Payback

by Kimberley Chambers

  ‘What you going on about?’ Vinny asked his aunt.

  ‘Your sister is down ’ere too with her new fella, Billy Big Bollocks. Spoke to me and your mother like a piece of shit earlier, didn’t she, Queen?’

  ‘I didn’t even know Bren had a new bloke. I wish she would fucking let me know these things. The geezer could be undercover Old Bill for all we know,’ Vinny said, his temper rising to the surface once more.

  Queenie glared at her sister. It was a silent warning for her to shut the fuck up. ‘It’s not your sister your aunt’s upset about, love. We had a chat earlier this week and we’re both very disappointed that that Turkish bastard is still breathing. He killed your cousin, Vin – surely that means something in our world? Ahmed needs to be dealt with, as soon as possible. And while we’re on the subject, Joanna let slip that her scumbag of a father was up for parole. I expect him to be dealt with as well, Vinny. We can’t have him walking the streets, enjoying life after what he did to Roy, can we now?’

  Suddenly wishing he was back in bed with the bird from last night rather than in Eastbourne, Vinny nodded his head. Ahmed had done sod all wrong, but Johnny Preston would have to be dealt with at some point.

  ‘All will be sorted, Mum, when the time is right. I can’t do anything rash though, because of Molly. Little Vinny can look after himself, but my daughter needs me. No way am I chancing getting banged up for murder and leaving her.’

  Little Vinny had never been very popular with boys or girls. Apart from Ben, he had no friends, and apart from Ben’s mother, no female had ever made a move on him. Tonight though, his luck seemed to have changed. Not only had he integrated well with Danno, Tim and his pals, he now had a nice-looking bird staring at him.

  ‘She well fancies you, Vin. Go and talk to her and see if you can fix me up with her mate,’ Ben urged.

  Little Vinny stared back at the girl. She had her head shaved, but the back and fringe were long. She wore lots of earrings, had a big tattoo on her forearm and was dressed in the style of a proper skinhead bird. When she smiled at him, Vinny quickly looked away. She had a really pretty face, a cute slightly turned up button nose, and was making his stomach feel funny. ‘She’s beautiful, Ben, but I can’t talk to her. I dunno what to say.’

  Ben nudged his pal. ‘Well, you better think of something quick. Her and her mate are walking towards us.’

  When the record changed to Janet Kay’s ‘Silly Games’, not knowing what else to say, Vinny asked the obvious. ‘Wanna dance?’

  Still unable to stop thinking about the bird he had met the previous evening, Vinny had been knocking back the Scotch far quicker than he usually did, and by the time Freddie Starr walked off stage, he was merry to say the least. ‘Best I go downstairs in a bit and check on Molly. Caught her mother flirting with some young lad around the swimming pool today. Thought yous two were meant to be keeping an eye on Jo while I weren’t here?’

  ‘Oh, don’t talk bollocks, Vinny. Jo’s not like that, she’s a good girl. I think we’ll come downstairs too,’ Queenie said, nudging her sister. She knew her son better than anyone, and was very aware of the dangerous glint in his eyes.

  ‘Let’s see if we can get backstage and meet Freddie first, Queen. Bleedin’ handsome, he is.’

  ‘No, Viv! You made a right show of me when you tried to get hold of Des O’Connor and snog him when you were pissed, and you ain’t embarrassing me again. We’re going downstairs, now!’

  Mary Walker had had a wonderful evening. The Mr and Mrs competition had been hysterical, the resident band had played some wonderful catchy songs from the seventies, such as Tony Orlando and Dawn’s ‘Knock Three Times’ and Sylvia’s ‘Viva España’, and her grandsons, daughter, Joanna and Molly had been wonderful company.

  ‘Would you like another drink, Mary? It’s been such a nice evening, I think we should all have one for the road,’ Joanna suggested.

  Mary nodded, then smiled. How that awful Vinny Butler had ever attracted such a lovely girl as Joanna she would never know. And how his sperm had ever produced such a beautiful child as Molly was even more of a mystery.

  When Joanna went up to the bar, both Mary and Nancy were stunned to see a drunken-looking Brenda plonk herself on Jo’s chair. ‘Not good enough for you, are we, me and my family? Meet my new man, Scotty. Been sitting four tables behind you all night, we have, and I can tell you’ve been blanking us.’

  Apart from when they had first met at school, Nancy had never really liked Brenda. However, she was Michael’s sister and for that reason alone, Nancy had always done her best to be polite. ‘I would never blank you, Brenda. Where are Tara and Tommy? Jo and I had no idea you were here, I swear we didn’t,’ Nancy said honestly.

  Sensing trouble on the horizon, Mary nudged her daughter. ‘The boys are tired now, love. Shall I take them back to my chalet? It’s only a spit’s throw away and I’m yawning myself.’

  ‘Yeah, OK, Mum. They hate that long walk back to our bungalow at night. Michael couldn’t have chosen one further away from the club.’

  ‘Hello, Brenda. I never knew you were here,’ Joanna said, as she put the tray of drinks on the table.

  Desperate not to be in Brenda’s company for one minute longer, Mary stood up and told Joanna she could have her chair.

  ‘So, what do you think of my Scotty? Far more handsome than that lanky streak of piss I married, isn’t he?’

  Knowing how jealous and possessive Brenda could be over her men, rather than reply to her sister-in-law’s question, Nancy grabbed Joanna’s hand. Chris Gentry the DJ had just kicked off with Odyssey’s latest chart hit ‘Use It Up and Wear It Out’. ‘Let’s have a dance, I love this song. You coming, Bren?’

  ‘I am, Auntie Nancy,’ Molly said excitedly. She loved to dance and always got lots of attention when she did so.

  When the record changed to Tom Browne’s ‘Funkin’ for Jamaica’ Joanna leaned towards Nancy. ‘Not only are we lumbered with Brenda, that bloody Billy and his mates have just walked in. I hope they don’t start pestering us again. Vinny will go mad if he sees them talking to us. I thought he was going to punch Billy’s lights out earlier.’

  ‘Shit, they’ve spotted us,’ Nancy informed Jo.

  ‘All right, ladies? Best-looking birds we’ve seen at Kings, yous two are,’ Billy slurred, grinning at Joanna while trying to pull off some John Travolta moves.

  ‘Let’s go and sit back at the table,’ Joanna said to Nancy. Billy and his pals were very drunk and could barely stand up, and she was petrified that Vinny would walk in and it would all kick off.

  ‘Put her down, Billy,’ Nancy ordered, when Billy picked up Molly and started swinging her around in the air.

  The timing could not have been worse for Billy to lose his footing. Vinny walked in just in time to see his daughter hit the floor. ‘Don’t hit him in here, Vinny. You’ll get us barred,’ Queenie yelled, chasing after her son.

  Vinny’s first concern was for his daughter. He ran onto the dancefloor and scooped Molly into his arms. ‘You OK, sweetheart? Daddy’s here now to look after you.’

  Molly stared at him in a state of shock, then burst into tears. ‘My head feels sore, Daddy.’

  ‘Where does it hurt, princess?’

  ‘At the back.’

  When Vinny spotted a slight trace of blood in his daughter’s blonde hair, he saw redder than the fucking blood. ‘Hold Molly for me, Mum,’ he demanded.

  Holidaymakers screamed in terror when Vinny started kicking Billy around the dancefloor as though he was kicking a football. ‘Stop it! Stop it! You’ll get us slung off the camp,’ Vivian shrieked.

  ‘Leave him alone, Vinny. You’ll get arrested,’ Joanna screamed.

  When Billy’s mates waded into the brawl, a terrified Nancy dragged Joanna away. Scott turned to Brenda. This was his big chance to impress the Butler family. The chance he had been waiting for. ‘I’m gonna get your brother out of here. There’s five of them and one of him. I’ll sort it.’


  ‘Don’t get involved, Scotty. Vinny won’t thank you for it,’ Brenda begged her boyfriend.

  Desperate to show his worth to Brenda’s family, Scott ran over to the dancefloor and grabbed hold of Vinny from behind. ‘Come on, pal. Let’s get you out of here before you get yourself hurt, nicked, or both.’

  Not knowing Scott from Adam, his interference and dumb words were like a red rag to a bull. ‘Me, get hurt? Who do you think you’re talking to, you muggy cunt?’ Vinny yelled. He then treated Scott to one of his infamous headbutts.

  When Scott landed on the dancefloor with a sickening thud, Brenda became hysterical. ‘You bastard, Vinny! You’re bang out of order. Scotty’s my boyfriend and he was only trying to help.’ Kneeling down next to her new love, Brenda began to sob. ‘I don’t think he’s breathing. I think he’s dead,’ she screamed, much to the horror of the open-mouthed onlookers.

  Kings Holiday Park was known as a family-friendly place, where there was never any trouble. Unused to the sort of fracas taking place, terrified holidaymakers were fleeing the club in droves.

  ‘Vinny, don’t argue,’ Queenie ordered as the doormen waded in. Apart from a tiny cut on the back of her head, Molly seemed fine and Joanna was now taking care of her.

  ‘I have every right to argue. This ain’t our fucking fault. Some prick nearly killed my daughter. What would any decent dad do?’

  All the doormen knew who Vinny Butler was and were accordingly very wary of him. ‘Can you please leave and take your family with you, Vinny? We will have to involve the police otherwise,’ one bouncer said.

  Queenie grabbed hold of her son’s arm. ‘We’re going now, and don’t you dare argue with me. Me and Viv don’t have a lot to look forward to in life and if we can’t play our bingo and enjoy our nights out over here any more, we might as well both be dead. I swear to you, Vinny, if you get us chucked out of this holiday park, I will never ever forgive you.’

  ‘Where’s Molly?’

  ‘Jo took her outside.’

  Vinny glanced around. He had seen Silly Billy being scraped off the dancefloor by his muggy little pals, but Scott still seemed to be out for the count, judging by the crowd surrounding his prone body and trying to revive him. ‘I’m going now, but bring Brenda outside, Mum. I need to speak to her.’

  ‘And how am I meant to do that? Look at her. She’s in Bette Davis mode.’

  ‘Just drag her out by her fucking hair, will ya. This is important.’

  Vinny allowed the doormen to escort him from the club. He guessed they had to save face by showing holidaymakers and staff alike that they were not frightened of him. Once outside, he spotted Joanna immediately. She had Molly in her arms, was crying, and busybody Nancy was comforting her.

  Not caring one iota about Jo or Nancy, Vinny marched over to them and snatched Molly out of her mother’s arms. ‘How is she? Has she shown any signs of concussion?’

  ‘No. She seems OK, Vinny. She saw you fighting though and keeps mentioning it. It’s really upset her.’

  Vinny smothered his daughter’s face with kisses. ‘Daddy’s so sorry if he upset you, princess. But he got angry when that nasty man dropped you. Do you remember him dropping you?’

  Lip pouting, Molly nodded. ‘Yes, Daddy.’

  ‘Well, dads are meant to stick up for their daughters, and because the nasty man had hurt you, I had to hurt him. I’m sorry if I upset you, Molly. I will never upset you again, I promise,’ Vinny said, putting his daughter’s head on his shoulder.

  ‘Will you sing “Run Rabbit Run” to me, Daddy?’

  Joanna and Nancy glanced at one another as Vinny sang and Molly started to giggle. They had tried everything to cheer her up and neither were comforted by the fact she seemed to be such a daddy’s girl.

  Seeing his mother dragging Brenda towards him, Vinny handed Molly back to Joanna. ‘Wait here,’ he ordered.

  ‘You bastard! I hate you! You ruin every relationship I have,’ Brenda shouted, pummelling Vinny in the chest.

  Vinny grabbed hold of Brenda’s arms. ‘Is lover boy awake yet?’

  ‘Sort of. But he isn’t talking properly and he has to go to hospital.’

  Dragging Brenda away from Joanna and Nancy’s evil stare, Vinny told her exactly what was expected of her. ‘You go to the hospital with your bloke and you tell him if he grasses me up, I’ll do more than knock him out next time, Bren. Do you understand me?’

  Brenda’s bottom lip wobbled. She despised her family at times. All she had ever wanted was to lead a normal life, but being a Butler made that impossible. ‘Yes, Vinny. I understand.’

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Vinny paced up and down the corridor like a man desperately trying to wear the soles of his shoes out. Molly had seemed fine, just a little sleepy, but Vinny was worried she might have concussion. He would never forgive himself if he did not get her checked out properly and as a result something bad happened to his little angel.

  ‘For Chrissake, Vinny, sit your arse down. Making me feel dizzy, you are,’ Queenie complained.

  ‘And he’s making me feel edgy. What’s the betting that old Nan sticks her oar in and tries to get us all barred? She ain’t never liked me and you, Queen,’ Vivian said, referring to the woman who sat at reception in the clubhouse. Nobody knew the woman’s real name. She was just known to all as Nan and had a reputation of being a tyrant. Even the kids were scared of her, and she reminded Viv of the Queen Mother to look at.

  Vinny glared at Joanna as he sat down. Their daughter getting dropped on the floor was all her fault as far as he was concerned. If she hadn’t been chatting up young geezers in the first place, then none of this would have happened. ‘Go and get us some hot drinks,’ Vinny demanded, throwing a fiver at Jo.

  ‘Don’t blame her, Vin. Me and Vivvy have always kept an eye on Jo and Nancy down here and not once have we seen them flirting with other blokes. They’re just not the type, love,’ Queenie said, when Joanna walked away.

  ‘Well, it certainly ain’t my fucking fault, is it? Nor yours or Auntie Viv’s. Perhaps it’s Freddie Starr’s fault. Let’s all blame him, shall we?’

  Queenie tutted. ‘Sarcasm doesn’t wash with me, son.’

  ‘Look, I’m sorry. I just hate hospitals. It brings it all back to me what happened to Roy.’

  ‘Well, don’t you think it brings it back to us too? You nigh-on disappeared for the first week your brother was in a coma. It was me who sat by his side day and night. You was out on the lash with that murdering Turkish bastard.’

  ‘And me. I sat there too,’ Vivian reminded her nephew.

  Desperate to change the subject, Vinny repeated some of the conversation he’d had with the bouncer. ‘It’s all gonna be cool. I know that Ron quite well. He told us to lay low for the next couple of weeks, then said we’ll be all right to go back in the club again. I suppose he just wants to wait until this batch of holidaymakers have sodded off home.’

  ‘What? Me and Queen an’ all?’ Vivian asked horrified. Two weeks without her bingo was like asking an alcoholic to go two weeks without their booze.

  ‘They can’t stop me and Viv going to the club. We haven’t done sod all wrong. I want you to go and speak to Ray King personally, Vinny. He likes me and Viv, he does. You tell him that somebody nearly killed your daughter and he will understand. Apologize for fighting, but tell him that Viv and I were in no way involved in anything that happened. That clear?’

  Vinny sighed. ‘Crystal, Mother.’

  Little Vinny woke up with a mouth as dry as a bone. He stumbled into the bathroom, shoved his mouth under the cold tap, and swallowed the water greedily.

  ‘You all right, Vin? Didn’t we have a good night? I feel a bit sick this morning though, and I got a headache.’

  Staring at his reflection in the mirror, Little Vinny felt sick too. His dad was going to murder him when he saw his hair cut. ‘You better go home, Ben. My dad was gonna ring me at twelve last night and we didn’t get home until three. I reckon he might
drive back from Eastbourne and if he sees you here, I’m dead meat.’

  Ben chuckled. ‘I bet you’re dead meat when he sees your number one. What you gonna do? Do you reckon he’ll ban you from going out again?’

  ‘Well, there ain’t a lot I can do, is there? I’m sure if I say abrafuckingcadabra, me hair ain’t gonna grow back, is it? I might just wear me hat for a while and hope me dad don’t notice. No way is he stopping me from going out. I can’t wait to see Shazza again tonight. She’s beautiful and I’m gonna ask her to be my girlfriend.’

  ‘Can’t you get Shazza to bring her mate and we go out in a foursome, Vin?’

  Not wanting to upset Ben by informing him that Shazza’s mate wasn’t interested in him, Little Vinny patted his pal on the back. ‘That Pauline bird has already got a boyfriend, Ben. But I’ll have a word with Shazza tonight and see if she can fix you up with one of her other mates. Now, get going, in case my old man walks in.’

  When Ben left, Little Vinny laid on his bed, thought of Shazza and fondled his penis. She had let him touch her titties last night and later he would be going round her house to sit in her bedroom and play records. Imagining what her naked body would look like, Little Vinny sped up his hand movement.

  Molly had not been given the all-clear by the doctor until the early hours of the morning, so Joanna was very surprised when just three hours later, Vinny woke her up. ‘What’s the time?’ she asked sleepily.

  ‘Time for you to go to the hairdressers. I’ve booked you an appointment at one in Eastbourne town centre.’

  ‘If I’m having my hair dyed, Vinny, then I would rather use that Italian hairdresser back in London,’ Jo answered bravely.

  ‘OK, get dressed then and you can travel back to London with me.’

  ‘Can’t I have it dyed after my holiday? Nancy and I have arranged to go to Treasure Island later with her mum and the kids.’

  ‘Fuck Nancy and her mum. Don’t piss me off, Jo. You’re lucky I’m even speaking to you after what happened last night. Our daughter could have died or ended up with brain damage because of you attracting dickheads with that slaggy-looking blonde hair of yours. How do you think I’m gonna sleep at night back in London, with you lounging around the swimming pool down here, looking like a fucking Barbie doll and attracting cunts, eh?’