Harry didn’t answer. Eventually Murphy looked at him. ‘What d’you reckon about Colin Soal?’
Harry seemed tetchy, looking at his watch. ‘Yeah, I remember him. He was... A bit long in the tooth now, isn’t he? Where the hell is Micky?’
Murphy nodded at the suitcases. ‘You on the move?’
Harry smiled. ‘Well, if the wife can find me, so can half of London.’
‘D’you think Dolly’s going to try and pull something tonight?’ Murphy asked. ‘You got any idea where she’s gonna hand over the cash?’
Harry’s mouth tightened. He didn’t like all these questions. ‘No idea.’
Harry got to his feet and started pacing up and down. His fists clenched and unclenched as he worked himself up into a temper. It was coming back to this place, he thought, this stinking lock-up. He hated it, but it was one of the few things he’d got left; she’d taken everything else, the bitch.
Harry went to the telephone, which was in a small annex.
‘Don’t worry, Harry, the phone’s on. I got that sorted,’ Murphy called to him. Harry made Murphy nervous when he was like this, prowling round like a caged animal.
Harry went back to his pacing. Then he stopped, facing the dividing wall with the adjoining lock-up.
‘You check out the place next door?’
‘Yeah, couple of kids bought the lease, and the next one along. Printers or something. They’re a bunch of wallies. What’s the matter, you hear something?’
Harry was still facing the wall, listening.
‘Oh, it’ll be the rats,’ Murphy said. ‘The place next door’s crawling with them.’
Harry slammed his fist into the wall. ‘Where is that stupid git?’ He turned sharply as Tesco breezed in.
‘Someone mention my name? Hey, you should keep that door locked, you know. Anyone could come in.’
Harry just stared at him. ‘You’re late.’
Micky sat down next to Murphy and picked up a coffee mug. ‘This hot, is it? Good.’ He turned to Harry, trying to keep up the chat, telling him everything he’d done, before Harry could tear him off a strip. ‘I been fixing up that girl I told you about, the model for the nightclub. You said, “Get a girl on the inside.” Well, I’ve got one.’
Harry came and stood over Micky. ‘When I tell you to be somewhere at a certain time, I want you there.’ He gave him a cold stare for a few seconds. ‘How much does she know?’
Micky shrugged. Harry really did frighten him at times, but he was determined not to show it.
‘Nothin’, I told her nothin’. She’s straight, just a dumb chick. What is this? Why the third degree?’
Harry sat down next to him. ‘You gotta new place for me to stay?’
Micky could feel his own temper rising. He hated being pushed all the time. He also hated being stared at by Gordon Murphy.
‘Yeah, I got a pad for a couple o’ weeks. I bin doin’ what you told me, Harry — I can’t be in four bleeding places at once!’
All Harry said was, ‘I don’t care about that. You were late.’
‘All right! I was bleedin’ late!’ Micky snapped.
‘Why don’t you drop it, Harry?’ Murphy said quietly.
Harry gave him a look. ‘Fill ’im in. We’ll meet up here later.’ He turned and walked out.
Once he was gone, Micky stood up and kicked over the orange box. ‘Who the friggin’ hell does he think he is? I’m not takin’ that, not from him, not from anybody!’
Murphy smiled and put the orange box back. ‘You just did, son.’
‘Where the bloody hell have you been?’ Dolly shouted, her eyes blazing with anger.
Shirley stood in the center of the lounge with a hangdog expression. ‘I... I went out for a job.’
Dolly lifted her hands in despair. ‘A job? You went for a bloody job? I don’t believe it.’
‘She’s been drinking too. You can smell it on her!’ Linda chipped in.
Dolly whipped round with a furious look and just managed to stop herself from slapping her. ‘Shut up, Linda!’
Linda was hurt. ‘Well, she has been,’ she protested. ‘My God, if it was me...’
‘Well, it isn’t, so that makes a change!’ Dolly snapped.
Seeing them bicker gave Shirley her courage back. ‘It’s not as if I’d done something terrible. You told us to act like normal — and that’s what I’ve been doin’. I’ve always wanted to be a model... And, I mean, you’re not even goin’ to make the call till after midnight!’
Dolly couldn’t believe this girl. ‘Didn’t it ever occur to you that we might have been worried?’
Shirley did feel bad about that, but she wasn’t going to back down. ‘I wasn’t gonna give up my chance, Dolly; not for you, not for anybody! I don’t care about my share — you can have it!’
‘Just you hold your temper, my girl,’ Dolly said.
‘Why the hell should I?’ Shirley shouted. ‘This is my house! You’re shouting at me and it’s my house!’
Bella snorted. ‘Two weeks in LA and she thinks she’s a bleedin’ movie star!’
Dolly turned to Linda and Bella. ‘Right, get into the kitchen, the pair of you, and make us something to eat. Go on, now! And you, Shirley, sit down.’
Shirley stomped over to the sofa and plonked herself down. ‘All right, Dolly, I’m sorry, OK?’
Dolly ignored her while she fetched her notebook from her handbag, then joined her on the sofa. Shirley took out her cigarettes and lit one. Dolly wafted the smoke away from her face.
‘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...’