Dolly explained that she had a considerable private income that had enabled her to purchase the manor.
‘Do you know the previous owner?’ It was slipped in fast.
‘No, I do not. I believe her name was Ester Freeman and the place had a very bad reputation. Perhaps that is why I think, and my lawyers feel, I paid a fair price for such a substantial property. At some time in the future I hope I can be self-sufficient as there is a large orchard and a considerable amount of good fertile soil for growing vegetables.’
Eventually, after over an hour and a half of questions and answers with Dolly maintaining her composure, she was asked if she would allow a visit within the next few days to assess the property. She agreed and stated that they were free to come at any time — in fact, the sooner the better. Mr Crow ended the meeting by saying that everything she had said would be assessed and obviously her past checked into in some detail. They thanked her for her honesty and wished her every success.
She walked out confidently, and was further gratified by Mrs Tilly’s light touch on her arm as she left. ‘Thank you so much for coming in to see us at such short notice, and we apologize for keeping you waiting.’
Dolly returned to the manor by taxi. At the level crossing they were held up for almost ten minutes. The cab driver shook his head and turned to the back seat. ‘Sorry about this, it’s the mail train. Holds us up for sometimes ten, twelve minutes. One night it was fifteen.’ The gates opened, and they drove on down the narrow country lane back to the manor.
Dolly breezed in, all smiles, trailed by a downcast Angela. ‘Well, it went very well. I feel positive and they’re gonna assess everything then come and look over the house.’ She shut the back door and tossed her handbag on to the table. ‘I don’t know about anyone else but I’m starving. Who’s on the dinner tonight?’
Ester stared at her in disbelief. ‘Is that all you’ve got to say? I’m glad everything went well for you!’
The police cars moved silently up the driveway, two officers from Thames Valley in front, followed by DCI Craigh, accompanied by DC Mike Withey and one uniformed driver. Craigh was first out. He walked up the manor steps, sidestepping the sacks of cement, and waited as the local police moved around to the back yard to enter from there. Then he radioed in that he was about to enter.
He gave one soft knock and murmured it was the police and that they had a warrant to search the premises. He then stepped back as the locals banged on the door. They didn’t need much force as it was only on the latch, and they burst into the hallway, Craigh holding up the warrant.
‘We have a warrant to search the premises. This is the police.’
Kathleen ran up the stairs, on to the first landing and legged it out on to a low roof at the back and stayed there. The other women ran this way and that, only Dolly remaining unflustered as she picked up the kettle to put it on the stove. Angela cringed back, crying, terrified that they had come to arrest her for the hit-and-run.
Seeing Angela in such a state was the only time Dolly worried. ‘Angela, keep your mouth shut, you don’t say one word. Just give them your name, nothing more, understand me?’
Gloria was clasping the back of the chair. She grabbed at Ester. ‘What the fuck do we do?’
Ester shrugged her away. ‘Nothing. There’s nothing here.’
Gloria was almost passing out. ‘Yes, there is. We put the bloody things in the cellar. Eddie’s guns are in the cellar.’
Ester froze, but could say nothing as they were surrounded by police and herded into the drawing room.
Craigh looked at Dolly as she calmly opened a tea caddy. ‘I am Detective Chief Inspector Craigh.’
Dolly smiled. ‘Dorothy Rawlins.’ She held out her hand for him to shake.
‘Do you mind if I talk to you first? Do you want to see the warrant?’
‘Of course. I’d also like to know what this is about.’
Craigh passed her the warrant and watched her study it. He looked into the hallway to Mike. ‘I’ll take Mrs Rawlins’s statement first, then the others. Get their names, addresses, you know the deal.’
He looked back at Dolly. ‘My men will begin searching the entire house and outbuildings.’
She nodded, seemingly still intent on reading the warrant. He waited patiently.
The women wandered around the drawing room; Gloria was now crying and Angela hadn’t stopped, but it was Julia who asked in a furious whisper what the hell they were getting so upset about.
‘There’s an arsenal of weapons down in the sauna, Gloria’s husband’s guns, three bags full of them.’
Ester sat down, her face drawn in fury. Julia looked at Gloria, stunned. ‘Are you serious?’ But she knew she was because she had never seen Gloria so scared. Before she could say a word, Mike Withey walked in.
‘I’ll need all your names, dates of birth, present and past addresses.’
Behind Mike, the women could see the officers searching, moving up the stairs, some heading down to the cellar. They remained silent, all of them waiting with trepidation for the police to find the weapons.
Chapter 8
Craigh sat with his notebook open as Dolly drank a cup of tea, never offering him one. She had agreed that she knew James ‘Jimmy’ Donaldson immediately, and seemed shocked when told he was dead.
‘Dead? But he can’t be. I only spoke to him yesterday. I met up with him a few days ago.’ She sat sighing, asking how it had happened.
‘Would you mind telling why you met Mr Donaldson?’
‘Er, no, no, I don’t mind. You see, he was keeping something for me. I’ve been in prison, you see, and, oh, this is a shock...’
Craigh tapped his pen on the table. ‘What was he holding for you, Mrs Rawlins?’
‘Well, they were nothing to look at, really. You wouldn’t even think they were valuable, but they are, they’re worth a lot of money.’
He leaned close. ‘What exactly, Mrs Rawlins?’
‘They used to be in my front garden at Totteridge, gnomes, two Victorian garden gnomes. Not the bright plastic things but old carved stone ones. Jimmy Donaldson was holding them for me until I got out. I called him about them, asked him if he still had them and told him I was going to collect them today, as a matter of fact.’
Craigh wrote down every word, gritting his teeth. ‘Did you collect them from Mr Donaldson?’
‘I couldn’t get away because I had a very important meeting at the town hall.’
‘What time?’
Dolly slowly repeated that she was at the town hall from three fifteen until after five — in fact up to shortly before they had arrived: she had been there for an assessment interview.
‘Can anyone verify that, Mrs Rawlins?’
‘Oh, yes.’
Craigh dug the pen in deeply as he wrote one name after the other. He had a terrible sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that he had been well and truly stitched up.
The officers searched every room, lifted the floorboards, opened cupboards and cases. They went into the attic, they were out in the stables. Kathleen remained stuck on the roof, half hidden by the gables, and didn’t move a muscle. They searched the grounds, the swimming pool and the cellars for eight hours, with fifteen men.
Kathleen inched back to the room from which she had escaped and fell asleep under the bed. The police were now concentrating on the sauna and steam room and the lockers. The women waited, expecting any moment the scream to go up but it never came. They smelt bacon being cooked and, to their amazement, Dolly walked in with a tray of bacon butties. Gloria was about to blurt out to Dolly that they were in trouble but Dolly shoved a sandwich into her hand. ‘Eat it and say nothing.’