Episode 3: Cat and Mouse

Summary

Royal Swindle – Episode 3: Cat and Mouse

Release Date: July 30, 2026
Podcast: Royal Swindle (Exactly Right Media & iHeartPodcasts in partnership with Blanchard House and USG Audio)
Host: Becky Milligan

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Episode Overview

In this thrilling installment, host Becky Milligan continues to unravel the jaw-dropping story of Lila Andre and Evelyn Burton—two Australian lesbian lovers who infiltrated London’s elite in the late 1990s, charming high society while hiding a web of fraud. As the duo's swindle comes precariously close to unraveling, Becky speaks with key figures, including their devoted “butler” Lars and dogged detective Jim Frost. The episode is driven by themes of deceit, loyalty, ambition, and the rising tension of a cat-and-mouse game between cunning swindlers and determined law enforcement.

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1. The Burning of Evidence

[01:42 – 04:58]

• Setting: April 1998, English countryside.
• Lars, the “butler,” is seen incinerating mountains of paperwork in the backyard—contracts, invoices, and bank statements—all under strict orders.
  • Lars: "I stood there, just feeding paper, keeping the fire burning, making sure everything was incinerated." (02:26)
  • Motivation spelled out: Eliminate anything incriminating before police arrive.
• The scene sets the stakes, framing the episode as the aftermath of a near-collapse for Evelyn and Lila.

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2. The Sopwell House Standoff

[04:58 – 14:24]

• Incident: Weeks before, at Sopwell House Hotel, Evelyn and Lila’s unchecked spending comes to a head.
• Hotel Manager Geoff: Notices luxury cars and extended stays without payment, leading to growing suspicion.
  • Jeff: "This brand new Porsche 911 and a beautiful Rolls Royce parked at the front door... I thought, wow, they've done really well. I wonder who they are." (05:19)
• Evelyn stalls payment as the bill grows to over £10,000.
  • Lila: "You're asking the wrong person... I can't tell her what to do. It's her money." (06:47)
• Geoff hatches a plan:
  • Staff stage a fake fire alarm to get everyone out of their rooms.
  • Cars are “clamped” (wheel-locked); rooms are double-locked under English law, allowing seizure of guest property for unpaid bills.
  • Evelyn and Lila realize they’re cornered—Evelyn is unusually unsettled, knowing sensitive material is left in the suite.
  • Jeff: “I’ve clamped the cars. You’re not going back into the room. You owe me £10,000 and I need paying.” (10:53)
• Evelyn and Lila make a hasty escape, abandoning their belongings—most crucially, a briefcase stuffed with incriminating contracts.
• A visiting police officer, with fraud squad experience, finds the briefcase, taking it in for review—a fateful misstep for the duo.
  • Lila (on fleeing): “Everyone, we are fat.” (14:24)

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3. Life on the Run – Lars The Loyal Butler

[16:54 – 22:48]

• Hiding: The trio—Evelyn, Lila, Lars—are now holed up in an English cottage, keeping a low profile.
  • Lars: “I had this romantic notion of becoming a butler as a kid... Touring the continent in Rolls Royces and Bentleys and having all sorts of adventures.” (17:46)
• Lars is more than a servant: he manages contracts, translations, and investor relations—actively abetting the scam, and admits to duping investors in their native Swedish.
  • Lars: "So of course I deliberately duped. Yes." (20:17)
• Evelyn trusts him implicitly; he is fiercely loyal and keeps their activities secret.
  • Lars: "I always kept my mouth shut in front of others and not giving anything away." (19:40)

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4. Cracks Beneath the Glamour

[21:04 – 24:58]

• Evelyn's composure starts to break as investors grow restless.
  • Lila: “Evelyn said this might put me back in jail again.” (22:09)
• Quiet moments reveal the tension: Evelyn assures Lila everything will be okay, but Lila senses uncertainty.
  • Lila: “Evelyn kept on saying, it'll be okay. There will be money… You shouldn't concern yourself over this.” (22:48)
• Becky visits Lila in the present day, reminiscing over old photos and wedding memories.
  • Lila: “She promised and promised and promised me the world.” (24:32)

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5. Lila’s Painful Past

[25:17 – 29:04]

• Becky prods gently into Lila’s neglected childhood and trauma:
  • Lila: “He [my stepfather] abused me, as in bashing, because he was a very violent man. And also sexually.” (25:52)
  • The abuse, her subsequent threats toward her abuser, and her ejection from home at 15 frame Lila as a survivor.
• Lila’s entry into sex work and brushes with Melbourne’s criminal underworld:
  • Lila: "I wanted to be a singer... but dreams don't bring in money... I was a working girl..." (27:24, 27:46)
  • Vivid, unvarnished anecdotes of violence, police harassment, and survival skills.
  • Lila: “Toughen up, people being shot at, being kidnapped, parlors being infiltrated, that sort of thing.” (28:12)
  • Lila: “...in her world, men are pigs.” (29:04 – with Becky’s framing)

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6. The Detective Emerges – Jim Frost on the Trail

[32:39 – 42:44]

• Jim Frost (local fraud detective) is introduced:
  • A classically trained pianist known as a “good thief taker” in the police force.
  • Sees financial crime as deeply corrosive:
    Jim Frost: "You don't just lose the money, you lose your sense of worth because someone has had you over." (34:05)
• The Break: Jim reviews the seized briefcase, noting implausible documents—like a sheet of “embossed paper... purporting to be worth $10 million. And of course, nothing’s worth $10 million on a piece of paper. I mean, it just doesn’t make sense. You smell that rat?” (41:26)
• This catalyzes the formal fraud investigation against Evelyn and Lila.
• Dilemma: Jim weighs whether to arrest Evelyn outright (risking early discovery and a short evidence window) or play the long game—a calculated risk as the “mouse” may flee if she senses danger.

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7. Escalating Tension – Safe House Siege & Strains

[34:47 – 41:12]

• Back at the cottage, serious threats escalate as “shady people” and armed thugs appear.
  • Lars: “I came up with different excuses that they were abroad... not available because of different reasons.” (35:58)
• Investors demand repayment, Evelyn remains unrepentant, refusing to pay.
  • Lila: “There were a lot of times that I'd said, you really must pay some of these people. And she'd say, no, I don't.” (36:21)
• Lila is forced to attend a heated “investor” meeting, relaying false promises on Evelyn’s behalf—while Evelyn cowers downstairs.
  • Lila: “It was a very dangerous situation because I could feel this real masculine, alpha anger...” (38:16)
  • Lila: “She put me in the shit.” (38:41)
• Lila’s resentment grows, arguments with Evelyn intensify, and she broaches fleeing for home.

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8. A Game of Cat and Mouse

[41:12 – 42:44]

• Jim identifies critical evidence to launch a full investigation but hesitates—if he tips his hand too early, the swindlers might escape, but waiting risks further victimization.
  • Jim Frost: “There is a risk she could run away and she could flee to another country, but that's a risk you run.” (42:37)
• With law enforcement closing in and Evelyn’s adversaries multiplying, the episode ends with the chase intensifying, each side trying to outwit the other.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the thrill of fraud:
  “I had this romantic notion of becoming a butler as a kid... So I thought, why not?” – Lars (17:46)
• On female seduction and manipulation:
  “She could have persuaded anyone to do anything. She would be able to sway anyone just by being herself, sweeping into a room full of people. She would be the center, the shining light and always over the top, the pizzaz.” – Lars (18:31)
• On confronting her abuser:
  “Don’t ever do it again because I will kill you. And I meant it.” – Lila (26:39)
• On living dangerously:
  “Toughen up, people being shot at, being kidnapped, parlors being infiltrated, that sort of thing.” – Lila (28:12)
• On conning the conmen:
  “Where’s my money?” – Jim Frost imitates an angry investor (37:57)

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Key Timestamps

• 01:42: Lars burns evidence
• 05:19: Geoff becomes suspicious of Evelyn and Lila
• 06:47: Lila feigns ignorance about money
• 10:53: Geoff confronts Evelyn and clamps the cars
• 14:24: Realization of exposure ("we are fat")
• 17:46: Lars’ boyhood butler dream
• 22:09: Evelyn warns that jail is a possibility
• 24:17: Lila and Evelyn’s wedding day memory
• 25:52: Lila reveals abuse
• 28:12: Lila on sex industry danger
• 32:39: Detective Jim Frost introduced
• 34:05: Jim on emotional cost of fraud
• 41:26: Discovery of bogus $10 million document
• 42:37: Jim debates whether to make a move
• 41:12 – 42:44: Lila wants out; Jim prepares to act

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Tone & Style

The episode balances dark, gritty true crime with moments of nostalgia, dark humor, and psychological insight. Becky brings empathy and curiosity to interviews, while Lila shifts between bravado and vulnerability, and Lars offers wry detachment.

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Conclusion

Episode 3, “Cat and Mouse,” is where the pursuit tightens and the consequences of high-rolling deceit close in. With police on the scent, partners arguing, and allies tested, Becky Milligan sets up an escalating game of predator and prey—leaving listeners primed for the chase to continue.

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End of summary.

Transcript

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[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

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[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

quick Warning this story contains adult themes, including reference to sexual and child abuse and strong language. April 1998 the backyard of a small, isolated cottage in the depths of the English countryside. There's a fire raging in an old metal bin. A young man is throwing bundles of documents onto the flames, watching them catch a light burn and turn to ash.

[Lars (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

I stood there, just feeding paper, keeping the fire burning, making sure everything was incinerated.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

Every now and again he looks around, his eyes darting this way and that to check he's not being watched. On the ground around him are piles and piles of paper, contracts, invoices, bank statements. He's acting under orders.

[Lars (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

I was told to take all the paperwork in the office, burn it in the yard.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

Why did they want them burned and

[Lars (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

not to leave any evidence for the police to find.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

Were you aware that that was what it was? Yes, and he needs to do it fast because time's Running out. He needs to escape. He's always known it might end like this. And as he brushes away the sweat on his forehead, he feels a little sad. But he has no regrets. No regrets at all. From usg audio, blanchard house and exactly right media, this is royal swindle. I'm becky milligan. Episode 3 Cat and Mouse 2 months earlier we're back at Sopwell House Hotel, where the fire alarm is going off. And as unlikely as it sounds, this will prove a crucial turning point in the story of Lila Andre and Evelyn Burton. As Evelyn admitted on one of those cassettes she recorded for her never completed

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

memoir, this is what eventually led to the whole thing coming undone.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

Now, hotel manager Jeff Ward knew from the moment they checked in that these weren't just any old guests.

[Jeff (Hotel Manager in Royal Swindle)]

This brand new Porsche 911 and a beautiful Rolls Royce parked at the front door facing the entrance. And I thought, wow, they've done really well. I wonder who they are.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

So he asked one of his receptionists,

[Jeff (Hotel Manager in Royal Swindle)]

who owns those vehicles?

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

I'm curious, what did they say?

[Jeff (Hotel Manager in Royal Swindle)]

Oh, that's Evelyn Burton. Okay, she has two rooms. Okay, tell me more. They've booked him for two nights, but

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

two nights turn to three nights, turn to four nights. Now, Geoff has one very strict policy. This policy applies to all guests. No exceptions. Doesn't matter who you are or how rich you are. It's one rule for everyone. When the bill goes over a certain figure, they must settle the account immediately. But of course, Evelyn and Lila didn't settle the bill immediately. And four nights turned to five nights.

[Jeff (Hotel Manager in Royal Swindle)]

And I just said to the deputy manager, we need to get that money, we need to get payment. Let's sort it out.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

Geoff told the staff to keep chasing Evelyn to pay up, but as usual, Evelyn fobbed them off.

[Jeff (Hotel Manager in Royal Swindle)]

Oh, yes, I'll be back shortly. I'll sort it out when I get back.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

So they tried Lila and they said,

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

do you realise that Evelyn hasn't been paying the bill?

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

Lila played dumb. You're asking the wrong person, she said,

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

because I don't know anything about the money. I don't know anything about the bills. And they said, well, can you talk to Evelyn about it? And I said, I'll talk to her, absolutely, but I can't tell her what to do. It's her money.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

Evelyn was stalling. Meanwhile, five nights turned to 10 nights and, well, you get the idea. And it's not just the accommodation we're talking about here. It was the fancy dinners, the fine wines, not to mention all that room service. Geoff, I think it's fair to say, got pretty hacked off. He had a word with his deputy.

[Jeff (Hotel Manager in Royal Swindle)]

So where are we at with this account? Have they paid up? And he said to me, it's over 10 grand, Jeff. And he put his head in his hands.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

And that's when Geoff hatches his plan. The plan which he thinks will call Evelyn and Lila's bluff. Geoff thinks to himself, no more Mr. Nice Guy.

[Jeff (Hotel Manager in Royal Swindle)]

I knew what I was going to do and I knew that I was only going to win the way I saw it.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

He calls an emergency staff meeting and outlines his plan of attack. He rallies his whole team. They all have a role to play. The staff feel galvanized and the adrenaline starts pumping.

[Jeff (Hotel Manager in Royal Swindle)]

They were really excited because we're going to get these buggers. They're not going to get away with this.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

And at the appointed hour, the plan is activated. As soon as the alarm goes off, Jeff takes a very important precautionary step.

[Jeff (Hotel Manager in Royal Swindle)]

I give the front office manager the task of clamping the two vehicles.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

He means Evelyn's Rolls Royce and Porsche. And Jeff makes it clear that time is of the essence.

[Jeff (Hotel Manager in Royal Swindle)]

I want it done very, very quickly.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

At the same time, senior staff are strategically positioned on each floor. They instruct all the guests to take the stairs and leave all their belongings in their rooms. Now, here's a detail that is crucial to Jeff's plan. Under English law, if you don't pay your hotel bill, all the possessions you've left in your hotel room can be seized. Everything. Jeff has assigned the most important task to the deputy manager.

[Jeff (Hotel Manager in Royal Swindle)]

He is specifically outside the Burton rooms, the two rooms with a master key to double lock the doors. Double lock the doors so they can't get back in.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

It's all coming together in a beautiful way, Becky.

[Jeff (Hotel Manager in Royal Swindle)]

In a beautiful way.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

Assembled on the front lawn, scores of hotel guests, many of them in pajamas or fluffy white bathrobes, all looking for signs of a fire. Among them, our duo, Evelyn and Lila. Just like everyone else, they've left all their possessions in their rooms as instructed. Now the next part of Jeff's plan swings into action. He tells all the guests it's a

[Jeff (Hotel Manager in Royal Swindle)]

false alarm, blah, blah, blah. And we start inviting people back into

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

the hotel, including Evelyn and Lila. Jeff positions himself at the bottom of the staircase, knowing full well what's going to happen when Evelyn and Lila return to their suite.

[Jeff (Hotel Manager in Royal Swindle)]

Guess what? They couldn't get in. They come downstairs. Mrs. Burton, please come with me. Let's go and have a little coffee in the lounge, shall we?

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

Evelyn is Irritated. Come on, what's the problem? She asks. And Jeff doesn't beat around the bush.

[Jeff (Hotel Manager in Royal Swindle)]

I said I've clamped the cars. You're not going back into the room. You owe me £10,000 and I need paying.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

Now Geoff's got Evelyn and Lila cornered far more than he knows. In fact, for the first time in a long time, Evelyn is spooked. Very spooked. She knows that nobody must enter that room because there's something in there, something that nobody must see under any circumstances. Evelyn pleads with Jeff, leave it with me. I'll get your money. But no amount of Evelyn's charm can budge him. And then he does something that no other hotel manager has done so far. Something that horrifies Evelyn and Lila. He calls the cops. It's at that point Evelyn has a realization. She's lost control of the situation. Think, she says to herself, think. Think. She knows she has to stay clear headed. It's fight or flight. And she knows she has only one option. Flight. They have to get out of there before the police turn up. Evelyn makes a call and a few minutes later the two women hurl themselves into the back of their getaway car. They're out of there, leaving everything behind, When the local police officer turns up at the hotel. Staff take him to the women's suite. As far as he's concerned, this is simply a couple of guests who've done a runner. He takes a cursory glance around the room. Nothing to see. He's about to leave when something catches his eye. A tan leather briefcase propped up against the desk. Just out of interest, he flicks it open. It's stuffed full with paperwork. But not just any old paperwork. Contracts for millions of dollars. Now, to a regular cop, that might not seem interesting, but it just so happens he isn't just any old cop. Turns out this officer has just spent time on the fraud squad, so he can sense when something smells off. And that's exactly what he senses here. So he takes the briefcase with him, and later that day he'll drop it into the local fraud team to see what they make of it. It might be nothing, he'll say, but it isn't nothing. Far from it now. R2Aussies currently in their getaway car speeding north don't yet know about that local cop, but they already have a very bad feeling. They're exposed. Or as Lila puts it, I said

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

everyone, we are fat.

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[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

One week later, Lila and Evelyn are safe for now. They've decamped to a perfect English cottage in the village of Snailwell in the middle of the countryside. And with them is a young man called Lars, Evelyn and Lila's Swedish butler. I say butler, but he's actually much more than that. Lars has been working for Evelyn and Lila for nearly a year. He adores them and the feeling is mutual. They trust him with their lives. With good reason.

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

I said, lars, would you jump in front of somebody if they were going to shoot me? Of course, mum.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

Because for 23 year old Lars, this is more than just a job. It's a childhood dream come true.

[Lars (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

I had this romantic notion of becoming a butler as a kid.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

He loved stories which featured butlers, butlers like Jeeves in The books of P.G. wodehouse and Bunter in the novels by Dorothy Elsayers. And Lars thought, that's the life for

[Lars (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

me, touring the continent in Rolls Royces and Bentleys and having all sorts of adventures. So I thought, why not?

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

He's certainly having adventures with Evelyn and Lila. He's very quickly worked out the couple's dynamic.

[Lars (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

Evelyn was the one with the pants

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

on, but Lila's the one with the presence, an aura.

[Lars (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

She could have persuaded anyone to do anything. She would be able to sway anyone just by being herself, sweeping into a room full of people. She would be the center, the shining light and always over the top, the Pizzaz. Thank you. Very good word, possess.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

It's not long before Lars realizes Evelyn is not an international banker, that she's not investing any of that money from her investors, she's just spending it all. In short, he understands he's working for a very likable swindler. Now, Lars could have done the dirty and dobbed them in to the police, but no. As far as he's concerned, his job

[Lars (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

is suddenly more interesting, more adventurous and more fun.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

So you were willing to go down this road with them?

[Lars (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

Oh, yes.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

And Lars stays totally loyal.

[Lars (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

I always kept my mouth shut in front of others and not giving anything away.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

But more than that, Lars actually gets involved, working closely with Evelyn.

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

He took over the contracts, wrote the letters, did her engagements for her.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

He sits in on some of the high level business meetings, the ones where the swindling is actually happening. And he goes even further with investors who need just a little bit more persuasion. He helps to win their trust.

[Lars (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

In particular, two Swedish businessmen who had been talked into investing. And at one time an exasperated Evelyn took a phone call and then looked at Me? You're Swedish. You talk to them, keep them calm. So I spoke Swedish to them and they were so happy that they had a Swedish butter because they could confide in me and hoping that I would be on their side. So of course I deliberately duped. Yes.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

So Lars, Lila and Evelyn are all holed up in that cottage, keeping a very low profile. And the ground rules are clear.

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

We're living in a safe house. We're not to entertain or talk to anybody or anything like that.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

They're not taking any chances because Evelyn is worried. She knows her briefcase has gone. That's a concern. Though she doesn't know if anyone has actually looked inside it yet. Maybe nobody will. But it's not just that. Her so called investors are starting to get nervous, ringing all the time, demanding to know when they are getting the big payout, the millions she's promoting. The only time Evelyn and Lila really speak honestly is late at night.

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

Mostly we used to talk in bed when everything was very quiet.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

Evelyn tells Lila it looks like things are about to get a bit hairy.

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

Evelyn said this might put me back in jail again.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

Did she say that?

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

Yes. So you know, what is it all about? And she said, oh, just some of the contracts that went wrong and just, you know, little bits of stuff and it'll work itself out. She thought no matter what, she would

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

get out of this, that she was clever enough.

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

Evelyn reassures Lila. She tells her not to worry. And just like she always does, she calms Lila down. Everything is under control and they'll be fine as long as they stick together.

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

Everyone kept on saying, it'll be okay. It'll be okay, don't worry. There will be money, you know. You shouldn't concern yourself over this.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

And Lilah wants to believe her. As the two of them lie in bed, Lila remembers the promises Evelyn made at their wedding. Are they about to be broken? Oh, look at those albums. The present day, I'm in Lila's bedroom and we're perched on a corner of her bed. Perched because we don't have a lot of space. There is just so much stuff everywhere. Her chihuahua, Bambi gives me her usual death stare. Lila flicks through an old photograph album.

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

That's Evelyn. She's so beautiful. She's gorgeous. Gorgeous woman.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

There she is.

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

Yeah, driving the car. We used to love driving the car because she used to sing all her songs. Doris Day songs.

[Jeff (Hotel Manager in Royal Swindle)]

Ah.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

Which was her favorite?

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

Whatever Will Be Will Be.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

Oh, yes. She shows me a photo of the two of them on their wedding day. It's the early 1980s and official gay marriage is decades away. But Lila and Evelyn aren't about to let that stop them. Evelyn is in a really tight fitting white trouser suit. She's got a big grin on her face and Lila looks radiant in a traditional, very feminine wedding dress.

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

She chose that horrible dress for me. I hated it, but she loved it.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

I think you look very glamorous. It's lovely. Look at your red hair.

[Lars (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

Yay.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

To Evelyn, Lila was more important than any anyone else. Her number one.

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

Evelyn said that no matter what, I'd never want for anything and she would give me anything. She promised and promised and promised me the world.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

Lila dines out on how the two met in a brothel and she loves talking up their life in the sex industry. How she and Evelyn thrived, making loads of money.

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

I loved it.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

Did you?

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

Oh, yes.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

But I get the feeling that she's being very selective about what she tells me, that there's another story to tell about her past. I start asking more questions, more probing questions about her childhood.

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

As I get older. I want to get rid of the past. I've been getting rid of the past for quite a long time because I should push on forward. It's something I don't really want to

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

talk about, but after a while, she opens up. Like Evelyn, Lila grew up poor. Her mother emigrated to Australia from Eastern Europe, leaving Lila's father behind. Her mum settled in Adelaide and before long, Lila had a stepdad. And that's when the trouble really started.

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

He was not very nice to me. He abused me, as in bashing, because he was a very violent man. And also sexually.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

The abuse began when she was a toddler and she endured it for years.

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

I just grew up thinking that everybody lived like that.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

She says it's easier to think of herself in the third person as though the little girl is someone else entirely.

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

Now I just sort of think, well, how awful it was for that poor little girl, you know, Poor little thing. I feel so sorry for her because she must have had a very hard time. And yes, I'm sure she did.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

And when she was 15, it all came to a head.

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

There was an argument between the stepfather, mama and me. And I said something out of turn and he slapped me really hard. And I walked up to him and I said, don't ever do it again because I will kill you. And I meant it. I was gonna wait until he fell asleep and I was gonna stab him to death.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

Her stepfather kicked her out and she ended up in Melbourne with just $5 in her pocket. Options for young girls alone in the city. Well, there weren't many. Like lots of teens. She had big dreams.

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

I wanted to be a singer and I wanted to be on tv. I wanted to be on stage. I knew I could sing. I was no Barbara Streisand, but I knew I could sing. Sing.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

But dreams don't bring in money. She had to start earning. And that's when she turned to sex work.

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

I was a working girl and I'd go out and meet somebody, we'd have dinner or whatever, or just a couple of drinks, go back to his hotel or whatever and do the magic, whatever.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

All sorts of low life criminals and gangsters were involved in the brothels and parlors. It was a very dangerous world. Lila was learning to survive.

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

Toughen up, people being shot at, being kidnapped, parlors being infiltrated, that sort of thing.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

Parlors and brothels were illegal at the time. Sex workers were in and out of prison. Did you ever get arrested?

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

Oh God, yes. No. Write you up, pack your fingerprints. Has she got scars anywhere? Hair colour, eye colour, you know, the normal how tall, how fat sort of thing.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

And you'd stay over in prison for a night or sometimes you'd stay for

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

a night, sometimes you'd only stay for that hour. Never worried me, ever. Never worried me, really.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

I can't imagine it was that much fun. She was never safe and constantly harassed.

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

The police used to come in there quite often plainclothes and they do smart ass things like they put their guns on the table and they used to say, you know, do you want to come and sit with us, girly? They would be demeaning.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

That was Lyda's life for many years and I'm sure she's still leaving a lot out. What she did learn from a young age from her stepfather, from her clients, the police, is that in her world, men are pigs. Maybe. Yeah, well, men are pigs.

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[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

Goodbye.

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[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

September 1997 at Welling Garden City Police Station,

[Jim Frost (Detective in Royal Swindle)]

just north of London, my detective inspector wandered into the office with a sheet of papers that had come from a tan leather briefcase and said, have a read through, see what you think. And he dumped a load of papers on my desk.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

Meet Jim Frost. He's a detective in the local fraud office and in 1997, he's 39 years old. Now, policing wasn't originally in his game plan. He's actually a classically trained musician, a talented pianist. But playing the piano and investigating fraud have more in common than you might think. Both require you to be disciplined, methodical, meticulous. Details matter. But there's something else you need to know about Jim. He hates to lose. At this stage in his career, he has a reputation, a good one. His colleagues call him the good thief taker. And for Jim, it's not just a job, it's a mission.

[Jim Frost (Detective in Royal Swindle)]

The noble cause to capture baddies and lock them up.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

Jim has a particular dislike for fraudsters.

[Jim Frost (Detective in Royal Swindle)]

A lot of them are quite evil.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

Really?

[Jim Frost (Detective in Royal Swindle)]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

Because of the effect that fraud can have on its victims.

[Jim Frost (Detective in Royal Swindle)]

You don't just lose the money, you lose your sense of worth because someone has had you over, as it were.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

So he likes nothing more than to hold the fraudsters to account. Yes, it's painstaking work and it can take years to gather all the evidence, but Jim doesn't mind. In fact, that's what he loves. So he starts reading through the documents that were in that tan briefing case. They seem to belong to a banker by the name of Evelyn Burton. But plenty of things don't add up. He's got a feeling, certainly quite early

[Jim Frost (Detective in Royal Swindle)]

on, it was obvious that we were going to be dealing with a very

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

interesting job, a man of detail and a master of understatement. Back at the safe house, the situation is getting critical. All sorts of people, shady people Evelyn has been associating with, are pursuing her, making demands. In the dead of night, two men turn up at the cottage. Two mystery men with a shotgun. A shotgun. And yes, the young man who handles the situation is their loyal butler, Lars. He fobs them off, tells them Lila and Evelyn aren't at home, and the two men leave with no shots fired. But it's a wake up call. The safe house is clearly compromised and some dangerous people aren't happy. Lars has to take the phone calls

[Lars (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

from worried investors, not being able to get in touch with either Evelyn or Lila. And then I came up with different excuses that they were abroad. They were not available because of different reasons.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

Even at this stage, when she's being hounded, Evelyn is defiant.

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

There were A lot of times that I'd said, you really must pay some of these people. And she'd say, no, I don't. You know what?

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

For Evelyn, she didn't want to pay anyone.

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

No, no, she was not ready to pay them. And she always made up good excuses.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

Something has to give, though. And eventually, Evelyn appears to agree. They set up a meeting with her so called investors. Evelyn tells Lila we were going to be paying.

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

I think there must have been six or eight people.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

But that isn't quite true. Evelyn isn't actually planning to pay anyone. And she isn't going to meet the investors either. No, she's got a surprise up her sleeve. Guess who's going to have to do that? Lila. The couple drive to the office where the meeting has been arranged. Evelyn gives Lila the script.

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

Evelyn said to me, now, when you go up there, you must say to them, evelyn is in Belgium or Germany or wherever. She won't be home until next week and she will meet all of you in her office and pay you all. And I had to go and tell them this.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

And where's Evelyn while all this is happening? Hiding in the car, of course. But for Lila, this is going to be a far from pleasant encounter.

[Jim Frost (Detective in Royal Swindle)]

Where's my money?

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

I went upstairs and I talked to these guys, and they were angry. You could see it in their faces. And I told them what Evelyn had told me. You know, it'll be there next Tuesday.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

Lila is getting a bit scared.

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

It was a very dangerous situation because I could feel it. I could feel this real masculine, alpha anger. And I thought, I have got to get out of here. I really did, because I'm sure there were a couple of people there who would have given me a real nasty slap in the mouth.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

Because they were angry, because they realized they were being conned.

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

I suppose they did.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

So you were in hot water?

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

Oh, I was. She put me in the shit.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

This is not what Lila signed up to. She doesn't like to get her hands dirty. This is Evelyn's business.

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

I mean, I couldn't believe it. She's sitting in the car while I'm upstairs, one story up, talking to these guys. That's how brazen she was.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

You went up there and did her dirty work.

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

Mm, yeah. She said it would be easier coming from you than from me.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

The businessmen have been fobbed off yet again. But for how long? Evelyn knows this can't go on much longer. She's living on borrowed time. When I'm listening and watching Lila tell me all this, I notice something There's a glimmer of a smile in her eyes. I'm wondering if there's more to this story than Lila's letting on. Was she really doing Evelyn's dirty work? Or did she know that there were no investments and that the whole thing was just a swindle that would make this whole good cop, bad cop routine just that, a routine, an act. Did she really feel annoyed at Evelyn for dropping her in it? Or is she spinning me a story? Am I being swindled? Anyway, one thing is clear. Until the Sopwell house incident and the lost briefcase and the angry investors meeting, Lila has never really imagined that Evelyn could actually get caught. She may have a big mouth, but she's too clever, too street wise. Now Lila feels a rising tide of panic. It feels like everything is suddenly going wrong and everyone is closing in on them and Lila wants out.

[Lila (Interviewee in Royal Swindle)]

I think that I worried a lot about what was happening around us, because I remember Evelyn and I were having arguments. Why you keep on putting us in this shit? And I said to her, I want to leave. I want to go back home. I've had enough. I'm tired. Can we go home?

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

Back at well and Garden City Police Station, Detective Jim Frost is still combing through the papers in the briefcase, searching for evidence. And there's one document that says, stands out.

[Jim Frost (Detective in Royal Swindle)]

This sheet of paper, embossed paper with a gold sort of crest on it, floral pattern border purporting to be worth $10 million. And of course, nothing's worth $10 million on a piece of paper. I mean, it just doesn't make sense. You smell that rat?

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

It's a significant moment for Jim. That document is all he needs to launch a formal investigation.

[Jim Frost (Detective in Royal Swindle)]

It is now clear to us that we are definitely dealing with fraudsters. We're not dealing with a genuine international banker as she claimed to be.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

But Jim now has a serious dilemma. He could just arrest Evelyn straight away, but that would mean he only has six months to gather all the evidence before he needs to charge her. And six months in a fraud inquiry is no time at all. Or he could invite Evelyn in voluntarily for questioning and hope that she slips up. Or he can catch her out. It's worked for Jim before, but he knows it's a dangerous strategy.

[Jim Frost (Detective in Royal Swindle)]

There is a risk she could run away and she could flee to another country, but that's a risky run.

[Becky Milligan (Host of Royal Swindle)]

So Jim must decide. Will he break cover or bide his time? Either way, Evelyn and Lila have got themselves a worthy adversary. As Jim weighs up his options in the police station. Evelyn and Lila weigh up their options in the safe house and Jim will soon find out they're always one step ahead. This is now a battle of wits, a game of cat and mouse, of hunter and hunted. You've been listening to Royal Swindle at Blanchard House. Production for USG Audio in partnership with Exactly Right Media. Hosted by me, Becky Milligan. It's written and produced by me, Becky Milligan and Seren Jones. Original music is by Daniel Lloyd Evans, Louis Nankmanel and Toby Matimal. Sound design and mix engineering is by Vulcan Kiziltug, Toby Matimal and Daniel Lloyd Evans. Story development by Duncan Barber. The managing producer is Amica Shortino Nolan. Production support from Josh Lalonghi at USG Audio. The creative Director at Blanchard House is Rosie Pye. The executive producer and head of Content at Blanchard House is Lawrence Grizzell. Our executive producer from USG Audio is Josh Block.

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