‘Funny time to go, isn’t it, winter?’
Mike shrugged, forking in another mouthful. ‘Got some friend there with a villa, be good for her, she needs to get away.’
‘Don’t we all. It’s been ages since we had a holiday — be nice to get away.’
‘We will,’ he said, eyes to the clock, wondering if they’d found the diamonds.
Susan watched him: he’d been very distracted of late, moody and snapping at the kids. ‘Everything all right at work, is it?’
‘Yep.’ He pushed the plate aside, only half finished, and wiped his mouth with a napkin. ‘I’ll shove off. Sooner I see her, sooner I’ll be home.’
She picked up her knife and fork and he reached over and kissed her forehead.
‘There’s nobody else, is there, Mike?’
‘What?’
‘It’s just I hardly have time to talk to you, you’re always out, and most weekends you’ve been on duty. If there is somebody else...’
He sat down again. ‘There isn’t anyone else, Sue, okay? It’s been a bit heavy lately, I’ve got a lot on and—’
‘Yes?’
Well, it’s to do with Shirley. The woman Mum blames for her being killed, Dolly Rawlins, got released today, so Mum’s been a bit hysterical, you know the way she always harps on about it.’
‘Well, you can’t blame her. If one of our boys was killed I’d feel the same.’
‘I won’t be long, I promise, okay?’
Mike left and Susan carried on eating but she wasn’t hungry. She was sure Mike was seeing someone else — she’d even searched his suit pockets, looking for evidence. She hadn’t found anything but, then, he was a detective so he wouldn’t be stupid enough to leave anything incriminating. But he was different — colder and impatient towards her and the boys. She told herself to stop it: it was just as he said, overwork, he was tired and she was reading more into his moods than she should. She swiped at the table, muttering to herself. What about her moods? Nobody ever seemed concerned about her or the way she felt.
Ester cocked her head to one side, sprayed lacquer over Dolly’s hair and stepped back. ‘That’s much nicer, softer round your face with a bit of a wave. So, we all set to go down?’ Dolly stood up and admired herself in the wardrobe mirror. ‘This is a lovely frock.’
Ester opened the bedroom door. ‘It was a lovely price a few years back, Dolly. Come on, they’re all starving down there.’
They walked down the stairs together, Angela waiting at the bottom.
‘No men invited, then?’ Dolly asked.
Ester laughed. ‘Well, we could always get the chauffeur back.’
‘Couldn’t you get the Chippendales? They’re all the rage in the nick — girls have got their posters on the walls. Good-looking lads, they dance for women.’
‘I know who they are, Dolly, but they’re a bit passé now. That’s always the problem in the nick. Years behind what’s going down.’
Angela opened the dining-room doors wider and Ester stepped back to allow Dolly to walk in ahead of her.
The women all rose to their feet and began to sing. ‘Good luck, God bless you...’
The banks of candles, their dresses and the beautifully laid table made Dolly gasp: it seemed almost magical. The room with its carved ornate ceiling, the huge stone fireplace with a log-fire blazing, the women all lifting their glasses in a toast.
‘To Dolly Rawlins. She’s out.’
Dolly slowly moved from one woman to the next. Like a princess, she touched their shoulders or kissed their cheeks.
Ester drew out the carved chair at the head of the table. ‘Sit down, Dolly. This is your night, one we won’t let you forget.’
Dolly sat down, near to tears. Nothing had prepared her for this. She accepted a glass of champagne and lifted it. ‘God bless us all.’
In the soft firelight with the flickering candles, they looked almost surreaclass="underline" five women enjoying a celebration dinner. No one caught the strange glint behind the star guest’s eyes because she was smiling, seemingly enjoying every precious moment. In reality she was waiting, knowing they wanted something, and she had a pretty good idea what it was. But she could wait. She was used to waiting.
The officers found it difficult to search the dark, poky little antique shop. There was a lot of junk and clutter to be moved aside and Donaldson had said the diamonds were hidden in a wall recess, but by ten o’clock they still had not been found. The men decided to call it quits for the night and to start again early the following morning.
Audrey was in her dressing gown when she opened the door to Mike. He beamed as he hugged her. ‘Have I got news for you.’
She shut the door and waited impatiently.
‘She’s out, Mum, and, I know exactly where she is, and—’
Audrey sat on the settee as Mike gave her all the details about what had gone down that day, ending by clapping his hands together and laughing. ‘Right now we got blokes searching for the diamonds, right? When they find them, we’ll have Jimmy Donaldson wired up. If she calls, and she will, she’ll go straight for them. We’ll be ready and waiting. She’s going to go right back inside, Mum, just what you wanted.’
Audrey had gone pale. ‘You should have warned me, told me what you were doing.’
‘How could I? It all happened today. It was such a bloody coincidence I couldn’t believe it. First Angela—’
‘You’re not still messing around with that little tart, are you?’
‘For chrissakes, Mum, she’s very useful. Right now I know where Dolly Rawlins is, I know she can give us her every move. Then I got a tip-off about Jimmy Donaldson. It was beautiful, just beautiful, I got my governor jumping around. You know there was a reward for those stones and—’
‘You got to stop this, Mike,’ Audrey interrupted.
‘Why? It’s what you’ve been bleatin’ on about for the past eight years, isn’t it? Well, I’m going to have Dolly Rawlins put back inside for that robbery. She’s going to be copped for those diamonds.’
‘No, she isn’t, love.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘The diamonds.’
‘Yeah, we got blokes stripping Donaldson’s place for them.’
‘They won’t find them.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because they’re not there.’
‘How do you know?’
‘Because I took them.’
Mike’s jaw dropped. He couldn’t take it in.
Audrey started to cry. ‘When I read about Jimmy being arrested, I... You see, he knew about them, so did I — she always said I’d get a cut.’
‘Jesus Christ, I don’t believe this.’
‘So when I read he’d been picked up, I went round to his shop. I’ve known his wife for years and, well, she asked if I wanted a coffee, then she went round to a café to bring it back and I knew where he’d stashed them, so I took them.’
‘You’ve got them?’
‘No, I had them.’
‘What the fuck have you done with them?’
‘Sold them.’
Mike stood up. He was shaking. ‘You sold them?’
Audrey took out a tissue and blew her nose. ‘Yes. God help me, I didn’t know what to do with them once I’d got them here and I was scared. I mean, they just sat there and I got more and more scared having that much stuff in the flat.’
Mike slumped into a chair, his head in his hands. ‘Holy shit, you’ve really landed me in it. Who’s got them now?’
Audrey twisted the tissue. Well, I couldn’t really shop around, could I? I knew this dealer, Frank Richmond, he’s dodgy but I took them to him and he said he’d get what he could for them. But you know, they weren’t easy because they were still hot. Well, that’s what he said.’
‘He paid you for them?’