Widows

Dolly continued, slowly and calmly, ‘I could have sold the ledgers without telling you and avoided a three-way split, but I want to do right by you as Harry always did right by Joe and Terry. And this job is right.’ Dolly hit them with her killer blow. ‘If you don’t want to do it, I understand. I’ll do my best to get a couple of grand each for us off the Fishers. Then they can do the job Harry was planning and pocket the million quid.’

‘A million quid?’ Shirley shouted before slamming her hand over her mouth.

Linda, streetwise and sharp as a tack, knew that if something sounded too good to be true, it probably was. She was married to Joe long enough to realize that a million-quid job would be dangerous. She smiled and shook her head. ‘Do us a favor, Mrs. Rawlins. What do you take us for, a pair of mugs?’

‘Far from it,’ said Dolly. ‘We’re more similar than we are different, Linda. I know what you’re feeling inside right now and I know how to make that better. One last job. For our men, yes. But for us, more. This is your ticket out of struggling in shooting galleries for less than half you’re worth, and you—’ Dolly said, looking at Shirley — ‘you’d never have to work a day in your life.’

A panicked Shirley piped up, ‘I don’t want to leave London.’

‘You won’t have to, love. No one will know it’s us. I know exactly what to do.’

Dolly could see Shirley and Linda faltering, so pushed them a little closer to the decision she wanted. ‘You think your Terry and your Joe left you with nothing? They didn’t. They left you with me. Me, the ledgers and their next job. We were never just the little women sitting at home. We know what they did. We know why they did it. Harry led me to his ledgers for a reason — and that reason is us. He didn’t want us to be alone and he didn’t want us to struggle. We deserve this, ladies.’ Dolly stood up. ‘Just think about it. I wouldn’t have suggested it if I didn’t think we could do it. And I’ll pay all your outgoings before the job in ready cash.’

Linda and Shirley sat open-mouthed and mute. Dolly could almost hear the cogs turning as they weighed up their options.

‘I’ll contact you again in two days,’ she said. ‘Don’t try and get in touch with me. I’m being watched by the old bill and they might have my phone tapped. They’re the reason I didn’t turn up here at the same time as you. I don’t want us seen together, so make sure you leave separately, and at least twenty minutes after me.’

And she was gone.

Linda and Shirley sat in exactly the same position, wearing exactly the same vacant facial expressions, for what seemed like ten minutes. Then Linda spoke.

‘She’s off her trolley.’

‘Should we tell someone?’

‘No one would believe us.’

Chapter 8

Dolly had been driving around for ages, to West London and back, trying to lose the plain-clothes officers in their unmarked car, but they were still on her tail. ‘Damn you!’ she shouted out loud as she looked again in her rearview mirror. No matter how many turns or side roads she took, she just couldn’t lose them. When she’d called a couple of days after the spa, both Linda and Shirley had agreed to meet up and hear more. And now all three of them had planned to get together. Dolly didn’t want to be late — but what could she do? Unless she was 100 percent certain that she wasn’t being followed, she simply couldn’t risk meeting or contacting the other widows in any way.

Dolly remembered a film she’d once seen and smiled to herself wondering if maybe, just maybe, the same ruse would work for her. She started to accelerate and sped round Shepherd’s Bush roundabout, then headed along Notting Hill Gate, straight down Bayswater Road toward Marble Arch. They were still there, still behind her. She zipped in and out of the line of traffic, then took a right turn toward Hyde Park, keeping in the inside lane. Glancing in her rearview mirror, she could see the police tail about four cars behind. She overtook a heavy goods vehicle that was on her inside, then nipped in front of it and turned sharply into the drop-off entrance of the Dorchester Hotel. She was out of her car in seconds with Wolf under her arm. She handed the doorman the keys and a £10 note.

‘Park it, darlin’. Be back in an hour or so after dinner.’ And she whisked into the Dorchester.

The doorman went over to the Merc, got into the driver’s seat and was about to start the engine when he saw a blue flashing light in the front grill of the car behind him. DC Andrews jumped out of the still-moving police car, ran over to the Merc, pulled open the door and grabbed the doorman by his lapel. ‘Where did she go? Which way?’ Terrified, the doorman just pointed to the hotel entrance.

Andrews ran inside the lobby and began frantically looking around for Dolly, but she was nowhere to be seen. And no one, even the receptionist, had noticed her. He was in for another bollocking from Resnick, who was still pissed off about the hamburger incident.