‘I don’t understand,’ Angela said, looking towards the women.
‘Well, they all know I’m going to fence the diamonds this morning and they all want a slice so “Let’s show Dolly how hard we’re working!” Understand?’
‘Oh, yes, I see what you mean.’
Mike had waited when Angela put down the receiver. He was hoping she would call back directly but after waiting half an hour he gave up. It had unnerved him to be told that Dolly Rawlins had the diamonds but he didn’t know what the hell to do about it. He could tell Craigh but it was all getting like treacle and he felt his shoes sticking to it.
Susan walked in from the front door with a bag of groceries and looked at him. ‘Hi, I didn’t wake you when I went out, did I?’
‘No, I’m up, had something to eat. I was just going to go actually.’
‘Oh, were you? You stayed out all night. Surely they can’t expect you to work today?’
He sighed. ‘Yes, they can.’
‘There was another call from your girlfriend yesterday — I tried to contact you, she seemed upset.’
‘What?’
‘Angela, she was crying, in a terrible state.’ She stared at him, waiting. ‘She said her name was Angela.’
‘I heard you,’ he snapped.
‘What’s going on with her, then?’
He took a deep breath. ‘She’s a tart, sweetheart, a young kid I helped out a while back when I was on Vice. Now sometimes she acts as an informant. There is nothing going on between us, it’s business, all right? Is that all right with you?’
‘I don’t like tarts having your home phone number or ringing me up screaming and yelling. Is that all right with you?’ Susan went into the kitchen. He dithered, knew he should talk to her, straighten it out, but instead he grabbed his car keys and left very quietly.
Dolly was feeling pleased with herself as she and Angela hailed a taxi heading for Tommy Malin’s address. ‘That Mrs Tilly is such a nice woman, I really like her. You know, Angela, if I get the manor opened as a kids’ home it’ll be my dream come true. It was all I used to think about when I was in Holloway.’ She took the girl’s hand. ‘Don’t worry about that hit-and-run. Gloria said there wasn’t a mark on the car and if they’d got anything on you — on any of us — we’d have been copped last night.’ Angela clutched Dolly’s hand tightly. ‘Will you want to stay on, help me?’ She nodded. ‘Good, I’ll be able to pay you a decent wage and you can have cookery classes. Would you like that?’
‘Yes, I would.’
She wanted to tell Dolly about Mike, about everything. She liked her so much, felt protected by her — but how could she tell her? And now, with that poor man she’d run over, it was all so complicated. She wanted to talk to Mike, needed to ask his advice.
The cab headed towards Elephant and Castle and then veered off down a small one-way road, stopping outside a paint-yard. Dolly got out, saying, ‘You wait here, love, I shouldn’t be too long.’
Angela watched as Dolly tapped on the door and disappeared inside the yard.
A young kid in filthy overalls pointed Dolly to the office and then rejoined his colleagues who were stripping down pine furniture.
‘Dolly Rawlins,’ wheezed Tommy Malin, leaning against the doorframe.
‘Hello, Tommy.’ She shook hands and he gestured for her to go in ahead of him. He waved at the workmen and closed the door.
‘I’ll put the kettle on.’
‘Tha’d be nice,’ she said, looking around, taking in the cheap desk, rows of bulging and dented filing cabinets and the massive cast-iron safe. Dolly eased herself on to a newspaper-filled chair. She looked over the equally cluttered desk: the scales, the rows of diamond cutters and pinchers, and rolls of velvet cloth, the only indication that perhaps Mr Malin’s paint and pine-stripping factory was used for other purposes. Tommy Malin would deal in literally anything he could turn round fast. He was famous for his high percentage and his ‘no risk’ attitude. He would deal in hot stuff but always insisted on a long chilling period. That was why he was so wealthy and had so far avoided arrest. He was very, very careful.
The women had done a half-day’s work. Rods had been fixed up, more seeds sown, and the rubbish was now tipped into a skip left for them by the builder. Big John was getting a bit edgy; it was almost payday, he’d laid out all his savings to buy the materials, and still Mrs Rawlins hadn’t given him the down payment. He’d seen all the women working out in the garden but Mrs Rawlins was not with them. He had even looked for her inside the house.
Connie was testing the sauna temperature when he asked if he could have a word with her. She turned and gave him a wonderful smile that made him flush.
‘I’m sorry to bother you but is Mrs Rawlins around?’
‘No, I’m sorry, she’s gone into London. Can I help at all?’
He could feel his cheeks burning. ‘Well, it was just we had an arrangement and Mrs Rawlins is a bit behind in the first instalment, you see, and I have to pay the men, pay for the materials and—’
‘Oh, she’s gone to get some money this afternoon.’ Connie gave another wide smile. ‘You couldn’t have a look at the sauna for me, could you? I think I’ve got it working but I’m not sure.’
He nodded and she brushed against him as they went into the small Swedish sauna hut. John checked the temperature dials and the coals. ‘Do you like it hot?’ he asked seriously.
‘Oh, yes, as hot as you can give it to me.’ He flushed again but she seemed to be concentrating on the temperature gauge. ‘Do you work out?’
He stepped back — he couldn’t deal with her closeness. She was the most glamorous woman he had ever seen or been this close to in his entire life. ‘Yes, there’s a good local gym, very well equipped.’
‘Ah, I thought you did, I can always tell. You’ve got marvellous shoulders.’
Now the heat of the sauna was making him sweat but he didn’t want to leave, didn’t want to move away from her. He was automatically flexing everything, tightening his bum cheeks.
She leaned close, touching his biceps. ‘What’s your name?’
John breathed in gratefully as she opened the sauna door. He was getting dizzy. ‘John Maynard.’
She started to swing her arms from side to side. ‘Thanks for your help, John.’
When Connie joined the others, they were sweating and filthy. ‘Sauna’s working, it’s really hot. Do any of you want to work out first?’
She received a barrage of abuse — as if after digging and wheeling the barrows they needed to work out! All they wanted was a cold drink and a long afternoon in the sauna.
Ester pushed Julia ahead of her. ‘Don’t worry about Dolly, she’ll be gone ages. She’ll only just have got there. We got hours.’
Tommy’s wheezing breath and halitosis were overpowering. The drawn blinds, the bolted door and the hissing gas fire made Dolly feel dizzy. She took off her coat. Tommy’s thick stubby fingers began to unfurl the cord round the pouch bag. He pulled it open and laid it out flat.
‘Is this some kind of joke?’
‘No. Why?’
‘I just made these up for somebody.’
‘What?’
He turned his lamp out and pushed his eye-glass on to his forehead. ‘You didn’t pay a bundle for these, did you, sweetheart?’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘I made them up. They’re glass, good settings... I mean, I did spend quite a few hours—’
‘You made these?’
Tommy stared at Dolly, whose face was chalk white.
‘Who for, Tommy?’
He wouldn’t usually have said — clients are clients, and he was always a man to keep his mouth shut — but he knew she wasn’t going to leave his office until he told her. He hedged as she leaned across the table, picking up a handful of the stones.