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?’
Knowing when she was beaten and certainly not wanting to be travelling back to London with Vinny while he was in such a foul mood, Joanna made her decision. ‘OK, take me to the hairdresser in Eastbourne.’
Christopher Walker felt as nervous as hell as he drove into Hainault Country Park. He had purposely arrived early in the hope of spotting his tormentor, but when he parked up, he could not see any suspicious-looking vehicles or people.
Picking up his copy of the Daily Mail, Christopher tried to concentrate on reading the front-page story, but couldn’t. He felt physically sick, and the only time he could remember feeling so anxious in the past was when he had witnessed Vinny Butler murdering Dave Phillips. He had then been threatened by Vinny before being interviewed and forced to take part in an identification parade by the police. That had been proper scary stuff, but this was his career at stake.
With each new car that drove in and parked up, Christopher felt his stomach churn. So far, each new arrival had been one more dog owner giving their beloved pet their daily exercise. It was gone eleven now, and still there was no sign of the mystery man who had caused him so many sleepless nights.
At 11.15 exactly, Christopher nigh-on jumped out of his skin when he heard a loud tapping on the back window of his car. He leaned over, opened the passenger door and seconds later a tall foreign-looking man jumped in. The man held out his right hand. ‘Nice to meet you at last, Christopher. My name is Ahmed. Ahmed Zane.’
Christopher was totally gobsmacked. The caller had spoken with a slight accent, but Chris had never dreamt that it could be Ahmed. So far as anyone knew, Zane and Vinny were joined at the hip. The anxiety that had gripped Christopher was suddenly replaced with a surge of adrenalin as he realized what this meant: if anybody could set Vinny up, it was Ahmed. And DS Christopher Walker would get all the credit.
Trying to regain his composure, he shook Ahmed’s hand. ‘Look, no disrespect, but do you mind if I frisk you to make sure you’re not wired up? It’s usual police procedure.’
‘Funnily enough, I was going to ask you the same question,’ Ahmed replied cheekily.
Christopher patted Ahmed in the places he had been trained to, then allowed the man to do the same to him. ‘I hope nobody is watching us, Chris. They will think we are gay lovers having a sly session,’ Ahmed joked.
Forcing a polite smile, Christopher got down to business. ‘I thought you and Butler were best buddies, what’s going on?’
‘We were close for a very long time – until Vinny did something despicable to me. It was an unforgivable act of betrayal, which is why I want you to put that man behind bars for many years to come. Obviously, I know what happened in the past between yourself and Vinny. You witnessed the murder of Dave Phillips, then lied to the police and failed to pick Vinny out in the identification parade. I understand why you did that, Christopher. At the time, you were young and scared, but now you are older, I am sure you would like to pay Vinny back for what he put you and your family through, wouldn’t you?’ Ahmed asked. He would never trust Old Bill as far as he could throw them, which was why he had felt it necessary to bring up the details of Christopher’s perjury. For all he knew, the guy might have a tape recorder hidden in the car. Ahmed, who prided himself on being a good judge of character, doubted it, but as a precaution he had recorded his phone conversations with Christopher. It was always wise to have something up your sleeve in the event of a double-cross.
‘I would love nothing more than to put Vinny Butler behind bars. Not only would it further my career, it would also give me peace of mind. But can I ask you a question …?’
Ahmed nodded.
‘What did Vinny do to betray you so badly?’
‘Do you remember the accident in which Lenny Harris, Vinny’s cousin, died?’
‘Yeah, I heard about it. As you’re probably well aware, my sister unfortunately married Michael Butler, so I get told a lot of what goes on in that family. You were driving the car that night, weren’t you?’
Ahmed shook his head. ‘No, I was not. Vinny was driving the car that killed his cousin. Yes, it was my car, but I had wanted to take a cab home because neither of us were fit to drive. Vinny was having none of it. He insisted on driving and he crashed the car. But do you know what the worst part of that was for me, Christopher?’
Amazed that Ahmed was being so open with him, Christopher urged him to continue.
‘Not only did that shitcunt leave me in the car to die before he did a runner, he dragged what he thought was my dead body into the driver’s seat to make it look as if I was the one who had killed Lenny. I trusted Vinny. I thought he was my friend. What type of man does such a callous thing, eh, Christopher?’
‘A bastard like Vinny Butler, that’s who. What I can’t underst
and though is why you haven’t dealt with the matter yourself, Ahmed? I would have thought a man such as yourself would seek revenge privately rather than involve the police.’
‘But I haven’t involved the police, Christopher. I have only involved you – a man with a grudge who hates Vinny Butler just as much as I do. I thought long and hard about the best way to deal with Vinny. He thinks he is a hard man, but he isn’t. He’s a mummy’s boy and a very weak person deep down. A long prison stretch would be the ultimate payback for both of us. Being locked up is Vinny’s biggest nightmare, and it would kill him to not be able to see his daughter, son and mother on a regular basis. Between you and I, we can make this happen.’
‘How exactly?’
‘I have everything set up for you to catch Vinny with at least ten kilos of cocaine. How does that rock your boat?’
Christopher Walker grinned. ‘That rocks my boat very nicely. Very nicely indeed.’
‘Hello, baby girl,’ Queenie beamed when Vinny strolled towards the bungalow with Molly in his arms.
‘Nanny, say hello to Molly Dolly.’
Vinny gently put his daughter onto his mother’s lap. ‘Right, I’ve spoken to Ray King and he’s sound. We’re all allowed back in the club. You OK looking after Molly until Jo gets back? I need to head off to London to check on Little Vinny. I was meant to ring him at twelve last night, but forgot because we were watching Freddie Starr. Now I can’t get hold of him.’
‘Yeah, me and Viv will look after Molly. Where is Jo, love?’
‘At the hairdressers. She’s getting rid of that slutty-looking blonde hair, so she don’t pull any more pricks,’ Vinny replied bluntly.
About to reply, Queenie saw Brenda marching towards her with a face like thunder. ‘I hate this family. I hate you all, especially him,’ Brenda said, lunging at Vinny.
Ordering Viv to take Molly inside the bungalow, Queenie tried to calm the situation down. ‘Whatever’s wrong, Bren? Is it Scott? He’s not dead, is he?’ she asked, trying to restrain her daughter while glancing anxiously at Vinny.
Kimberley Chambers 3-Book Butler Collection Page 68
