“Right, fine, now this is what you’ve got to focus on. I’ve worked it out. This is your route, Shirley. You head toward Hampstead, coming up Haverstock Hill here . . .” She pointed with a pencil. “You turn right into Pond Street, here. You pass Bella, standing on the corner by the phone booth outside the cinema.”

  “Me mum’s pregnant,” said Shirley.

  Dolly looked as if someone had just hit her on the head with a brick. She did a very slow turn toward Shirley. “What?”

  “I know, it’s disgusting, isn’t it?”

  Dolly threw down her pencil. “I don’t believe it, I just don’t believe it.”

  “Well, nor could I!” said Shirley. “I mean, she’s forty-four, same age as Ursula Andress, but . . .”

  Dolly could feel the fury building up inside her, but she knew she had to control herself. Between gritted teeth, she said, “Shirley, just pay attention, all right? Let’s go over your route again.”

  In the kitchen, Linda was frying up bacon and eggs. Not used to an electric cooker, she had the heat on too high and the bacon was burning, grease spitting everywhere.

  “It’s all sticking to the pan!” she called out.

  Bella was hacking her way through a loaf. “It can’t be, Linda. It’s a non-stick pan. Why don’t you put some butter in?”

  The smell of burning brought Dolly into the kitchen. She was about to ask Linda what the hell she was doing when there was a scream. The three women froze.

  Shirley burst into the kitchen, clutching Linda’s dummy. She was hysterical, her voice shaking.

  “Is this supposed to be funny?” She threw the doll on the floor. She was almost in tears.

  Dolly sighed and turned to Linda. “Where did you put it?”

  Linda was like a naughty schoolgirl, head down, blushing. “I sat it on the toilet. It was a joke . . .”

  “Well, it bloody backfired, didn’t it? Just take it away.”

  Linda picked it up from the floor.

  Shirley was taking deep breaths, getting herself under control. “I thought it was him . . .”

  Dolly looked at each of them in turn. “You want out? Well, so do I. The sooner I see the back of the lot of you, the better.” She walked out of the kitchen, slamming the door behind her.

  For a moment they just looked at each other, then Shirley suggested that someone should take the pan off the cooker before they burned the house down. She followed Dolly out, giving Linda one last, filthy look before she went.

  Linda stood there, still clutching the dummy. “I didn’t mean any harm . . .”

  Bella took the pan off the stove and turned it off. “It showed us one thing, didn’t it? We’re all scared of him.” Her face was tight. “I hate him.” She thought for a moment. “You leave first, don’t you, Linda? D’you remember where it is? In the boot of the second or third car, just by the door.”

  Linda looked confused. “What d’ya mean? What’re you talkin’ about?”

  Bella looked at her. “When we leave tonight, you go first, you go to the lock-up, and you get that gun.”

  “But . . . But Dolly said no guns, Bella.” Linda hugged the dummy.

  Bella’s voice was harsh. “Yeah, she said a lot of things. But I want bloody protection. If that bastard Rawlins tries anything, I’m gonna kill ’im—so help me God, I’ll kill ’im! Now will you get the gun, Linda?”

  Linda swallowed. “OK.” Like a child, she put her hand out for Bella to shake. “Friends?”

  Bella walked out of the kitchen.

  Linda started to feel that old, clammy fear, the one at the orphanage, when Mummy didn’t come—when nobody came—and she knew she was all alone yet again.

  Rawlins sat at the small table by the telephone, drumming his fingers impatiently while he waited for it to ring. Next to the phone was an A–Z and a notepad. Rawlins checked the time on his watch. He wondered if he’d been wrong; perhaps Dolly wasn’t going to call. But then he relaxed in the chair. No, he knew his Dolly; he knew she’d call.

  The girls were all sitting in the lounge, eyes on the clock. Bella gave Linda a slight nod.

  Linda got to her feet. “Right, it’s best if I go now, Dolly, so I can check out the area.”

  Dolly looked at her watch, as if she didn’t trust the clock. “All right, Linda, off you go. But remember, if you see anything, anything at all—”

  “I know.” Linda nodded. “I’ll call it off. But don’t worry, if I get a move on, I can give that place a really good once-over.” She marched to the door, then came back with a sheepish grin and picked up her dummy. “Good luck, everyone—see you all there!”

  At the door she changed her mind, went over to Dolly and kissed her on the cheek. “Take care, Dolly.” Then she went to Shirley and gave her a kiss. “Take care,” she said. She turned hopefully to Bella, but Bella gave her one of her looks, then, as Linda bent down, she whispered, “Just get the gun.”

  Micky Tesco was wearing black leathers and a motorbike helmet, the visor raised. He looked over at Murphy, who was sitting calmly, reading a trashy women’s magazine.

  “I can’t take much more of this hanging round. If I’d known we were goin’ to be this long, I’d have brought me bleedin’ camp bed! I’m not waiting all fuckin’ night!”

  Murphy didn’t look up from the magazine. “For sixty grand, you’ll wait, Micky.”

  Dolly tried to keep her hand from shaking as she dialed. Bella and Shirley stood over her, watching the phone as if it were a live thing.

  Dolly’s back suddenly went rigid. “It’s ringing!”

  Bella whispered, “I’m with you. Go on, do it, girl . . .”

  The phone was picked up.

  “Harry? This is Dolly . . .”

  That was the signal. Shirley and Bella nodded to Dolly, gave her a last thumbs-up, and left her to make the deal with Harry.

  Linda drove toward the lock-up, the dummy propped up on the passenger seat. She drove fast, concentrating hard on not making any mistakes, and she could feel herself beginning to sweat. She turned the radio on and fiddled with the tuner until she found Radio Luxembourg. There was a ballad playing, a heartbroken girl singing, “We will meet again, when the night is over, we will meet again . . .” It sent chills up Linda’s spine, so she turned it off and drove on toward the lock-up in silence.

  “Fifteen minutes? You must be joking!” Harry protested. “I’ll never make it! All right, all right. Now, you wanna go over the details one more time, Doll?”

  While he spoke, Harry was carefully tracing a route with a red felt-tipped pen across the map. “OK now, this car park, Dolly . . .” He ringed it with his pen. “I don’t know any car parks on Hampstead Heath, Doll . . . All right, OK, just take it easy, I’ll find it.” He traced the roads surrounding the car park. “OK, yup, I’ll find it, but it might take more than fifteen minutes, all right?”

  Dolly’s voice at the other end of the phone was tense. “Fifteen minutes is all you’ve got. And I want the headlights off, interior lights on. If I see any sign of anyone, anything suspicious, I’ll drive straight on by.” She found her mouth had gone dry. “I want you to step out of the car. We meet out in the open.” Up to this point she’d managed to stay calm, but now suddenly she could feel her voice cracking, tears welling up. She wanted more than anything not to cry, and she gritted her teeth, trying to keep her emotions under control. “Harry, if you try anything—if you come after me, if you try and follow me—I’ll talk. I’m prepared to lose everything, you understand me, Harry? Everything. You’ve got to leave us alone, all of us.”

  Harry was on his feet now, the book and maps bundled together in his pocket. “It’s a deal. You’ve got my word. I’ll see you in fifteen minutes, then, Doll? You there, Doll?”

  But Dolly had already hung up. Harry slammed the phone in its cradle, then quickly picked it up and began dialing.

  Linda let herself into the lock-up and looked round at all the half-wrecked cars. Then she saw the light coming from an open door and heard the muffled voices. She looked round in panic, dropped her car keys, and bent to pick them up just as Micky Tesco ran past her, his visor over his face. He fired up his motorbike, which was parked near the main doors. He was followed by Gordon Murphy.

  Linda crawled behind one of the cars, trying to make herself invisible. She peeked out to see Gordon Murphy walking toward the main doors. As he started opening them, he yelled, “Just you make sure you get the money!”

  Micky was revving up the bike. “I hear you!” he shouted back. Then the bike sped away.

  The place went dark as Murphy closed the doors. Linda stood up and began to search frantically round the floor for her keys.

  The car park was dark, silent and deserted.

  Shirley dropped Bella by the phone booth next to the cinema. Bella looked round the empty streets toward the car park. “It looks pretty quiet, but have a good check round and come back.”

  Shirley drove off.

  Bella checked that the phone was still working. She stepped out of the booth and stood in the cinema entrance. Hidden from the street, she watched.

  Eventually Linda found her car keys and started searching the boots of the old cars. She found the small velvet bag in the third one, just where Bella had told her it would be. She felt inside and there was the gun.

  She was scared that Murphy had put a chain on the door, but her luck was in. The door opened and she slipped out.

  Harry had a quick look round the flat, seemingly in no hurry, before shutting the door behind him. He calmly crossed the road to his Jaguar and drove away.

  Dolly checked her watch for the fifteenth time and picked up the bag containing the £60,000. She turned off all the lights in the house and went out to her car.

  As Shirley pulled up, Bella stepped from her hiding place in the cinema entrance and hurried to the car.

  “Linda’s not in position!” Shirley exclaimed.

  Bella was calmer. “Have you checked out all the parked cars?”

  Shirley nodded. “I’ve looked in every last one. It’s like a graveyard up there. But where’s Linda? What should I do?”

  Bella looked back up Pond Street. It was empty. She turned back to Shirley. “Look, go and get into position. Park right on the corner. Anything goes wrong, just give me the signal, flash your lights.”

  “Yeah, I know what to do, but what about Linda?”

  Bella decided to tell her. “It’s OK, she’s gone for a gun.”

  Riding the bike hard, Micky Tesco came up East Heath Road and on past the ponds, ignoring the car park to his right. He continued toward the Vale of Health, then veered across the road, up onto the pavement and cut the headlights. He moved onto a narrow pathway on the heath itself, then switched the engine off and pushed the bike toward the top of the hill. It took time; the bike was heavy and he needed all of his strength to do it. He heaved it into a position where he had a perfect view of the car park below him. The place was still deserted. He was in good time. Looking up the hill from the car park, Tesco, in black leathers and helmet, on the black bike, would be practically invisible.

  Gordon Murphy headed in the opposite direction, coming down East Heath Road toward the car park. He passed a block of exclusive flats overlooking the heath, passed the car park and the ponds on his left, then turned right on to Downshire Hill, making a quick U-turn so he could park facing the car park. His instructions were to keep out of Harry and Micky’s way. His job was to follow Dolly and find out where she was staying. That was all he had to do. He switched off his lights and sat, waiting.

  Shirley was unaware that while she had been talking to Bella on the corner, Tesco and Murphy had taken up their positions. As she returned and parked her car, the heath seemed as still and silent as before. She was now in position, facing the car park, waiting. Linda had still not shown up.

  Linda had reached Englands Lane. She knew she was late, still more than five minutes from the car park, and the dummy lurched sideways in the seat beside her as she screeched round the corner.

  Bella watched Harry Rawlins’ Jag pass the cinema, heading toward the car park. She looked toward Shirley’s parked car. There was no warning flash, so all must be well. But where the hell was Linda? She looked up Pond Street again, toward Haverstock Hill, hoping to see her appearing.

  Harry arrived at the car park, drove up past the big oak tree and did a slow U-turn, ending up dead center of the car park, as Dolly had instructed him. He turned his lights off, and for a moment he was in total darkness. He glanced up toward the hill, hoping Micky Tesco was in position. Then he turned and looked across East Heath Road to where Murphy should be parked. He flicked on the interior light and opened the doors.

  It was frightening. There he was, sitting in the car just as they had planned, clear as daylight. For the first time, Shirley had a really good look at Harry Rawlins.

  As Bella was staring up Pond Street, desperate for a sight of Linda, Dolly drove past, heading toward the heath. With no warning signal from Bella, she drove on.

  Shirley saw Dolly in the green Ford heading toward the car park and inched herself up in the seat. As arranged, Dolly parked her car exactly across the exit. Now Harry couldn’t get out. So far, everything was going according to plan. The one missing link was Linda . . .

  Micky Tesco tensed when he saw Dolly’s car pulling up.

  Gordon Murphy had the key already in the ignition, poised, ready to follow Dolly as soon as she started to move.

  Dolly stared. She could see him now. She watched as he got out of the Jaguar and stood there. He was smiling. He lifted his hands above his head, then shook his arms in a comical gesture to indicate that he had nothing up his sleeve, nothing in his pockets. He turned round, as if he was making a joke of the whole thing. Seeing him there, actually seeing him, just two hundred yards away, made Dolly suddenly unsure whether she could go through with it. His presence totally unnerved her. She clenched her fists hard, her nails almost cutting into her palms, in an effort to pull herself together.

  Right, here we go, she thought. She reached over the back of the seat and picked up the shopping bag full of money.

  Linda veered right on to Pond Street, her tires squealing—and straight into the path of a car accelerating up the hill. Blinded by her lights, the other driver swerved out of her way and crashed into the wall surrounding the church. Linda pulled up and stared in panic behind her. The driver and a female passenger got out, shouting and screaming at her. The windscreen had shattered, and the front end was badly dented, but they were both on their feet and she couldn’t see any blood, so Linda turned and drove on toward the heath.

  Seconds later, the badly shocked driver saw a patrol car passing on Rosslyn Hill and ran toward it to flag it down. Linda was so focused on catching up with Bella she didn’t see it turning down Pond Street behind her, its lights flashing. As she accelerated down the hill, the patrol car was already radioing in for backup: “Red Ford Capri heading down Pond Street toward the heath, registration RKT 23X, repeat . . .”

  At the bottom of the hill, Linda already had the passenger door open as Bella ran from the cinema. She was hysterical, shouting, “Give me the gun!”

  As she drove on toward the car park, Linda tried to fill Bella in on what had happened at the lock-up. “There was a motorbike! Harry’s not . . . It’s the motorbike, the motorbike!”

  Bella leaned across Linda and hit the horn as hard as she could, trying to warn Dolly not to hand over the money.

  Dolly and Harry were only yards apart. He held his hand out for the shopping bag as he approached her.

  Linda and Bella, car horn blaring, screeched up.

  Dolly turned; Harry turned.

  Bella was out of the car, running like a crazy thing toward Dolly, screaming: “Dolly, run! Don’t give him the money! Run! Run, Dolly!”

  As soon as Tesco saw the bag about to be handed over, he kicked the bike into life and raced down the hill without lights, wheels lifting off the ground at one point, bumping fast across the pathway. When he hit the car park, he headed straight across the gravel toward Dolly.

  Bella was still running toward Dolly, the gun held out stiffly in front of her, Linda trailing behind. Dolly clutched the shopping bag to her chest as she backed toward them. Harry took it all in, saw Tesco coming toward them on his bike, and turned back toward the Jaguar.

  From his position, Murphy couldn’t make out what the hell was going on. There seemed to be people running in every direction, car horns blaring, people shouting, lights flashing. He strained forward for a better view, turned the engine on, and then his headlights—still it was chaos. Gravel churned as Tesco hurtled toward Dolly.

  Linda screamed at her to get away. “It’s the bike—the bloke on the bike’s going to take the money. Run, Dolly!”

  Harry started the Jag. Bella was running toward him, shouting something, pointing a gun.

  Dolly was dazed, trying to work out who was shouting what. As Shirley jumped from her car and ran for the car park, Tesco tried to grab the shopping bag out of Dolly’s hands. He got a good grip on it, but Dolly wouldn’t let go. As he tried to accelerate away, she was pulled off her feet and, still holding on to the money, was dragged across the gravel behind the bike. With a snarl, Tesco kicked out at her, his foot connecting with her arm, and she lost her hold on the bag. Then he was gone, almost doing a wheelie as he screeched round the tree, out of the car park and down the road toward the cinema.

  Harry was also on the move, aiming the car at the gap between the tree and the ditch. Bella was running alongside, trying to open the driver’s door, while keeping the gun aimed at Harry. The car bounced over a dip and Bella stumbled, let go of the car and dropped the gun.

  Murphy still sat, watching to see where Harry was going and trying to decide what to do.

  Shirley had now joined the other women, and the four of them made a circle round the still-moving Jaguar. Harry was heading toward the tree where Dolly was standing, her face picked out by the headlamps. She held her hand over her eyes, blinded by the glare. Linda was the one who realized what would happen. She ran up behind Dolly and, screaming at the top of her lungs, pushed her out of the way of the car as it lurched past.