a raid on an armoured truck: the plan had been to ram it inside the Strand underpass but the raid had gone disastrously wrong. The explosives used by his team had
blown their own truck to smithereens; four men inside had died, their charred bodies unrecognizable. Dolly Rawlins had been given a watch, a gold Rolex from the blackened wrist of one of the dead
men. She had buried his remains, the funeral an ornate affair, with wreaths from every main criminal in England. In many instances they were sent not out of sympathy, but relief.
Dolly Rawlins had been in deep shock. The husband she had worshipped for twenty years was gone, and the void in her life could not be filled, made worse by the pressure from villains trying to
take over her husband’s manor. Her grief had turned to anger when they approached her at his graveside, but then to icy fury. When she found Harry’s detailed plans for the abortive
robbery, Dolly Rawlins drew together the widows of the men who had died alongside him in the truck. She manipulated and cajoled them into repeating the raid that had taken their men. Always a
strong-minded woman, Dolly grew more confident and arrogant each day. Her belief that they could handle it quelled their fears, and her constant encouragement and furious determination ensured that
they not only succeeded in pulling off one of the most daring armed robberies ever, but she also made sure they got away with it. She had been doing it for Harry, using his carefully laid plans.
Never for one moment had she believed or even contemplated his betrayal.
Harry Rawlins was alive. He had been the only one to escape from the nightmare raid that killed his men. Rawlins had arranged that when the raid was over, he would never return to his wife, and
would leave Dolly for his mistress, a twenty-five-year-old girl. To his stunned amazement, Harry Rawlins had watched as Dolly went ahead with the raid, and laughed because he knew that if she
succeeded he would take the money. Her audacity amused him. Safe in his girlfriend’s apartment, he had watched and waited, had played with his baby girl, the child Dolly had craved to give
him. But Harry Rawlins had underestimated his wife.
Dolly succeeded in the raid and she also found out the terrible truth. She never confronted him – it would have been too dangerous, not for herself but for the other women concerned.
Instead she planned their escape from England, leaving him penniless and desperate.
For a while the widows had lived high but the bulk of the money became a monster they could not control. Dolly returned to England where she knew Harry would come after her. And she waited,
while planning another robbery: the diamond raid. She used the same women, the widows, but this time not everything had gone according to plan. One of them, Linda Pirellie, was killed in an
automobile accident; a second, the young, beautiful Shirley Miller, was shot during the robbery. Dolly got away with the diamonds but the police net was drawing in. Yet again she reacted as her
husband would have. She knew Jimmy Donaldson could be trusted; small-time he might be but he had done a lot of work for Harry in the past and had never been charged so she used that as a lever to
ensure that he would keep the diamonds safe. She could have got away with it but something was more important than the diamonds: her guilt about little Shirley had pushed her to Audrey,
Shirley’s mother, because she felt she owed her a debt. She was the only other person she felt she could trust, because Dolly had used Audrey in the first raid when they had escaped from
England. Audrey would be unlikely to go to the police and she was broke, so the promise of a cut of the diamonds would atone for the shock and grief of Shirley’s death. All Dolly had asked
Audrey to do was wait and in time she would get her share. She had not said how long the wait would be as she didn’t know herself. Because even though she might just
blown their own truck to smithereens; four men inside had died, their charred bodies unrecognizable. Dolly Rawlins had been given a watch, a gold Rolex from the blackened wrist of one of the dead
men. She had buried his remains, the funeral an ornate affair, with wreaths from every main criminal in England. In many instances they were sent not out of sympathy, but relief.
Dolly Rawlins had been in deep shock. The husband she had worshipped for twenty years was gone, and the void in her life could not be filled, made worse by the pressure from villains trying to
take over her husband’s manor. Her grief had turned to anger when they approached her at his graveside, but then to icy fury. When she found Harry’s detailed plans for the abortive
robbery, Dolly Rawlins drew together the widows of the men who had died alongside him in the truck. She manipulated and cajoled them into repeating the raid that had taken their men. Always a
strong-minded woman, Dolly grew more confident and arrogant each day. Her belief that they could handle it quelled their fears, and her constant encouragement and furious determination ensured that
they not only succeeded in pulling off one of the most daring armed robberies ever, but she also made sure they got away with it. She had been doing it for Harry, using his carefully laid plans.
Never for one moment had she believed or even contemplated his betrayal.
Harry Rawlins was alive. He had been the only one to escape from the nightmare raid that killed his men. Rawlins had arranged that when the raid was over, he would never return to his wife, and
would leave Dolly for his mistress, a twenty-five-year-old girl. To his stunned amazement, Harry Rawlins had watched as Dolly went ahead with the raid, and laughed because he knew that if she
succeeded he would take the money. Her audacity amused him. Safe in his girlfriend’s apartment, he had watched and waited, had played with his baby girl, the child Dolly had craved to give
him. But Harry Rawlins had underestimated his wife.
Dolly succeeded in the raid and she also found out the terrible truth. She never confronted him – it would have been too dangerous, not for herself but for the other women concerned.
Instead she planned their escape from England, leaving him penniless and desperate.
For a while the widows had lived high but the bulk of the money became a monster they could not control. Dolly returned to England where she knew Harry would come after her. And she waited,
while planning another robbery: the diamond raid. She used the same women, the widows, but this time not everything had gone according to plan. One of them, Linda Pirellie, was killed in an
automobile accident; a second, the young, beautiful Shirley Miller, was shot during the robbery. Dolly got away with the diamonds but the police net was drawing in. Yet again she reacted as her
husband would have. She knew Jimmy Donaldson could be trusted; small-time he might be but he had done a lot of work for Harry in the past and had never been charged so she used that as a lever to
ensure that he would keep the diamonds safe. She could have got away with it but something was more important than the diamonds: her guilt about little Shirley had pushed her to Audrey,
Shirley’s mother, because she felt she owed her a debt. She was the only other person she felt she could trust, because Dolly had used Audrey in the first raid when they had escaped from
England. Audrey would be unlikely to go to the police and she was broke, so the promise of a cut of the diamonds would atone for the shock and grief of Shirley’s death. All Dolly had asked
Audrey to do was wait and in time she would get her share. She had not said how long the wait would be as she didn’t know herself. Because even though she might just
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