Ahmed Zane chuckled as he counted up the week’s takings. Unbeknown to Vinny, he had never changed supplier. He still brought all his drugs from Emre, and was absolutely raking it in.
When he had first moved to England, Ahmed had not had the financial clout to buy the amount of drugs he needed at the right price. That was why he had gone into partnership with Vinny in the first place. They had made a good team, so Ahmed had thought, until the Judas shitbag had left him for dead.
He could have forgiven Vinny for panicking on the night in question and even doing a runner. What he could not forgive was Vinny moving his body into the driver’s seat. That was a cold, calculating, despicable deed.
Vinny was paying the price now though. Ahmed had robbed him of hundreds of thousands of pounds over the past few years and had enjoyed every moment of it.
Ahmed grinned as he put the takings in the safe, then picked up his car keys. He knew exactly what Vinny wanted to speak to him about, which is why he had planned ahead. Vinny Butler would have a very nasty surprise coming his way soon. A very nasty one indeed.
Joanna Preston and Nancy Butler were sitting in Barking Park with a picnic which included a bottle of wine. They used to meet up in a local pub that was child friendly, until Vinny found out and blew a fuse. Apparently, by going to a pub, Jo was not only putting Molly’s life in danger, she was also acting like a single woman and a whore. According to Vinny, only old slappers sat in boozers without being accompanied by a man.
Joanna’s relationship with Vinny was a strange one, to say the least. He was an amazing father to Molly and incredibly generous to both her and her daughter. But his possessiveness drove Joanna bonkers at times. He hated her close friendship with Nancy, and always questioned where they had gone and what they had spoken about, and if any man ever dared to look her way or speak to her while they were out together, Vinny would fly into a terrible rage. Joanna could have understood Vinny’s unusual behaviour if they were Whitechapel’s answer to Romeo and Juliet, but the truth was, their sex life was virtually non-existent. She could count on one hand the times they had made love over the past year.
‘So, how’s things your end?’ Jo asked Nancy.
‘Crap. Michael didn’t come home again last night. That’s three times in the past week he has supposedly stayed at the club. I want to confront him, say I know he’s having an affair, but I wish I had some proof. Can’t you pump Vinny in a roundabout way? I will never let on that you said anything, Jo.’
Joanna sighed and comfortingly squeezed her pal’s hand. How she would have coped with the ups and downs of her relationship with Vinny over the past few years without having Nancy as a shoulder to cry on, she did not know. However, she was very reluctant to start asking awkward questions indoors, because if Michael was having an affair there was no way Vinny would tell her. He never spoke about business or discussed members of his family with her.
‘Nance, there’s no point me asking Vin. You know what he’s like: he tells me sod all, and if he thought I was sniffing around for information, you can bet your life on it that he would warn Michael you was on to him. Anyway, I don’t reckon he is having an affair. My Vinny has been acting weird too. He went mad when Brenda asked him for some money last week and that is so not like him. He would give every penny he had to his family, so my guess would be perhaps our men have some financial difficulties. I know the club isn’t anywhere near as busy as it once was, because I overheard Queenie and Vivian talking about it last weekend at Kings.’
‘Well, I hope you’re right, Jo. Obviously, I don’t want the boys’ business to be in trouble, but Michael is as cold as ice to me lately and I would rather it was down to money troubles than another woman. I wonder what’s wrong with me sometimes. I know I’m probably half a stone or so heavier since I first met Michael, but I do try to keep myself looking nice. March was the last time he came anywhere near me and now we’re in July. He makes me feel so ugly,’ Nancy admitted, close to tears.
Joanna knew what it was like to feel sexually unwanted. She still fancied Vinny like mad, and many a night had cried herself to sleep when he had turned his back on her in bed yet again. She often wondered if her cousin Mark burning down his club was the cause of Vinny’s lack of intimacy towards her, but she had a feeling it wasn’t. Vinny didn’t even like kissing, and apart from the odd peck on the lips, had not kissed her properly in years.
The awkward conversation was brought to an end by Molly running over to her mum and aunt. ‘Can I have an ice lolly please, Mummy?’
Joanna picked her daughter up and swung her in the air. For all Vinny’s faults and possessiveness, he had given her the most beautiful child in the world and for that Joanna would always be grateful. Molly was such a happy child. She loved dancing and singing and was obsessed with Sesame Street and Tom and Jerry. ‘You, my little cherub, can have anything you want, and do you know why?’
Molly giggled and shook her head.
‘Because you are good and you are beautiful and your mummy loves you so very much.’
Albie Butler could barely contain his excitement as he showed his brother the ring. ‘Michael helped me out with it, so I could get a real diamond. Isn’t it pretty? Do you think Dorothy will like it and say yes?’
Bert grinned. Albie was a changed man since Dorothy had arrived on the scene. Tomorrow was her birthday, and he and Albie were taking her out to lunch to celebrate. Albie planned to propose at the restaurant and Bert was as excited as if it were him about to get wed. ‘She won’t just like it, she’ll love it, Albie. As for her saying yes, you have no worries there. That woman adores the bones of you.’
‘I know, but I can’t help feeling nervous. Never thought I would want to marry again after bloody Queenie. Thought that old witch had put me off getting hitched for life.’
Bert wrapped an arm around his brother’s shoulder. When Albie had first moved to Ipswich he was skin and bone and his clothes had hung on his tall frame. Now, he looked the picture of health and even had the cheeky twinkle back in his eye. ‘Dorothy is a lovely lady, Albie, nothing like Queenie. If you want to get your own place once wed, I will understand you know.’
‘Don’t be daft! Dorothy loves living here and so do I. Why would we want to move? We’re one big happy family.’
Johnny Preston sat down opposite his soon-to-be wife. He had some fantastic news that he’d been itching to tell her and he couldn’t wait to see the look on her face.
‘Come on then. Spill the beans,’ Deborah urged. Johnny had said he had something important to tell her when they had spoken on the phone last night.
‘My brief paid me a visit. He’s asked for parole and reckons I’ll get it. I might even be home in time for my birthday, so best you start planning the wedding. Don’t book an actual date yet though, as I don’t want to jinx it, but you can start looking for a dress and somewhere for us to live. I don’t want to move back to Tiptree, babe. I want to be nearer to Jo and Molly.’
Even though Deborah was absolutely ecstatic that Johnny might be home soon, she thought moving near Joanna and Molly was a terrible idea. According to Jo, Vinny had been furious when Mark had burned his club down and even though Johnny swore that he’d had no idea what Mark was planning, Deborah guessed that Vinny would think differently. ‘I really don’t think we should move to London, Johnny. There’s too many bad memories there, and I would miss Sandy dreadfully if we upped sticks.’
‘And there’s plenty of bad memories in Tiptree too, Deb. I hated working in that fucking slaughterhouse, and we split up there. My fault, I know, but I would never have given that tart a second glance had I not felt so useless and unhappy in myself. I can’t live there again. Nice area if you like strawberry-picking, but it isn’t for me.’
‘But how are we going to afford to move? I’ve been managing week to week, Johnny, but we’ve no savings.’
Johnny leaned forward and cupped Deborah’s face in his hands. ‘Billy One Ear has a job waiting for me on the outside,
babe. And before you start shouting and screaming, I swear it’s all above board. He’s a second-hand car dealer and wants me to run one of the garages. The dosh is far more than I will ever earn in Tiptree, so I have to take it, Deb. It will be a new start for us and seeing as both of our kids now live in London, it will give us the opportunity to become a proper family again.’
Deborah looked in Johnny’s handsome face. Even though he was forty-two now and had lines and wrinkles, his hair was still strawberry blond and he was as handsome as ever. ‘Are you sure the job is legal, Johnny?’
‘Positive! Being on parole means I’ll be banged up as soon as I put a foot wrong, Deb. No way would I ever chance that. I just want to move on with my life, work hard and build a relationship with my children again. But most of all, I want to marry you.’
Deborah smiled. Johnny could have had his pick of women, and even though they had had their ups and downs over the years, Deborah still felt like the luckiest woman on earth to have snared him. ‘OK. Let’s move back to London then.’
When Ahmed left his office, Vinny Butler breathed a sigh of relief. He thought his insistence to end their business deal with Hakan and Bora would prove far more difficult, but Ahmed had not only agreed his concerns were valid, he had also admitted business was that bad, he wanted out too.
Vinny felt as though he’d been treading on eggshells with Ahmed ever since the accident. They remained close, but their relationship had never been quite the same. Nevertheless, business was business and Ahmed had told him he had already sounded out a promising new contact. Nothing could be worse than the shit they were buying off Hakan and Bora, so Vinny had told Ahmed to arrange a meet as soon as possible.
He was reaching for the bottle to pour himself a drink when the phone rang. He immediately heard the panic in Joanna’s voice. ‘Slow down. I can’t understand what you’re saying, Jo.’
‘I said the police just knocked at the door. Little Vinny has been arrested for threatening some lad with a gun. You need to come home, quickly.’
An hour later, Ahmed Zane was sitting in a pub in Wembley. Carl Thompson sat opposite him and they had just shaken hands on a deal. ‘So, your name is Richie Simpson. You come from Barking and you are a pal of my cousin’s, OK? Just remember everything I have told you to say and whatever you do, do not slip up – he’s a clever cunt. If you think you might have made a mistake, you need to talk your way straight out of it. I really do not want this to go wrong.’
Carl grinned. ‘It won’t. For the fifty grand you’re paying me, I’ll learn and recite the whole fuckin’ bible if you want me to.’
Ahmed chuckled. ‘That’s the spirit.’
Vinny Butler sat down opposite his son’s headmaster. The police were thankfully not pressing charges. Under questioning, Little Vinny had claimed that the gun was a realistic-looking toy one. After he had led them to the spot where he had hidden it, they had accepted his story and let him off with a caution.
When the headmaster explained he had no option but to expel his son, Vinny begged him to reconsider. ‘Look, I know what my boy did was wrong, and so does he. He’s sitting outside this office as we speak, full of remorse. He has promised me nothing like this will ever happen again and I believe him. All he was doing was sticking up for a pal who was being bullied. I really don’t see why you have to expel him, seeing as the incident didn’t even happen at your school.’
‘I am very sorry, Mr Butler, but no matter where the incident happened, I have to put the safety of my pupils above all else. Threatening another pupil with a gun, whether it was a replica or not, is totally unforgivable.’
‘How about if I make a generous donation to school funds? Will that help change your mind?’
The headmaster looked at Vinny in disgust. He knew who the man was and what he represented. He also knew that his horrid son was destined to follow in his footsteps. ‘I am very sorry, Mr Butler, but I shall not be blackmailed. Now, if you would kindly leave these premises and take your son with you, I would be most grateful.’
Somehow restraining the urge to knock the pompous prick’s teeth out, Vinny stormed out of the office. He then vented his anger on his son, prodding and punching him all the way along the corridor.
Little Vinny was shocked by his dad’s hissy fit. He knew he had done wrong by borrowing his father’s gun, but thought his dad would be pleased that he’d had the brains to stash a toy one in case the Old Bill came knocking. ‘What did the headmaster say, Dad?’
Vinny ignored his son’s question until they got outside. He then picked Little Vinny up by the throat and slammed him against a nearby wall. ‘He said you’re fucking expelled – what d’you think he said? And you’d best hope that my gun is still where you’ve hidden it, ’cause if it’s not, I shall chop those thieving hands of yours off.’
Little Vinny had never seen his dad so angry. ‘Please put me down. You’re strangling me.’
Eyes bulging, Vinny loosened his grip so his son’s feet made contact with the pavement. He then grabbed him by the chin and stared him straight in the eyes. ‘Things are gonna change from now on, boy. You won’t be going back to school; neither will you be knocking about with that fucking div Ben Bloggs any more. You’ll be coming to work for me.’
‘How much will I get paid?’ Little Vinny brazenly asked.
‘Zilch! For years you’ve been a disappointment to me and your reward for your hard work will be me turning you into a man. Molly is worth ten of you. I really fucking mean that, boy.’
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Albie Butler sat bolt upright in bed. He’d had that awful nightmare again where Queenie and Vivian had locked him in a cupboard with no food or water and left him there to die.
Relieved that it was not true, Albie smiled as he leaned towards Dorothy. ‘Happy birthday, my darling. I’ll go down and make us a cuppa, shall I?’
When Dorothy did not stir, Albie decided to let her lie in for a bit while he made her some tea and toast. Dorothy was not a regular drinker of alcohol, only ever indulged on special occasions, but she’d gone out for a birthday meal with her old work colleagues from the library yesterday evening and drank a couple of snowballs. She had talked the hind legs off a donkey when she had arrived home, which had amused Albie and Bert immensely.
‘Morning, Albie. Is the old lush not awake yet?’
Albie chuckled. ‘No. I reckon she’s nursing a hangover. You going to the allotment this morning?’
‘Yes, as soon as I’ve read my paper. You stay here with the birthday girl. I’ll water your patch for you.’
Putting the tea and toast on the tray, Albie walked slowly up the stairs. ‘Wakey, wakey, darling. I’ve made you some breakfast.’
Receiving no reply, Albie put the tray on the dressing table. He then knelt on the bed and gently shook the love of his life. His smile was replaced by a grimace of panic and disbelief as his fingers made contact with her skin. It was cold as ice, and no matter how he pleaded, his beloved Dorothy was unable to respond. The poor woman was as dead as dead could be.
‘Nanna, Nanna,’ young Molly Butler shouted as her mum answered the front door.
Deborah Preston picked her beautiful granddaughter up and gave her a big hug. Molly was nothing like her father, thankfully, and she had an adorable nature. Deborah had taken many photos of the child to send to Johnny in prison and even he admitted she resembled a little angel. He had joked that Jo must have been knocking off some other bloke on that holiday camp as there was no way Vinny’s sperm could produce such a gorgeous child.
‘I was surprised when you rang me earlier, Mum. I wasn’t expecting you to visit until next week.’
‘Is Vinny here?’ Deborah whispered. She had thoroughly enjoyed spending time with her daughter and Molly when Johnny had first suggested she keep an eye on them. But over the past couple of years, apart from two occasions, Vinny had always been hanging around whenever she visited.
Deborah hated Vinny even more now than the first time sh
e had laid eyes on him. He obviously adored Molly, was polite to her in front of Joanna, but Deborah could see through the bastard. And how she had held her temper when he’d smirked at her, then asked her how Johnny was doing on her last visit, Deborah did not know.
‘Vinny went out early this morning, Mum. He isn’t due back for ages.’
‘Good, because we need to talk.’
When her mum explained that it was highly likely her dad would get parole soon and they were planning on moving to London, Joanna felt the colour drain from her face. Since the fire at the club, Vinny had banned her from having any contact with her father ever again.
‘Please don’t move to London, Mum. If you do it will really cause me trouble. I love Dad, you know I do, but there is no way I can see him or introduce him to Molly. Vinny swears blind that it was Dad who put Mark up to starting that fire. If I disobey him, he won’t let you see Molly either.’
‘But you’ve been writing to your father behind Vinny’s back. We’ll just have to be careful. Your dad loves and misses you terribly, Jo, and not being able to meet his granddaughter will break his heart. He swears to me he had no idea that Mark had planned that fire, and I know he’s telling the truth. Believe me, I know your father well enough to know when he is lying.’
‘Shame you didn’t know about his affairs then, Mum. You can’t be that psychic when it comes to Dad, seeing as it was me who caught him out.’
Deborah gave her daughter a look of distaste. Johnny messing about with one of Joanna’s school friend’s mums was the reason their marriage had ended, but she saw no reason to bring it up now. ‘I know what you’re trying to do, Jo. You’re trying to turn the tables and make me look like a door mat, just because you’re too scared to put your foot down with that bastard who rules you. I am not stupid, love. I gave birth to you and I know deep down you aren’t happy with him.’
‘Yes, I am. Vinny loves me and Molly,’ Joanna replied defensively.
‘And me and your dad love you and Molly too. Look, Jo, I know your dad hasn’t met Molly yet, but even though she is part of Vinny, he loves her to death. You cannot ban him from seeing her. You must speak to Vinny and come to some arrangement. Even if your dad gets to see you and her once a month, I’m sure he will be happy.’
Kimberley Chambers 3-Book Butler Collection Page 61
