She's Out

by Lynda La Plante

  Julia began to stick in rods. “Bit late, but if the weather keeps fine it’ll be okay.”

  Gloria sprayed out the contents of the packet.

  “Not there! Over here, what do you think I’m putting the rods in for?” Julia shouted.

  “Well, I didn’t know. What you got in your packet, Connie?”

  Connie pulled at the top to open it and the seeds all fell out.

  “Pick them up,” said Julia, bad-tempered.

  “What, all of them?” asked Connie. “There’s hundreds!”

  Gloria laughed and kicked at the seeds. “Who gives a bugger?”

  They saw a Mini Metro pull up by the front path. “Who’s that?” Julia asked.

  “I dunno, she’s driving this way now.”

  Mrs. Tilly wound down the window. “I’m looking for Mrs. Rawlins.”

  “Try the back door,” said Gloria. “Round the back, past the stables. She was in the kitchen.”

  Mrs. Tilly smiled her thanks and pulled away.

  Connie, on her hands and knees, was picking up one seed at a time. “Ugh, the dirt’s gettin’ under my nails.”

  “Take them off, then,” said Gloria as she kicked more soil over a mound of seeds.

  “No chance—do you know what they cost?”

  Gloria peered down at her. “With a bit of luck, you’ll soon be able to buy all the nails you want. Come on, let’s go and see what the Metro lady wanted.”

  Mrs. Tilly tooted the horn and stepped out of the car as Dolly hurried out from the kitchen.

  “Mrs. Tilly, good morning.”

  “Good morning, Mrs. Rawlins. I can’t stop but I wanted to tell you personally. We had a cancelation for this afternoon so the board are reviewing your case and, if you’re available, they can see you at four thirty. I’m sorry it’s such short notice but as they’re all gathered, it seemed a shame not to jump the queue, so to speak.”

  Dolly beamed. “Is there any advice you can give me, anything I should take with me?”

  Mrs. Tilly smiled. “My advice to everyone applying for foster caring is always tell the truth because everything is always checked and double-checked.”

  “Thank you very much, Mrs. Tilly. Are you sure you won’t come in for a cup of tea?”

  “No, I shouldn’t have really left the office unattended.”

  “I’ll see you later then.”

  Angela had been listening. She came to the kitchen door. “Mrs. Rawlins, about this afternoon—”

  Dolly turned and frowned at Angela to shut her up, then turned back to Mrs. Tilly. “Four thirty, then, Mrs. Tilly. Should I wear a suit, do you think?”

  “You’ll be asked a lot of questions, some very personal, so wear whatever you feel most confident and relaxed in. Goodbye.”

  Dolly felt like skipping—everything was coming together so fast. She waited until Mrs. Tilly’s car had disappeared before she clapped her hands. “Did you hear, Angela? I’ve got a meeting with the social services board this afternoon!”

  Angela wrinkled her nose. “But what about that Jimmy bloke? You said you’d see him this afternoon. I phoned him yesterday, remember? You can’t go to London for two and be back by four thirty. It’s after eleven now.”

  Dolly’s face fell. How could she have forgotten? It was the excitement. She’d not felt like this since she was a kid. She hugged her arms tightly around herself. “Get the others in. Tell them we need to talk.”

  Dolly hurried up to her room to sort out what she would wear for the afternoon’s meeting.

  Sitting on the dressing-table stool, Dolly started brushing her hair, talking to herself, trying to sort out exactly what she should do. She didn’t like leaving Jimmy Donaldson holding the stones for too long. He could get itchy fingers and she’d kind of given him an ultimatum. She didn’t like going back on that as it made her look weak, as if she didn’t mean business. Harry had something on Donaldson but without him, Donaldson might just try it on.

  They were sitting at the table in the big kitchen, obviously waiting. As soon as she walked in, she could feel the tension. “Okay, this is how we work it. One of you will have to collect the stones for me. I can’t risk losing this opportunity with the board members. They’re doing me a big favor as it is. So . . .”

  “What do you want us to do?” Ester asked.

  Dolly sat down. “Jimmy’s waiting for me to come at two o’clock. One of you’ll have to go and do it for me.”

  There was a unanimous “I’ll do it” but Dolly shook her head.

  “What, don’t you trust us?” Julia asked.

  “No, if you want my honest opinion, but if I say I’ll give you each a cut, then whoever picks them up better not do a runner or she’ll do every one of you in. So that’s a bit of an incentive to come back, isn’t it?” Dolly’s mind was racing. She’d never said how much of a cut but they could fight that out later, when she’d fenced the diamonds.

  She looked them all over: Ester was Julia’s partner, so it wouldn’t do to put them together; Kathleen she wouldn’t trust with a loaf of bread, or Gloria for that matter.

  “Okay, Ester, you go.”

  Ester couldn’t hide her smile.

  “You sure, Dolly? I mean, what do you think, Ester?” Julia said, and Ester could have smacked her.

  “I’ll do it. Don’t be stupid,” she said quickly.

  Julia shrugged her shoulders. She knew that Ester had people after her. “Okay, if you say so.”

  “Take Angela with you, the pair of you do it. Ester collects, you drive, Angela.”

  Angela seemed too scared to speak, looking from one to the other.

  “Why Angela?” Ester demanded.

  Dolly gave an icy smile. “I trust her.”

  “And you don’t trust me?”

  “No, but I don’t think you’d leave Julia in the lurch—leave us all in the lurch—would you?”

  They glared at Ester, warning her that she’d better not try anything.

  “So get yourselves together, take the Range Rover and get moving.”

  Julia walked in as Ester was changing, and shut the door. “You’re coming back, aren’t you?”

  Ester snapped, “Of course I am. She’s not as dumb as you think. She knows I’ve got people after me. I’m not likely to fence the gear all by myself in one afternoon, am I?”

  Julia sat on the bed. “I dunno. Just seems odd she’d choose you, not me.”

  “Why would she choose you?”

  “Because she knows I’d come back if you were here, whereas I don’t know if you would—that answer your question?”

  Ester leaned over Julia. “She’s tied me to Miss Goody-Two-Shoes, so she’ll be watching me like a hawk. I’ll be back, Julia, don’t you worry about that.”

  “Then what?”

  Ester clenched her fists. “Well, you said it the other night. You reckoned Dolly would kill for those diamonds. Maybe, just maybe, I would too.”

  “What about the others?”

  “Fuck ’em. Now, how do I look?”

  “Great, but then I’m biased.” Julia smiled: Ester always turned her on when she was hard like this. Dangerous.

  Dolly spoke softly, and Angela had to listen closely to hear every word. “You watch her all the time. You see her collect, then you put your foot down and come straight back here. This is the address, twenty-one Ladbroke Grove Estate. You all right?”

  “I wish you’d ask one of the others.”

  “No, love, you’re the only one who hasn’t been inside. You’ve still got some honesty about you, some integrity none of the others has left. They’d have ’em and be away, I know it.”

  Angela was in turmoil but couldn’t see any way out of it. She was still shaking as Ester walked in, dangling the car keys. “Okay, we’re all set, sweet-face, let’s go and collect.”

  Gloria looked at the clock. “Well, you got plenty of time.”

  “Maybe we’ll stop off for lunch.”

  “Just as long as you don’t
stop off anywhere after you’ve picked them up.”

  Ester laughed, unaware that Dolly had already searched her room and pocketed her passport.

  Ester gave Julia a little wink as they climbed into the Range Rover. “Right, might as well get on with it then.”

  Julia banged on the side of the door. “Take care, Ester, see you later.”

  Gloria, leaning on a rake, watched the Land Rover drive away. “Well, if she doesn’t show, I’ll shove this up her arse.”

  Dolly dialed and waited. She recognized Tommy’s labored breathing immediately. “Hello, Tommy, it’s Dolly, Harry Rawlins’s widow.”

  “Good God, you’re out then, are you, gel?”

  “Yeah, I’m out, but I need a favor.”

  “You know old Tommy, lovey, if he can do you one, he will.”

  “Just so long as you get paid for it, right?” Dolly chuckled.

  “On the nail. So what can I do you for?”

  Dolly lowered her voice. “I’ve got a few things I want to run by Jimmy Donaldson, then maybe bring to you.”

  “Jimmy Donaldson?” Tommy wheezed.

  “Yeah, you know him?”

  “Course I do. Runs a gig over in Hackney, or he did. You know he’s been away for a few years—still is as far as I know.”

  “Away? Where?”

  “Banged up. Got pinched for floggin’ some stolen Georgian silver. Didn’t you know?”

  “You sayin’ he’s still in the nick? You sure?”

  “Yeah, a few days back someone was asking after him and . . . hello? Hello?”

  Dolly felt cold, her hand still gripping the receiver. If Donaldson was nicked, how come he was answering his phone? She sat down and ran her hands through her hair, trying to remember everything he had said at the fairground. The more she thought about it, the more she began to think that maybe she was being set up.

  The women turned as they heard Dolly calling for Ester. “She’s gone. Dolly?”

  Dolly ran toward them. “They’ve gone already? But why . . . ?”

  “Well, they couldn’t wait.” Gloria started to laugh, but seeing Dolly’s expression quickly became serious. “What is it?”

  “I’m being set up. Jimmy Donaldson’s supposed to be in the nick.”

  Julia looked distraught.

  Gloria hurled aside her rake. “Get me car—we can catch them up. Come on!”

  Julia ran after her, Dolly following close behind. Kathleen looked at Connie, who was still half-heartedly digging a drainage trench. “What did you make of that?”

  “I don’t know. What do you think?”

  Kathleen gazed down at the trench. She rammed in her spade. “Keep digging. This looks like a grave, and maybe we’ll be putting somebody in it . . .”

  Chapter 7

  The Mini backfired again and this time Dolly hit the dashboard. “Next turning there’s a hire firm. Pull in and get a car with something under the bonnet.”

  “Who’s paying for it?” Gloria grumbled.

  “I will! Just do it!” Julia shouted. Gloria turned left toward Rodway Motors.

  “They should have waited!” Dolly seethed, as Gloria pulled onto the forecourt and went to reception. “If they’d just waited I’d have told them not to go.”

  “Well, they didn’t,” said Julia, looking at her watch, “but we can still be there in plenty of time.”

  Dolly was clenching and unclenching her hands. “If I miss this board meeting, I’ll—I’ll—”

  Julia glanced at Dolly curiously. She didn’t seem to care about the diamonds, only that she had been set up. “What about the diamonds, Dolly?” she said.

  “If Jimmy has done me over, he’ll regret it. I’ll take everything he’s got, then I’ll have him taken out. I might even do it myself.”

  Julia blinked, and then heard the toot-toot of a horn as Gloria drove up in a red Volvo. “Right,” said Dolly, getting out of the Mini, “move over, I’m driving.”

  At twelve fifteen, one of the officers at long last returned to the wall they had first checked, but it wasn’t until almost one o’clock that they found the pouch of diamonds. It was driven at top speed to Donaldson’s house on the Ladbroke estate and handed over to DI Palmer, who snatched it unceremoniously.

  “I’ve not logged it yet, Gov,” the officer told him.

  “I’ll do it, thanks.”

  DCI Craigh was standing in the hall. “They got them,” Palmer gasped.

  Craigh grinned. “Talk about cutting it fine. Let’s have a look at them.”

  “They’ve not put it on record yet.”

  “I’ll do it when I go in,” Craigh said as he eased open the velvet pouch. “Holy shit, look at the size of some of those stones,” he said in awe, then pulled the drawstring tight. “Look, we don’t let these out of our sight—that’s your job and yours only, you watch these babies, okay?”

  Craigh walked into the living room and held up the bag to Jimmy Donaldson. “Saved by the bell, Sunny Jim, we got them.”

  Donaldson looked over with baleful eyes. “Just so long as you put her away. She plugged her old man and I don’t want her going after me.”

  Craigh smirked. “That’s the whole point of the exercise, Jimmy. We want her back inside for nicking these.”

  Mike stared blankly from his position by the window. He’d just about given up on them finding the stones in time but knew he couldn’t risk going back to Donaldson’s shop or it would look suspicious. All that had to happen now was for Rawlins to arrive and get nicked, and him and his bloody mother would be in the clear.

  “What time is it?” he asked. Everyone looked at their watches, including Donaldson.

  “We’ve almost an hour to go until she collects.”

  Ester liked driving fast, and they were in London with time to spare. They were parked close to Ladbroke Grove tube station, eating burgers. At least, Ester was; Angela couldn’t stomach anything. She was a bag of nerves, wondering if she would have to face Mike.

  “I don’t drive.”

  Ester turned to her with her mouth full. “What did you say?”

  “I said I don’t drive. Well, I do, but not very well. I never passed my driving test and now, with my nerves I—I just don’t think I’ll be able to drive.”

  Ester tossed the half-eaten hamburger out of the window. “Well, it’s a fucking brilliant time to tell me.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  Ester sighed. “Okay, we switch. You collect, I’ll drive.”

  Angela chewed at her nails. “I don’t think we should do this, Ester. I’m scared. What if we get arrested?”

  “For Chrissakes, stop bleatin’. It’s one thirty—we can start to head up the road soon.”

  “It’s one thirty,” squawked Gloria.

  “You tell me the time just once more . . .” snarled Julia, and then looked at the road ahead. “Oh shit, look at the traffic! It’s jammed solid.”

  Dolly slowed down, and glanced at the clock on the dashboard. “We can still make it. We get onto the flyover, it’s only about fifteen minutes from there.”

  “We’re nowhere near the bloody flyover!” yelled Gloria, and Julia reached over and whacked her one. Dolly pulled out and drove alongside the rows of orange cones and roadworks signs. “Fuckin’ hell, you’ll get us arrested next,” Gloria screeched. But they made it to the front of the traffic jam, and nudged into the line of cars while an irate driver gave them a V sign and a flow of verbals. Gloria wound down her window. “We got a pregnant woman here on the way to the hospital, you prick, so fuck off.”

  The man stared open-mouthed as Dolly pressed on, horn blaring as she bullied her way through the traffic and accelerated toward the Edgware Road.

  Ester checked her watch. It was ten minutes to two. She put the car into gear. “Let’s go for it. We wait any longer and you’ll have chewed down to your knuckles.”

  They drove down Ladbroke Grove, passing the police station on the right. “Police station,” Angela whispered.
<
br />   “Thank you, I might not have noticed it,” Ester said, but she drove carefully all the same, not wanting any aggro.

  Driving fast from the opposite direction, turning off the Harrow Road, came Dolly.

  “It’s off to the right,” said Julia. “If they keep to two o’clock, we’ll just catch them.”

  Craigh looked at the clock. It was nine minutes to two. Donaldson was sweating now. “When she rings the doorbell,” Craigh told him, “you answer it, bring her in here, the bag is open, and all she’s got to do is . . .”

  Mike turned from the window. He pressed his radio earpiece closer. “Nothing yet, road’s still clear.”

  The two officers outside waited, scanning the road in front of them and checking their wing and rear-view mirrors. But the road was empty.

  Then it happened. The Range Rover was coming toward them just as the red Volvo raced in from the opposite direction. They saw the Range Rover stop and Angela get out and then all hell broke loose as the Volvo mounted the pavement, Gloria hanging out of the window. “Get back, get out of here!”

  The door opened and Angela was hauled bodily into the Volvo, while Julia leaped out, ran toward the Range Rover and jumped aboard. The two cars then roared away. The two officers got out of the patrol car, staring down the road in disbelief as DCI Craigh hurtled out of the house.

  “What the fuck is going on?”

  “We dunno. Woman ran from one car, driven off in another.”

  Craigh clenched his fists in frustration. “Was it her? Was it Dolly Rawlins?”

  Mike was at the window. “What the hell is going on? It was her—it was Dolly Rawlins, for Chrissakes. Why aren’t they going after the goddamned car?”

  Palmer turned on Mike. “What the fuck for? Speeding? We dunno if it was her or not.”

  Mike ran out of the house. It was a total cock-up and it was at this moment Jimmy Donaldson saw his chance. He saw the stones, he saw Palmer with his back to him, and he was alone. He picked up the heavy glass ashtray, whacked Palmer over the back of the head, picked up the bag of diamonds and then he was out, closing the door behind him. He let himself out the back, leapt over a fence and took off down the narrow alley running between the houses.