Dolly wondered if she and Bella were as alike as she thought.
‘Don’t you want marriage and kids?’
Bella shook her head. ‘Me? Kids? Nah, that’s not for me.’ She was silent for a while, then quietly she said, ‘I reckon I lost my chance.’
Dolly knew she was talking about the man in Rio. Gently, she said, ‘Maybe you can go back to Rio and patch things up?’
She felt Bella tense.
‘It’s over, Dolly. Finished. But he was a good man, decent. Guess he just couldn’t really handle my kind.’
Dolly didn’t pick up on ‘my kind,’ just let it drop. They pulled in alongside the lock-up. Both of them looked at the old place, and it was Bella who said, ‘Well, I never thought I’d come back here.’
‘You and me both,’ said Dolly.
They got out of the car, and Dolly searched in her handbag for the keys. From where they were standing it was obvious that there had been some changes in the row of lock-ups. One, in particular, had been done up, with freshly painted doors and a large sign saying Mercury Stationery Depot. The lock-up sandwiched between this and Harry’s place looked defunct, but scrawled across its doors in white paint were the words, ‘Property of Mercury Depot.’
Dolly unlocked the door and they walked into Harry’s lock-up. For a moment they just stood and looked round. Nothing seemed to have changed; it was still cavernous, dark and dank, with water dripping from the ceiling. They heard a train rumbling overhead. They made their way to the annex at the back, and Dolly removed the padlock and slid the door aside. As soon as they were inside the familiar space, it all started flashing through their minds: the raid, all the time they had spent working here, respraying the van. It was all a long time ago, but it felt like yesterday.
Dolly suddenly wanted to find her coat and get out as fast as she could. She went to the small kitchenette and checked behind the door. No coat.
‘You find it, Dolly?’
‘No.’
Bella started searching round, lifting up boxes. Dolly went further into the kitchenette. She remembered how they’d first come here, just after she’d been told that Harry was dead. Her stomach churned, and she remembered how she’d clung on to the kitchen sink to stop herself falling, trying not to weep. Now the memory just made her angry. She hated Harry even more, hated him for what he’d done to her.
She began searching the kitchen. There were the coffee mugs they’d used. She picked up a packet of biscuits. There was something wrong: the biscuits were fresh. She picked up a coffee mug. The dregs were still warm.
‘Bella,’ Dolly said quickly, ‘we’d better get out. Somebody’s using this lock-up.’
Shirley put on her underslip and sat at the dressing table. She brushed her hair, then plugged in the Carmen rollers and studied her face. She got out all her pots of make-up, then looked at her watch. Micky wasn’t due for more than an hour. Plenty of time to make herself look wonderful for him. She got up and switched on the radio. The disc jockey was saying, ‘Now, ladies and gentlemen, climbing up the charts we have the new single, “Widows’ Tears.”’
Shirley hummed along for a while. She looked at herself again in the dressing table mirror. It was true: widows’ tears didn’t last forever. There was a warm feeling in the pit of her stomach.
‘Micky, oh Micky...’ she whispered.
With Arnie Fisher onside and the venue set up, Harry’s next task was sorting out the guests. Back at his new pad, he began making a list.
Tesco remembered his date with Shirley and looked at his watch. ‘You still want me round, Harry?’
Harry nodded. ‘I’m gonna give you this list of names, and I want you to personally invite each of them. No mention of me; just say there might be a little bit of business going on, right?’
‘OK.’ Tesco cursed silently, went to the bedroom, shut the door and picked up the phone.
Harry was trying to remember everybody he’d ever worked with. He swore under his breath. If only he had the ledgers, it would make things a lot easier. All the names were in there. Now he sat back and tried to recall every job, all the faces and the names. Who would be the best men to use on the robbery, he wondered? He made careful notes, wondering what the hell Micky was doing in the bedroom. He poured himself a glass of wine from a bottle chilling in the fridge and gulped it down. He was beginning to feel good again, feeling like his old self. He went into the bathroom, turned the taps on, saw the Badedas and smiled. He squirted some into the water. Why not? he thought.
In the lounge, he picked up his list. Micky was standing there, looking anxious.
‘Those the men you want?’
‘Yeah, just check ’em over for me.’
Micky sighed. ‘What’re you gonna do, Harry?’
Harry was walking toward the bedroom. ‘I’m gonna take a bath — if that’s all right with you, Micky?’
Micky shrugged. Harry went into the bedroom and Micky checked the time. He was going to be late for Shirley. In fact, he was beginning to wonder if he would make the date at all.
Dolly had searched every corner of the lock-up, and still no raincoat. Bella was rummaging in the old filing cabinet.
‘You sure it’s here, Dolly?’
Dolly shook her head. ‘I dunno where it is. Maybe I never left it here. It’s just that I could have sworn I did. You remember the way I used to hang it behind the door?’
Bella was now on her knees, searching the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet.
‘I think we should go, Bella. Somebody’s using this place and if they come in now we’re trapped back here.’
Another train rumbled overhead and Dolly shivered.
Bella held up a notebook. It was red. ‘Is this it, Dolly?’
‘No, it’s a black book, a little black book.’ She turned away. The drip, drip of the water, the damp and the cold were getting to her. ‘Bella, I want to get out of here, I can’t stand this place.’
Bella straightened up. She had a sheaf of papers in her hand. She spread them out on the orange boxes.
‘Dolly, look at this lot!’ She unfolded a large sheet — architect’s drawings.
‘For Christ’s sake, Bella!’ Dolly walked out of the annex — and suddenly caught sight of what looked like the sleeve of her raincoat poking out from under one of the trucks.
‘There it is, Bella, look! There’s the coat! Somebody must have chucked it under here.’ She pulled it out and searched in the pockets. ‘Got it! I’ve got the notebook!’
Bella was still poring over the papers, opening one after the other. ‘I think you’d better take a look at these, Dolly. What d’you think all this is?’
Dolly looked over Bella’s shoulder, holding on tightly to the notebook. Then she picked up a sheet of paper. ‘This is Harry’s writing.’ She studied the plans. ‘Do you know what this is? Vans, motorbikes... Good God, it’s a route! Security vans! Bella, he’s planning another raid!’
Micky could hear Harry whistling in the bedroom when the doorbell rang. About bloody time!
The blonde standing at the door wasn’t bad, but she was a bit older than he’d expected.
‘You Micky?’ she asked. ‘Micky Tesco?’
‘Yeah, that’s right, darlin’. Come in.’ He shut the door. ‘I want you to be very nice to a friend of mine.’
She smiled. ‘Oh, I can be very nice. You know what I charge, don’t you?’
‘Yeah, yeah, there’s no problem. He’s a very important man, so you make sure he has a good night, you understand me? What did you say your name was?’
‘Sharon,’ said the blonde.
‘Right, Sharon, let’s wheel you in, then, shall we?’
He guided the girl toward the bedroom door, tapped and pushed it open. Harry was in his dressing gown, combing his hair in front of the mirror.