She's Out

by La Plante, Lynda

  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.

  The women all rose to their feet and began to sing. ‘Good luck, God bless you …’

  The banks of candles, their dresses and the beautifully laid table made Dolly gasp: it seemed almost magical. The room with its carved ornate ceiling, the huge stone fireplace with a log-fire blazing, the women all lifting their glasses in a toast.

  ‘To Dolly Rawlins. She’s out.’

  Dolly slowly moved from one woman to the next. Like a princess, she touched their shoulders or kissed their cheeks.

  Ester drew out the carved chair at the head of the table. ‘Sit down, Dolly. This is your night, one we won’t let you forget.’

  Dolly sat down, near to tears. Nothing had prepared her for this. She accepted a glass of champagne and lifted it. ‘God bless us all.’

  In the soft firelight with the flickering candles, they looked almost surreal: five women enjoying a celebration dinner. No one caught the strange glint behind the star guest’s eyes because she was smiling, seemingly enjoying every precious moment. In reality she was waiting, knowing they wanted something, and she had a pretty good idea what it was. But she could wait. She was used to waiting.

  The officers found it difficult to search the dark, poky little antique shop. There was a lot of junk and clutter to be moved aside and Donaldson had said the diamonds were hidden in a wall recess, but by ten o’clock they still had not been found. The men decided to call it quits for the night and to start again early the following morning.

  Audrey was in her dressing gown when she opened the door to Mike. He beamed as he hugged her. ‘Have I got news for you.’

  She shut the door and waited impatiently.

  ‘She’s out, Mum, and, I know exactly where she is, and—’

  Audrey sat on the settee as Mike gave her all the details about what had gone down that day, ending by clapping his hands together and laughing. ‘Right now we got blokes searching for the diamonds, right? When they find them, we’ll have Jimmy Donaldson wired up. If she calls, and she will, she’ll go straight for them. We’ll be ready and waiting. She’s going to go right back inside, Mum, just what you wanted.’

  Audrey had gone pale. ‘You should have warned me, told me what you were doing.’

  ‘How could I? It all happened today. It was such a bloody coincidence I couldn’t believe it. First Angela—’

  ‘You’re not still messing around with that little tart, are you?’

  ‘For chrissakes, Mum, she’s very useful. Right now I know where Dolly Rawlins is, I know she can give us her every move. Then I got a tip-off about Jimmy Donaldson. It was beautiful, just beautiful, I got my governor jumping around. You know there was a reward for those stones and—’

  ‘You got to stop this, Mike,’ Audrey interrupted.

  ‘Why? It’s what you’ve been bleatin’ on about for the past eight years, isn’t it? Well, I’m going to have Dolly Rawlins put back inside for that robbery. She’s going to be copped for those diamonds.’

  ‘No, she isn’t, love.’

  ‘What are you talking about?’

  ‘The diamonds.’

  ‘Yeah, we got blokes stripping Donaldson’s place for them.’

  ‘They won’t find them.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘Because they’re not there.’

  ‘How do you know?’

  ‘Because I took them.’

  Mike’s jaw dropped. He couldn’t take it in.

  Audrey started to cry. ‘When I read about Jimmy being arrested, I … You see, he knew about them, so did I – she always said I’d get a cut.’

  ‘Jesus Christ, I don’t believe this.’

  ‘So when I read he’d been picked up, I went round to his shop. I’ve known his wife for years and, well, she asked if I wanted a coffee, then she went round to a café to bring it back and I knew where he’d stashed them, so I took them.’

  ‘You’ve got them?’

  ‘No, I had them.’

  ‘What the fuck have you done with them?’

  ‘Sold them.’

  Mike stood up. He was shaking. ‘You sold them?’

  Audrey took out a tissue and blew her nose. ‘Yes. God help me, I didn’t know what to do with them once I’d got them here and I was scared. I mean, they just sat there and I got more and more scared having that much stuff in the flat.’

  Mike slumped into a chair, his head in his hands. ‘Holy shit, you’ve really landed me in it. Who’s got them now?’

  Audrey twisted the tissue. Well, I couldn’t really shop around, could I? I knew this dealer, Frank Richmond, he’s dodgy but I took them to him and he said he’d get what he could for them. But you know, they weren’t easy because they were still hot. Well, that’s what he said.’

  ‘He paid you for them?’

  ‘He gave me four hundred and fifty grand.’

  Mike leaned back, his eyes closed.

  ‘They were worth millions, I knew it, but I wasn’t gonna start pushing for more money, was I? I was desperate – I knew she’d be out, knew she’d go to Jimmy and then come here.’

  Mike snapped to his feet. ‘You’ve bullshitted me, haven’t you? All that crap about Shirley, you’ve lied to me.’

  ‘No, I haven’t!’

  ‘Yes, you bloody have. This wasn’t for Shirley. It was for you, you, and now you got me caught up in it.’

  Audrey sobbed as he paced up and down the room.

  ‘Where’s the money?’

  ‘Well, some of it’s in my bank, some’s in a building society and the bulk of it’s in Spain.’

  ‘Spain?’

  Audrey waited, and Mike wanted to shake or slap her, he didn’t know which. ‘Is that why you’re going there?’

  She sniffed. ‘Yes. Wally Simmonds bought a villa for me.’

  Mike gaped. ‘A villa?’

  She nodded. ‘It was ever such a good buy and we did a cash deal. I’m leaving for good. I was
gonna tell you when I’d sorted myself out.’

  Mike swallowed. It was getting worse by the second. He could feel the floor shifting under his feet.

  ‘What am I going to do, Mike?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘Do you want a cup of tea?’

  He turned on her in a fury. ‘No, I bloody don’t. Just shut up and let me think this one out.’

  She sat snuffling as he remained with his head in his hands. Eventually he asked flatly, ‘Do you know anyone who could make us up some dud stones that’d look like the real things?’

  Audrey licked her lips, hesitating, trying to think.

  Mike continued, ‘I could stash them at Donaldson’s. It could still work but we’d only have a few hours, a day maybe, to get the stuff ready. Do you know anyone?’

  ‘I’m sorry I’ve done this to you, love. Will you get into trouble?’

  He stared at his mother. ‘I could lose my fucking job – that good enough for you? Now, do you know anyone?’

  Audrey chewed her lips then took out a worn address book from her handbag. ‘There’s Tommy Malin – he’s probably the best – and if we said we’d pay cash for it he might do us a favour.’

  ‘Us now, is it?’

  ‘Well, I’ll just do whatever you tell me to.’ Her brain was a jumbled mess of her own screeching questions. Why, why had she been so stupid? Why had she done it? Was it because she just wanted to get back at Dolly? Was that it? As dumb as Audrey sounded, there was another element: greed. She wanted money. She had always wanted it but it had always been out of her reach. When she read about Jimmy’s arrest, she had believed all the waiting was for nothing and it was her fury at being cheated that pushed her into getting the diamonds. She had not contemplated how deeply she would bring her son into it all. Somehow she had thought he’d just arrest the bitch and put her away, or out of reach, because Audrey was scared. She had always been scared of Dolly Rawlins.

  ‘I’m so scared of her, Mike. I know she’ll come after me. She won’t understand – like, the fear I had with them stones in the flat and then—’

  She started to cry again, and Mike sighed. ‘Mum, you’re in it, whatever excuses you make. Gimme the address book. I’ll call this fence bloke but I can only do so much. Then I gotta walk away from it – from you if necessary.’

  They had all had a considerable amount to drink: champagne, white and red wine. The booze had eased the tension and now they all talked freely. Kathleen, well away, was going into an elaborate story about how she found her ex-husband in bed with a lodger and how she’d locked him in a coal hole. Connie was drawing the details of her plastic surgery operations on a paper napkin. Gloria was having a heated argument with Julia about body fat. Their voices were like music to Dolly. She didn’t listen to whatever anyone was saying: it was the freedom, the roaring laughs, and the relaxed atmosphere. Ester did not drink as much as the others but watched Dolly throughout, noting how often her glass was refilled, biding her time to choose the right moment to open up the conversation about Dolly’s future arrangements.

  Angela carried in a tray and said that coffee and liqueurs were now served in the drawing room.

  Ester saw Dolly stumble slightly as she pushed back her chair. She was obviously enjoying herself and even took hold of Gloria’s hand as they wove their way into the drawing room, where there were more candles and another big blazing fire, the perfumed incense disguising the damp smell, the gentle light hiding the darkened patches on the wallpaper and the holed curtains half off their rails. The room was comfortable and friendly, the glasses of port and brandy handed round liberally.

  Julia whispered to Ester to keep her eye on Kathleen as she was well pissed and now thumping out a song on the piano, having a ball, almost forgetting why she was there. Julia passed out the drinks, as Gloria picked up the box of After Eight mints. ‘Here you go, Dolly love. Have a mint and tell us what you’re gonna be up to now you’re out?’

  Ester edged closer, wanting Gloria to shut up. Not the most subtle of women, Gloria now plunged right in. ‘So you got yourself a nice nest egg, have you, Dolly?’

  Dolly laughed as she sipped her brandy. ‘I might have.’

  ‘Eh, I bet that old man left you a few quid, didn’t he?’ Gloria continued, and then shut up as Ester stood firmly on her foot.

  ‘He left me comfortable,’ Dolly said, and moved towards the mantelpiece. Then she turned to face them all as Kathleen staggered away from the piano stool to slump into a big winged chair. ‘So, why don’t you all come clean? What you all after?’ Dolly said it softly but there was an edge to her voice.

  Ester played it beautifully. ‘After? What’s that supposed to mean?’

  ‘Well, this is all very nice but none of us were what you would call friends. So I just wondered what you wanted.’

  Ester stood up, a furious look on her face. ‘Oh, thanks a lot, Dolly. We all worked our butts off today to get this place ready for you. You think we did it for what? What you got that any of us would want? We did it, I arranged it, because in the nick you belted that cow Barbara Hunter. I admired that, we all admired that, but if you think we’ve all come here for some ulterior motive, then screw you. We only wanted you to come out to friends, to have one night to find your feet.’ She marched angrily towards the door as if about to make an exit.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Dolly said quietly.

  ‘So you bloody should be. I know it’s hard to trust people inside but we’re not inside. We’re all out. All we wanted was to give you a bit of a party.’

  ‘I said I’m sorry. Come on, sit down.’

  Ester gave a tiny wink to Julia as she grudgingly sat on the arm of the easy chair, close to Gloria so she could control her.

  Dolly turned towards the fire. ‘Truth is, I do have a few quid put by.’

  A low murmur from them all, and sly glances flicked between them.

  ‘Well, that’s good to know,’ said Connie. ‘I hope you have a good and successful future.’

  They all raised their glasses and toasted Dolly yet again.

  ‘So how much you got, then?’ asked Gloria, and got a dig in the ribs from Ester.

  ‘It’s not a fortune but … I’m all right, comfortable.’

  They waited with bated breath as Dolly drained her glass and replaced it on the tray. ‘I’m going to tell you something.’

  They leaned forward slightly, listening attentively, hoping she was now about to say ‘diamonds’.

  ‘For eight years, I’ve been sort of planning it, in my head. It’s my dream, my future.’

  A row of faces waited.

  ‘I want to put back something into society, might sound crazy, but I really want to make something of the rest of my life.’

  No one spoke. They felt a trifle uneasy, though – she was coming on like something from The Sound of Music.

  Dolly took a deep breath. ‘I want to buy a house and I want to open it up as a home, a foster home for kids, battered wives, a home run by me, for all those less fortunate than me.’

  None of them could speak. They looked at Dolly as if she had two heads. She had taken the carpet from beneath every one of them.

  Tommy Malin agreed that he could make up a bag of fake stones, using some real settings and some fake ones. He could do it for two grand cash and have it ready by the following afternoon. Mike tried to push him to have them done by the following morning but he refused, saying if they wanted the stuff to look good, really good, he would need that time. He’d have to shop around for some good cut-glass fakes, maybe throw in a couple of zircons, but he needed that much time. Mike agreed and said Audrey would collect them as soon as he called to say they were ready.

  By the time Mike got home he was worn to a frazzle and it was after twelve. Susan heard the front door shut and turned over to her side of the bed, not wanting to speak to him or confront him. She was sure he had another woman and it was breaking her heart.

  Mike cleaned his teeth. His eyes were red-rim
med, his face chalk white; he was in it up to his neck and he just hoped he would be able to get away with what he was doing. He had to find some way of stashing the fakes in Jimmy Donaldson’s place. He splashed cold water over his face, patting it dry, half hoping that Dolly Rawlins would never make contact about the bloody diamonds.

  Susan heard him undressing and then he got into bed beside her, turning his back towards her. Neither said a word, Susan because she was sure he was cheating on her, Mike hearing his own heart thudding as he went over the mess he had got himself caught up in. Whatever excuses he tried to make for Audrey, or she had made to him, didn’t alter the fact she had trapped him into the world he had tried so hard to walk away from all his life. Shirley had been well caught up in it and he knew it, together with her husband and the subsequent robbery, but nothing he could have thought up or dreamed in his worst nightmares would measure up to the reality that Shirley had been shot. He found himself, like his mother, making excuses and eventually laying the blame on Dolly Rawlins. If he could get her put away, it would, he told himself, get them all out of trouble. And he was even able to tell himself that she deserved everything she got or anything he could have her framed and done for.

  Ester had a mink coat slung round her shoulders and Dolly wore Gloria’s fluffy wrap as they walked towards the stables. ‘I mean, look at this place, Dolly. You could have ten, twelve kids here, get a horse even. And there’s a swimming pool, needs a bit of work, the whole house does, but it’s crying out for kids. It’d be a perfect place.’

  Dolly looked back at the vast house. ‘I dunno, Ester. I was sort of thinking about a small terraced job, near Holloway.’

  ‘No. This is much better. Country air, grounds, and it’d be cheaper than any terraced house. I’ll even throw in all the linen, crockery and furniture. You can have the lot for two hundred grand. I’ve even got surveyors’ reports. It’s on the market right now but if it’s out of your league then …’

  Dolly considered. It wasn’t out of her league – in fact it was smack in it: she’d got about two hundred and fifty grand to be exact but after shelling out here and there it’d be around the two hundred mark.