After a moment, Ivy says almost under her breath, ‘I wish we could just . . .dosomething.’
There is a loaded pause before Audrey offers in a low voice, ‘What if we can?’ She continues, almost too quietly for Paula to hear, ‘What if we can use what we’ve learned, use our money and our know-how to help other women? Women who are trapped in the same way we all were?’
Paula leans closer. ‘What do you mean?’
Teddy narrows her eyes at Audrey. ‘Use our powers for good? You mean help other women . . .’ she hisses the next part, ‘. . . get rid of their asshole husbands?’ Audrey nods and, after a moment, Teddy slowly smiles. ‘I love it.’
Paula leaps up off the bench. ‘Hold on,’ she says, sweat breaking out on her forehead. ‘You’re not talking about . . . You don’t mean—’
‘It’s OK, my darling, don’t get upset,’ Audrey says. ‘We’re just talking.’ She waits for Paula to slowly sit back down. ‘But think about it for a minute. We’ve all been there, and there are so many women out there who need help, who needourhelp.’
Teddy’s face is set in a hard expression. ‘We have the money, the resources, and the know-how. I’m a lawyer, for God’s sake! I know what it takes to get away with this kind of thing. We have time on our hands and first-hand experience of what these women are going through. We could make such a difference. Nobody’s looking at us. Nobody would suspect us—’
‘Wait.’ Paula is really panicking now. ‘What about Columbo? There is someone looking at us! Or at Audrey, at least.’
They all look to Audrey, who shrugs. ‘OK, yes, the police officer investigating my husband’s death is still hanging around.’ She nods at Paula. ‘He was following us in the car last week. And the other day he turned up at my daughter’s workplace to ask her a few questions about me and Harold. It was . . . unpleasant.’
Paula shakes her head. ‘Even if we wanted to help these women – and of course I do! – we can’t risk doing anything with a police officer hanging around, surely!’
‘He doesn’t scare me, and don’t call me Shirley.’ Audrey sounds positively jolly. She pauses to take Paula’s hand. ‘Look, he has absolutely nothing to go on with Harold and he’s running out of options. Plus, he has no idea about any of you. And even if he did, we became friends long after Harold’s death. He’d never be interested in any of you with regards to the case.’
Teddy fixes her with a look. ‘Maybe we can hit him with a harassment suit. I’ll get my lawyer hat back on and call the station, get him to back off.’
Audrey looks amused. ‘How thrilling! But there’s no need for any of that, darling; he’s got nothing at all. And I can stay in the background of things if it makes you all feel a little better. I’ll help with planning and orchestrating, but avoid anything that might draw suspicion.’
‘But— But—’ Paula splutters, as Ivy interrupts her.
‘I have a list,’ she says with steel. ‘I started making notes after the support group sessions, writing a journal . . .’ She smiles shyly at Audrey, who gives her an encouraging nod.
‘Go on, my darling.’
Ivy nods back. ‘Audrey thought it might help me sort through my feelings, and it really has. But it’s turned into a lot of unhinged raging about the men these women talk about. I’ve got a list of what they’ve done.’ Her face is wearing an unfamiliar expression. ‘And names. I’ve got a list of names. Of the ones who are doing the worst things. I know stuff about them . . . about these men. I’ve been listening. We could find them really easily, don’t you think?’ She looks to Teddy, who nods, then Ivy turns to Audrey and Paula in turn. ‘We can save these women.’ She nods in the direction of that long-gone couple. ‘We can help women like her.’
19
Paula has just decided that people use the wordbreathtakingway too frivolously. The scenery is breathtaking; that painting is breathtaking; the bungalow onEscape to the Countryis breathtaking – just look at the kitchen island!
Because they’ve just arrived at Teddy’s apartment, and it isactuallybreathtaking. It has very literally taken Paula’s breath away. She continues to struggle for breath as she passes through the grand entrance hall and into a large, open-plan kitchen. It is pink. Pink marble tops, pink cupboards, pink table tops. Even pink – no, wait, hold on. Paula looks closer but can find no evidence of an oven or hob. Does Teddy not cook?
Reading her mind, Teddy presses a button and cupboard fronts open smoothly by themselves to reveal a variety of fixtures and fittings. There they are! Hidden by magical cupboard doors! How clever. It all looks brand new and shiny. So maybe Teddy doesn’t in fact cook.
When Audrey casually referenced Teddy’s flat in west London, this was not what Paula pictured. She’s never seen, or even imagined, a flat this size before. It goes on for ever, down corridors and through giant well-lit spaces.
‘Here’s my room,’ Teddy calls out from down another long passageway. Paula passes through a large dressing room, noting an ensuite bathroom off to the side. She peeks a head in. The ensuite is practically the size of Paula’s whole house. She gasps her astonishment as they enter the bedroom itself. Windows line the entire wall, featuring dramatic views of London’s greenest spaces. At one end of the room sits the biggest bed Paula’s ever seen, and a TV spans almost the whole facing wall.
‘This bedroom must be forty square feet!’ Paula gasps. ‘How do you even watch that TV? I’d have to wear my glasses in bed and have the subtitles as big as my head.’
Teddy shrugs. ‘To be honest, I mostly just bring my laptop into bed with me and watch my reality shows there. I don’t think that TV has ever been turned on. I wouldn’t even know where the remote control is.’ Paula shakes her head in bewilderment. All this luxury. It’s sort of . . . silly?
They wander through another three bedrooms, each immaculately decorated and practically untouched. Everything is neatly tucked away, everything is high-end, and everything is still mostly all pink.
‘How big is this flat?’ Paula can’t keep the awe out of her voice.
‘Just under nine and a half thousand square feet,’ Teddy confirms, respect in her voice. ‘It’s more than ten times the size of the place I had in New York, before I won the money.’ She smiles broadly and winks. ‘But obviously I’ve held on to that house. Can’t have anyone digging up the back garden now, can I?’
Ivy and Audrey giggle at this, and Paula swallows hard, wondering how seriously to take all their jokes. At least itsounds like she’s been sensible about the body. It’s reassuring, somehow. They might talk about death with a light tone, but the group apparently take covering it up seriously.
But were they really being serious back then, on that bench on Old Bond Street? They can’t honestly be considering . . . Paula shakes her head as the group moves on through to the back part of the apartment. Just as they seem to be reaching the end of the tour, another room materialises.
