Читать книгу Queens of Crime: 3-Book Thriller Collection - Kimberley Chambers, Jacqui Rose, Jacqui Rose - Страница 35

‘Ring an ambulance. Ring a fucking ambulance,’ Vinny shouted at his doormen.

With her smart cream suit covered with splashes of Roy’s blood, Queenie knelt down next to him. ‘Don’t you dare die on me. Don’t you dare, Roy Butler,’ she sobbed. There was a gaping hole in the side of her son’s head, and he was as still as a statue.

Realizing that her fiancé had been shot, Colleen was bordering on hysterical. ‘Don’t touch him. Leave him alone. You’re not meant to move him,’ she screamed.

Vinny began kicking and punching a nearby wall. ‘I will fucking kill whoever has done this. I’ll torture the fucking cunt with my bare hands.’

When a tearful Albie pushed his way through the crowd to kneel down next to Roy, Queenie began hitting him. ‘This is all your fault, you lying old bastard. Get away from him. Get away from all of us,’ she screamed, her face contorted with pain and anger.

Lenny was screaming blue murder, so Vivian led him back inside the club and asked Michael’s mate Kevin to look after him for her.

Colleen’s family were in complete shock and were doing their best to calm down their heartbroken daughter.

‘Is he alive? Is my baby still alive?’ Queenie wept, when the ambulance crew pushed their way through the onlookers to attend to Roy.

Realizing how serious Roy’s injuries were, the ambulance men answered no questions and instead set to work on trying to save Roy’s life and get him to hospital as quickly as possible.

‘Brenda, you and Dean take Lenny and Little Vinny home and wait there with them. Tell Michael what has happened, and tell him to get his arse straight up the London. I’ll stay with your mum,’ Vivian ordered her niece.

Ahmed was trying to calm Vinny down when the police turned up and started asking questions. ‘Do not say anything you might regret, my friend.’

Vinny’s head was all over the place. He just knew that the bullet had been meant for him, and was trying to work out who was behind the shooting. If he had to take a wild guess, he would say there was a good chance it was something to do with Kenny Jackson’s son, Bobby. Vinny had had many run-ins with Kenny over the years, including the one at his mother’s birthday party when Vinny had put him in hospital. Kenny had got too cocky for his own good a year or so back, and courtesy of Ahmed, had ended up in a cement mixer. Not one bone or tooth of Kenny Jackson had ever been traced, but there had been a lot of speculation over his disappearance and even though he had a rock-solid alibi on the day that Kenny went missing, the finger of suspicion had still been pointed Vinny’s way. He had even been questioned by the Old Bill. Bobby Jackson was a mouthy little shit just like his father had been, and it wouldn’t surprise Vinny one bit if it was him who had pulled that trigger.

‘Look, lads, no disrespect, but I ain’t in the mood to even think straight, let alone answer any questions right now. My brother has just had his brains blasted out, if you failed to notice, and my priority is to get to the hospital to be with my family. Ain’t any of yous cunts got a heart?’ Vinny spat at the young PC.

Ahmed glared at the police, put an arm around Vinny’s shoulder and led him away. ‘Come on, let’s go. Pete and Paul will stay at the club until we get back. We need to go to the hospital.’

Old Sidney Palmer had just picked his wife up from her regular Monday-night jaunt at the bingo hall when he had driven past the Butlers’ nightclub and heard a loud bang that sounded like a gunshot. He had seen the motorbike race away, and being the good citizen that he was, Sidney had decided to give chase in his Ford Cortina.

Dorothy Palmer had begged her husband to stop at a phonebox, ring the police, and give them the registration number, but Sidney being a stubborn old mule had ignored her wishes, carried on chasing the bloody bike, and now the rider had just hit the car in front, flown off his bike, and was lying in a crumpled heap in the middle of the A13. ‘If we’re up on a murder charge I will brain you, you senile old bastard,’ Dorothy hissed.When a dazed Johnny tried to get up and run, he collapsed immediately. Cursing his luck, he took the gun out of his jacket and threw it across to the opposite carriageway.

When the police arrived a few minutes later, Dorothy got out and stood with Sidney while he explained to them what he had heard, seen, and how he had followed the suspect. When the police called Sidney a hero, and said his bravery would more than likely be rewarded, Dorothy held her husband’s arm with pride. Perhaps he wasn’t such a senile old bastard after all.

Unable to sit still, Vinny paced up and down the hospital corridor. Roy had been rushed into theatre for an emergency operation to remove the bullet from his skull, and the doctors were yet to tell them any real news of his condition.

Seeing his devastated mum lay her weary head on Vivian’s shoulder, Vinny bit his lip to stop himself from crying. His mother was such a strong woman, as hard as nails, and to see her so upset tugged at his heart-strings.

‘There yous are. What’s happening? Any news yet?’ Michael asked, dashing straight over to his mum.

‘Oh Michael. It was awful. You should have seen him. I thought he was brown bread, I really did, but the ambulance men said he still had a pulse,’ Queenie explained, hugging her youngest son.

‘How’s my Lenny, Michael? Hysterical, he was. Never seen him like that before. Has he calmed down a bit now?’ Vivian asked.

‘He’s still upset and very tearful, but Brenda and Dean will take good care of him,’ Michael replied.

‘What about Little Vinny? Is he OK? I just thank God he was asleep in the club when it happened. I would have hated him to witness it first hand,’ Queenie said.

‘Little Vinny weren’t with Bren and Dean. They only had Champ with them,’ Michael informed his mother.

Vinny felt his blood pressure rapidly start to rise. ‘What do you mean, he weren’t with them? I thought you told Bren to look after him, Auntie Viv?’

‘I did. Bren and Dean was gonna take him home with my Lenny. I wouldn’t worry too much. Karen was still at the club. Perhaps he wanted to stay with her?’ Vivian replied.

Unable to stop himself, Vinny punched the wall with pure frustration. ‘Ahmed, shoot down the club and find me my son. I want him brought back here, OK?’

With a curt nod, Ahmed dashed down the hospital corridor.

Back at Queenie’s house the initial awkwardness between Brenda and Nancy had just started to thaw. ‘So, how long you been seeing Michael then? Where did you meet him?’ Brenda asked, inquisitively.

‘I’ve not been seeing him long. We bumped into one another over at Barking fair last month. Your Dean seems like a nice guy, Bren. Yous two been together long?’

Glad that Nancy was there as it took the edge off waiting for news about poor Roy, Brenda spoke frankly about her relationship with Dean, her plans for her wedding day, their unborn child, and her hopes and dreams for the future. ‘So, what about you? Do you still live with your parents? And do they know you and Michael are together?’ Brenda asked.

About to explain that she had just left home and would be moving in with Michael, Nancy was stopped from doing so by Dean’s reappearance. ‘Lenny reckons he’s going up the hospital, Bren. I’ve tried to talk him out of it, but he got a bit bolshy and sort of told me to mind me own business.’

‘Well, you’re gonna have to stop him,’ Brenda ordered.

‘Bren, he’s a big old lump and nearly as tall as me. I ain’t even properly related to him, so what am I mean to do? You’re his cousin, you bloody well stop him.’

Hearing the front door slam, Brenda leapt out of the armchair and opened the lounge window. ‘Lenny, get back in ’ere now,’ she yelled.

‘No. I ain’t some kid no more, and if I want to go to the hospital to see how Roy is, there is nothing you can do to stop me. I want to be with my mum and Auntie Queenie, not sitting here doing nothing.’

Realizing that her cousin had a point, Brenda told him to wait a minute, then turned to Dean and Nancy. ‘Come on. Let’s all go up the hospital.’

‘Me and Nancy will be better off staying here, Bren. You go with Lenny. It ain’t right for us to go. We’re not even family.’

There was no way that Brenda was leaving Dean alone with somebody as beautiful as Nancy, so she stood her ground. ‘You are family, you div. We’re having a baby together and getting married, remember? You’re gonna have to come too, Nancy. Unless you want to go home. My mum barely knows you and I can’t leave you alone in her house, she’ll kill me.’

With no home to go to, Nancy nodded miserably. Queenie had insisted earlier that Michael’s ex-girlfriend was lying about being pregnant, but Nancy still didn’t know that for sure. Say she was at the hospital too? Also, Vinny was bound to be there, and just being within a fifty-yard radius of him gave Nancy the heebies.

‘Yous two coming, or what?’ Brenda asked, impatiently.

Knowing she had two choices, none and sod all, Nancy followed Brenda and Dean out of the house.

When Ahmed returned with both Karen and his son, Vinny wasn’t happy. According to a nurse he had just spoken to, Roy was still being operated on and he needed Karen around him at a time like this like a boil on his arse. ‘Why didn’t you send him home with Brenda like I asked? Is it too much for you to respect my wishes, even though my brother is on death’s door?’

Karen was rather taken aback. ‘Our son was confused and upset, Vinny. He couldn’t understand what was going on. He wanted to stay with me, and seeing as we’ve been getting along well and I am his mother, I didn’t see it as a problem. I wasn’t going to take him home to Dagenham with me. I was worried about you and Roy, so was going to stay at the club with Little Vinny until you got back.’

Colleen had been in a hysterical state after arriving earlier at the hospital, and was currently being treated for shock. Seeing her parents walking back towards him, Vinny led Karen around another corridor. ‘Look, I’m sorry, OK? I’m just stressed and off my head with worry.’

Little Vinny followed his parents, and desperate to get his dad’s attention, leapt up and down while holding his arm.

‘Stop it! What’s a matter?’ Vinny shouted at his son.

‘Is Uncle Roy dead?’ Little Vinny asked.

‘No, he’s being operated on.’

‘But, might he die?’

Vinny bent down and shook his son violently. ‘Stop asking such fucking morbid questions. Do you want your uncle to die, do ya?’

‘Stop it, Vinny, you’ll hurt him. He’s only five. He doesn’t know what he’s saying,’ Karen pleaded.

When his son burst into tears, Vinny stood up, put his head in his hands and leant against the wall. ‘You had the right idea originally, Karen. Just take him back to the club and wait there until I get back. I should imagine I’ll be stuck here all night, so you can both sleep in my double bed. Tell Pete and Paul I said it was OK.’

Putting Vinny’s foul mood and temper down to the family crisis he was currently experiencing, Karen kissed him politely on the cheek and dragged her son down the corridor.

When Nancy arrived at the hospital, Michael immediately clocked how glum she looked and, desperate to speak to her alone, led her away from the rest of his family. He stopped at the nearest drinks machine. ‘Here you go,’ he said, handing her a plastic cup filled with weak-looking tea.

‘I’m so sorry there is no good news about your brother yet, and I hate to bother you with trivial things at an awful time like this, but I remembered on the way here that I left my case at the club earlier. I have to pick it up at some point tonight, as I won’t be able to go to work tomorrow otherwise.’

Realizing that Nancy was near to tears and guessing the reason why, Michael put his cup on the floor, did the same with hers, and then held her tightly to his chest. ‘I spoke to my mum about Denise turning up like she did. She definitely isn’t pregnant. My mum wouldn’t say how she knows, she isn’t a grass, but I think we can safely say that Vinny already knew about you and I and set the situation up. Roy might have been involved as well, and I will find out the truth, but obviously now is not the right time for me to be kicking off about it.’

‘So, your mum is absolutely one hundred per cent positive that Denise is making the whole thing up?’

‘Cross my heart, and don’t worry about work. We’re gonna be getting our own place soon and your job will be to cook and clean indoors then. It’s only poxy Woolworth’s. I don’t really want you working there anyway. It looks bad on me.’

Nancy was immediately startled. She liked her job in Woolworth’s, had made some good friends there, and she adored working alongside Rhonda. They had such a laugh in Woolies, and sitting at home bored stiff didn’t bear thinking of. ‘Look, Michael, once we get married and start a family, I will obviously give up work to bring up our children, but until then I want to continue working. I know it’s not the best job in the world, but I actually really enjoy it.’

Knowing that it was the wrong time to argue this point, Michael kissed Nancy on the forehead. ‘OK, but I insist you take tomorrow off. We’re bound to be stuck up here all night and you can’t go to work with no sleep. Now drink your tea, and let’s get back to the others and see if there is any news on Roy yet.’

After going outside to get a bit of fresh air to try to clear his fucked-up head, Vinny was amazed when his mum and aunt informed him that Colleen had now been sedated and given a bed in the hospital herself for the night. Vinny couldn’t help but smirk. ‘Fuck me. She’s gonna make a great nurse her, ain’t she?’ he quipped.

For once, Queenie was in no mood for Vinny’s little jokes. Even though he hadn’t admitted it when she had asked him earlier, Queenie was no fool and she knew that the bullet that was currently being removed from Roy’s shattered skull had actually hit the wrong son. ‘Don’t be so sodding heartless, Vinny. How did you expect the girl to react? Her engagement party was meant to be one of the best days of her life. Colleen didn’t expect it to end not knowing if her future husband was going to live or die, did she?’

‘Mum, the doctor’s coming now,’ Lenny said, rushing down the corridor.

Vivian and Queenie both leapt out of their seats. Brenda laid her head on Dean’s shoulder and for the first time in her life, silently prayed.

‘Is he OK? Please tell me the operation was a success?’ Queenie gabbled, beside herself once again.

‘He is alive, ain’t he?’ Vivian asked, noting the serious expression in the doctor’s eyes.

‘Yes, Roy is still alive. Shall we have a chat in one of the family rooms, Mrs Butler?’

Clinging to her sister’s arm, Queenie shook her head. ‘Whatever you’ve got to say, just say it here. We’re all family.’

Urging Queenie to sit down, Dr Howard sat on a chair next to her. ‘Overall, the operation performed on your son was a success.’

‘Thank you, God. Thank you so, so much,’ Queenie whispered, clasping her hands together and staring at the ceiling.

‘However, even though we are sure we have removed most of the fragments of the bullet, there has been some bleeding to the brain which might well cause other complications.’

Vivian chewed at her fingernails. ‘What sort of complications?’

‘My brother is gonna be OK, right?’ Vinny asked.

Dr Howard took a deep breath. ‘To be honest, it is a miracle that your brother is still with us. We will be able to tell you more about what the future holds if and when Roy regains consciousness.’

Feeling the colour drain from his face, Michael clutched Nancy’s hand for support. ‘What do you mean, if and when he regains consciousness? You must know if Roy is gonna wake up or not?’

If there was one thing that Queenie hated it was being kept in the dark. ‘Look ’ere, Doctor. That is my son lying in there and, good or bad, I want to know the truth about his condition. We’re a strong family and you don’t have to dress things up for the likes of us.’

‘The truth is, Mrs Butler, brain injuries of this kind are very hard to predict the outcome of. Obviously, there is a chance that your son might never regain consciousness, but we are extremely hopeful that he will.’

‘I don’t want my cousin to die. I love him,’ Lenny wept.

Vivian cuddled her distraught son. ‘Roy needs you to be brave, son. He ain’t gonna die, not with his genes.’

‘My poor boy. When he wakes up, he will still be able to walk and talk properly, won’t he, Doctor?’ Queenie asked.

‘I really can’t answer that question, Mrs Butler. We will not know the full extent of Roy’s injuries until he wakes up.’

Vinny began pacing up and down the corridor. ‘Apart from my brother actually dying, I wanna know the worst scenario, Doctor. As a family, we need to be prepared for what might lie ahead of us.’

Dr Howard sighed. He was used to giving out bad news to people, but never found it an easy task dealing with families such as the Butlers. Hardcore East Enders were always pessimists rather than optimists, and seemed to crave to hear the worst.

‘OK. I will explain this as thoroughly as I can to you all. Obviously, there is a small chance that Roy might wake up and be exactly as he was before, but this is highly unlikely. The probability is, Roy’s memory will be affected and he will have to learn some basics all over again. By basics, I mean, walking, talking, dressing himself, eating, even using his arms possibly. That is the usual scenario with injuries such as Roy has sustained, but you never know what to fully expect until the patient is fully conscious, and Roy could turn out to be one of the lucky ones. If he isn’t, then we have specialists that he will work with to help rehabilitate him back into society once more.’

Realizing there was a strong chance that his brother might wake up to be what he had always called a vegetable was far too much for Vinny to take in, and he started to head-butt a nearby wall.

When Queenie and Vivian both leapt up to try and calm him down, realizing they were having no joy, Michael quickly took matters into his own hands. He put his arm around his brother’s shoulders and spoke softly to him. ‘You’re upsetting everyone, mate. Roy’s gonna be OK. We both know he’s as strong as an ox. Let’s go outside and get some fresh air, eh? I dunno about you but I could really do with a smoke.’

When Vinny allowed Michael to lead him down the corridor, Queenie put her head in her hands. What she had gone through tonight was every mother’s worst nightmare, and she knew in her heart of hearts that her strapping, handsome middle son would never be the same again. Mother’s intuition was a strong thing, and Queenie had been born with a bucketful of the stuff.