Audrey broke down and sobbed. ‘It’s not fair, is it? Some people get away with murder. You know she killed that poor Jimmy Donaldson, just as she as good as killed our Shirley.’

Mike swung round and grabbed his mother’s arm. ‘I don’t want to hear her name again. If it wasn’t for Shirley I’d never have got into this mess. I mean it, Mum! And I don’t want to see or hear from you either. You got me involved in this, Mum, and I got to get myself out of it so leave, go away, get the hell out of my sight.’

He was almost at the car when he stopped and leaned against a brick wall. He started to cry — he couldn’t stop the tears. He hadn’t meant to say all that about Shirley. He sniffed, wiped his face with the back of his hand, then forced himself to get angry.

She was to blame, whatever way he looked at it, whatever guilt he felt. She’d married that cheap villain Terry Miller, she... Shirley was dead and buried, he had to get his life sorted, he had to straighten out. He was losing it, he was blowing everything that was important to him and if he didn’t get hold of himself there was no one else to prop him up.

By the time he got into his car he was calmer and in control. He didn’t look back to the lit-up window of his mother’s flat. He truthfully never wanted to see her again.

Audrey was all packed. She’d earmarked a few items for shipping out but now she was taking down the little personal items, the photographs from the gilt mirror above the mantel. She read her younger son Gregg’s last postcard, looked at the stupid kittens, and sighed. Well, he’d just have to ask around for where she was, they would tell him down the market. She tossed the card into the trash can. She didn’t have the energy to worry about Gregg, or anyone but herself. Now she could even blame Dolly Rawlins for her son walking out on her. Everything was Dolly Rawlins’s fault and Audrey, in a fit of rage, cursed. But then she straightened herself out: she’d be in Spain this time tomorrow, with a villa and a few quid in the bank. At least she’d beaten that bitch over the money. At least she had something to show for poor Shirley. She turned towards the sideboard as if to confirm everything was all right but she’d packed Shirley’s photograph, there was nothing there, no sweet, smiling, beautiful Shirley. Audrey felt the tears, not of anger or fury or revenge: the tears were tinged with guilt because she knew she had thought about and cared more for Shirley after she was dead than when she was alive.