She's Out (22 page)

He stepped back – he couldn’t deal with her closeness. She was the most glamorous woman he had ever seen or been this close to in his entire life. ‘Yes, there’s a good
local gym, very well equipped.’

‘Ah, I thought you did, I can always tell. You’ve got marvellous shoulders.’

Now the heat of the sauna was making him sweat but he didn’t want to leave, didn’t want to move away from her. He was automatically flexing everything, tightening his bum cheeks.

She leaned close, touching his biceps. ‘What’s your name?’

John breathed in gratefully as she opened the sauna door. He was getting dizzy. ‘John Maynard.’

She started to swing her arms from side to side. ‘Thanks for your help, John.’

When Connie joined the others, they were sweating and filthy. ‘Sauna’s working, it’s really hot. Do any of you want to work out first?’

She received a barrage of abuse – as if after digging and wheeling the barrows they needed to work out! All they wanted was a cold drink and a long afternoon in the sauna.

Ester pushed Julia ahead of her. ‘Don’t worry about Dolly, she’ll be gone ages. She’ll only just have got there. We got hours.’

Tommy’s wheezing breath and halitosis were overpowering. The drawn blinds, the bolted door and the hissing gas fire made Dolly feel dizzy. She took off her coat.
Tommy’s thick stubby fingers began to unfurl the cord round the pouch bag. He pulled it open and laid it out flat.

‘Is this some kind of joke?’

‘No. Why?’

‘I just made these up for somebody.’

‘What?’

He turned his lamp out and pushed his eye-glass on to his forehead. ‘You didn’t pay a bundle for these, did you, sweetheart?’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘I made them up. They’re glass, good settings . . . I mean, I did spend quite a few hours—’

‘
You made these
?’

Tommy stared at Dolly, whose face was chalk white.

‘Who for, Tommy?’

He wouldn’t usually have said – clients are clients, and he was always a man to keep his mouth shut – but he knew she wasn’t going to leave his office until he told her.
He hedged as she leaned across the table, picking up a handful of the stones.

‘I nearly went back inside for this crap, Tommy, so you tell me who ordered you to make them up.’

Mike knew something was up the moment the Tannoy rang out for him to go into DCI Craigh’s office. Craigh looked up at him as he knocked sheepishly and entered. He pointed
to the chair in front of his desk and told Mike to sit down. Mike could see a stack of files on his desk, one with Dolly Rawlins’s name printed across it. ‘Right, let’s go from
the top and don’t bullshit me.’

‘I don’t follow.’

‘I think you do. I am in it right up to my fucking ears over this Donaldson business. I’ve got the Super, the prison authorities, Donaldson’s wife, his parole officer, all
breathing fumes all over me so I’ll kick it off, shall I? How did you know that Rawlins had bought the manor house?’

‘My informant.’

‘Oh, yeah? Which one?’

Mike flushed and explained about Angela, how he’d busted her along with Ester Freeman.

‘You booked her, did you?’

‘No, she was never charged. She wasn’t on the game, she was just serving food at the house for the tarts and their punters.’

‘So she told you all about Rawlins, her buying the manor?’

‘Yes.’

‘So who was the informant on the diamonds? Same source? You said it was a kid in Brixton with Donaldson. That’s the only name I’ve got down as an informant.’

‘Yes, that’s true. When he told me, I contacted Angela and that’s how I knew all the women were staying there.’

Craigh pushed his chair back and wandered around the office, hands stuffed in his pockets. ‘Anything else? I mean, is there anything else you’ve not told me?’ Mike licked his
lips as Craigh came to stand close, leaning down so his face was almost touching Mike’s. ‘What about that diamond robbery, Mike? You want to tell me about that? Better still, tell me
about Shirley Miller.’ Mike closed his eyes. Craigh prodded him and he hunched away. ‘This was personal, wasn’t it?’ Mike nodded. ‘Your sister was killed on that
diamond raid.’

‘Yes.’

‘Not on your original application form, Mike. There is no mention that you even had a fucking sister.’

Mike gave a half-smile. ‘I didn’t reckon it’d look good on my C V, Gov.’

‘Don’t you fucking joke with me, this isn’t funny. Let’s go from the top again. Your sister worked with Dolly Rawlins and—’

Mike interrupted, ‘She used her, she manipulated her, she was only twenty-one, a beauty queen and . . .’

Craigh returned to his desk. Mike was close to breaking down, his voice faltering. ‘I didn’t have all that much to do with her. I was in the army, stationed in Germany when she was
killed. Then when I joined up with the Met it was, like, all in the past, but my mum, er—’ He was floundering, trying not to implicate Audrey. The sweat was pouring off him. ‘I
saw her grave, right? And I felt guilty that I’d never come home, never even sent flowers, and . . . my mum, always on and on about Dolly Rawlins. I’m sorry, I am really
sorry...’

Mike sniffed, trying to hold on to his emotions because he wasn’t acting any more. The more he tried to explain about Shirley, the more her face kept flashing across his mind and in the
end he bowed his head. ‘I loved her a lot. She was a lovely kid.’ Craigh remained silent, staring at him. ‘I know Rawlins instigated that robbery, I know it.’

‘Eh, Mike son, Rawlins was sent down for murder, she killed her husband. It was never proved that she ever had anything to do with that diamond heist.’

‘But she had.’

‘You don’t have any proof.’ Craigh pursed his lips. ‘Listen, to what i’m saying, Mike. Dolly Rawlins was
never
even charged with that heist. There was never
a shred of evidence to link her to it. But your sister was no angel, her husband was a known villain, so don’t give me all this whitewash Mother Teresa act. All I know is you used personal
motives to instigate a full-scale operation, drawing in me, DI Palmer, the whole team on a mad caper that has landed us all in shit, making us all look like prize fucking idiots.’

‘I know she was going for those diamonds,’ Mike stuttered.

‘
No, you don’t
. You don’t know anything. It’s all been supposition because
you
had a private and personal motive against Rawlins.’

‘She got away with murder.’

‘She didn’t, she served her sentence, and as far as being implicated in the Donaldson business she has an alibi, and a very strong one, that she wasn’t even near Ladbroke Grove
the day he was run over.’

‘We had any joy tracing the car?’

‘What car? How many red Rovers or red Volvos are there in London?’

Mike remained silent as Craigh jangled the change in his pockets, relenting slightly.

‘We’ve got Traffic running around like blue-arsed flies – they always love a challenge. We got nothing from the road where Donaldson got hit, we’ve not got one decent
eyewitness. In fact we’ve got bugger all. But we do have a nasty, dirty mess that I’ve got to clear up.’

‘I’m sorry.’

‘I hope to Christ you are. And from now on you stay clear of this Rawlins bitch or I’ll have you back wearing a big hat, understand me?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Now piss off and I’ll see if I can iron all this out.’

Craigh watched Mike walk out with his head bent. Picking up Rawlins’s file, he stared at her hard profile in the mug-shots and began to flick through her record sheet. He put in a call to
the Aylesbury social services to double-check one more time that Rawlins was, as she had stated, being interviewed by the board members of the council.

Angela knew something was very wrong when Dolly walked stiffly back to the taxi. She opened the door and got in. ‘Go back to the manor – get the train
home.’

‘Aren’t you coming with me?’

‘No. Just get on your way. I’ve got someone to see.’

‘Well, don’t you need a lift?’

‘No, I want to be on my own for a while.’

Dolly passed over a ten-pound note and walked off down the road as Angela directed the cab driver to take her back to Marylebone station.

Mike let himself in and called Susan, but the house was silent. He checked the time and assumed she was collecting the kids. He sat down in the hall, knowing he’d had a
narrow escape. The phone rang and he jumped.

Angela was at the station in a phone booth. She was relieved when Mike answered but taken aback when he yelled at her never to call his home again.

‘Well, I needed to speak to you. I’m in London, I came here with Dolly. She got the diamonds, Mike, she had them with her.’

Mike stood up, trying to keep his voice calm. ‘You sure? Where is she now?’

Angela told him where she had been, and then Mike said he had to go, he couldn’t talk any more. His head felt as if it was blowing apart. If Dolly Rawlins had the diamonds then she had to
have run over Jimmy Donaldson.

She had to have killed him. She had the diamonds, she killed Donaldson, she must know by now they were fakes. It seemed that any way he moved the shackles were on him, getting him in deeper and
deeper. One thing, there wasn’t a lot she could do about it. She wouldn’t go to the law, but he knew one place she would go and his panic went into overdrive. He hoped to Christ his
mother was out of the country. He grabbed the phone and dialled her number.

Angela sat on the station platform. She had tried to call Mike again but the number was engaged. She kept trying but it was constantly busy. She was near to tears, sure
he’d taken it off the hook. There was also something else she had to tell him: she’d missed two periods.

Audrey picked up the phone and Mike started yelling before she’d even said hello. ‘She knows about Tommy. She’s been to see him about the diamonds this
afternoon.’

‘Who?’

‘Who the hell do you think? Rawlins. She got the diamonds then went to Tommy Malin.’

Audrey’s legs were like jelly.

‘Have you got your passport yet?’

‘Yes, it came today, and I’ve booked my ticket, leave tomorrow.’

Mike rubbed his chin. ‘You’d better go tonight.’

‘You think she’ll come here?’

He closed his eyes. ‘Look, the best thing you can do is go away, just clear out.’

Audrey burst into tears and he yelled at her to pull herself together. He said he’d see if he could come round later, and hung up.

She sat for a moment, still cradling the phone before shakily going back to her packing. Half an hour later the doorbell rang shrilly and Audrey dropped her case as she ran to the door. She
thought it would be Mike but when she swung the door open she froze.

‘Hello, Audrey. It’s Dolly – Dolly Rawlins.’

Audrey forced a smile. ‘Good heavens! So you’re out then, are you?’

‘Yes. You going to ask me in?’

Audrey swallowed and held the door wider.

Dolly walked past her, straight into the sitting room. The first thing she saw was the big eight-by-ten coloured photograph of Shirley. She reached out, touched it, and laid it face down on the
sideboard. Then she spotted the passport and aeroplane tickets. ‘Going away?’

Audrey could hardly breathe, she was so nervous. She gestured to the half-packed suitcases in her bedroom. ‘Just to Brighton, see a friend for the weekend.’

‘Taking a lot of gear for just a weekend, aren’t you?’ Audrey flushed as Dolly held up her passport. ‘Won’t be needing this then, will you?’

Audrey’s eyes almost popped out of her head as Dolly slipped it into her pocket. ‘Why did you do that?’

Dolly sat down on the settee, unbuttoning her coat. ‘Because, Audrey, we’ve got to talk. Sit down.’

Audrey moved to a hard-backed chair and perched on the edge of the seat.

‘How long have you been out?’

Dolly gave an icy cold smile. ‘I bet you know the exact minute. Come on, Audrey, how much did you get for the diamonds?’

She knew it was pointless to deny she’d taken them. ‘It’s not the way it looks.’

‘I’m all ears.’

Audrey gulped. ‘Well, when I read that Jimmy Donaldson had been arrested—’

Dolly interrupted, ‘You went round and collected. But you never thought to contact me, did you?’

‘Well, it was too risky, wasn’t it?’

‘How much did you get?’

‘Not a lot.’ Audrey cleared her throat.

‘How much?’

‘Four hundred and fifty thousand.’

Dolly leaned back and gave a short barking laugh, without humour. ‘Don’t mess me around.
How much?
’

Audrey began to blubber, swearing on her life that was all she got, and said Dolly could even check it out with Frank Richmond.

‘Frank Richmond? You fenced them through him, that cheap bastard? Why didn’t you fence them with Tommy?’

‘I didn’t think, I was scared, I mean, they were here in the flat.’

Dolly leaned back and closed her eyes. ‘Eight years I waited, Audrey, eight years . . .’

‘Shirley’s been dead eight years.’ Audrey became even more scared as Dolly went rigid, her eyes shut tight, hands clenched. ‘I only got a few thousand cash I can give
you. I put the bulk of it in Spain.’

‘Spain?’

‘I bought a villa and . . . it was all done in such a hurry because I was terrified I’d be nicked.’

‘I was, Audrey. I did almost nine years and right now I’d do ten for you. You get me my share and I want it by tomorrow.’

‘But I haven’t got it.’

‘
Get it!
And when you have, call me. This is my number.’ Dolly opened her bag and scrawled her phone number. She stood up to pass it to her, leaning in close, her face almost
touching Audrey’s. ‘Until I get it, I’ll hold your passport. You call me by tomorrow or, like I said, I’ll shop you, go down for you and don’t think for a second I
don’t mean it.’

Mike listened in stunned silence as Audrey told him about Dolly’s visit. ‘I got to get money, Mike, or she’ll shop me.’

Mike could feel that treacle forming like cement round his ankles now. ‘Does she know about me?’

‘She thinks it was just me. I got to get money, Mike. She wants me to call her, I got until tomorrow.’