The Trap

‘I have a new best friend. Her name is Brenda and she is really nice. My teacher was lovely as well, but she is really fat,’ Nancy explained.

Mary chuckled. ‘Well, I wouldn’t be saying that about your teacher at school, darling. What about you, Christopher? Did you meet any new friends?’

‘Yep. Tommy is my new best mate. He wants to be a policeman just like me,’ Christopher said proudly.

Donald grinned and ruffled his son’s hair. Christopher had only had the fixation about becoming a policeman for the past few weeks. Before that, it was an airline pilot, then prior to that, a racing-car driver.

‘Can me and Christopher go out to play? My friend Brenda only lives five minutes away and Christopher’s friend Tommy lives in the same street. We all want to play hopscotch together,’ Nancy said, her voice brimming with excitement.

‘No, not today. Your mother and I haven’t met these friends of yours yet and we would like to ensure they come from good families before you go off street-raking with them,’ Donald said, in his usual prissy manner.

Her husband generally wore the trousers in their household, but for the second time just lately Mary felt compelled to put her foot down. ‘Don’t be such a stick-in-the-mud, Donald. It’s wonderful the children have made new friends on their first day at school and if they want to go out and play with them while we tidy up in here, then they shall.’

Donald wasn’t used to being undermined. ‘OK, Mary. But, I want them back by five for their tea and if they get themselves into any mischief, be it on your head.’

Vivian was busy scrubbing her doorstep to ensure it looked more pristine than anybody else’s, when she heard a terrible howling noise coming from behind her. Wondering what on earth it was, she stood up and was amazed to see Queenie clinging to the gatepost. ‘Whatever’s wrong?’ Vivian asked, dropping her brush and getting up off her hands and knees.

‘It’s Albie. Something terrible’s happened,’ Queenie sobbed.

Having had it hard for most of their childhood and adult lives, neither Queenie nor Vivian ever really cried. The last time they had done so was when their dear old mum had died but, bar that, Vivian couldn’t ever remember her sister shedding tears since girlhood, other than those of joy, when her children had been born. ‘Oh Queenie. Let’s get you inside. Has Albie died, love?’ Vivian asked, silently praying that he had.

‘I wish the old bastard was dead,’ Queenie spat, as Vivian sat her down on the sofa.

Pouring Queenie a large glass of brandy, Vivian listened in bewilderment when her sister explained exactly what had happened at the hospital.

‘I know it’s hard to swallow, but you’ll be far better off without him, Queenie. After the initial shock of finding out about my Bill’s affair, I’ve never been happier since I slung the old bastard out. You don’t need Albie. He’s a drunken fucking bum and I’m gobsmacked that he even managed to pull himself some young bird. I wouldn’t want him if he was the last man left on earth.’

‘I ain’t worried about fucking Albie. That dirty old goat can rot in hell as far as I’m concerned. It’s my boys lying to me that has cut me to pieces. I’ve no idea if my Michael knew as well, but Vinny and Roy most definitely did. How can they keep something like that from their dear old mum, eh? After everything I’ve done for ’em as well. Broke my fucking heart they have, Viv.’

Vivian put her arms around her distraught sister and held her close to her chest. ‘Your boys adore the ground you walk on, Queenie, and the only reason they would have kept this from you was to save you the hurt. I mean, if they went round and threatened Albie’s little whore then they were obviously dealing with things in their own way. ’Ere, something’s just occurred to me. What’s the betting that Albie never got jumped on by a gang of youths? I’d put money on it that his injuries are down to your Vinny and Roy, you know.’

For the first time since she had found out the mindblowing news, Queenie managed a smile. She had smelt something fishy about Albie getting jumped from the beginning. ‘I reckon you might be right, Viv, and if the boys did break Albie’s ribs and legs, I shall thank ’em rather than telling them off. I don’t want that tart having the baby though. No way do I want my kids to have to suffer that embarrassment.’

‘Don’t you worry. Vinny and Roy will make sure that kid goes down the khazi.’

Christopher was bowled over when he learned that Nancy’s new friend Brenda just happened to be Vinny Butler’s sister. ‘Do you think one day your brother will let us see inside his club?’ he asked, in a star-struck voice.

Thrilled that she had a new best friend and desperate to impress Nancy and her brother, Brenda nodded. ‘I’ll take you there now if you like. I pop in there all the time,’ she boasted.

‘I’d better go home for my tea now. Shall I meet you outside the café and walk to school with you in the morning?’ Tommy asked Christopher.

‘Yeah, see you tomorrow,’ Christopher said to his new pal.

The club was only a couple of minutes away and praying that her brothers were inside so she wouldn’t make herself look a fool, Brenda was relieved when Vinny answered the door.

‘You OK, sweetheart?’ he asked, noticing his sister had a grazed knee and dirty hands.

‘I fell over playing hopscotch and I want to wash my hands and knee. Can my friends come in?’

Poking his head around the door, Vinny was surprised to see Nancy and Christopher standing there. He had no idea they even knew his little sister. ‘Come on then. One glass of Coke and a bag of crisps each, then you’ll have to go. I’ve got some business to sort out in a bit,’ he said. The bent Chief Inspector was popping in to pick up his money for the alcohol licence and Vinny didn’t want him to clock the kids inside the club in case he tried to sting him for even more dosh.

‘What you doing here, trouble?’ Roy said, as Brenda ran towards him and Michael.

‘This is my new best friend, Nancy,’ Brenda said proudly.

‘Hello,’ Nancy mumbled.

‘Well, ain’t you a pretty little thing,’ Michael said, winking at her.

‘Yep, she’ll break some hearts one day, like they all do,’ Vinny said, half-joking, half-serious, as he put the Coke and crisps on a table.

‘You all right, boy?’ Roy asked Christopher. The lad looked as if he was in a trance and was gazing around the club with his mouth wide open.

‘That’s my brother,’ Nancy said, smiling at Michael. She found Roy and Vinny a bit scary, but had immediately taken to Michael because he had such a kind face.

‘I really like your club,’ Christopher said, looking at Vinny in awe.

‘Cheers, boy,’ Vinny chuckled.

‘You been home from school yet, Bren? Is Mum and Auntie Viv OK?’ Roy asked.

‘Yeah, I’ve been home, but Mum was upset and she went to sit in Auntie Viv’s house.’

Vinny was immediately alarmed. ‘What do you mean, upset? What was wrong with her?’

‘Dunno. She was sitting on Auntie Viv’s sofa drinking brandy and she looked like she’d been crying.’

‘Why didn’t you bleedin’ well tell me that when you knocked on the door?’ Vinny asked, suddenly agitated.

‘Don’t have a go at her, Vin,’ Roy urged. His brother’s mouth could run away with him at times.

‘Shall I pop round there and make sure everything’s OK?’ Michael offered. Since Vinny had had a go at him, he was trying to do his best to please.

Vinny and Roy glanced at one another. Both were thinking the same thing. Their mother was a tough old East End bird, she never cried, so she had either found out that Vinny had attacked their father, or she knew about his affair.

‘I’ve gotta wait here for Geary, so you pop round home, Roy. You, Michael, can have the night off.’

‘Do you want me to go home to Mum as well?’ Brenda didn’t understand what the hell was going on.

Vinny handed his sister a pound note. ‘No. You take that, buy your friends some sweets and split the change equally between yous. Don’t go home just yet, Bren.’

When Michael opened the door of the club, ruffled her hair and called her sweetheart, Nancy couldn’t look him in the eyes. For the first time ever she had a crush on somebody, but unfortunately for Nancy, he was five years her senior.

CHAPTER SIX

‘I’m really sorry, Mum. I was going to tell you in front of Dad at Michael’s birthday lunch, but when I found out about the baby, I decided to sort it meself. Please forgive me,’ Vinny said, staring at his expensive black leather shoes in shame. Vinny loved his mother more than anybody else in the world. If it wasn’t for her sound advice, he wouldn’t be the man he was today. ‘Vinny, you do whatever it takes to make something of your life. It’s better to be a somebody than a nobody, son, and if that means stealing and stamping out people along the way, then so be it. Don’t ever knock or ill-treat your own kind though. You look after them,’ his mum had told him on the day he’d left school.

Aware that her son looked distraught, Queenie put her arms around him and gave him a motherly hug. Vinny was genuinely sorry, she knew that, and she was also thrilled when he had admitted to her that it was him who had put his father in hospital. ‘Let’s put all this behind us now. Your father ain’t worth the salt in our tears, boy. And thanks for giving him such a good going-over. You did me proud.’

Thrilled that his beloved mother was no longer angry with him, Vinny hugged her tightly to his chest.

Johnny Preston was parked up in his Triumph Herald approximately fifty yards from Queenie Butler’s house. Johnny loved his new set of wheels. It was a white convertible and a real babe magnet, just like himself.

With his strawberry-blond hair, six-foot frame, and Adonis-like physique, Johnny Preston was a handsome bastard and he knew it.

‘Cor, it’s fucking taters sitting here. Run the engine, so we can warm ourselves up a bit,’ Dave said to Johnny.

Johnny turned to his pal and shook his head in mock disbelief. Dave Phillips was his best mate. They had been as thick as thieves since the age of six and Dave was one of the toughest bastards that Johnny knew. Until it came to the weather, that was. As soon as the temperature fell below five degrees, Dave had a terrible habit of turning into a big girl’s blouse.

‘You’re such a tart, Phillips,’ Johnny said, starting the ignition. He turned up the volume of the radio. The Kinks were one of Johnny’s favourite bands and as he sang along to ‘Tired of Waiting for You’, he thought how very apt the song was. The reason being, he was getting fucking sick of waiting for mummy’s boy Vinny Butler to reappear from Queenie’s house.

Vinny still being tied to his mother’s apron strings was well-known amongst the criminal fraternity in London. As far as Johnny knew, nobody had ever said anything to Vinny’s face, but Johnny was well aware that many people laughed at Vinny’s almost incestuous relationship with her. He had even heard Mad Frankie Fraser joke about it once or twice.

It was because of his desperation to worm his way in with Mad Frankie and, in particular, Eddie Richardson, that Johnny had decided to confront Vinny Butler with only Dave as back-up. Their other pal Graeme was currently banged-up. You had to earn your kudos to be accepted by such people as the Richardsons and Mad Frankie and Johnny knew that to show such bravery as taking on the Butlers would win him a massive mark of respect. At the moment Mad Frankie and Eddie Richardson were keeping him at arm’s length, but Johnny was determined to change his idol’s opinion of him. Now twenty-seven, he had been forced to marry his wife, Deborah, several years ago after putting her in the family way and even though he still fucked anything with a pulse, he adored his two children, Joanna and Johnny Junior. He wanted to enrol them in the best schools and lavish them with untold wealth and he would do anything to make that happen, even if that did mean snuffing out Vinny and Roy Butler nigh-on singlehandedly.

‘Here he is now,’ Dave said, his voice full of adrenaline. The plan was to give Vinny Butler the pasting of his life and warn him if he or Roy ever went near Judy again, they would both be shot to smithereens.

Johnny punched his steering wheel with frustration. ‘Bollocks! The big fucking Mary-Ann is obviously going out on a family outing. What a waste of an afternoon.’

‘Can’t we just follow ’em and jump Vinny wherever he goes? His brothers ain’t with him,’ Dave suggested.

‘Nah, I don’t mind giving him a good hiding in front of his mother and aunt, but we can’t touch him in front of that backward nephew,’ Johnny replied sensibly.

‘Why not?’

‘Use your loaf, Dave. If we wanna move in the right circles we can’t be involving little ’uns, especially simple ones. It ain’t the done thing, mate.’

‘What we gonna do now then?’ Dave asked.

Johnny released the handbrake and put his foot on the accelerator. ‘Call it a day and come back tomorrow. Don’t worry, Davey Boy. Vinny Butler will get his comeuppance in the not-too-distant future. Nobody threatens my sister and gets away with it and I mean that with all my fucking heart.’

Albie Butler felt almost suicidal. Not only did he have two broken legs and three broken ribs, he was now homeless, and had a wife and a pregnant ex-girlfriend who both hated him with a passion.

‘Hitler in a German tank, parlez vous. Hitler in a German tank, parlez vous. Hitler in a German tank, reading the Beano and having a wank. Inky pinky parlez vous,’ sang old Mr Perry in the next bed.

Albie put his bruised head in his hands. Old Mr Perry had done nothing but sing war songs all day and if his legs hadn’t been in traction, Albie would have leapt out of the bed and throttled him by his scrawny neck.

‘Dad.’

Albie looked up and was thrilled to see Roy and Michael standing there. ‘Oh, it’s so good to see you, boys. That old goat in the next bed has been doing my bleedin’ head in all day. You ain’t bought your old dad a bottle of brandy by any chance?’ Albie said, directing the question towards his youngest son. Unlike that sadistic bastard Vinny, Michael was a good kid and had visited him every day with an alcoholic gift. They say you shouldn’t have a favourite son, but Michael had always been Albie’s. They had a special bond between them, which Albie had never experienced with Roy or Vinny.

For the first time in his life, Michael looked at his father with hatred in his eyes. Learning his dad had betrayed his mum in such an awful manner had been like having a light switched on in his brain, and he now saw his father just as his brothers did. ‘All we’ve bought you is your clothes from Mum’s house. They’re in two binliners and we gave them to the nurse. I never thought I would hear myself say this, but you are fucking scum, Dad, and I no longer consider myself to be your son.’

‘Yee-haw,’ old Mr Perry shouted with glee.

Roy looked at his brother in astonishment. Michael had always been the soft-as-shit pleasant one out of the three of them, yet within two days of working with him and Vinny, he seemed to have grown bollocks and turned from a boy into a man.

‘And don’t you ever contact us or our mum again,’ Roy threatened, waving a finger in the direction of his father’s shocked face.

‘Don’t go, boys. Please don’t go,’ Albie begged, near to tears.

When Roy and Michael ignored their father’s plea and stomped out of the ward, old Mr Perry broke into song again. Vera Lynn’s ‘We’ll Meet Again’ was one of his all-time favourites.

Over at the café, Mary and Shirley were singing along to Sonny and Cher’s ‘I Got You Babe’ as they buttered a loaf of bread between them. ‘Christ, I totally forgot to ask you how the kids got on at school. No more tears from Nancy, I hope?’ Shirley asked.

Mary chuckled. ‘Nope, no more tears. Both of them absolutely loved their new schools and they’ve made friends already. Nancy has met a mate called Brenda and Christopher has palled up with a lad called Tommy.’

‘Ah, bless ’em. I wonder if Nancy’s mate is my friend Queenie’s daughter. Her name is Brenda and she’s about the same age as your Nancy.’

Realizing that Shirley was referring to the Butler family, Mary stopped buttering her bread and turned to her employee. ‘I’ll have to ask Nancy what her friend’s surname is. What are they like, that Butler family? Queenie and her sister have been in here a couple of times and they seem nice enough. One of the sons came in as well. My Donald wasn’t happy because he gave our Christopher some money. Donald doesn’t like the children taking money off strangers, so he made Christopher give it back to him.’

‘Queenie and Vivian are diamonds, Mary. Both got lovely houses that are spotlessly clean and their doorsteps are gleaming. Young Brenda’s a good kid and so are the three boys. You don’t mess with them though, if you know what I mean? Especially the eldest lad, Vinny. He has a bit of a reputation around here for being more than a handful, but he’s different again with his mum. Worships the ground Queenie walks on, that boy does.’

A customer who wanted serving ended the conversation and as Mary wrote down the order, she said a silent prayer for Nancy’s new friend not to be Brenda Butler. If she was and Donald found out, all hell was sure to break loose.

Under strict instructions from their father, Nancy and Christopher arrived home with their two new friends in tow.

‘This is Brenda,’ Nancy announced.

‘And this is Tommy,’ Christopher said, proudly.

The café was virtually empty and seeing as he and Mary now closed at four, Donald ordered the children to sit down at a table.

‘I know both your mums are probably cooking for you, but we’ve some chips left over in the kitchen. Shall I put them on a plate so you can all share them? There’s not that many so I doubt it will spoil your dinner,’ Mary said.

‘Yes please, and can I have a can of cola as well?’ Brenda asked cheekily.

Donald took an instant dislike to Brenda. She had been far too brazen asking for a drink for his liking and he didn’t want his Nancy copying that type of behaviour. He had brought her up to have impeccable manners.

‘I really like your café, Sir. Does that play music?’ Tommy asked Donald, pointing at the jukebox.

Donald smiled before answering the boy. Tommy had already won him over by calling him Sir.

‘There you go,’ Mary said, putting a plate of chips and four cans of cola on the table. She knew why Donald had insisted on meeting their children’s friends. He was a very particular man and was bound to interrogate them to ensure they came from decent families.

‘So, what does your dad do? Does he have a job?’ Donald asked Tommy.

‘Yeah, my dad grafts really hard, Sir. He works down the docks.’

‘And what about your mother? Does she work too?’

‘No, Sir. I have two younger brothers, so my mum stays at home to look after them.’

Mary was a bundle of nerves as Donald turned to Brenda. ‘And what about you, Brenda? Does your dad go to work?’

‘My dad don’t live with us any more. My mum has chucked him out. He was always drunk, but my mum didn’t chuck him out because of that. He got another woman pregnant. I’m not meant to know that, but I heard my mum and aunt talking about it in the kitchen last night.’

Absolutely appalled, Donald glanced at his wife.

Mary couldn’t look at her husband. ‘Oh well, I suppose you’d better hurry up and eat those chips in case your mums are wondering where you are. Me and Donald don’t want to get ourselves into trouble for you two being late home,’ Mary said, adding a false chuckle.

‘I told my mum I was coming here,’ Tommy said.

‘Yeah, so did I,’ Brenda added.

‘So, do you have brothers and sisters, Brenda?’ Donald asked.

‘Yeah, I got three brothers, Vinny, Roy and Michael. Lenny is like a brother as well but he is really my cousin.’

Recognizing the name Vinny, Donald felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. ‘And do your brothers work? Or are they still at school?’ Donald pried.

‘They have got their own business. They own the snooker club just around the corner. Michael used to be a mechanic but Vinny made him give his job up. Everybody knows my brothers. My mum reckons they’re more famous than the Kray twins,’ Brenda explained proudly.

Having already heard enough, Donald stood up and gestured for his wife to follow him into the kitchen. ‘Did you know that our daughter’s friend was part of that family of scoundrels?’ he asked Mary accusingly.

‘No, of course I didn’t. I’m not a bloody mind-reader, Donald.’

‘Well, I’m afraid the friendship will have to end. I will not have my Nancy involved with such people. You shall tell her tonight that she isn’t to be friends with Brenda any more. Our Nancy will soon make other friends,’ Donald stated.

‘I can’t stop them from being friends, Donald. They sit next to one another at bloody school. I really do think you are overreacting a bit. Brenda might be a little rough around the edges, but she seems a nice-enough child. Not all children have been lucky enough to have the upbringing that ours have.’

‘I am not overreacting, Mary. I obviously just care about my children’s welfare a tad more than you do. Tomorrow, I want you to pay a visit to Nancy’s headmaster and demand that she be moved into a different class.’

‘I will do no such thing,’ Mary said, her eyes blazing with anger.

‘Well, if you won’t, then I will,’ Donald argued.

Mary was absolutely raging now. ‘Are you determined to balls things up for us here, Donald? Our new business is a roaring success already. Our children are content and have new friends, yet you still can’t be happy. For your information, Shirley was telling me about the Butler family only today. She said Brenda’s mum is a lovely lady with a spotlessly clean house. She also spoke highly of the three boys. Obviously, as we already know, Shirley did say that they are a family not to be messed with, which is why you will not stop our Nancy from being friends with Brenda. For some reason, you seem intent on bringing trouble to our door and if you carry on doing so, and ruin our wonderful business that we have worked so hard for, I swear I will divorce you. Now, get off your high horse and leave me to decide what is and isn’t best for our children, OK?’

Totally gobsmacked by the way his wife had just spoken to him, Donald decided that he was out of his depth with this particular argument. ‘OK, we will do things your way, Mary. But, if that despicable family ever bring trouble to us or our children’s lives, it will be me who files for divorce.’

CHAPTER SEVEN

Queenie spent the morning of her birthday putting up her Christmas tree and decorations. Vinnie had organised a small party for her at the club later, which had been Lenny’s idea.

‘What you doing now, Mum?’ Brenda asked, when her mother climbed up the stepladder.

‘Putting these paper chains across the ceiling to make it look a bit more festive.’

‘Mum, you know your birthday party?’

Securing the paper chain with two drawing pins, Queenie stepped down from the ladder. ‘Yes.’

‘Would it be OK if I invited my friend Nancy?’ Brenda asked hopefully.

Queenie smiled. ‘Of course you can, angel. You’d best invite her little brother as well though. You can’t invite one without the other.’

Over at the club, Vinny had been up since dawn getting things ready for his mum’s birthday party. ‘About fucking time you showed your face and I hope you’ve got rid of that slag,’ Vinny said as his brother appeared looking dishevelled.

Roy sighed. He didn’t often allow birds to stay upstairs in his bed. Once or twice a month, top whack. Yet every time he did so, Vinny would always have something to say about it. Deciding to stand up to his brother for once, Roy glared at him. ‘The slag as you so politely called her went home a couple of hours ago. What is your problem, Vin? I’m a single eighteen-year-old fella, so why is it a crime for me to get me nuts in here and there?’