Widows

‘Nowhere,’ Dolly had said curtly. ‘I got to find the right time to stash the money and then settle my Wolf into kennels. If we all disappear at the same time, people might ask questions. I’ll be bringing out a considerable amount of cash for us to stay in Rio. Enough for at least two months. The longer we’re away the safer it’ll be for all of us.’

Linda opened her mouth to ask Dolly the question that was on everyone’s mind, but Bella interrupted. She didn’t want this to escalate into a slanging match. ‘And the bulk of the cash... only you’ll know where that’s stashed?’ she asked politely.

Dolly had seen that the girls needed reassurance that she knew what she was doing, and why. ‘We work the way Harry did. None of his team ever knew where the money was stashed and he never ripped any of them off. They trusted him with their...’ Dolly had looked down at the ground, not wanting to meet Linda or Shirley’s eyes and regretting her choice of words. ‘They trusted him,’ she amended. ‘They were good men, but Harry knew they’d be tempted to go out and start blowing the money right away. That attracts attention from others... especially the Old Bill.’ She paused. ‘Now look, I ain’t gonna pull a fast one and disappear with the money.’

‘What if something happens to you? What if you get caught or hit by a bus?’ Bella was still worried.

Linda, who was bursting to know everything, had chipped in. ‘We’d be stranded in Rio with nothing, that’s what. We need to know it all, Dolly.’

Dolly had been hurt more than angry: hurt because they still didn’t trust her. She turned on all three of them.

‘Right now,’ she said through clenched teeth, holding her index finger and thumb an inch apart, ‘right now, I’m that close to calling it off and walking out of here. You can pay back every penny I’ve given you. You’re all standing there holding more cash than you’ve ever seen in one place. How dare you question me! And if you think you can pull the job off on your own, then go ahead. Go ahead without me and see how far you get! I’m sick of being questioned. You make a choice right now, all of you. You want to pack it in? You want to do it on your own? Tell me now! Tell me right now!’

Although Shirley had said nothing to anger Dolly, she hung her head guiltily — she’d thought enough bad things about Dolly. Linda was less bothered by Dolly’s ranting, but she knew that without the ledgers and the security contact, that there was no way they could do the job on their own.

In the end, Bella had been the sensible mediator. ‘We don’t need to know where the money’s being stashed, Dolly. We trust you. We have to.’

Dolly shrugged. It was a backhanded compliment from Bella, but it would do for now. Picking up Wolf, she left before she said something she might regret.

As the door closed behind her, Bella had turned to Linda and Shirley. ‘I didn’t lose a husband like you two did in her precious Harry’s raid, but you need to know this... if she tries anything on, I’ll kill her. My life’s on the line here because I believe what she’s promising. I ain’t never had this much to lose before. And if anyone takes it from me, they’ll be sorry. Very sorry.’

Shirley had looked shocked; she knew Bella wasn’t kidding. Linda had chewed her last nail down to the quick, making it bleed. Like Bella, she still couldn’t bring herself to trust Dolly completely. They’d have flown halfway round the world, and Dolly would be the only one who had access to all the money from the robbery. And they wouldn’t even know how much they’d got away with!

Now, after several hours in her arcade booth mulling over what had happened in the lock-up, Linda was very angry. She poured another vodka into her coffee, and slugged it down. She hated feeling controlled by Dolly; she hated being treated like a child; and she hated not being her own boss anymore. When she thought about all that, was the idea that she, Bella and Shirley could the job themselves such an impossibility?

Shirley looked at herself in the long mirror and smiled. She was pleased. The new face pack she’d tried out had done wonders for her skin, which now had a fresh glow. She began cutting and filing her nails. The rehearsal at the beach had been murder on them. Just as she began to relax, the doorbell rang. Shirley nearly shot out of her silk nightie.

Her heart began thumping. What if Tony Fisher was standing on her doorstep? She was on her own! He could break the door down, he could beat and rape her this time, even kill her. Shirley looked at the clock; it was one fifteen in the morning. Terrified, she didn’t move or make a sound.

On the landing, Linda kept her finger on the doorbell. She’d seen from the street that Shirley’s bedroom light was on. She giggled. It would be a laugh if she’d actually caught Miss Goody Two Shoes with her leg over a bloke!