Widows

Dolly pulled off the cap. ‘Glad I can pass for a bloke,’ she said, looking very pleased with herself. ‘Sorry about not being in contact. I still got a bleedin’ squad car parked in front of me house. They been watching me day and night. Put the kettle on, Linda, I’m parched. I’ve been leaping over back garden fences, which isn’t easy in Harry’s shoes, I can tell you. They’re really heavy.’

The three women stared at Dolly as she took a rucksack off her back and let Wolf out of it and onto the floor. He ran straight to the newly painted van and pissed up the wheel. ‘No!’ All three women shouted at once, collapsing in fits of laughter.

Dolly ignored them. They must all be very tired. She took off her jacket, lit a cigarette and started to pull out notebooks from the various pockets. Linda went to brew up some coffee, Bella went to get the chainsaw and Shirley watched her little fire burn down.

The silence was broken by Bella firing up the chainsaw and holding it aloft. It was a heavy piece of kit.

‘That’s great, Bella,’ said Dolly, admiringly. ‘When you come at them guards waving that around, they’ll definitely get out of your way. No one will know you’re not a fella. Shirley, those suits are coming along nicely and Linda — great job on the van.’

All three women smiled like children who’d just been praised by mum. None of them were quite sure why they were so proud — but it felt great.

With the saw making a racket they didn’t hear the banging on the garage door, but little Wolf started to yap, then the Alsatian from next door started to bark again. Bella turned the chainsaw off and Dolly signaled for the girls to keep quiet. Linda moved to the hidey-hole in the floor to get out a shotgun, but Bella held her back.

‘For God sake, Linda, just stay calm,’ whispered Dolly. ‘Who do think you are, Annie Get your friggin’ Gun?’

‘I handle shooters all day and night at that arcade so I know what I’m doing,’ Linda whispered back.

‘Yeah, but they fire little pellets, not bloody cartridges filled with buckshot.’

‘Shut up, the pair of you.’ Shirley hissed, as the hammering began again.

Dolly was already on the move, Wolf right by her side ready to protect if needed. She flicked the lights off, then slowly opened the small door in the main gates a few inches and peered round the gap. The girls stood grouped in the inner annex doorway, listening.

‘I’m Bill Grant,’ said the man outside. ‘I’m a friend of Harry Rawlins. I got a lock-up further down. It is Mrs. Rawlins, ain’t it?’

‘What do you want?’ said Dolly, without confirming who she was. ‘I’m very busy.’

‘Can I come in?’ Bill asked.

‘No,’ said Dolly. ‘Can’t open the door or my little dog’ll run out.’

‘That’s OK,’ Bill continued, ‘I was just wondering, what with Harry, you know, sorry about him dying by the way, but I was wondering if you’d be selling or renting the place out? Only if you are thinking about it, I wouldn’t mind first refusal.’

Dolly sniffed. ‘Thank you for your condolences,’ she said stiffly. ‘Why don’t you slip your number under the door and I’ll call you when I’ve had time to think things over?’ Shutting the door after him, she made certain that it was locked tight.

As Dolly walked slowly back to the three women, she was frowning, dragging on her ever-present cigarette. She blew out the smoke. ‘Any of you ever heard of a Bill Grant?’

They looked at each other and shrugged, following Dolly back into their inner sanctum where she picked up her notebook and stubbed the cigarette out. ‘We may have a problem,’ she said. ‘He said he was a friend of Harry’s and owns the lock-up further down. He saw me coming in and wondered if everything was OK.’

‘Why’s that a problem?’ asked Bella.

‘Harry never told anyone this was one of his places, no one. And he rented it under a false name.’ There was a silence as the implications sank in.

‘What if the Fishers sent him?’ Shirley shrieked. ‘We could be in way more trouble than we bargained for!’

Linda tried to reason with her. ‘Tony Fisher would never send someone else to put the frighteners on us. He likes getting stuck in.’

‘But what if he thought he was going to bump into Harry? Did you think of that? Harry would scare Tony off; wouldn’t he, Dolly?’

‘Hang on a second.’ Bella interrupted, playing catch-up. ‘Why would Tony Fisher think Harry — we are talking about your Harry, right, Dolly? — why would Tony Fisher think he was alive?’

Linda and Shirley both looked at Dolly.

‘Because I told Boxer that Harry survived the robbery, knowing that he’d tell the Fishers. I wanted them off our backs,’ said Dolly evenly.

‘Well, that ain’t worked out too well if that bloke was sent by Tony,’ Bella replied in her deep, authoritative voice. She didn’t take her eyes off Dolly; she could almost hear her brain mulling over all the options. ‘Who do you think sent him?’