Widows

Chapter 36

Trudie had let Bill into the flat and he was now waiting for Harry. He sniffed. The grubby little flat smelt of baby’s piss. He was still wincing when Harry came out of the bedroom, wrapping a towel round himself.

‘Thought I’d update you,’ Bill said, grinning. He thought it was funny that he might have just interrupted Harry and Trudie shagging. Harry wasn’t smiling at all. ‘Dolly’s still indoors,’ Bill continued. ‘She drove back just after dark and ain’t been out since. I rang Ray the Rash, but there’s not a dickie about her trying to fence the money anywhere, but he’ll keep askin’.’

Harry put his finger to his lips and led the way into the kitchen, Bill followed him and shut the door. Harry put the kettle on.

Harry recapped. ‘When she went home after being at the nick, the blonde bit will have told her about Eddie’s visit... hopefully she just described him as “some bloke” and not my stupid fucking cousin. I don’t think Blondie and Eddie have ever met so we might be in the clear there. But then Dolly went out in the car, you say?’ Bill nodded. ‘Then she’s stashed the money, ain’t she?’ Harry was thinking hard. ‘Now where would she have put it?’

Bill shifted his weight. He was getting pissed off with all this hanging round: he couldn’t see why Harry didn’t just let him pay Dolly a visit and force it out of her. ‘That cop Resnick turned up and had a good gander at the house,’ he added. ‘He was on his own. Only there for a minute or two.’

Harry laughed. ‘Don’t worry about him. He’s an idiot only fit to investigate kids nicking sweets from the corner shop.’ He handed Bill a mug of tea and paced round the kitchen, deep in thought. ‘If nothing has moved by 6 a.m., you come back and pick me up and the three of us will go in. I’ll deal with Dolly and you and Eddie can keep the other one quiet. Eddie owes her a good slap after what she done to his face.’

‘You want my opinion?’ Bill chewed his lip and slurped his tea. ‘We should have gone in that bloody house hours ago and got what we needed. All this farting about has given your missus time to hide the cash and now—’

As Bill spoke, Harry tightened the towel round his waist and launched himself across the kitchen, grabbing Bill by the scruff of his neck and slamming him against the kitchen wall. Harry already knew what Bill’s opinion was; he knew what went on in his warped head. ‘I make the decisions, you hear me? And you — you do as I say!’

Bill stood against the wall, tea held out to the side so as not to spill it, and avoided eye contact. Bill wasn’t frightened of Harry — they were pretty equally matched when it came down to it — but Harry was the boss and Bill respected that. Harry was the one with the money and the brains, the reputation and the power. Bill had none of that, so he held his tongue. Bill liked to live in the shadows, but those who did know him knew he was a man who got things done. Quickly and quietly. That’s why people hired him. Bill had never, and would never, grass on anyone. On the three occasions he’d done some face rearranging for Harry, there had been no trail between Harry and the incident itself. That kind of discretion was worth paying for, and Harry paid well.

As Harry let go of Bill, Trudie walked in holding the crying baby. Harry, still all fired up, turned on her.

‘What the fuck do you want now?’ he snapped, knowing she was just snooping. Bill took his opportunity to slope out of the open door.

Trudie looked nervous. ‘Just a cup of tea and some milk for the baby. That’s all.’

Resnick was waiting outside Jimmy Nunn’s flat. He’d stopped just along the road behind some parked cars so he had a decent view without being visible himself. He saw a man walk out of the flats and recognized him as the passenger from the car parked outside Dolly’s house; the car that had Eddie Rawlins in the driver’s seat.

As the man passed under a street lamp, Resnick got a good look. ‘I know you,’ Resnick whispered, poking his forehead with his finger, willing himself to remember the name that went with the face. ‘How do I know you?’

The man got into a Ford Granada and moved off. Resnick decided to follow and they were soon back in the vicinity of Dolly Rawlins’s house. Resnick pulled up round the corner; he was unsure of his next move until he could place the mystery man. Think, think, think... Resnick closed his eyes and, in his head, he flicked back through all the lags he’d arrested over the years. Occasionally he’d shake his head out of frustration at hitting another dead end. His eyes shot open. ‘Fuck. Grant!’ he breathed. Resnick rubbed his eyes, dragging his hands down his face, distorting his features for a moment as his brain worked overtime trying to figure out what the hell was going on. He needed someone to talk to... he never thought he’d say it, but he wished Fuller was sitting next to him. He was a pious prick, but he was also a decent officer who listened, reluctantly or otherwise, when Resnick spoke. Unlike Andrews who had, in all honesty, peaked at traffic duty. ‘Right,’ Resnick said, as if Fuller was by his side. ‘Bill Grant. Why is he watching the Rawlins house? Why has he got Jimmy Nunn’s car? How does he know Eddie Rawlins? You’re working for someone, Bill Grant... I know you... you get your hands dirty for the highest bidder.’ He wished he could call for backup, wished he could nick Eddie Rawlins and Bill Grant and then search Jimmy Nunn’s flat.

Just then, the Granada came back round the corner. Resnick ducked down and, as the car passed, he sat up just enough to get a glimpse of the driver. It was Eddie Rawlins. So, Bill Grant must now be outside Dolly Rawlins’s house in Jimmy Nunn’s BMW. This was tag-team surveillance: two cars, two foot soldiers obeying orders. But who were they working for? Resnick, of course, in his heart of hearts, knew only too well.

Unable to sleep, Dolly had gone into the spare room where Shirley was sleeping to get a better view of the street. Outside, Eddie was sitting alone in the BMW. She needed to know for definite if he was the man who broke into the house.

Dolly shook Shirley, but she didn’t stir. Dolly pulled the covers off. ‘Come on, Shirley. Wake up,’ Dolly said firmly. Eventually, Shirley’s eyes opened and Dolly helped her to her feet.

Together, they peered out from behind the curtains just as Bill Grant pulled up in a Granada and swapped places with Eddie. Shirley was shaking like a leaf. It was obvious that she was terrified at the sight of Eddie. Dolly put her arm round Shirley’s shoulder.

‘That’s Eddie Rawlins, Harry’s cousin. He’s a coward, Shirley. A runt of a man who slaps women and kills dogs. He’s nothing, you hear me? And he won’t hurt you again. I can promise you that.’

The sincerity in Dolly’s voice made Shirley feel safe — she loved the way Dolly could do that. She wished her mum was as strong.

Shirley didn’t recognize the other man, but Dolly did. He was the man who had come to the door of the lock-up and introduced himself as Bill Grant. Dolly screwed her eyes shut and whispered, ‘Idiot!’ Every move at the lock-up could have been watched by Grant. If he knew everything, right from the very beginning, then no wonder Eddie had been at the house looking for the money...

Dolly needed to think about how they could leave the house with Bill Grant watching, and then lose him if he tailed them. And if Eddie returned, there would be the further complication of two men in separate cars to follow them. Too physically and mentally exhausted to think straight, Dolly felt scared, and this was very new to her. She wished Shirley had got on her flight as arranged: at least if Dolly had a meltdown, she could have had it in private! But Shirley was here and, like a child, needed constant reassurance.

Dolly paced up and down the landing, while Shirley went to make them both something to eat. Dolly didn’t want anything, but she needed to be left alone to think. She looked at her watch. It was nearly 2 a.m. and the flight from Heathrow wasn’t until midday. They didn’t have to be at the airport until 10 a.m. at the latest and the airport was, at best, an hour away. Dolly sighed. Leaving the house in daylight was not a good idea and she knew that the sooner they were out under the cover of darkness, the better chance they had of losing a tail.

After a while, Dolly had an idea. It was only a partial plan and it was a bit outrageous, but what the hell — she had become used to outrageous over the past few months! She headed for the kitchen.

‘I thought I’d make a fry up Dolly, do you want—’

‘We need to leave here between four and 4:30 a.m.,’ Dolly interrupted. ‘Can you trust your mum?’

Shirley turned the gas off on the stove. ‘Yes, of course.’

‘Can she drive?’

‘Yes,’ Shirley replied, waiting for Dolly to reveal her plan.

‘And you’ve got a brother, that right?’

‘Greg. He lives with Mum.’

‘Right,’ Dolly said, pointing her finger at Shirley. ‘Get Greg to go to the car park in Covent Garden and get your car. Tell him to park it in Mount Close — that’s the large cul-de-sac off the second street down if you go right out of my driveway. Tell him to leave the driver’s door unlocked, the keys under the seat and to ring here when it’s done.’

Shirley looked doubtful. ‘At 2 a.m., he’ll either be pissed as a fart somewhere or comatose in his bed. If he’s in, I’ll definitely get Mum to wake him. But if he’s out...’

‘Well, let’s hope he’s in bed, then. Tell him, if your car’s gone, if it’s been nicked, then he’ll have to use his imagination and find us something else. But, no matter what, I need a car, any car, parked in that cul-de-sac by 4 a.m. at the very latest. There’ll be a hundred quid in it for him. And get your mum round here as soon as. I’ll give the money to her to pass on to your brother. You got all that?’

‘Got it,’ Shirley confirmed. She got a plate out of the cupboard and picked up the frying pan to dish up her breakfast.

Dolly moved swiftly across the kitchen, got two slices of bread from the bread bin and slammed them down on Shirley’s plate, leaving deep finger marks in the soft white dough. ‘Make a sandwich.’ Dolly glared. ‘Eat as you dial.’

Five minutes later, Dolly lent over the banister and shouted down to Shirley, who appeared from the kitchen, sandwich in hand.

‘The phone just keeps ringing and ringing,’ Shirley reported. ‘I’ll keep trying.’

Five minutes after that, Dolly lent over the banister again. She was holding a pair of scissors.

‘No luck,’ said Shirley. ‘Me brother may be at his girlfriend’s and I haven’t got a number for her, and Mum sometimes wears earplugs at night...’

‘Well, keep bloody trying,’ Dolly said, pointing the scissors at Shirley.

‘You cutting your hair?’ Shirley asked.

‘What?’

‘Like a disguise. I don’t have to cut mine, do I?’

‘Honest to God, Shirley, I don’t know how your brain works sometimes. Would you rather go to prison for life or cut your lovely blonde curls? Choose!’

Shirley stood in the hallway, running her ringers through her hair and mulling over what she might look like with a bob cut. Dolly rolled her eyes.

‘We ain’t cutting our hair! Phone your mum!’

Shirley rang her mum’s house again and, this time, the phone was answered, but there was silence at the other end. ‘Mum, is that you?’ Shirley shouted.

‘Nah, it’s me...’ Greg’s response was slurred. ‘What you doin’ ringing home this time in the morning?’ He’d been drinking and probably been sniffing God knows what as well; but he soon sobered up when Shirley mentioned the hundred pounds.

Shirley shouted up to Dolly. ‘I’m going to get dressed, Dolly. Greg’s doing what you said and Mum’s on her way round.’

Upstairs, Dolly closed her eyes and sighed out of sheer relief. She was in the master bedroom setting light to the last few pages of the ledgers. She’d used the metal bin from Harry’s study. The leather covers wouldn’t burn but, as she watched every page turn to ashes, she cut them up with the scissors.

She’d been in two minds about bringing the ledgers home after her last visit to the bank but she was glad she had, as she’d never have got another chance to collect them. She’d kept the location of the ledgers from the girls for their own protection; after all, what they didn’t know couldn’t hurt them.

Standing at the dressing table, Dolly smiled to herself. She looked at the array of beautiful cosmetics and designer perfumes, and then she swept them all onto the floor with one hard, fast swipe of her arm. She was ready; she felt good.

She glanced down at the ashes in the metal bin. Harry’s only means of protecting himself and blackmailing other villains was gone. One way or another, she’d make sure that word got out.

Taking one last look around the bedroom, her eyes fixed on the bedside cabinet and the photo of her and Harry. She picked it up, placed it face-up on the floor and stamped her foot down hard, gouging and twisting with her heel and grinding the broken glass into the photo. ‘Bastard,’ she muttered through clenched teeth. Then she picked up two suitcases and left her bedroom for the last time.

Dolly carried her suitcases into the lounge and sat down. She picked up her handbag and got out the flight tickets, then she opened one of the suitcases and began to remove some of the men’s clothes packed neatly inside and stack them on the arm of the chair.

Shirley finished putting on her lipstick and checked her hair in the dressing table mirror. She looked pretty damn good considering it was the early hours. As she walked down the stairs, the smell of breakfast was mixing with Dolly’s heavy perfume. In the lounge, Shirley found Dolly and her two red suitcases, one of which was open. The base was covered with rows of bank notes. ‘There’s over a hundred thousand in here,’ Dolly announced. ‘Spending money for Rio. Enough to keep us living well for two months or so. Sit down, love, I need you to listen carefully to this.’

Shirley sat down obediently.

‘Two identical suitcases, right? One with a red tag, one with a blue tag.’

‘Right,’ Shirley agreed, her forehead frowning with concentration. The suitcase with the red tag was the one open on the floor with the money inside.

‘The case with the red tag has been cleaned from top to bottom, inside and out, so there’re no prints on it from either of us. Not one. You don’t touch this suitcase without gloves on.’ Dolly handed Shirley a pair of stunning cream silk gloves.

‘Red case, red tag — the one with the money in it — is clean. I’m not to touch it without gloves on,’ Shirley repeated. ‘These are beautiful by the way,’ she added.

‘Consider them a gift,’ Dolly replied, getting quickly back on track. ‘The red case with a blue tag is mine. The red case with the red tag has the money at the bottom and will have men’s clothes at the top.’

‘Got it,’ Shirley confirmed. ‘I think...’

Dolly continued. ‘You take the money case and your own case—’

‘What if my car’s been nicked?’ Shirley asked in a panic.

‘Then we buy you another suitcase and clothes to go in it. But your car’ll be there. I can’t see any respectable thief nicking that old crap heap. Listening? Right, I take the red case with the blue tag — that’s full of my clothes — and I go through check-in as normal. You take the money case and your own case. You hang about in the check-in area, looking for a bloke — a decoy, someone we can use.’

‘Like a pigeon!’ Shirley exclaimed.

‘More like a stoolpigeon, but yes, you’ve got the idea. It must be a man.’

‘Yes, I got that. Male clothes, right? And then only his prints will be on the case if customs try it on. I’m right, aren’t I?’ Shirley was proud of herself for picking up on the plan so quickly.

‘Bang on, Shirl. So, you’re looking for a man who’s traveling light. You tell him you didn’t realize there was a weight allowance, play the dumb blonde, tell him that with two cases, you’re overweight and don’t want to pay the excess baggage fine. Flutter your eyelashes and get him to check the money case in for you in his name.’

Shirley was now chewing her fingertip through the silk glove.

‘Don’t chew them — they was an anniversary present!’ Dolly shouted.

‘Sorry.’ Shirley said, forcing her hands down by her side and mouthing the entire plan back to herself.

‘When we land in Rio,’ Dolly continued. ‘The money case—’

‘Red tag,’ Shirley whispered to herself.

‘—and my identical case—’

‘Blue tag.’

‘—will be on the carousel together. I’m going to pick up the money case and take it through customs.’

‘So, do I take your case?’ Shirley asked, getting very confused.

Dolly was about to explode, but she had to keep her calm in order to keep Shirley calm. ‘No, not right away. You leave it on the carousel and watch me. If customs stop me and open the case, I act all surprised that there’s men’s clothes inside, and even more surprised if they dig down as far as the money. I say I must have picked up the wrong case. I go back to the carousel and pick up the suitcase with the blue tag. My case, my clothes. And I deny all knowledge of the other one.’

Shirley was staring, hands clasped together between her heaving bosoms, taking huge deep breaths. She looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights. But she was listening... really listening. A tornado could have swept through the lounge and Shirley wouldn’t have taken her eyes off Dolly’s face.

‘Now, listen hard,’ Dolly continued, slow and exact. ‘If, and only if, I get through customs safely, then you pick up my case. If you get stopped there’s no problem because both of your cases are full of women’s clothes.’ Dolly ended with a triumphant smile. Her plan was brilliant!

Shirley’s mind had gone to putty. She slumped into an armchair. ‘I’ll never remember all that!’

Dolly controlled her temper and sat on the arm of the chair. The last thing she needed was for Shirley to lose her nerve. ‘Course you can do it, darlin’. Look at everything you’ve done so far! The case switch is a doddle compared to the robbery. So, in your own time, go over it once again, just to be sure.’

Shirley began again, but Dolly wasn’t really listening; her eyes were on the clock. Where was bloody Audrey? As Shirley talked the whole plan through again, Dolly got up, crossed to the window and pulled the curtains back very slightly. Bill Grant was still there, still watching.

‘I don’t see why we’re taking such a risk, Dolly,’ Shirley was beginning to whine. ‘I mean, why do we have to take this amount of money with us? It’s crazy! We don’t need all this. What if you’re caught?’

Dolly clenched her fists and her face twisted. ‘It’s me taking the risk!’ she snapped. ‘Me carrying it through Rio customs, not you. You’ve got bloody sod all to do except to carry your case and mine through. If the customs officers don’t believe me then I’m the one that gets arrested, so shut your face and do as I ask!’

Shirley was close to tears, not because Dolly had shouted at her, but because she was so stressed the slightest thing might tip her over the edge. She picked up Harry’s clothes and threw them into the case.

‘Is that how you pack for a holiday?’ Dolly demanded. Shirley stopped what she was doing and shook her head. ‘Then please pack them properly,’ Dolly went on. ‘Because if customs do open the case, I don’t want them to suspect anything out of the ordinary.’

Shirley pulled Harry’s clothes back out of the suitcase and folded each item before putting it into the case, covering the money bit by bit. ‘What do we do if you get arrested?’ she asked quietly from her position on the floor. ‘Me, Bella and Linda will have no money and no way of getting back home.’

Dolly was suddenly livid. She had been forking out thousands of pounds from the get-go and now all Shirley was thinking of was herself and the other girls. The girls saw her as a Goddamned bank, churning out cash as and when they needed it. What they didn’t realize was that she didn’t have any more money — or, at least, not any she could get her hands on quickly. That suitcase contained everything she had right now. If Dolly did get arrested, they’d all be in huge trouble — but at least they’d be in huge trouble by a swimming pool.

Shirley sniffed pathetically as she continued to pack Harry’s clothes on top of the money. Dolly knew she was frightened and she knew that Shirley, out of all the girls, was the least selfish. She’d never been the one to question where the money was stashed or when they’d get their cuts. Shirley was just scared and needed to know that everything was going to be OK. Dolly spoke kindly.

‘I gave Bella and Linda a large sum of money each before they left. That’ll be enough to see them and you through if I do get caught.’

Shirley let out a quiet laugh. ‘Knowing those two, they’ll have blown the money already.’

‘You might be right,’ said Dolly. ‘Look — if I had any money left, darlin’, I’d give it to you, but right now I’m out of hard cash. Why don’t you take a couple of grand out of the money case and stick it in your handbag just in case it all goes wrong? How does that sound?’

Shirley lifted up some of Harry’s clothes and looked at the money in the case. She was conflicted — she knew exactly what Bella and Linda would say if they were here. Then she spoke. ‘It’s not just your money, Dolly. It belongs to all four of us. Maybe risking losing a hundred thousand isn’t the right thing to do? Maybe we should both just take a couple of thousand in our handbags?’

Dolly held her temper. She could understand Shirley’s concerns, but she wasn’t the brightest thing on two legs. She was prepared to explain this as many times as was necessary while they waited for Audrey to show her face, because Dolly needed Shirley to be bang on her game from this moment forward.

‘We’ll need a lot of money, much more than a couple of thousand here and there, because we won’t be coming back to England for quite some time,’ Dolly explained. ‘Not until the heat dies down back here. The more we take out, the safer we’ll be.’

Shirley tightened her lips and continued with the packing. Eventually, she asked Dolly if she’d like a cup of tea or something to eat; she’d had nothing for hours. Dolly didn’t reply, she just crossed to the drinks cabinet, poured herself a brandy and sat down.

‘Go and phone your mum again,’ said Dolly. ‘And if she answers, ask her why the hell she hasn’t left her flat yet.’

With Shirley out of the room, Dolly dug her heel into the plush cream carpet and looked round the room. She’d get a good price for the house, not to mention all the furniture and antiques. She twisted her heel, digging it further into the carpet, imagining it was the smashed photo or her and Harry from the bedroom. Then, her leg relaxed and her eyes filled with tears: she could almost feel Wolf snuggled by her feet, his warm body against her ankle. Sadness turned to anger and Dolly made her decision there and then. Everything belonged to her now. If she was playing the part of the grieving widow, she’d tell her lawyers to sell the lot.

She got up, went to Harry’s study and looked in his desk drawer for the deeds to the house, which she then folded up and placed in her handbag. This desk was so tidy, so unused and so... sterile. It was beautiful and ornate, but, when it came down to it, it could belong to anyone. There was nothing about this desk that screamed ‘Harry Rawlins.’ No personality, nothing to tell you anything about the man himself. The rest of the house said so much about them as a couple, but, Dolly now realized, this was mainly her doing. She was the one who had filled the house with beautiful things and made it into a home. She was the one whose personality was stamped across every room. Harry Rawlins had left little trace of himself anywhere. He was a mystery. ‘How can you have been so stupid for so long?’ Dolly whispered to herself.

Once again, Dolly was filled with a sense of clarity. She rifled through the small filing cabinet in the corner of Harry’s study and found a copy of his will and his latest bank statements. She put everything into her bag along with the deeds to the house. She was the one and only beneficiary named in Harry’s will and he, on paper, was dead and buried. Once her lawyers had got rid of the house, she’d have all the money transferred to a bank in Rio. She’d make at least a £150,000 on the property alone.

And once she was settled in Rio, she’d stop any unnecessary bank transactions. The first to be canceled would be the monthly rent on Iris Rawlins’s flat in St. Johns Wood! There was no way Dolly was going to continue sending money to a woman she loathed. Iris would have to fend for herself and Dolly rather hoped she would have to sell the flat and go into an old people’s home. The very thought of Iris in a home made Dolly smile. But the thought of Harry finding out that Iris was in a home made her stop smiling. Dolly’s actions today were irreversible. Harry, once he and Iris were both homeless and penniless, would kill Dolly if he ever saw her again.

Dolly’s heart ached for the days when she was happy and when she was ignorant of her husband’s betrayals. Harry had let her believe he was dead, he’d let her mourn and he’d let her bury a stranger — a man she now assumed was Jimmy Nunn. After all, if Harry was shacked up in Trudie’s flat, then Jimmy couldn’t still be on the scene. And that baby... Was it Harry’s baby? Dolly screwed up her eyes, trying to squeeze the thought right out of her head. But it wouldn’t go.

Through her tightly closed eyelids, the tears found their way out and rolled down her cheeks. If Harry had simply found the life he truly wanted with another woman and left Dolly, she could have forgiven him. It would have been heart-breaking of course, but she’d have understood because she, too, would have done anything to have a family. But Harry didn’t just leave her for another woman; he’d torn her apart in the process with his lies and deceit and cruelty. How could she ever know what was true and what had been a lie?

Shirley stood by the study door and repeated herself for the third time. Dolly was miles away. ‘There’s no answer at me mum’s, so she must be on her way.’

Dolly swigged back the brandy. It hit her stomach hard, warming her as she looked at the clock. Almost 3:15 a.m.

Shirley and Dolly went back through to the lounge. Dolly poured herself another brandy and sat opposite Shirley, who told her to go easy as it wouldn’t be a good idea to turn up at the airport pissed. Dolly swung one leg over the other, tapped the carpet with the toe of her shoe, got out a cigarette and lit up.

‘Chuck one over, Dolly.’ Shirley said.

Dolly threw a cigarette like a dart at Shirley and it landed neatly on her lap. ‘Wasn’t long ago you hated the stench of smoking,’ Dolly remarked.

‘We’ve all changed these past months, Dolly. Hard not to.’

The telephone rang and Dolly nearly jumped out of her skin. They both listened, frozen to the spot — one ring, two rings, three rings, four. On and on. ‘It’ll be Greg,’ Shirley said. She answered the phone cautiously at first, but then relaxed; she kept saying ‘yes’ and nodding. Then she put the phone down. ‘He’s parked my car in the cul-de-sac outside number fifteen; the keys are under the seat. He said don’t forget to give me mum the money for doing it.’

Dolly just dragged on her cigarette and swigged her brandy.

‘Seems funny Greg worrying about a hundred quid, considering how much I’m worth now.’ Shirley smiled. ‘How much you reckon, Dolly?’

‘You’re worth about two hundred and fifty grand, darlin’. I took off what I laid out for you each so far from my own pocket, but still. A real tidy sum.’ Dolly got up and peered out of the curtains again. ‘Shit!’ she exclaimed. ‘Eddie’s back.’ Shirley joined her at the window and they watched Eddie and Bill standing close to each other and talking in whispers. ‘Two of them complicates things.’

‘Why?’ Shirley asked, wide-eyed and vacant.

Dolly turned away from Shirley. Quite how Shirley had got through life so far was baffling, but then she’d always had Terry to look after her. Dolly sat down, lit another cigarette from the stub of the one she had on the go and threw it into the ashtray; her foot was now jerking up and down, twitching all the time.

The two sat in silence, the clock ticking away on the mantel. Shirley watched Dolly out of the corner of her eye. Her lips were moving, as if she was talking to herself. ‘What are we going to do Dolly? How can we lose two of them?’

‘Where in God’s name is your mother?’ Dolly was sick of having to have the answers to stupid questions.

Shirley moved to the window again. Bill was sitting on the bonnet of the BMW and Eddie was standing next to him. ‘What’s to stop them from coming into the house?’ Shirley asked. ‘What’s to stop them looking in the case and finding the money?’

Questions! Always questions! Dolly wanted to scream at Shirley. ‘Harry! Harry’s stopping them from coming into the house!’ Bill and Eddie must be under orders to watch and nothing more, otherwise they’d have come in by now. Course those orders could change in the blink of an eye but, right now, there was a stand-off.

Shirley was winding herself up. ‘Once they saw that money, they’d want the rest! They’d want it all. I can’t imagine what they’d do to get it.’

‘Don’t, then!’ Dolly shouted. ‘Don’t stand there imagining what might happen.’ Dolly took a breath. She had to calm Shirley down. ‘The money’s safe, love. They’ll never find it.’

‘But only you know where it is — and if anything happens to you, what then?’

Dolly closed her eyes and looked away from Shirley.

Shirley was getting herself into a state, ‘Why are they just watching? Why don’t they do something?’

‘Calm down.’

‘Calm down! How are you so calm? So cold? Stone cold. What aren’t you telling me?’ Dolly couldn’t believe that Shirley was choosing this moment to grow a pair of balls and turn into Linda. ‘Who’s that man with your Harry’s cousin? Another relative?’

‘My God,’ Dolly exclaimed. ‘Your brain’s working overtime all of a sudden, ain’t it?’

‘Well, you don’t seem scared by the fact that they could burst in here at any moment and kill us both! And that’s because you know they’re not going to, isn’t it? You know. How? You’ve got an arrangement, haven’t you?’ It hardly seemed possible, but Dolly’s face was becoming even more stern, her lips narrowing and her jaw twitching. Shirley was on a roll, fueled by fear. ‘You and Eddie got plans? Did I stop him from getting the money last time, did I? I’m feeling very outnumbered here, Dolly, and I want to know where the rest of the money is, right now!’

Dolly had her arms tightly folded so as not to slap Shirley’s stupid head right off her shoulders. But then Shirley opened her frantic mouth one more time. ‘If you’ve got Eddie lined up to step into your Harry’s shoes, I want my money first!’

Face twisting with uncontrollable anger, Dolly launched herself forward and slapped Shirley hard across the face. Shirley took it without flinching, and returned the slap so hard Dolly had to step back to stop herself from falling over.

‘What I just said about you and Eddie having an arrangement was out of order,’ Shirley said. ‘But I want to know where the money is, Dolly. I want to know for me, for Linda and for Bella.’

Dolly was at breaking point. She’d lost the will to argue or to defend her actions. If it all went wrong, she wanted to be the only one the police could possibly lean on for the money — but right now, she couldn’t give a damn.

‘The money’s at the convent,’ Dolly said. ‘There’s a row of new lockers in the kiddies’ playroom. The top four lockers, well out of reach, are covered with nursery rhyme posters. That’s where the money is. Four lockers, four bags, four equal shares. All ready for when it’s safe to come home.’ She sat on the sofa and opened her handbag. ‘I’ve got a key for each of you. When the time comes to collect, just mention my name.’ Dolly stood and looked Shirley square in the eyes as she handed her the keys one by one. ‘Here’s Linda’s key. And Bella’s. And yours.’ There was such disappointment in Dolly’s eyes, Shirley didn’t know what to say.

The silence was broken by the doorbell.

‘That’ll be Mum,’ Shirley whispered.

All they could do now was stick to the plan. They needed each other. Everything else would wait.

Eddie watched the woman, dressed in a tatty coat, boots and headscarf, standing on Dolly’s doorstep. When the door was opened and she was let in, Bill and Eddie looked at each other.

‘Maybe it’s the cleaner?’ Eddie speculated.

‘That’ll be it,’ Bill said sarcastically. ‘My cleaner starts at four in the morning as well. It could be one of the other women who done the robbery. I’m going to go tell Harry.’ He got into the BMW and drove off.

Eddie climbed back into the Granada and resumed his watch.

When Shirley and Audrey entered the lounge, Dolly had recovered her composure and was sitting, smiling, with her fourth brandy in her hand.

‘You know Mrs. Rawlins, Mum?’

‘Lovely home you’ve got,’ Audrey said, putting on a posh voice and trying to pretend she’d been inside a house like this before.

‘Sit down,’ Dolly waved her hand at an armchair. She got out her purse. ‘Here’s one hundred pounds for your Greg and two hundred for you, for your trouble.’

‘Bleedin’ ’ell!’ Audrey exclaimed, taking the money. Shirley rolled her eyes at how quickly her mum’s classy facade had slipped.

‘What I’d like you to do, Audrey, is drive my Mercedes into London and then go south, through Croydon and onto the A23 toward Gatwick,’ Dolly explained as though it was the most natural thing in the world to ask a stranger to do at four o’clock in the morning.

Audrey stared at Dolly, jaw dangling so low she was in danger of dribbling down her coat. ‘I’m not sure I quite understand—’

‘Mum,’ Shirley interrupted, dragging on a newly lit cigarette. ‘Just do as Dolly asks. Please.’

‘Since when have you smoked?’ Audrey shouted.

‘Mum!’

‘The other thing is, Audrey,’ Dolly continued, getting back on track, ‘that a man in a Ford Granada will probably follow you. If you could do your best to try and lose him around the Croydon area, that’d be best. Now,’ she got to her feet. ‘Would you excuse me for a moment?’

As Dolly left the room, Audrey leapt to her feet. ‘What the bleedin’ ’ell’s going on, Shirl? Are you going away with her? How come?’

‘Please, Mum. She’s got some heavies after her and I’m helping her out, that’s all.’

‘That’s all! That’s all? That’s enough, my girl. She dragging you into trouble, is she? Cos we can leave now...’

‘No, mum.’ Shirley bowed her head, recalling the row she and Dolly had just had. ‘She’s my friend and I want to go with her.’

Audrey took the cigarette from Shirley and took a huge drag, then puffed the smoke out in a circle as she turned to admire the ornate room. ‘A Merc!’ Audrey laughed. ‘Bet you didn’t tell her I ain’t passed my test yet.’

When Dolly came back downstairs, she was carrying a designer dress, patent leather shoes and a headscarf of her own. ‘There’s a cloakroom just by the front door. Go and get changed.’

Bewildered by the request, Audrey did as she was asked for Shirley’s sake. Dolled up — and from behind — Audrey looked surprisingly like Dolly. From the front, she still looked like a market trader, but with Dolly’s headscarf, make-up and sunglasses, the disguise would be good enough to fool Eddie.

Audrey’s own coat looked awful and ruined the entire effect, so Dolly went to the hallway closet and returned with the long black mink coat Harry had given her for their eighteenth wedding anniversary. Eddie had been at that party and had commented on how amazing it was. This would definitely fool him.

Dolly held the coat up and Audrey carefully slipped her arms into the sleeves. ‘Oh, this is lovely,’ Audrey said, completely distracted. ‘Lovely. Ain’t it, Shirl?’ Audrey stroked her own arms — the coat felt like silk. She felt like the bee’s knees.

Shirley and Dolly stood back and examined Audrey from top to toe. Although things were still strained between them, they both knew this part of the plan had to go smoothly. If Eddie doubted for a second that Audrey was Dolly, he wouldn’t follow her and they wouldn’t be able to escape.

Dolly’s an odd sort of woman, Audrey thought, very exact, yet edgy. Mind you, Shirley seemed very jumpy too. She couldn’t figure out why her daughter was going away with the much older Dolly Rawlins. Couldn’t figure out how or why they’d be friends or even know each other, really. She knew they had dead husbands in common, but the women themselves had never been pally. Above all, Audrey wondered who was after Dolly and why Shirley was willing to put herself in the firing line. As for Audrey’s part in all of this, she’d have danced naked on the doorstep of the local nick for £200, so driving a Merc about dressed in a mink coat was nothing but a pleasure.

Dolly and Shirley nodded at each other. Audrey was as ready as she’d ever be. Dolly handed Audrey the car keys to the Merc. ‘You can keep the mink,’ she said, then, ‘Shirley, love,’ she went on, ‘would you grab my dark glasses from the dressing table drawer, please?’ When Shirley left the room, Dolly turned back to Audrey. ‘I need you to do one other little thing for me, please.’ She handed Audrey an envelope. Seeing the stupid woman’s eyes light up, she leaned slowly toward her. ‘I need you to buy a stamp and post this for me. Today.’

Audrey was clearly disappointed, but as she slipped the envelope into the pocket of the mink coat, she smiled. I post a letter and get a mink coat for me troubles, she thought to herself. Not a bad day’s work, Audrey. Not a bad day’s work at all.

What Audrey didn’t know was that the letter contained the deeds to the house, a copy of Harry’s will, and a letter of instruction for Dolly’s lawyers to sell the house and everything in it. The lawyer would then bank the money in a new account. This was it for Dolly. No turning back.

As Shirley entered Dolly’s bedroom, the smell of burning was still in the air, although there was no sign of fire or anything burned. The contents of the dressing table still lay scattered across the bedroom floor where Dolly had thrown them. A bottle of nail varnish had smashed against the wall near the wardrobe and the deep plum colored contents had slowly seeped out and onto the cream carpet. Shirley was shocked to see such a mess in an otherwise pristine house and blamed it on one of Dolly’s meltdowns. Searching the drawers of the dressing table, she eventually found Dolly’s dark glasses and was about the leave when she noticed a stray scrap of material on the carpet. She slowly opened the wardrobe door and gasped. There wasn’t a single article of clothing in Harry’s wardrobe that hadn’t been cut to shreds. Even his shoes were slashed or stained with a rainbow of nail varnish colors. How tormented Dolly must have been to be so destructive and how strong she must have been to hide it all morning. Shirley realized that there was much more going on inside Dolly Rawlins than she could never imagine.

Back in the lounge, Dolly handed Audrey her own tatty coat and woolly boots. ‘Stick them in the boot of the Merc,’ Dolly instructed.

‘I might have to wear the boots, actually. I’m no good on the clutch in high heels.’

‘There is no clutch,’ Dolly replied. ‘The Merc’s an automatic.’

‘A what?’

Oh, God, thought Dolly. I’ll have to give the stupid woman a crash course in how to drive! ‘Come through to the garage. I’ll show you.’ She was being as patient as possible, considering that it was now almost 4:30 a.m. and they sun would be up soon.

Audrey got into the driver’s seat and Dolly explained the two pedals and shift stick. Dolly could see that Audrey was getting her left and right mixed up, so she punched her hard in the left thigh. ‘Don’t use the leg that hurts, all right, love?’

They headed back into the house, where Shirley handed her mum the dark glasses to complete her disguise. Audrey took some deep breaths; this was the most exciting thing she’d ever been asked to do.

‘Well,’ she said to Shirley. ‘Have a nice time away. And I suppose I’ll see you when you get back.’ Audrey leaned forward to kiss Shirley on the cheek, but Shirley grabbed her and hugged her tight.

‘Bye, Mum,’ Shirley whispered.

‘Come on. We got to go.’ Dolly didn’t want Audrey to start thinking there was something wrong.

‘I love you’ Shirley added, turning quickly away from her mum. She went out of the front door to open the garage doors from the outside, so Eddie could see her.

Audrey put the Merc into reverse and started to back it down the drive. Shirley waved from the front door step. ‘See you later, Dolly,’ she called and started to close the garage doors. A nervous Audrey put her foot down a bit too hard on the accelerator and the car lurched backward at speed into the road. Audrey hit the brake and turned the wheel at the same time. The car screeched: the rear wheels skidded off to the right and in a panic Audrey slammed it into drive. It lurched forward and took off at high speed down the wrong side of the road, but Audrey soon righted herself and off she went.

Eddie had watched all of this unfold. As soon as Dolly’s Merc fired up, Eddie had started the Granada. It was unusual for her to kangaroo down the road as clumsily as she did, but Eddie figured that she was in a hurry. Maybe she’s cracking up, he thought. If so, then taking the money from her would be like taking candy from a baby. Eddie smiled to himself as he thought about all the money he, Bill and Harry would end up with. ‘Stupid bitch,’ he muttered as he took off after Dolly’s Merc. ‘You done all that hard work for nothing. Cos now we’re coming for you, Dolly Rawlins.’

From the living room, Shirley watched Eddie’s car turn the corner. Behind her, Dolly stood, all ready to go, holding the two suitcases.

‘He’s gone.’ Shirley took one suitcase from Dolly and they both headed for the front door.

‘Come on then, Shirl — move it. The way your mum drives, we might not have as long as we need.’

Dolly and Shirley ran as fast as they could down the road toward the cul-de-sac where Shirley’s Mini Estate was parked up. Shirley’s ankle was still bruised and every step was agony. ‘You still there?’ Dolly shouted back without looking.

‘I’m right behind you,’ Shirley replied, battling through the pain. Then the adrenalin started to take effect and Shirley found her stride, closing the gap between her and Dolly. When they reached the car, they threw the two identical cases into the boot on top of Shirley’s suitcase.

Shirley bent down by the driver’s seat and reached underneath to find the keys. Dolly impatiently tapped the roof of the car with her hand.

‘Come on, darlin’,’ Dolly said. ‘Your mum’ll probably have crashed by now and Eddie will have figured out that she ain’t me.’

‘I can’t find—’ Shirley froze. ‘What would he do to her?’

Dolly realized her joke was a mistake. ‘Nothing, Shirl, I promise. He’s a coward.’

‘That’s not what you called him earlier,’ Shirley replied, still searching for the keys. ‘You said he was a runt who slaps women and kills dogs. Well, she’s a woman, Dolly, and if he lays one finger on her...’ Shirley stood up with the car keys in her hand.

Dolly took the keys and spoke gently. ‘I know love... you’ll kill him.’

Shirley stared at Dolly. Strong and fixed. ‘No, Dolly,’ she said. ‘Not him.’

Shirley walked round to the passenger door, leaving Dolly staring into space. She’d probably lost Shirley completely now. Dolly had used Audrey and Greg to get what she wanted. What she needed. Greg could have ended up in prison and Audrey could still end up dead. Shirley, the girl who had once looked at her like a mother, hated her.

But Dolly would make it right. Once they were safe, she would make it right.