She's Out (8 page)

‘That don’t mean she got ’em,’ said Gloria.

‘She said she had, she’s hinted enough times that she had.’

Julia sighed. ‘Let’s take it that she does have them.’

‘Okay, she’s got them, and now she’s out and she’s coming here tonight.’

‘Right. She’s coming here, to friends, and that’s what we are going to be for her, old dear friends.’

‘You must be joking. She don’t know the meaning of the word. She was like edgy, very edgy, Ester.’

‘Gloria, will you keep it shut for ten minutes and
fucking listen to me
?’

Ester ran her hands through her hair. ‘I know she has no one, had no visitors. She’s going to be very lonely, even frightened, so we make her welcome, we make her have a great night
. . .’

Gloria nodded. ‘Yeah, well, I’m with you so far, darlin’. Then what? When do we get our hands on the stones?’

‘None of you, not one of you, mentions diamonds. We just want her to feel like we’re her friends, that she can trust us. She might need a good fence – Kathleen knows enough.
She might have trouble getting the stones – Gloria’s got contacts. She will need us, do you understand? Above all, we make her trust us. When she tells us about the diamonds, we go for
them, we take them if we feel like it, and we share them between us.’

‘The five of us?’ asked Gloria.

‘Yes, Gloria, the five of us, or six—’

‘Who’s the sixth, then? Not that little black chick you got in for the nosh?’

‘No, Gloria, Angela is not the sixth, but I reckon Dolly might want a cut of her own gear.’

‘Well, if I was her I’d just say piss off. I mean, why give us a cut?’

‘Maybe she won’t want to give us anything, Gloria. If that’s the case, we just take it, you understand? We only need to know where the bloody things are stashed.’

Ester sighed, beginning to think the entire idea was a fiasco, when Connie suddenly giggled. ‘Two million . . . Oh, yes.’

They all started to laugh and then Ester broke it up and told them to start getting changed: Dolly was already on her way and would be there within the hour. Like kids they trooped out.

Julia began to rub Ester’s neck, feeling the tension. ‘I hope to God this works, Julia, and works fast because I don’t think I could stand more than a few hours with that
bloody demented gerbil, Gloria Radford.’

Julia cupped Ester’s face in her hands and kissed her lips. ‘Don’t say I didn’t warn you. You’ll pull it off – if anyone can, you can. I just hope there
really are diamonds. It could all be a fantasy, you know that, don’t you, darling?’

Ester gripped her wrists. ‘No. There’s diamonds, believe me, I know it. And I know that hard bitch has got them somewhere . . . and we’ll get them away from her and then . .
.’

Julia stepped back. ‘Then?’ she said softly.

‘I’m free, Julia. I’ll be free. No bastard trying to slit my throat. I’ll even airmail their wretched tape back to them. With all those millions I won’t need to
grovel or beg from anyone. I don’t reckon in all honesty I’ve ever been free but this time I will be.’

‘I hope for your sake you’ll get them. I love you, Ester.’

Ester was already walking out of the room. She didn’t hear or if she did she pretended not to. Alone, Julia looked round the old, ornate, once magnificent room. Maybe Dolly would be taken
in if she didn’t look too carefully, if she didn’t see the cracks, if she believed Ester was her friend, that all of them were her friends. Julia sighed. In some ways she felt sorry for
Dolly Rawlins because she was walking into a snake pit and she was ashamed to be a part of it.

The candles threw shadows on the wall and she raised her hand to make a silhouette of a bird flying, flapping its wings. Dolly Rawlins’s first day of freedom in eight years. Julia watched
the shadow bird flutter and then broke the shadow as she moved her hands away from the candle. Ester had planned this evening carefully, each one of them chosen because they were desperate, herself
included. She was desperate not to lose Ester, desperate to safeguard the lies she had told her ailing elderly mother, lies she had spun round her arrest and prison sentence. Julia’s mother
never knew her daughter the doctor was an ex-drug addict, that she had been struck off and that for the last four years she had been in prison. She had arranged an elaborate charade via friends who
passed Julia’s letters written in Holloway to look as if they were sent from around the world. Julia’s mother never suspected, never knew her daughter’s double life, just as she
had no notion that her daughter could or would be deeply in love with another woman. It was beyond her comprehension, and Julia was determined her mother would never know. Keeping up the pretence
had taken money, and still took every penny she could lay hands on, as she paid all her mother’s bills. Julia, too, although she hated to admit it, needed those diamonds but, unlike the
others, she was ashamed to acknowledge the awful con they were all about to begin on Dolly Rawlins.

J
immy Donaldon’s wife had been informed that her husband was returning home on a ‘special leave’ from prison. She was asked not
to mention the visit to anyone and to remain in the house until he was brought home. When he did arrive, in the company of two plainclothes officers, they had only one or two moments alone before
he was taken into their sitting room. One officer placed a tape recorder and bugging device on their telephone in the hope that Dolly Rawlins would make contact. The small antique shop was already
being searched. DCI Craigh arranged for a rota of officers to remain in the house and to keep an eye on Jimmy. Mike Withey was to take the following morning shift: he couldn’t wait to see his
mother and tell her of the developments that had moved faster than he could have anticipated.

At the same time Dolly Rawlins was about to arrive at Grange Manor House. The women had all changed into cocktail dresses. Ester had laid out one of her own dresses for Dolly
to change into and as she saw the headlamps of the Corniche turning into the driveway, she gave hurried orders for the women to remain in the dining room and stay silent. Next she briefed Angela
that when the doorbell rang she was to open the front door and welcome Dolly into the house. Ester would then make her appearance.

Dolly stepped out of the car. She looked around in confusion and felt unsure, even more so than she’d been when driving down the dark, potholed lane leading to the house. The massive manor
looked daunting but in the shadows it was difficult to detect its run-down, neglected grounds. The chauffeur guided her towards the front steps. She stopped.

‘Are you staying?’

‘If you would like me to, Mrs Rawlins. It’s entirely up to you.’ He rang the bell. Some of the stained glass was broken in the panels but the steps had been swept and Dolly
wasn’t paying much attention; she was feeling edgy.

Angela opened the door, wearing a neat black dress and white apron.

‘Good evening, Mrs Rawlins. Welcome to the Grange.’

Dolly hesitated and then saw the elegant Ester standing with her arms wide. ‘Dolly. Come on in.’

She walked into the hall.

‘What’s going on?’

‘It’s a welcome out party for you.’

‘Is he going?’ She was almost prepared to walk after the chauffeur.

‘Oh, he’ll be back, and we’ve all got our cars round the back.’

‘All?’

‘Your old mates, Dolly, from Holloway.’

She watched as Angela closed the door, taking Dolly’s small case from the chauffeur, and then Ester embraced her warmly, kissing her on both cheeks.

‘Come, let me show you around. You’ll want a bath, won’t you?’

Dolly looked at the banks of flickering candles, still nonplussed as Ester guided her up the stairs. She stopped. ‘Why are you doing this?’

Ester continued up the stairs. ‘We’ve come out to nothing and no one, Dolly. We all know what it feels like. We wanted to make sure you got a special party, to sort of kick you off
in the right direction.’

Dolly followed Ester up the stairs, impressed by the house, then the clean room with the black lace dress laid out on the bed. There were stockings and clean underwear, even a couple of pairs of
high-heeled shoes.

‘You did all this for me?’ Dolly said, still nonplussed.

‘It’s not a new dress but it is a Valentino. Would you like me to run a bath for you? Wash your hair?’

Angela slipped in with Dolly’s suitcase and placed it by the bed. She was out again before Dolly could say a word. ‘Who’s that?’

‘Oh, she’s just a kid that used to work for me.’

‘A tart, is she?’

‘No, she’s just here to serve us so we don’t have to do anything but enjoy ourselves.’

Dolly wandered around the room. ‘Who else is here?’

Ester turned on the taps, felt the hot water – it wasn’t what you’d call
hot
hot – and poured in bath salts.

‘Kathleen O’Reilly, you remember her?’ Ester listed the other names.

Dolly sat on the bed. ‘Well, I wouldn’t call any of them friends, Ester. They all here, are they?’

‘Yes, well, I tried to get as many women as I thought you knew so it’d be a bit of a knees-up.’

‘I’m not sure what to say.’

Ester smiled. ‘Just have a nice bath. I’ll go and tell them you’ll be down soon, okay?’

Dolly slowly took off her coat, and then smiled. ‘Yeah, why not? I could do with a drink.’

They all looked towards the double doors as Ester came into the dining room. ‘She’s getting ready, won’t be long.’

‘I hope not, I’m starving,’ Gloria muttered.

Julia lolled in her chair. ‘She knows who’s down here?’

‘Yes, she does, and don’t drink any more, Kathleen. We’ve got to work her over and if you get pissed you’ll open that yapping mouth. That goes for you too,
Gloria.’

She glanced over the table and then went to the kitchen. Angela had her feet up, reading a magazine. ‘We’ll have the first course, then I’ll ring for you.’

‘Yeah, you told me that before.’

‘When she’s ready to come down, I want you to bring her in. Go up to her room when I tell you. I don’t want her wandering around.’

‘You told me that as well.’

‘Fine, I’m just making sure everything’s ready.’

Ester walked out. Angela waited a moment, then followed. As soon as she saw her heading up the stairs she crept to the phone, eased it off the hook, and dialled. She waited, eyes to the dark,
candlelit hallway.

Mike answered the phone. Susan was dishing up dinner. He spoke softly and then replaced the receiver. He was smiling like he’d just been given good news.

‘Who was that?’

‘Mum. I said I’d go over later after dinner.’

‘Oh, I’d like to have come with you. Why didn’t you tell me? I could ask the girl next door to babysit.’

‘I’m only going for a few minutes.’

Mike sat down as Susan passed him a plate of stew. She was a pretty girl, with long blonde hair, similar to Mike’s sister Shirley. She was almost as pretty. Both their sons had already
been put to bed and she’d half-hoped they could have an evening together.

‘Is your mum still planning to go to Spain?’

Mike nodded, his mouth full. ‘Yeah, that’s why I said I’d drop in, see if she needed me to do anything.’

‘Funny time to go, isn’t it, winter?’

Mike shrugged, forking in another mouthful. ‘Got some friend there with a villa, be good for her, she needs to get away.’

‘Don’t we all. It’s been ages since we had a holiday – be nice to get away.’

‘We will,’ he said, eyes to the clock, wondering if they’d found the diamonds.

Susan watched him: he’d been very distracted of late, moody and snapping at the kids. ‘Everything all right at work, is it?’

‘Yep.’ He pushed the plate aside, only half finished, and wiped his mouth with a napkin. ‘I’ll shove off. Sooner I see her, sooner I’ll be home.’

She picked up her knife and fork and he reached over and kissed her forehead.

‘There’s nobody else, is there, Mike?’

‘What?’

‘It’s just I hardly have time to talk to you, you’re always out, and most weekends you’ve been on duty. If there is somebody else . . .’

He sat down again. ‘There isn’t anyone else, Sue, okay? It’s been a bit heavy lately, I’ve got a lot on and—’

‘Yes?’

Well, it’s to do with Shirley. The woman Mum blames for her being killed, Dolly Rawlins, got released today, so Mum’s been a bit hysterical, you know the way she always harps on
about it.’

‘Well, you can’t blame her. If one of our boys was killed I’d feel the same.’

‘I won’t be long, I promise, okay?’

Mike left and Susan carried on eating but she wasn’t hungry. She was sure Mike was seeing someone else – she’d even searched his suit pockets, looking for evidence. She
hadn’t found anything but, then, he was a detective so he wouldn’t be stupid enough to leave anything incriminating. But he
was
different – colder and impatient towards her
and the boys. She told herself to stop it: it was just as he said, overwork, he was tired and she was reading more into his moods than she should. She swiped at the table, muttering to herself.
What about
her
moods? Nobody ever seemed concerned about her or the way she felt.

Ester cocked her head to one side, sprayed lacquer over Dolly’s hair and stepped back. ‘That’s much nicer, softer round your face with a bit of a wave. So, we
all set to go down?’ Dolly stood up and admired herself in the wardrobe mirror. ‘This is a lovely frock.’

Ester opened the bedroom door. ‘It was a lovely price a few years back, Dolly. Come on, they’re all starving down there.’

They walked down the stairs together, Angela waiting at the bottom.

‘No men invited, then?’ Dolly asked.

Ester laughed. ‘Well, we could always get the chauffeur back.’

‘Couldn’t you get the Chippendales? They’re all the rage in the nick – girls have got their posters on the walls. Good-looking lads, they dance for women.’

‘I know who they are, Dolly, but they’re a bit passé now. That’s always the problem in the nick. Years behind what’s going down.’

Angela opened the dining-room doors wider and Ester stepped back to allow Dolly to walk in ahead of her.