Tommy hesitated and glanced over at the gun dealers, then at Gloria who was searching one of the big bags. ‘Ester, a minute,’ she said, and Ester went to join her. Three shotguns missing. You know anything about that?’
Ester shook her head and hissed that Tommy was interested in buying the Saab.
‘Good, I’m not wheeling around in it.’ Gloria returned to the dealers.
‘No shotguns, sorry, miscalculation, but I got a desert Eagle that’s right now the gun to have. You want to see it?’
The officers in the patrol car received the information that the Saab was stolen; the owner had reported the theft two nights ago. The beat officer had succeeded in taking the Saab’s registration number and had flagged down the patrol car, whose window he was now leaning against. ‘I thought it might be, they drove off fast soon as they saw me, headed back towards Tower Bridge, but they could have turned off on any of the roads. Lot of old warehouses round that area.’
The patrol car moved off. As the officer watched them disappear, he turned to continue his street patrol. An old, green-painted van passed him and he didn’t give it a second glance. Gloria was counting the money, licking her fingers to flick through the notes. ‘Bleedin’ ripped us off. Ten grand! It’s disgusting. I couldn’t believe the cheap bastards.’
‘Well, we made up for it with the Saab.’
‘Yeah, but that’s not the point. I hate being skinned. They got a lot for their dough, you know. They were worth at least thirty grand. I mean, two of the rifles would cost you seven big ones alone.’
Ester headed over Tower Bridge. ‘Well, I’ll split the money from the car with you. Dolly needn’t know.’
Gloria smirked. ‘You mean about it being nicked?’
‘Yeah, we just divide the cash between us.’
‘No way. She gets the lot because she’ll be on the blower to Tommy checking it out, you know her. And besides …’
‘Besides what?’
Gloria stuffed the money up her skirt, wriggling it into her panties. ‘Somebody kept those shotguns – and you never know …’
‘Never know what?’
‘Maybe she’s got something in mind? I mean, she’s pulled a couple of blinders, hasn’t she? Way I see it, let’s keep her happy, see what’s going on in that old brain of hers.’
Ester laughed. ‘Why not? In the meantime, you keep that cash warm.’
‘Better to be safe than sorry,’ Gloria said, as the wad of notes eased round her panties. ‘They got bastards holding up motors to nick handbags now, you know, in a traffic jam, and they push a gun into your face and nick your wallet. Shocking world nowadays.’
DCI Craigh, DI Palmer and Mike headed towards Grange Manor House. They were accompanied by twelve local officers from Thames Valley and they had now secured a search warrant, this time not for diamonds but weapons. Some weekend!
Julia and Dolly had carried the spare earth to the hedges and scattered it around. They were filthy dirty but the job had been done. They were just stacking the spades back into the car when they heard the wail of a siren. They froze and looked towards the lane as a police car drove past, followed by two more vehicles.
‘What was that about?’
‘I don’t know and I don’t care, just so long as they’re not coming into the cemetery,’ Dolly muttered.
Julia walked round to the driving seat. She got in and turned to Dolly.
‘Connie really owes us a big favour.’
‘She’ll pay it,’ Dolly replied as they headed out of the dark cemetery on to the lane, virtually following the convoy of police and having no idea they were on their way to search the manor.
Chapter 11
DCI Craigh gave the signal and all vehicle lights went out; no sirens as the convoy moved slowly down the drive to the manor. There were lights on. The cars stopped and six men moved quickly to the rear of the house, six more positioned themselves around the front. Craigh, accompanied by Palmer and Mike, walked up the front steps. He tapped lightly and called quietly that it was the police. Receiving no reply, he stepped back, and Palmer hit the lock on the front door. At the same time, the men at the rear of the house got a radio message to enter via the kitchen.
The sound of the forced entry echoed like thunder inside the manor. Down came the front door as the back door splintered. They let rip with the information they were police officers.
Kathleen was putting coal into a scuttle when she heard the crash and the loud voices: ‘Police! Police!’ She chucked the scuttle aside, drew open the cellar window and climbed out.
Angela almost had heart failure. She was caught midway up the stairs and started screaming in terror.
Connie was the first to return. Big John had dropped her at the manor gates. She was picked up as she walked down the drive, two uniformed officers holding her between them as they pushed her towards the front door. By now every light was turned on, the place seemed to be swarming with police and she was as terrified as Angela. She thought they were arresting her because of Lennie; Angela thought they had come for her because of James Donaldson. They were questioned, asked for their names, dates of birth, and shown the search warrant: neither said anything.
Kathleen was equally terrified and, once out of the cellar, made a run for it, heading towards the woods. Two officers gave chase. By the time she was brought back, held between the two men, she was sobbing hysterically.
Ester and Gloria drove in just as Kathleen was being escorted from the woods. Both women were asked to step out of their vehicle, place their hands on the top of the car and stand with their legs apart. Gloria was yelling her head off, demanding that a female officer search her, as Ester shouted that she wanted to know what was going on. No one answered. They were shown the warrant as DCI Craigh walked out of the house. He instructed his men to run checks on all the women.
‘What you talking about?’ Gloria demanded.
Kathleen stood by the patrol car, head bowed, still crying.
‘What you think we are? Bleedin’ IRA? I’m from East Ham, she’s from Liverpool, you got this all wrong.’ Gloria was yelling and Ester nudged her to shut up. ‘I want to go to the toilet,’ Gloria shouted.
Ester warned her again to shut up but Gloria hissed back, ‘Have you forgot I got the dough in me knickers?’
The police received information that Kathleen O’Reilly was wanted for absconding from a magistrates’ court; there was an outstanding charge of fraud against her. She was ushered into the patrol car.
As Dolly and Julia drove up to the manor, they gaped at the scene: Ester and Gloria, spread-eagled over the van, Kathleen sobbing inside the patrol car, and everywhere uniformed officers carrying big-beamed torches.
‘Shit, now what?’ Dolly exploded.
‘Will you get out of the car?’ DCI Craigh gestured for more officers to assist in searching the new arrivals.
The women were herded into the house and taken into the drawing room where Connie sat with Angela as the room was searched by a uniformed officer. Dolly looked over the search warrant and then handed it back to Craigh. ‘You mind if I brew a pot of tea?’
He shook his head. If that woman had a stash of guns inside the house she was acting very cool about it but he wasn’t about to call the men off, far from it. They would comb every inch of the house and grounds.
The dawn light came and with it better visibility. The search continued, both inside and out. The women sat drinking tea, eating sandwiches, but did not offer either to the police.
At half past eight on Sunday morning, Craigh gave up. He returned to London with Palmer and Mike. They had found nothing and all they had to show for eight hours’ work was a missing felon, Kathleen O’Reilly. At least that was something.
Dolly examined the damaged doors and banister rails. She began making up a list of damages for which she would apply to be reimbursed and she would make damned sure they paid for it through the nose. She was angry, not just because of the warrant and the search but because
it was obvious they had to have had a tip-off from someone. The question was, which one of them was it? She knew they had been very lucky: a few hours earlier and they would have been caught not only with the guns but with a dead body. The women were all on edge, waiting for the police to leave. They couldn’t talk, too scared they might be overheard. By one o’clock Sunday morning the remaining police called it quits and left. As soon as the women saw them moving out, they all began to talk at once.
‘Eh! Dolly, what about Kathleen?’
‘I don’t know what to think.’
‘I would never put her in the frame for being a grass,’ Gloria said, as she hitched up her skirt.
‘Somebody is, though,’ Dolly said.
Gloria tossed the money out of her panties. There you go. I had it stashed in me drawers – about the only thing I’ve had in them for a few years.’
Dolly arched an eyebrow. ‘Don’t be crude.’
They counted the money, discussed the sale of the car and then Dolly looked at her watch. ‘Right, I’m going to have a sleep, then I’m going to church.’
They were astonished. She yawned, asking if the boiler was on as she needed a bath.
‘Church?’ Gloria asked.
‘Yes, church. I intend making the locals trust me – I’ve got to if I’m going to open up this place.’ Dolly paused. ‘Even though they turned me down, I’m not finished yet. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy but unless I give it a chance—’
‘Why don’t you be realistic, Dolly? You don’t stand a chance in hell. As if they would let kids come here.’ Ester yawned.
‘Why not?’
‘Because you’re an ex-con, darlin’. Now maybe you’d stand more of a chance if you applied for teenagers – better still, ex-cons, young ones coming out. They all need a home and—’ Suddenly Ester laughed and clapped her hands. ‘I tell you something, with my contacts, if you got a houseful of young girls we could open this place again. Coin it! What a perfect cover.’
‘Run this as a brothel?’ Dolly asked with a half-smile.
‘Why not? It ran before and, like I said, I have contacts. Put in the cash we got from the guns, from my car – we’ve at least got a kick-start.’
Julia turned on her. ‘Use poor kids coming out of the nick? Is that what you’d do, Ester?’
‘Why not? It’s not as if we’ve not got a couple of tarts here for starters.’
‘Who you bleedin’ callin’ a tart?’ Gloria snapped.
‘Oh, come off it. You and Connie have been turning tricks and Angela’s done a couple. All I’m saying is be realistic’
Julia was furious. Well, before I’d get kids on the game, I’d pull a robbery. You sicken me, Ester.’
‘Do I? Well, maybe we should think about the latter then. What do you say, Dolly? You got anything in mind? You know this will never get opened as a foster home so I’m asking you. You got any ideas?’
Dolly said nothing as she moved slowly to the door. ‘No. The only thing I’ve got on my mind right now is trying to find out which one of you shopped me. Somebody here did – one of you did – and when I sort that out I intend, as I’ve said right from the word go, to open this place up. That’s what I bought it for. You lot may have changed your minds but I haven’t.’
They waited until the door closed behind her before they talked in whispers, wondering if she had been turned down because of the sauna episode, but they dismissed it. They started looking from one to another: was one of them a grass?
Gloria sighed. ‘What about Kathleen? She was the only one of us the filth had anything on. Maybe she was scared and wanted to make a deal.’
‘No way. Kathleen’s a lot of things but she’s not a grass,’ Julia said.
‘That leaves one of us in here, doesn’t it?’ Gloria said, looking at Ester.
‘It’s not fucking me,’ Ester snapped.
Julia opened the door. ‘This is ridiculous. We’re all knackered. Why don’t we do what Dolly’s doing and have some kip? We’ve been up all night.’
Dolly could hear toilets flushing, baths running. She was wide awake, couldn’t sleep. Ester tapped lightly on the door and peeked in. ‘Dolly, can I have a word?’
Dolly lay back on the pillow. ‘Sure, sit down.’
‘Look, I’m sorry if I spoke out of turn down there but I was just tired and right now I need a roof over my head. But at the same time, you know, that cash won’t go far.’
Dolly nodded. ‘No, it won’t.’
‘That said, you could make this work, I’m sure of it.’
‘I need that cash, Ester, I’m sorry. I know what you’re after and the answer is no. I need that money to pay builders, to keep the place afloat. If you want to stay on and give me a hand then you can.’
‘Okay, thanks.’ It wasn’t what she wanted to hear. She needed money, she wanted to get out of the bloody place. ‘Maybe check out Angela. She’s been making phone calls.’ Ester backed out and closed the door.
Dolly sat up and thumped her pillow. Next to turn up was Connie. She wanted Dolly to know that she believed in the project and was sure it would work, she loved the old house. ‘It wasn’t me, Dolly, I wouldn’t have told anyone about the guns, I mean, I wouldn’t, not with Lennie here, now would I?’
Dolly smiled ruefully. ‘No, love, but Lennie could have got us all in hot water.’
Connie was near to tears. ‘I know, I know. But I also want you to know that it wasn’t me.’
A while after she left, Gloria tapped at the door. One by one they came, just to make sure Dolly knew it wasn’t them.
The only one who did not appear was Angela.
She was lying wide awake in her bed, and jumped when Dolly walked in and closed the door. ‘I want to talk to you, Angela, and I want you to be honest with me. Who are you calling?’ Angela burst into tears and Dolly sat on the edge of her bed. ‘Now don’t cry, just tell me, we all know you’re always making phone calls.’
‘My mum and—’
Angela began to sob. Dolly waited as Angela blurted out how frightened she was about being arrested for running over Jimmy Donaldson. Between sobs and gasps she told Dolly about her boyfriend, who was married with kids, and now didn’t want anything to do with her.
Dolly patted her hand. ‘Well, maybe it’s best that you’re here.’
‘I’m pregnant.’
She cradled Angela in her arms, comforting her, asking if she wanted to keep the baby. When Angela sobbed out that she didn’t know, Dolly assured her that as long as she was at the manor, both Angela and the baby would have a home.
When Dolly came out Connie was passing Angela’s room.
‘She’s pregnant.’
Connie looked at the closed door, then back at Dolly. ‘So that’s why she’s been on the phone, is it?’
‘Don’t tell the others. She doesn’t want anyone to know.’
Connie scooted down the stairs and into the kitchen. Gloria was sitting with Ester as Julia washed up.
‘Okay, this is what we’ve decided, Connie,’ Ester said.
Connie’s eye was caught by a stack of bits and pieces of jewellery.
‘We’re all giving up what we can, you know, just to make it look like we’re really behind this foster home crap. We don’t think Dolly stands a chance in hell but …’
Connie pulled out a chair and sank into it. ‘I got a few pieces I can give.’
‘Good. It’s just that she’s got to trust us, Connie, we think she may be coming up with something. We don’t know but Gloria said three shotguns are missing.’
‘Yeah, I took them into the gym, they’re in a locker there.’
Ester turned to Julia. ‘See, what did I tell you? I knew she was planning something. This proves it.’
Julia was putting away the dishes. ‘So we all make out we love this place, is that right?’
Connie pouted. ‘But I do.’
‘So do I,’ said Julia.
‘Yeah, well, that’s ’cos of that bleedin’
horse. You’re never off the friggin’ thing.’
Julia glared at Gloria. ‘Okay, so I love Helen of Troy, but I also like this place.’
Ester slapped the table. ‘For chrissakes, can we get done with The Sound of Bleedin’ Music? All I am saying is she doesn’t trust us.’
‘Well, I’m not the fuckin’ grass,’ Gloria said angrily.
‘I think it’s Angela,’ Ester said.
‘No, she’s not, she’s pregnant,’ Connie said, and they all turned on her. She shrugged her shoulders. ‘She is, Dolly just told me, that’s why she’s been making all these calls.’
Gloria stood up. Well, she’s a bloody little liar. She’s not pregnant.’
‘How do you know?’ Ester demanded.
‘Because she borrowed my Tampax yesterday.’ Dolly walked in and Gloria whipped round. ‘We think it’s Angela. She’s not pregnant, Dolly, she’s a liar.’
Dolly clasped her hands in front of her. ‘Is she? Well, one of you get her down here. Get her in here right now.’
Angela was hauled out of her bed by Gloria and pushed down the stairs. She came into the kitchen like a frightened rabbit.
‘How many weeks gone are you?’ demanded Dolly.
‘Two months,’ Angela said.
Gloria pushed her. ‘No, you’re not. Why did you borrow my Tampax if you was up the spout?’
‘Because I had some blood, I did, I swear on my life.’
Connie went over to her and slipped her arms around her. ‘Don’t cry, we believe you.’
‘I fucking don’t,’ yelled Gloria.
Dolly scratched her head, and then said to Julia, ‘Take her upstairs and examine her.’
‘Oh, for God’s sake, Dolly, this is ridiculous,’ Julia said.
‘Is it? Well, I want to know, because if she isn’t then she lied to me and she could have been lying from day one. Somebody is tipping off the police, so examine her. Go on, do it.’
Julia led Angela out of the room, then Ester tapped Dolly’s shoulder. ‘This is for you. It’s from us, all of us. We want to help out in any way we can, Dolly. Some of it’s gold and—’
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