Читать книгу Queens of Crime: 3-Book Thriller Collection - Kimberley Chambers, Jacqui Rose, Jacqui Rose - Страница 26

When Brenda Butler was violently sick for the second morning running, alarm bells began ringing in her head. Her mum had gone to visit her nan’s grave with her Auntie Viv, which would thankfully avert another interrogation like she’d had to endure yesterday morning.

Brenda washed her face, then stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Her relationship with Dean Smart had been one of secrecy and passion until he had dumped her just over six weeks ago. ‘Look, Bren, you’re a lovely girl, and I really like you, but I am sick of sneaking around like a couple of silly schoolkids. Your brothers will go mental if they find out about us, and my family will probably disown me. I think we should stop seeing one another before any real damage is done,’ Dean had told her bluntly.

Seeing as Dean was the lad who had taken her virginity, Brenda was heartbroken. Her heartbreak soon turned to anger, though, when she was informed by a few of her friends that less than a week after dumping her, Dean was parading his new girlfriend around town.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and Brenda had considered telling her brothers what had happened just to pay Dean back for betraying her so cruelly. But in the end she had chosen to keep schtum. Vinny had had many a run-in with Dean’s dad, Terry, and Brenda knew if Vinny found out that she had slept with Terry’s son, he would probably throttle her.

Feeling the bile in her throat begin to rise again, Brenda put her head back over the toilet and retched. It was sod’s law she was pregnant with Dean’s baby. That would be just her fucking luck.

Over at Bow Cemetery, Vivian was about to blow a fuse. ‘Don’t you dare! You’re far too old to be doing that now. Christ, if anyone sees you, you’ll be nicked for indecent exposure. You’re a big boy now, Lenny, and big boys have big dingle-dangles.’

Ignoring his mother, Lenny turned his back on her and his Auntie Queenie and pissed all over Old Man Taylor’s unkempt grave.

‘I shall give him such a fucking doughboy when I get him home. Played me up something rotten since we found out about Bill’s death, he has. In fact, just lately, I think that poxy school is doing him more harm than good. I think I’m gonna have to pull Lenny out of there for the sake of his own sanity.’

‘Now he’s fifteen, surely it would be better for him if he had a little job?’ Queenie suggested.

‘Doing what though?’ Vivian asked wearily. Her Lenny was hardly Einstein, poor little sod.

Queenie smirked. ‘I’m sure the boys will find him a job at the club. You just leave it to me.’

Michael was open-mouthed when Nancy climbed into his car. She was wearing chunky wedge-heeled sandals, a faded denim waistcoat, mauve hotpants, and her legs were the longest Michael had ever seen.

Noticing Michael looked rather taken aback by her outfit, Nancy suddenly wished she had worn something else. ‘I’ve got a wrap-over skirt in my bag. I only wore this because I was so hot,’ she explained awkwardly.

‘You look fine. In fact, you look better than fine. You look incredible.’

‘Thanks. You look nice too,’ Nancy replied. Michael was dressed casually today.

‘Right, shall we be on our way then?’

‘Yep. Where we going?’ Nancy asked, feeling her stomach churn with excitement. Michael had the roof down on his Mustang, and Nancy couldn’t wait to hit the road and feel the breeze fly through her hair.

‘Hainault Forest. I’ve got a picnic in the boot fit for a princess and that’s what you are, darling.’

Vinny politely kissed Karen’s mum on the cheek, then introduced his son to her. ‘This is your Nanny Maureen. Go give her a hug, boy.’

When his son hugged his nan then wanted to sit on his mother’s lap, Vinny urged him to do so. He had already thought of a way of getting Karen out of his and his son’s lives for good, but firstly he had to gain her trust.

‘Do you want to open your presents, Vinny? This one is from me and that one is from your nan,’ Karen said, pointing to two wrapped-up boxes.

Vinny plastered a false grin on his face while watching his son open his presents. Karen actually seemed quite good with Little Vinny, but sharing was not in Vinny’s nature. The boy was his property, he had raised him and that’s the way it would stay.

Brenda Butler ordered her pal to meet her in a café in Aldgate rather than their usual one in Whitechapel.

‘Whatever’s wrong? Why did you make me schlep all the way up here?’ Susan Shipton asked.

Brenda was near to tears as she explained all about her morning sickness. ‘And I can’t fit into my white jeans any more. I must be pregnant, I know I am. What am I gonna do, Sue?’

‘Well, you’re gonna have to get a test done for a start. I’ll come to the doctor’s with you.’

‘I can’t go to my doctor in case he tells my mum or brothers. Can’t you take a water sample to your doctor’s and pretend it’s yours?’ Brenda asked hopefully.

‘No, I bloody can’t! My mum would kill me if she thought I was up the spout, Bren. Why don’t you go to that dodgy doctor where Gillian Trott went? He does pregnancy tests if you pay him. In fact, he sells you tablets and all sorts if you pay him. He even arranged Gillian’s abortion for her. A pal of his did it.’

‘Where’s his surgery?’ Brenda asked.

‘It ain’t a proper surgery. It’s a room in his house where he sees his patients. He is a real doctor though, I think. Gillian will know his address. Shall we go and find a phonebox after we’ve finished our drinks? I know her number off by heart.’

Gulping the rest of her tea down in one, Brenda stood up. ‘Come on, let’s ring her now.’

With Michael and Vinny both out, Roy decided to make up for taking the other night off by tackling the paperwork alone. Within seconds of sitting down to start his tedious task, he was disturbed by the doorbell ringing. ‘Who is it?’ he shouted when he looked through the spyhole and couldn’t see anybody standing there.

‘It’s me, boy. It’s your dad.’

Recognizing his father’s voice, Roy yanked open the door. ‘Fucking hell, Dad. What you doing here?’

‘That’s a nice greeting. Can I come in? I need to sit down for a bit.’ Albie’s breathing was clearly laboured.

‘Do you want a drink?’ Roy asked, as he led his father inside.

‘I could murder a brandy, boy. Can you make it a large one?’

Roy was in a daze as he poured out two large brandies. His dad was only fifty-one, but looked more like an old-age pensioner. Gone was the thick mop of dark hair and the twinkle in his eye. His barnet had thinned and was now swept over his head to hide any bald patches. As for his eyes, they had completely lost their sparkle.

Roy sat opposite his father. The last time he had seen his dad had been about six years ago, and him turning up out the blue was a shock to say the least.

‘Nice club, boy. Much bigger than the last one, ain’t it? Where are your brothers?’ Albie asked.

‘Out. Look, Dad, what do you want? Vinny has only gone for lunch and he could be back any time. He ain’t gonna be too happy to find you sitting here, is he?’

‘How’s your mum? Still a handful?’ Albie chuckled, avoiding answering Roy’s question.

‘Mum’s fine. We’re all fine. Just cut the crap and tell me why you’re here, will you? Do you need money? Is that it?’

Knocking his brandy back, Albie shook his head sadly. ‘I’ve got the cancer, boy. I’m a very ill man.’

Michael grinned as he unpacked the picnic. He had asked his mum to do him proud and she hadn’t let him down. A whole roast chicken, pork pies, a knuckle of ham, tomatoes, six crusty buttered rolls, a big lump of cheese. She had even packed hard-boiled eggs, brown pickle, and a jar of her home-made pickled onions. Michael laid all the food out, then popped open a bottle of champagne.

Nancy propped herself up on her elbow. Michael had laid a big blanket on the grass and had brought a portable radio with him as well. It was very romantic.

Michael handed Nancy a glass of champagne and grinned. He had finished with Denise the previous day. It hadn’t been easy. At first she had burst into tears and begged him not to leave her. Then, five minutes later, she had flown at him and called him every name under the sun. Still, it was all over now, and he was free to do what he wanted. ‘Haven’t you ever been to Hainault before?’ he asked Nancy.

‘No. I didn’t even know there was a forest here. It is incredibly pretty.’

‘And so are you,’ Michael said, gazing intently into Nancy’s eyes.

Nancy looked away. Her feelings for Michael frightened her a bit.

‘Well, eat something then. There’s a paper plate there. I told my mum I had met a special young lady and she helped me with the picnic,’ Michael said, winking at Nancy.

‘How is your mum? I remember her and your aunt coming into my parents’ café. And I remember your little nephew who loved our jukebox.’

Michael chuckled. ‘My little nephew ain’t so little now. Lenny’s fifteen and is nearly as tall as me. My mum’s a diamond, Nance, so is my Auntie Viv. So are my brothers deep down. They’ve got their faults, but who hasn’t?’

‘Oh, my family have lots of faults. Especially my dad who still treats me as though I’m about ten. My brother drives me mad sometimes as well. He is turning more into my dad as every day passes. I do still love ’em though.’

‘Of course you do. Your family is your family, babe, and you only inherit one.’

‘So, what is Brenda like now, Michael? I can’t really remember what she looked like, but I do remember really liking her. Has she got a job and a boyfriend?’ Nancy enquired.

‘Bren’s a good girl, but she’s a bit headstrong. She doesn’t like work very much either. She’s had three different jobs since leaving school and didn’t last at any of them for more than a week. To my knowledge, she hasn’t got a boyfriend at the moment. I suppose, being the only girl, me and my brothers are a bit strict with her, so she probably wouldn’t tell us if she was courting. In fact, she was over the fair last Saturday, the day we met there. So was Vinny. He spotted Brenda arsing about with some lads and they had a bit of a fall-out.’

The mention of Vinny brought Nancy back to reality. It was his fault that her family had fled Whitechapel in the middle of the night, so how were her parents ever going to accept her dating Vinny’s brother? As much as she liked Michael, Nancy momentarily wondered if she should back out of the relationship before she got in too deep.

Noticing the vacant expression on Nancy’s face, Michael decided he had to broach the subject that they had both so far avoided. ‘Look, Nance, I know what happened was heavy duty, but Vinny has mellowed now. He was young then, we all were, and shit happens, don’t it? I like you so much, I really, really do, so please don’t let the past spoil whatever future we might have. I know if we carry on seeing one another, one day our families will have to find out, but let’s worry about that at the time, eh? Always remember, I ain’t Vinny, I’m Michael Butler.’

Nancy edged towards Michael and laid her head against his chest. He was right. Nothing that had happened was their fault, so why should they stop seeing one another?

When Nanny Maureen excused herself to go to the toilet, Vinny leant across the table and gave Karen’s hand a friendly squeeze. ‘Didn’t it go well? Little ’un really enjoyed himself,’ he said, gesturing towards their son who had over-eaten and was now fast asleep on the chair.

Karen smiled. Vinny had been the perfect gentleman today, and the restaurant he had brought them to was top-class. ‘It’s been wonderful, Vinny, it really has. I can’t tell you how many nights I have laid awake imaging what our son was like, and to now finally be part of his life truly means the world to me.’

‘You know what, I was thinking earlier. Seeing as you are a barmaid now, why don’t you come and work at the club for me? You could see so much more of Little Vinny then, couldn’t you?’

‘Oh, I don’t know. I do days in the pub where I work now. If I come and work for you, it’s nights, isn’t it? It will cost me a fortune to get home to Dagenham in a cab as well.’

Vinny raised his eyebrows and chuckled. ‘’Course it won’t. That’s one of the benefits of being my child’s mother. I’ll pay all your fares and I’ll double whatever wages you are currently being paid. To be honest, I’m on the look-out for a manageress, so if things work out and you fit the bill, then I don’t see why the job can’t be yours.’

‘Manageress! Oh my God! What type of club do you have now? It’s not all seedy old men and strippers, is it?’

‘No, of course not. We don’t have strippers at all now. It’s proper classy. We have jazz nights and lots of live music. It’s members only, and although they are allowed to sign guests in for a fee, there is no riff-raff. You will love it, Karen, trust me. Far better for you than working in some shitty boozer in Dagenham.’

‘But, I won’t get to see much more of Little Vinny, will I? Surely you don’t have him at the club of a night?’

Vinny chuckled. ‘Yeah, he pulls pints. No, what I was thinking was, say you start work at seven, well you can come up this way earlier and spend a couple of hours with Little Vinny before you begin. You’d get to see him most days then, wouldn’t you? Now he has met you, he is going to need to see you regularly.’

Karen couldn’t believe how much Vinny had changed over the years. He used to be a nasty bastard once upon a time, with a vile temper, and even though he had been horrible to her when she had turned up at his mum’s house, Karen now guessed that his behaviour that day was down to shock. At twenty-six, Vinny had matured into a real man, and being a dad had obviously brought out the best in him, Karen thought.

‘Well?’ Vinny asked, impatiently. He wanted an answer before Nanny Maureen returned from the toilet and started sticking her oar in.

‘How could I say no when it means seeing my wonderful son every day. Of course I’ll come and work for you, Vinny, and thank you so much for being understanding about everything. You’re a good guy deep down, you really are.’

Vinny grinned. ‘You’re very welcome, Karen.’