Receiving no reply, he stopped a passerby. ‘Have you seen a little blonde girl? My daughter’s gone missing.’
‘No, sorry. I haven’t.’
Feeling bile rise in his mouth, Vinny vomited into the gutter before setting off at a run down the Whitechapel Road, yelling his daughter’s name over and over.
Unaware that her daughter was currently on the missing list, Joanna was knocking back the champagne and thoroughly enjoying herself. ‘I’m having such a good time, Nance. To watch your parents get married is truly something special. So lovely to see my dad again, and I can’t believe how much Johnny Junior has grown up. Me and my brother was never that close when we were young, but I feel we will stay in contact now.’
Nancy sighed. Joanna was not a big drinker as a rule and the champagne seemed to have knocked her sideways. ‘We should be going soon, Jo. You know what Vinny is like and if you arrive home drunk, he will go mental.’
‘Aww, but I really don’t want to go yet. Let’s stay for another hour or two, Nance? This might be the last chance I have to spend some quality time with my mum, dad and brother, and there’s no other family members here to celebrate with them.’
‘Aren’t your grandparents here?’
‘No. My mum’s parents don’t like Dad, and my dad hasn’t spoken to Grandma Shirley since they fell out over Auntie Judy. Please can we stay?’
Wondering if Joanna had taken leave of her senses, Nancy reminded her friend of the conversation they’d had when they pulled up in the car park earlier. ‘Jo, I need to pick the boys up from school, and you said you had to be home early because Vinny has to go out somewhere.’
Joanna giggled. ‘Sod Vinny. Can’t you ask your mum to pick the boys up, Nance? Please, pretty please?’
Nancy smiled. She would do anything to get her best friend away from that sadistic bastard Vinny, and if that meant bringing her home late, then so be it. ‘OK, Jo. I’ll ring my mum now.’
Back in Whitechapel, Queenie and Vivian were both on the sherry. Today had been the first day since the truth had come out about Lenny’s death that either woman had properly smiled. ‘That poor man’s face in the shop was a picture, Viv. You are a case.’
Vivian chuckled. ‘Not as much of a picture as when you called Mouthy Maureen an interfering fat cow. I was so busy smashing up that video recorder, I never even heard what she said back to you.’
‘Can’t remember – I was too busy trying to get you back indoors. Why did you smash that up, Viv? Was it really because it had ripped up Shoestring? Or was it because Vinny bought it for you?’
Her face turning serious again, Vivian shrugged. ‘Bit of both, I suppose. I know we’ve had a laugh today, Queen, but I need to ask you a favour.’
‘What?’
‘I want a new headstone for my Lenny. No way can I go to visit him again with Vinny’s name plastered across the one we’ve got.’
Queenie clasped her sister’s hand. Vinny was her first born, had always been her number one son, and she would miss him terribly. However, backing Vivian was the correct and morally right thing to do. ‘OK, I’ll speak to my Michael. He’ll sort a new headstone out for you.’
Michael Butler was stunned to see police swarming like flies outside his club. They had even blocked the road off, so Michael parked along the main road and ran round the corner.
When he tried to get near the entrance of the club, an officer blocked his way. ‘You can’t go in there, sir. The premises are currently being searched.’
Michael’s heart skipped a beat. Even though Vinny had always denied it, Michael had known deep down that his brother was involved with drugs, and if anything was found inside the club, Michael would disown the bastard just like his mother had. ‘Look, I’m part-owner of this club. Do you mind telling me what the hell is going on? Is my brother Vinny inside?’
Aware that there were more and more gawping onlookers arriving at the scene, the officer led Michael to one side. ‘I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but your niece has gone missing. However, I want to reassure you that we are doing everything in our power to find Molly.’
Feeling as though his legs were about to buckle, Michael sank to his haunches. ‘Oh no. Not Molly,’ he mumbled.
Queenie Butler was thrilled that her sister had her appetite back. Vivian had just scoffed two bowls of her homemade bread-and-butter pudding with clotted cream. ‘Bleedin’ sirens is all I’ve heard this past hour. Something bad has happened. Probably another armed robbery,’ Queenie remarked.
‘Not safe to go out the door these days. Gone downhill terribly has the East End. Not like the old days when we used to leave our front doors open. Some bastard would rob and murder us in our home if we did that now,’ Vivian reminisced, her voice heavy with bitterness.
Queenie was prevented from climbing onto her own soapbox by the frantic ringing of the doorbell. ‘All right, all right, I’m coming,’ she yelled as she marched up the hallway. Why could people not settle for ringing the bell once? Did they think she was deaf?
Nosy Hilda was that out of breath, she could barely get her words out. ‘Thank God you’re in,’ she panted.
‘Whatever’s the matter?’ Queenie asked. Her heart then nearly stopped when a police car pulled up outside her house. The sirens. Surely not another of her sons had been shot?
Nosy Hilda did love to be the first to spread news, whether it be good or bad. ‘It’s your Molly. She’s gone missing.’
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Little Vinny sat with his head bowed as he answered the policeman’s questions. ‘I honestly don’t know how long I was asleep for. Not long, I don’t think. It could have been five minutes or ten. I swear to you though, before I laid down, Molly was sitting opposite me playing with her doll.’
Unable to control his emotions any longer, a distraught Vinny smashed his fist against the wall. His daughter had been missing for over an hour now, it was lashing it down with rain outside, so why wasn’t everybody out on the streets looking for her? The club had been searched thoroughly by the Old Bill and there was no sign of Molly or her doll. ‘We ain’t gonna find my little girl unless we search for her, are we? Some fucking nonce might have grabbed her, so best you mob get your arses in gear,’ Vinny yelled at the copper who was speaking to his son.
Michael laid a hand on his arm. ‘Calm down, bruv. The section sergeant has just turned up and he’s organizing a search for Molly as we speak. The police are doing all they can, honest they are.’
‘Well, I’m gonna search for her too. No way I can sit here any longer, it’s doing my fucking nut in. What am I meant to say to Jo, eh? That I let my retard of a son keep an eye on Molly for less than half an hour and she disappeared into thin air? I can’t believe this has happened. I keep pinching myself to make sure it isn’t a bad dream. I swear, Michael, if one hair on that child’s head has been harmed, I will kill whoever is responsible. I don’t care if I get fucking life for it. I love that little girl. She is my world.’
Aware of the look of distress in his brother’s eyes, Michael gave him a comforting hug. He could imagine the anguish Vinny must be going through. Molly was a little darling and Michael felt sick at the thought of her disappearance. It really was every parent’s worst nightmare.
Queenie Butler’s hand trembled as she took a sip of brandy. Her house was only a short walk from her sons’ club, and the two police officers had just had a quick search to check that Molly had not toddled out of the club to her nan’s house or garden without Queenie’s knowledge.
Vivian, who was as white as a sheet, knocked back her own brandy in one gulp. Even though she now despised Vinny, she loved that little girl. Molly was a real character and if she would have ever been blessed with a daughter, she’d have wanted one just like her. ‘They’ll find her, Queen. She can’t have gone far,’ Viv said, squeezing her sister’s hand. The officers had already informed her that it was suspected the front door of the club had accidentally been left open.
; The female officer glanced at her male colleague. Like most local coppers, they knew all about the Butler family and what they stood for. Nevertheless, with a three-year-old child missing, finding her was all that mattered.
PC Denning took a notebook out of her pocket. ‘I know this is a difficult time for you both, but I need to ask you some questions. Obviously, Molly is our only concern right now, and our aim is to find her as quickly as possible.’
When her sister began to weep, Vivian held Queenie close to her chest, then gave the policewoman a nod. ‘Fire away. We just want Molly back here where she belongs.’
PC Denning sat on the armchair opposite the two distraught women. ‘Please don’t be alarmed, these are just routine questions, but I have to ask whether there is anybody you can think of who might hold a grudge against Vinny and therefore snatch Molly?’
Queenie dabbed her eyes with a tissue and took a deep breath. Her motto in life had always been to tell the Old Bill as little as possible, but with her beautiful granddaughter missing, she had no alternative other than to spill her guts. ‘Johnny Preston. Only just got out of nick and he has every reason to snatch that child. Molly is his grandkid and he isn’t allowed to see her. He also has a massive grudge against Vinny. Tried to shoot him once, which is why he got banged up for years. Silly sod was so pissed that he shot my poor Roy instead.’
Hopeful that Molly was with Johnny, in which case she would be found safe and sound, Vivian decided to add her two penn’orth: ‘Queenie’s right. Seems a bit of a coincidence that Preston comes out of nick then Molly goes missing. Molly’s mum, Joanna, is Preston’s daughter. But Jo can’t be in on it. That poor girl must be beside herself, bless her heart.’
With his colleague furiously writing down notes, the male officer asked Queenie if Joanna and Vinny’s relationship was a happy one, and whether Joanna was on good terms with her father.
‘My Vinny has his faults, and I doubt he’s an easy man to live with. That said, Jo has never seemed unhappy to me. They’ve had their ups and downs, like any couple, but Vinny is a very generous man, and neither Jo nor Molly go without. He’s a brilliant dad to that little girl. As for Johnny Preston, I’m not sure if Joanna is in contact with him or not. I know last weekend my Vinny was proper paranoid that she had met up with her dad, but she hadn’t. She was out with my daughter-in-law, Nancy.’
‘That’s all helpful information, Mrs Butler. Now, is there anybody else you can think of who might hold a grudge against Vinny? Or have reason to snatch Molly?’
‘No, not off hand. Can you think of anyone, Viv?’ Queenie asked her sister.
Vivian could, but decided to keep schtum in front of the police. If she spouted her mouth off, it would open up a massive can of worms.
When her sister saw the police out, Queenie poured herself another brandy. All she could picture was Molly’s angelic little face. ‘Please God make that dear child be found safe,’ she mumbled.
Vivian walked back into the lounge. ‘I didn’t want to say anything in front of the Old Bill, but you don’t think Molly’s disappearance has anything to do with that Ahmed, do you? I’ve never trusted that shifty-looking bastard, and I find it really strange he has stayed pals with a man who left him to die.’
‘I don’t know, Viv, but if anything has happened to that child I swear it will be the end of me,’ Queenie wept.
Vivian put her arms around Queenie. ‘Take no notice of my silly theories. You know I watch too many of those detective programmes. What’s the betting Molly’s just wandered off somewhere?’
‘Well, I can’t just sit here doing nothing, Viv. I need to go to the club to find out exactly what’s going on. I know I said I wanted no more to do with Vinny, and I meant it. But he must be in pieces, and I can’t blank him while Molly is missing. As a family, we need to pull together to find her.’
Vivian nodded understandingly. ‘OK. Let’s both go to the club.’
Since Joanna was a bit tipsy, Nancy decided to drive her all the way home rather than drop her off at Barking station.
‘Wake up sleepy-head. We’re nearly there,’ Nancy said.
Having slept the whole journey on the back seat of her pal’s Ford Fiesta, Joanna sat up and opened the window to get some air. ‘What’s the time?’ she asked anxiously.
‘Twenty past four, so you’re not that late. You’ll be home by half past. Have you sobered up now?’
‘Yeah, I think so. I feel better than I did. I wish I wasn’t late though. Vinny’s going to have the right hump.’
Nancy chuckled. ‘Well, I did try to tell you that, but you weren’t having none of it.’
‘You best not drop me right outside my house, Nance. I don’t want Vinny getting suspicious. I told him we were going up town by train.’
‘OK. I’ll drive past yours and drop you on the corner.’
‘Turn the radio up, Nance. I love this song,’ Joanna urged.
Singing along happily to Shalamar’s ‘I Owe You One’, Joanna ducked her head when Nancy turned into the road where she lived. Vinny was such a bloody control freak, she wouldn’t put it past him to be standing at the front door watching out for her.
‘Oh my God! Jo, I think the Old Bill are raiding your house.’
‘What! Stop winding me up.’
‘I’m not, I swear. There’s three police cars outside yours, and the front door is wide open. I’m parking up and coming inside with you.’
‘But say Vinny realizes we haven’t been up town?’
‘By the looks of it, Vinny is going to have far more explaining to do than you, Jo.’
Joanna could barely breathe as she ran towards the house. As far as she knew, Vinny did not keep anything incriminating inside. ‘What’s going on? Where’s Vinny and Molly?’ she asked the two policemen who were standing guard outside her front door.
‘Are you Joanna Preston?’ one of the officers asked.
‘Yes. What’s going on? I live in this house,’ Joanna said, her voice quivering with panic.
‘Come inside then, love. Is this your friend?’
‘Nancy is sort of my sister-in-law. Please tell me what’s happening?’
The police officer led Joanna and Nancy inside. ‘The mother’s here, boss,’ he informed a colleague.
Joanna looked past the policemen and saw Vinny. Registering the pain etched on his face, she cried, ‘Where’s Molly? What’s happened?’
Vinny stood up, walked over to Joanna and wept as he put his arms around her. ‘I don’t know, Jo. Molly’s gone missing.’
Pummelling her fists against her partner’s chest, Joanna let out a deafening scream. ‘How? When? Not my angel! Not my beautiful angel! I want my baby. I want my Molly,’ she cried, sinking to her knees.
Feeling sick to the stomach, Nancy glared at Vinny before kneeling to comfort her pal. ‘Molly will be OK, Jo. The police will find her. That’s their job. She’ll be fine. I know she will.’
Back at the club, Michael hugged his mum and then his aunt. ‘Please tell me they’ve found Molly,’ Queenie begged.
‘No, they haven’t yet. But the dog section are currently out searching for her. She can’t have gone far, Mum. Let me get you both a drink. I could do with one myself.’
Queenie and Vivian sat down at a nearby table. Vivian turned her chair so her back was facing the stage. That was where her Lenny had spent so many hours DJ-ing and she could not bear to be reminded of her loss.
Michael poured three brandies, then sat down between his mother and aunt. There was still a police presence inside and outside the club, but most of the officers had departed to join the search to find Molly.
‘Where’s Vinny?’ Queenie asked.
‘At his house. The police wanted to search it.’
‘Is Jo with him?’ Vivian enquired.
‘Not as far as I know. I don’t even think Jo is aware Molly is missing yet. Her and Nancy went out for the day.’
‘Oh that poor girl, what a shock she’s in for when she gets h
ome. What exactly happened? The police said something about the main door being left open,’ Queenie said.
Michael sighed. ‘Vinny was at home with Molly, but there was a flood in the cellar, so he had to bring her to the club with him. He was in the cellar when Molly went missing. Little Vinny was meant to be looking after her, but the fucking idiot fell asleep. The main door was wide open, so Molly either toddled outside or some bastard came in and snatched her.’
‘Well, funny you should say that. The police questioned me and your mum. They asked if anybody has a grudge against Vinny, so we gave them Johnny Preston’s name. I wouldn’t put anything past that bastard after what he did to poor Roy,’ Vivian told her nephew.
Michael shrugged. ‘I can’t see it being Johnny. Not only would his parole be revoked if he got caught, but I can’t believe he’d put his daughter through all that trauma.’
Looking around to make sure the Old Bill weren’t within earshot, Queenie leaned towards her son. ‘What about, Ahmed? He must have an axe to grind after everything that has happened?’ she whispered.
‘Mum, it has to be some sick bastard to snatch a child. Let’s just hope that Molly is playing hide and seek in someone’s back garden, eh? Are there still loads of people outside?’
‘Looked to be about forty or fifty. The police were telling them to go home. I saw that old bat Mad Freda stood amongst them. I bet she’s loving this latest drama,’ Queenie spat.
Michael looked at his mother and shook his head. As much as he loved her, she had some strange ways at times. ‘I doubt anybody is going to be happy that a beautiful three-year-old girl has gone missing, Mum. Look, I’m sick of sitting here speculating. I’m gonna pop around Vinny’s to see if he’s OK. I think you should come too, but don’t be coming out with any more of your theories, please. Bren needs to be told an’ all.’
Kimberley Chambers 3-Book Butler Collection Page 76
