‘Church?’ Gloria asked.
‘Yes, church. I intend making the locals trust me — I’ve got to if I’m going to open up this place.’ Dolly paused. ‘Even though they turned me down, I’m not finished yet. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy but unless I give it a chance—’
‘Why don’t you be realistic, Dolly? You don’t stand a chance in hell. As if they would let kids come here.’ Ester yawned.
‘Why not?’
‘Because you’re an ex-con, darlin’. Now maybe you’d stand more of a chance if you applied for teenagers — better still, ex-cons, young ones coming out. They all need a home and—’ Suddenly Ester laughed and clapped her hands. ‘I tell you something, with my contacts, if you got a houseful of young girls we could open this place again. Coin it! What a perfect cover.’
‘Run this as a brothel?’ Dolly asked with a half-smile.
‘Why not? It ran before and, like I said, I have contacts. Put in the cash we got from the guns, from my car — we’ve at least got a kick-start.’
Julia turned on her. ‘Use poor kids coming out of the nick? Is that what you’d do, Ester?’
‘Why not? It’s not as if we’ve not got a couple of tarts here for starters.’
‘Who you bleedin’ callin’ a tart?’ Gloria snapped.
‘Oh, come off it. You and Connie have been turning tricks and Angela’s done a couple. All I’m saying is be realistic’
Julia was furious. Well, before I’d get kids on the game, I’d pull a robbery. You sicken me, Ester.’
‘Do I? Well, maybe we should think about the latter then. What do you say, Dolly? You got anything in mind? You know this will never get opened as a foster home so I’m asking you. You got any ideas?’
Dolly said nothing as she moved slowly to the door. ‘No. The only thing I’ve got on my mind right now is trying to find out which one of you shopped me. Somebody here did — one of you did — and when I sort that out I intend, as I’ve said right from the word go, to open this place up. That’s what I bought it for. You lot may have changed your minds but I haven’t.’
They waited until the door closed behind her before they talked in whispers, wondering if she had been turned down because of the sauna episode, but they dismissed it. They started looking from one to another: was one of them a grass?
Gloria sighed. ‘What about Kathleen? She was the only one of us the filth had anything on. Maybe she was scared and wanted to make a deal.’
‘No way. Kathleen’s a lot of things but she’s not a grass,’ Julia said.
‘That leaves one of us in here, doesn’t it?’ Gloria said, looking at Ester.
‘It’s not fucking me,’ Ester snapped.
Julia opened the door. ‘This is ridiculous. We’re all knackered. Why don’t we do what Dolly’s doing and have some kip? We’ve been up all night.’
Dolly could hear toilets flushing, baths running. She was wide awake, couldn’t sleep. Ester tapped lightly on the door and peeked in. ‘Dolly, can I have a word?’
Dolly lay back on the pillow. ‘Sure, sit down.’
‘Look, I’m sorry if I spoke out of turn down there but I was just tired and right now I need a roof over my head. But at the same time, you know, that cash won’t go far.’
Dolly nodded. ‘No, it won’t.’
‘That said, you could make this work, I’m sure of it.’
‘I need that cash, Ester, I’m sorry. I know what you’re after and the answer is no. I need that money to pay builders, to keep the place afloat. If you want to stay on and give me a hand then you can.’
‘Okay, thanks.’ It wasn’t what she wanted to hear. She needed money, she wanted to get out of the bloody place. ‘Maybe check out Angela. She’s been making phone calls.’ Ester backed out and closed the door.
Dolly sat up and thumped her pillow. Next to turn up was Connie. She wanted Dolly to know that she believed in the project and was sure it would work, she loved the old house. ‘It wasn’t me, Dolly, I wouldn’t have told anyone about the guns, I mean, I wouldn’t, not with Lennie here, now would I?’
Dolly smiled ruefully. ‘No, love, but Lennie could have got us all in hot water.’
Connie was near to tears. ‘I know, I know. But I also want you to know that it wasn’t me.’
A while after she left, Gloria tapped at the door. One by one they came, just to make sure Dolly knew it wasn’t them.
The only one who did not appear was Angela.
She was lying wide awake in her bed, and jumped when Dolly walked in and closed the door. ‘I want to talk to you, Angela, and I want you to be honest with me. Who are you calling?’ Angela burst into tears and Dolly sat on the edge of her bed. ‘Now don’t cry, just tell me, we all know you’re always making phone calls.’
‘My mum and—’
Angela began to sob. Dolly waited as Angela blurted out how frightened she was about being arrested for running over Jimmy Donaldson. Between sobs and gasps she told Dolly about her boyfriend, who was married with kids, and now didn’t want anything to do with her.
Dolly patted her hand. ‘Well, maybe it’s best that you’re here.’
‘I’m pregnant.’
She cradled Angela in her arms, comforting her, asking if she wanted to keep the baby. When Angela sobbed out that she didn’t know, Dolly assured her that as long as she was at the manor, both Angela and the baby would have a home.
When Dolly came out Connie was passing Angela’s room.
‘She’s pregnant.’
Connie looked at the closed door, then back at Dolly. ‘So that’s why she’s been on the phone, is it?’
‘Don’t tell the others. She doesn’t want anyone to know.’
Connie scooted down the stairs and into the kitchen. Gloria was sitting with Ester as Julia washed up.
‘Okay, this is what we’ve decided, Connie,’ Ester said.
Connie’s eye was caught by a stack of bits and pieces of jewellery.
‘We’re all giving up what we can, you know, just to make it look like we’re really behind this foster home crap. We don’t think Dolly stands a chance in hell but...’
Connie pulled out a chair and sank into it. ‘I got a few pieces I can give.’
‘Good. It’s just that she’s got to trust us, Connie, we think she may be coming up with something. We don’t know but Gloria said three shotguns are missing.’
‘Yeah, I took them into the gym, they’re in a locker there.’
Ester turned to Julia. ‘See, what did I tell you? I knew she was planning something. This proves it.’
Julia was putting away the dishes. ‘So we all make out we love this place, is that right?’
Connie pouted. ‘But I do.’
‘So do I,’ said Julia.
‘Yeah, well, that’s ’cos of that bleedin’ horse. You’re never off the friggin’ thing.’
Julia glared at Gloria. ‘Okay, so I love Helen of Troy, but I also like this place.’
Ester slapped the table. ‘For chrissakes, can we get done with The Sound of Bleedin’ Music? All I am saying is she doesn’t trust us.’
‘Well, I’m not the fuckin’ grass,’ Gloria said angrily.
‘I think it’s Angela,’ Ester said.
‘No, she’s not, she’s pregnant,’ Connie said, and they all turned on her. She shrugged her shoulders. ‘She is, Dolly just told me, that’s why she’s been making all these calls.’
Gloria stood up. Well, she’s a bloody little liar. She’s not pregnant.’
‘How do you know?’ Ester demanded.
‘Because she borrowed my Tampax yesterday.’ Dolly walked in and Gloria whipped round. ‘We think it’s Angela. She’s not pregnant, Dolly, she’s a liar.’
Dolly clasped her hands in front of her. ‘Is she? Well, one of you get her down here. Get her in here right now.’