Widows

An officer told her to wait and he left the room. Shirley was now beginning to feel nervous, as she had thought that she’d be free to go by now. The officer returned a few minutes later, sat down opposite her at the table and glared into her wide blue eyes.

‘Why you tell the young man you do a shoot for a magazine in Rio?’

‘I lied,’ she said, bowing her head to pretend she was ashamed, but also to hide her nerves. ‘I sort of fancied him and wanted to impress him and—’

The officer banged the table, making Shirley jump. ‘Then why you tell him piss off when you land in Rio?’

Shirley leaned forward confidentially. ‘Well, on the plane he was sitting next to me and I could smell how bad his body odor was. When he approached me in the luggage collection area it was awful! I didn’t mean to hurt his feelings, but I had to be honest.’

The customs officers all burst out laughing.

‘He does smell bad!’ said one of them. ‘Especially in a small interview room! Off you go, missy.’ Opening the door for her, he ushered her out.

Alice found Resnick in a side room off the main hospital ward. He made a surprisingly small figure on the high bed, motionless, hooked up to a drip, his face so puffy and bruised he was barely recognizable. As she went over to him, she noticed his false teeth lying in a saucer on the locker and had to suppress a sob. Drawing up a chair as close as she could to the bed, she settled down to wait.

On her way to the hotel, Shirley looked out of the taxi window as Rio whizzed by, and thought of Terry. She had never known such an exhilarating feeling before. It was over, all over and she was free — free to do what she wanted, be what she wanted. She was rich. Very rich. She so wished that she could share this part of her life with the man she had loved. This was his dream too — well, maybe not Rio exactly, he was more of an East End boy — but being able to do anything they wanted. Shirley could hardly believe where she was and she certainly couldn’t believe how she’d got here. She couldn’t wait to see Linda and Bella again, she had so much to tell them.

For the first couple of minutes, there were no words, just squeals of joy, laughter, lots of hugging and lots of tears. Shirley had never been held so tight: it was as if they never wanted to let her out of their sight again. Although she had pictured Linda and Bella having loads of fun by a heated pool, they had pictured her in a police interview room being leaned on by some unscrupulous copper. They were incredibly relieved to be back together.

Hours later and the chatter was still in full flow, as was the champagne. The suite looked more like a Harrods’ sale room, with boxes of beautiful designer gowns and dresses everywhere. The three young women were like excited children racing around, whooping and dancing in the small hours, champagne corks popping.

Next door, Dolly lay in the bath. She could hear the girls shouting and laughing and was glad they were happy. She had arrived about half an hour after Shirley, but her reception had been more reserved. Dolly wished she could evoke emotion, in herself and in others, but she’d always been so tightly wound she didn’t know how to express herself. I think they know how fabulous I think they are, she thought as she lit another cigarette and sipped on her champagne. They must know how proud I am of them? When Dolly had divvied up the £120,000 from her suitcase, the girls’ eyes had almost popped from their heads.

Dolly looked at the cigarette between her wrinkled fingers. She’d been in the bath long enough for the water to be only just lukewarm now, but she didn’t care. As the tension seeped from every muscle in her body, she didn’t care about anything. Dolly closed her eyes.

‘Come on, Dolly!’ Linda shouted from the living room.

Dolly smiled. How she’d missed those dulcet tones. A cork popped and the girls shrieked as though it was the first of the day, even though it must have been the fourth. Touching the soft, fluffy soap suds, she was reminded of Wolf. She felt sick and then, as she tried to get up, she felt dizzy and slid back into the bath, the cigarette dropping from her fingers. As Dolly watched it disappear beneath the water, she wanted to cry. Her emotions were so close to the surface but they refused to come out. Whether her sadness was for Wolf, Harry or herself, she wasn’t certain — but, naked and alone, she felt so incredibly vulnerable.