Chapter 18
‘No, Paula doesn’t like that.’ Audrey is shaking her head into the phone glued to her ear. ‘Nope, she doesn’t like that either. Nope. Find another way, please, Belinda.’
‘What don’t I like?’ Paula wanders over to join Ivy, who is listening intently to the phone conversation.
‘Paula the Dog,’ Ivy explains, starry-eyed at the very mention of the darling little pup. She’s wearing a shirt today instead of her usual tee, and the effect is endearingly like a young child playing dressing-up.
Teddy continues, ‘Audrey’s on the phone with the groomer.
They want to wash her but apparently Paula the Dog doesn’t like that.
Audrey wants her dry-cleaned in some way.
Dry-cleaned in a way that also won’t go near her sensitive nipples.
It’s quite an involved process. I’m not sure how they’ve managed before now. ’
‘Oh, I wondered where Paula the Dog was today,’ Paula the Human says.
‘I thought perhaps even your eight hundred million wasn’t enough to persuade Gucci to allow dog hair on the premises.
’ She waves around at the luxury store they’ve been ransacking for the past forty minutes.
The store is empty of customers, bar them – just like the car showroom last week – and Paula wonders if this is what money really buys you: an escape from other people.
Audrey ends her call as Teddy leads the group over to the shoe area.
‘Here we are, Mrs Fletcher.’ A staff member trails behind them. She holds up a pair of shiny burgundy leather boots, presenting them like they are a fine jewel. They look to Paula more like something you’d wear to stables for horse riding. ‘Size nine and a half.’
‘It’s Ms ,’ Teddy says icily, pointing her sunglasses at the woman. ‘Not Mrs. Yuck. And no need to shout my shoe size to the whole world.’
Given it’s only the five of them there, including the disinterested sales assistant, this seems like an overstatement, but Paula can’t help sneaking a look down at Teddy’s feet.
She’s been so caught up with the woman’s lustrous hair and expensive clothes, she’d never noticed the size of her feet.
They are, admittedly, quite large. But they suit her.
Teddy accepts the boots, examining them close up, then taking a seat to try them on.
‘I’m going to have to call my wealth management team at this rate,’ she guffaws, flicking that luscious hair off her shoulder.
‘I’ve spent so much today, they’ll be having a meltdown.
’ She sighs happily, pulling up the zip with long, orange nails.
‘But what’s the point of winning the lottery if you don’t then spend it in the most ridiculous way possible? ’
‘Are they expensive?’ Paula asks, then looks fearfully at the staff member. Is it considered gauche or embarrassing to mention money in a place like this? The girl doesn’t visibly react, but Paula’s pretty sure she senses a disapproving energy.
‘Of course they’re expensive!’ Teddy says. ‘One thousand, seven hundred and fifty pounds.’ When Paula’s eyes widen she quickly adds, ‘But they’re cheaper than most things I’ve bought today. They really shouldn’t let me loose on Old Bond Street. God, I love being stupidly rich.’
She pulls a dark-coloured credit card out of her purse and hands it to the young woman. The assistant practically bows as she takes it and Paula catches a glimpse of the name on the credit card. Tina Edwina Fletcher.
‘I keep forgetting Teddy’s not your real name,’ Paula says.
‘Tina. Teddy for short.’
Paula frowns. ‘But Teddy’s not shorter than Tina.’
Teddy laughs at this. ‘You got me. OK, the truth is, I spent a lot of years working in a law office surrounded by a lot of moron men failing upwards in every direction. And having a guy’s name on my email address sure helped me out over the years.
You wouldn’t believe how many people assumed Tina was a receptionist and Teddy was the boss. ’
‘ You worked in a law office?’ Paula can’t help giving Teddy another once-over.
The huge earrings, the short skirts, the big, shiny hair .
. . they don’t exactly scream white-collar professional.
‘Like . . . as a lawyer ?’ She suddenly remembers Teddy at that house viewing, quoting some obscure made-up legalese at the estate agent.
Teddy clocks the tone. ‘I hope you’re not making assumptions about me, Paula?
It took me a lot longer than it should’ve to prove myself, thanks to my tits, but by the time I left, I was one of my firm’s most in-demand lawyers.
I had all the biggest accounts and the highest billables. They begged me not to go.’
Paula blushes a dark red. She feels terrible because of course she made assumptions.
What did she think of Teddy after that first meeting in her kitchen?
A WAG, that’s what she internally called her.
It’s becoming very clear that Teddy is so much more than that.
She is dry, funny and – clearly – incredibly smart.
‘Sorry,’ she mutters and Teddy laughs.
‘Forget it, babe. We all make snap judgements. I quite like them actually, because then I get to prove everyone wrong. I like other people being wrong.’ She pauses, then continues, ‘The truth is, I didn’t wear any of this stuff in the office.
’ She waves at herself. ‘I forced myself into a little grey, pantsuit box, the box they wanted me to fit into. I thought pretending to be one of them – pretending to be like them – was the only option I had. And maybe it was. But I can’t tell you how liberating it is to have this money.
To be able to be whoever I want to be after all this time.
To spend like an absolute beast whenever I want. ’
Paula smiles at this. At the idea of money letting this woman be free to be whoever she wants. Goodness, it even let her be a woman again. Paula feels like she understands Teddy a little more now.
As they leave the shop, Audrey is back on the phone, debating Paula the Dog’s diva demands.
Paula looks around at her friends, feeling abuzz with dopamine from all the spending.
She can’t believe how much she’s bought today.
She got herself a beautiful new camel-coloured trench coat, two new dresses, one long and one something Teddy called midi, three pairs of trousers, a new blouse, some T-shirts that Ivy liked, and – maybe most excitingly – a new pair of trainers to replace her Clarks plimsolls.
Honestly, her shopping haul list feels like a designer Hungry Caterpillar.
Oh, and because Tilly mentioned it last week, they also popped into John Lewis so she could pick up a new shower curtain and bath mat.
She feels unleashed! And she didn’t even buy as much as Teddy or Audrey, who seemed to be competing to spend the most money in one outing.
And yet, none of the group is weighed down with bags because the staff arranged to have it all delivered directly to each of them at home.
As they head down the beautifully maintained, pedestrianised streets of Old Bond Street, Ivy is almost mown down by a man and woman walking past at speed.
The man hisses furiously at the woman with him, grabbing her, his grip white on her arm.
‘You’re humiliating me,’ he says to her in a low voice as she stares at the ground, her face pale.
It happens in just a few seconds and then they’re gone, but the group dynamic shifts around Paula.
Both Teddy and Audrey have encircled Ivy, who is visibly trembling, her young face contorted with fear.
Teddy’s hands are shaking too, but Paula can see that it is with rage, not fear.
Audrey pulls Ivy close, murmuring kind, reassuring words.
After a moment, Paula realises she is holding her breath. She releases it slowly, her heart pounding.
‘Asshole,’ Teddy says a minute later, staring off after the couple. Then she repeats the word three more times. Audrey moves Ivy with her across the road, walking like they’re in a three-legged race. They make it to a black bench and all sit in a line, all four of them holding hands.
It takes a minute, but Ivy at last straightens up, looking at Audrey.
‘I’ve been attending that support group you suggested.
’ She nods at the older woman, speaking in that quiet, soft voice of hers.
‘For women like me. Women who’ve been through .
. . domestic abuse. We meet twice a week and all we do is sit around talking about what we’ve .
. .’ She swallows. ‘The stories, the awful, bloody, brutal stories . . . they really get under your skin, you know?’ She blinks around at the others and Paula’s reminded again that Ivy is only twenty-seven and she’s already been through so much.
Ivy continues, ‘I think about it constantly. I dream about the women in the group. Sometimes I can’t remember what really happened to me with my husband, and what happened to Christina or Kuba or Ayesha or Megan.
’ She takes a ragged breath. ‘I feel so helpless all the time. Most of them are still in those relationships as well. Still getting beaten up most nights, still getting abused, and they can’t see a way out.
’ She inhales deeply. ‘I want to help them so badly.’
The group lets the words settle over them in silence, taking it in. People wander past, chatting about their lives, swinging shopping bags, pulling coats tighter around them as the breeze picks up.
After a moment, Ivy says almost under her breath, ‘I wish we could just . . . do something.’
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 need our help.’
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.’