Buried (DC Jack Warr #1) - Lynda La Plante Page 0,79

person who still doubted Dolly’s integrity. The one person who, after all of the risks Dolly had taken, couldn’t see a future where she didn’t screw them all over and leave them with nothing. Dolly didn’t blame Ester for her paranoia – prison damages some people beyond repair.

*

It was one o’clock in Angela’s flat and the women were on to their third bottle of Cava. Connie sat on the floor, propped against the sofa where Angela sat with her legs out straight. Julia was curled up into an armchair – for a tall woman, she folded up into the smallest of spaces.

The lounge was quiet, except for the far-off sounds of Rob snoring gently from the bedroom at the other end of the corridor. The main lights were off; only a tall lamp in the corner of the room, by the balcony doors, provided any light. The bulb reflected in the glass through the cheap paper shade, highlighting the children’s little handprints. Out on the balcony itself, wrapped around the top railing, was a string of white lights. At Christmas they flashed on and off, but tonight they were permanently on.

Again, Connie was the one to break the silence.

‘I’m glad Ester’s not here. Is that horrible of me?’ Julia and Angela made faces in agreement. ‘I think she must be very sad. She can’t have many friends, can she? Not with her being such a bitch, I mean.’ Julia spat out a laugh. ‘After all, she’s the reason we couldn’t go anywhere near the money for 20-odd bloody years! “You make a move without me and I’ll see the lot of you inside!” Cheeky cow! She gets herself locked up for murder and we have to wait for her to get out!’

‘It wasn’t just her, Con,’ Julia pointed out. ‘Even after Ester got out, we couldn’t get near because Norma was still alive. Who knew she had so many friends? Most nights in her house was like the Policeman’s bloody Ball ‒ coppers everywhere. I mean, we couldn’t have found a more stupid fucking place to hide the money if we’d tried.’

‘I think it was genius,’ Angela countered. ‘Dolly couldn’t have known Ester was going to lose her mind and shoot the place up.’

‘See!’ Connie added triumphantly. ‘Ester’s fault! Just like I said in the first place.’

Angela moved on to a happier memory. ‘Do you remember that guided tour we went on, Julia?’

‘I was gutted not to be able to come on that!’ Connie screeched.

Down the hall, Aggie stirred in her bed and mumbled, ‘Mummy.’ Connie slammed her hand over her mouth but Angela just smiled. Aggie could sleep through a hurricane.

‘I met you at the Dog and Gun, remember, for the “Murder and Mayhem Tour”?’ Angela continued. ‘That young barman took us up to The Grange and started . . .’ She couldn’t talk for laughing.

Julia took over. ‘He described us as five “wicked women”, drawn together by a thirst for mayhem and murder. The outcome was inevitable, apparently – he even suggested that we got Dolly there specifically to kill her. He claimed our debauched orgies were eye-watering! Clearly he was getting the children’s home mixed up with Ester’s whorehouse. I was described as a drug-addled GP, Dolly was a murderess and I think everyone else was a prostitute. That right?’

Connie was outraged. ‘I was an escort, not a prostitute!’

‘A classy, peroxide blonde escort in crotchless knickers, singing “boo boo be do” up against an alley wall?’ said Julia. ‘You were a prostitute, Connie, darling. And I was a drug-addled GP – but look at us now. Look at us now! Thousands of tourists traipsed through the grounds of The Grange listening to lies and exaggerations. We’re legends already ‒ imagine if they knew the truth!’

‘Twenty-four years,’ Angela reflected. ‘Twenty-four years of pandering to Ester in fear of our freedom ‒ of waiting for poor Norma to die. You’re right, Julia. Just look at us now!’ Then she whispered, ‘Do you want to see it?’

The spare bedroom was locked from the outside. Inside, it was filled with all twenty-five of the seats from the coach Rob had bought from the auction two weeks earlier. The backs of the seats leant against one wall and the cushions leant against the opposite wall. In the far corner was a sheeted mound. Angela removed the sheet to reveal dozens and dozens of strong green garden waste bags.

Angela carefully untied the nearest bag, unrolled the top and opened it to expose the contents –