‘Why you?’
‘Because she knows I’d come back if you were here, but I don’t know if you would — that answer your question?’
Ester leaned over Julia. ‘I’ll be back, don’t think I won’t, and she’s tied me to Miss Goody-Two-Shoes, so she’ll be watching me like a hawk. I’ll be back, Julia.’
‘Then what?’
Ester straightened and clenched her fists. Well, you said it the other night. You reckoned Dolly would kill for those diamonds. Maybe, just maybe, I would too if she tried it on. You’ll see which of us is tough. They’re my ticket out, Julia, and I won’t be content with some fucking measly little cut.’
‘What about the others?’
‘Fuck ’em. Now. how do I look?’
‘Great, but then I’m biased.’ Julia smiled: Ester always turned her on when she was hard like this. She liked her like this; she was so icy cold, so arrogant and, uppermost, so dangerous.
Angela stood in front of Dolly, who was close, her voice soft. ‘You watch her all the time. You stay in the car, see her collect, then you put your foot down and come straight back here, okay? This is the address, twenty-one Ladbroke Grove Estate. You all right?’
‘Yes, but I wish you’d ask one of the others.’
‘No, love, I only trust you, maybe because you’re the only one who hasn’t been inside. You’ve still got some honesty about you, some integrity none of the others has. They’d have ’em and be away, I know it. You’re my safety lever.’
Angela was in turmoil but couldn’t see any way out of it. She was still shaking as Ester walked in, dangling the car keys. ‘Okay, we’re all set, sweetface, let’s go and collect.’
Gloria looked at the clock. ‘Well, you got plenty of time.’
‘Maybe we’ll stop off for lunch.’
‘Yeah. Just as long as you don’t stop off any place after you picked them up.’
Ester laughed, unaware that Dolly had already searched her room and pocketed her passport. She was, as they all said, not the pushover they had thought, and now she was sitting drumming her fingers on the side of the desk, wondering if she had made the right decision. She decided to make a few calls just to be sure.
Ester and Angela climbed into the Range Rover. Ester gave Julia a little wink. ‘Right, might as well get, on with it then. See you all later.’
Julia slammed the door as the engine fired. She banged on the side of the door. Take care, Ester, see you later.’
Gloria leaned on a rake. ‘If she doesn’t show, I’ll shove this up her arse.’ They watched the Range Rover drive out and Julia stared towards the vegetable patch. Gloria called after her. ‘She will come back, won’t she?’
Julia walked. ‘Yeah. I’m the love of her life, aren’t I? She’ll come back. So get your spades, we have to dig a deep trench so the water drains.’
Wandering back to the vegetable garden, dragging a spade, Gloria said, ‘How come you know so much about gardening? I thought you were a doctor.’
‘Bit similar, actually.’ Julia laughed. She had always loved the outdoors. In fact, she liked being at the manor. She just didn’t have the guts to say so.
Dolly dialled and waited. She recognized Tommy’s throaty, chesty breath immediately. ‘Hello, Tommy, it’s Dolly, Harry Rawlins’s widow.’
‘Good God, you’re out then, are you, gel?’
‘Yeah, I’m out, but I need a favour.’
‘You know old Tommy, lovey, if he can do you one, he will.’
‘Just so long as you get paid for it, right?’ Dolly chuckled.
‘On the nail. So what can I do you for?’
Dolly lowered her voice. ‘I’ve got a few things I want to run by Jimmy Donaldson, then maybe bring to you.’
‘Jimmy Donaldson?’ Tommy wheezed.
‘Yeah, you know him?’
‘Course I do. Runs a gig over in Hackney, or he did. You know he’s been away for a few years — still is as far as I know.’
‘Away? Where?’
‘Banged up. Got pinched for floggin’ some Georgian silver. Didn’t you know?’
‘You sayin’ he’s still in the nick? You sure?’
‘Yeah, reason is, a few days back someone was asking after him and... hello? Hello?’
Dolly felt cold, her hand still gripping the receiver. If Donaldson was nicked, how come he was answering his phone? It didn’t make sense. She sat down and ran her hands through her hair, trying to remember everything he had said at the fairground. The more she thought about it, the more she began to think that maybe she was being set up.
The women turned as they heard Dolly calling for Ester. ‘She’s gone. Dolly?’
Dolly ran towards them. ‘They’ve gone? But why, why didn’t they talk to me? I never told them to go.’
‘Well, they couldn’t wait.’ Gloria started to laugh, but seeing Dolly’s expression straightened her face. ‘What is it?’
‘I’m being set up. Jimmy Donaldson’s supposed to be in the nick.’
‘You!’ stormed Julia. ‘They’ve gone!’
Gloria hurled aside her rake. ‘Get me car, we can catch them up. Come on!’
Julia ran after Gloria, Dolly following. Kathleen looked at Connie, who was still half-heartedly digging the trench. ‘What did you make of that?’
‘I don’t know. What do you think?’
Kathleen gazed down at the trench. She rammed in her spade. ‘Keep digging. This looks like a grave. Maybe we’ll be putting somebody in it...’
Chapter 7
Ester moved on to the fast lane as soon as they hit the motorway.
‘No need to go so quick, Ester, you’ll get picked up for speeding.’
‘Then keep your eyes peeled for cop cars — and stop biting your nails, it drives me nuts.’
The Mini backfired and Dolly hit the dashboard. ‘Next turning there’s a hire firm. Pull in and get a car with something under the bonnet.’
‘Who’s paying for it?’
Julia shouted that she would, and Gloria headed towards Rodway Motors, garage and rental. She drove on to the forecourt and asked who had their licence to hire the car, but as she only had hers with her it was she who went into the reception. The others waited impatiently on the roadside.
‘They should have waited!’ Dolly seethed. ‘If they’d waited I’d have told them not to go.’
‘Well, they didn’t,’ said Julia, looking at her watch, ‘but we’ll be there in plenty of time.’
Dolly was clenching and unclenching her hands. ‘If I miss this board meeting, I’ll... I’ll—’
Julia glanced at Dolly, curiously. She seemed not to care about the diamonds, only that she had been set up. ‘What about the diamonds. Dolly?’ she said.
‘If Jimmy has done me over, he’ll regret it, he’ll pay for it, and he’ll cough up. His shop, his house, I’ll clean the little shit out, then I’ll have him taken out. I might even do it myself.’
Julia blinked, and then heard the toot-toot of a horn as Gloria drove up in a red Volvo. Dolly ordered her to move over as she wanted to drive, and they set off towards the motorway.
At twelve fifteen, one of the officers at long last returned to the wall they had first checked, but it wasn’t until almost one o’clock that they found the pouch of diamonds. There was no time to record it, just to get it driven at top speed to Donaldson’s house on the Ladbroke estate. It was handed over to DI Palmer, who snatched it with hardly a thank-you.
‘I’ve not logged it yet, Gov.’
‘I’ll do it, thanks.’
Palmer looked up and down the street, afraid the exchange might have been seen, but there was no new vehicle parked so he hurried into Donaldson’s house.