Payback

‘What’s the matter with you? Been struck dumb?’

Vinny recovered himself and fished in his pocket. ‘No. I have something for you, Mum. You’ve had so much on your plate, I thought I’d wait until after the funeral to give it to you.’ He produced a white envelope and handed it to her.

‘Who’s it from?’

‘It’s from Roy, Mum.’

Unaware that he was currently on Vinny Butler’s mind, Johnny Preston sat down opposite his ex-wife in the visiting room. Deborah hadn’t changed her name after their divorce, which was just as well as Johnny had recently proposed again, and she had accepted. ‘How’s things, love? Did you hear from Jo?’

Deborah felt sick with worry. Johnny had been adamant that Joanna would ring home on her eighteenth birthday, and he had been right. Now all she had to do was break the awful news to him.

‘Well?’ Johnny asked, his voice overloaded with impatience.

‘Yes, Jo rang me, Johnny. She said she missed us both and wanted to build bridges.’

Johnny grinned. ‘Well, that’s a start, ain’t it? Before you know it, she’ll see that no good prick for what he really is, Deb.’

Deborah squeezed the hands of the man she loved so very much. Johnny had once been a South London gangster, was in the know, so would hear the news anyway. Surely, it was kinder and better coming from her? ‘John, love … Jo’s pregnant.’

The breakfast in the Scrubs wasn’t the best and Johnny immediately felt his rise to the back of his throat. Moments later, he was violently sick.

Michael Butler was doing his best to tidy up in preparation for Nancy’s homecoming when the doorbell rang.

‘Dad, it’s Uncle Vinny,’ Lee shouted out.

‘What’s up?’ Michael asked. It was unusual for Vinny to turn up at his house without prior warning.

Vinny gesticulated for Michael to follow him outside. ‘I didn’t want to speak on the phone for obvious reasons. But I thought you should know that the van’s been found.’

‘How do you know?’

‘I caught the back end of a news bulletin. We picked a good spot there as the farmer only discovered it yesterday morning. Try not to worry because even if Trevor has been reported missing, no way will the Old Bill be able to confirm it’s him after my dentistry work. I used gallons of petrol and all that will be left of the cunt is his ashes and some fragments of bone,’ Vinny chuckled.

‘It ain’t no laughing matter, Vin. Say the Old Bill do come sniffing around?’

‘And why would they do that? Nobody bar me or you knows that we were watching Trevor’s movements and there’s sod all to link us to East Hanningfield. Stop panicking, for Christ’s sake, Michael. As I’ve said all along, the filth will not be able to identify Trevor, you mark my words.’

When Bobby Jackson strolled into the Blind Beggar, the pub immediately fell silent. Most of the customers had gone to Roy and Lenny’s funeral, then the wake afterwards, and the few that had not were well aware of Bobby being dragged out of the club by Vinny. News tended to spread like wildfire in Whitechapel, especially when the Butlers were involved.

‘What you lot staring at? Haven’t you ever seen stitches before?’ Bobby shouted out, before marching over to the corner of the bar where his pal Micky was.

‘Jesus, Bob. That’s gonna be some scar you’re left with there. I heard what happened. Whatever possessed you to set foot inside the Butlers’ club?’

‘I was pissed and the door was open. Unlike you and most of the mugs round here, I ain’t frightened of the Butlers. Fronted Vinny outside, I did. Called him every name under the sun and I told him I knew he’d done my old man in,’ Bobby exaggerated.

‘How many stitches you had?’ Micky shook his head. ‘I’m sure you’ve got a death wish at times, mate.’

‘Thirty-odd – and don’t you be worrying about me, Mick. I’ll strike one day and when I do that cunt Vinny won’t know what’s hit him. He’ll get his comeuppance, you wait and see.’

Queenie waited until Brenda, Tara and Little Vinny had gone to bed before she sat down and opened Roy’s letter. She had honestly thought her son had left this world without saying a proper goodbye to her and was so chuffed to discover that he hadn’t. Taking a sip of her sherry and a deep breath, Queenie rested her eyes on the page.

Dear Mum

I know if you are reading this letter then my plan and wish to die have been successful. I must explain why I did what I did, and I pray that you will understand.

I could never cope with being confined to a wheelchair from day one, and being paralysed down one side of my body was so awful. Even my face looked terrible where my mouth had dropped and I felt like a freak.

It made me bitter and I know I was nasty to people. Often in the night, I would dream of working at the club and being the man I used to be, then I would wake up and remember that I would never be that man again …

Queenie put the letter on the arm of the sofa. Her tears were dripping onto it, and she didn’t want it ruined. She wanted to treasure it for ever.

Five minutes and another sherry later, she found the strength to continue reading.

You were so lovely and kind every time you came to see me, Mum, and so was Auntie Viv. You deserved so much better than spending the rest of your lives worrying about and visiting some miserable bastard like me. Colleen and Emily-Mae both deserved more too, which is why I set them free.

I have forgiven Vinny, Mum, as not only do I want to rest in peace, I also know it is what you would have wanted. It was down to his past mistakes that I got shot, but he never pulled the trigger on the gun, so I could never truly hate him. It just used to make me angry when I saw him casually walking towards me in those smart suits, as I so craved to be able to do the same again myself.

Before I end this letter I want to ask a few favours from you. Firstly, I want you to be nice to my dad from now on. I know he was a bastard to you years ago, but he isn’t a bad man. I think he just felt very left out because Auntie Viv was always at the house, which is probably why he turned into a drinker and a womanizer.

Secondly, I want you to make sure Emily-Mae gets her inheritance. I still have quite a sum of money in my bank account and I want every penny to go to her when she is sixteen. I know Colleen has a new man now, but that does not alter my wishes. Emily-Mae is my daughter and I want to be the one to support her when she leaves school.

And last but not least, I want you to promise me that after reading this letter you won’t be sad any more. You have always been the strong one of the family and they all need you – Vinny, Michael, Brenda, Auntie Viv, and especially Champ and Little Vinny. You must be happy, Mum, please don’t cry any more.

Until we meet again,

Your loving son,

Roy xxx

Queenie put the letter down beside her and cried more than she had ever cried before.

CHAPTER FIVE

Spring 1977

Hearing the wonderful voice of Barbra Streisand enhance the radio airwaves, Queenie Butler turned up the volume. Chart music had been wonderful back in the fifties and sixties, but apart from the likes of Barbra, Queenie hated it now. The charts were full of disco music, and as for that punk rubbish, she could not even understand what those vagrant-looking creatures were singing.

Queenie sat down on the armchair and sipped her tea. ‘Morning, boys,’ she said to the photo that now took pride of place on her lounge wall. She didn’t have many photos with just Roy and Lenny in them, but this one was a beauty and she’d had it blown up.

The farewell letter Roy had written her had helped Queenie cope with his death. She had always known how unhappy he’d been after the shooting, though she’d never wanted to admit it. The letter had helped her face facts, and if she were honest it was a relief knowing her son wasn’t suffering any more. Lenny’s death, however, was a different kettle of fish. That boy had died way before his time and, unlike Roy, he had been a happy little soul. Queenie was amazed Vinny hadn’t yet sorted that Turkish bastard out, but her son assured her he planned to and was just biding his time. Queenie would never be able to rest until that day came. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth had always been her motto.

When the phone rang, she answered it and smiled as she heard the sound of her sister’s cheery voice. Vivian’s recovery had been a long and winding road, but she was more than on the mend now. For the past seven months she’d been residing at Goodmayes Hospital – or West Ham Borough Asylum as it used to be known, which Queenie could never understand as it wasn’t even situated in West Ham.

‘Not long now, Vivvy. Five days and you’ll be back in your own bed,’ Queenie reminded her sister. Vivian had her three-monthly review this coming Wednesday, and the doctor had already told Queenie and Vinny that Viv was ready to return home.

‘Oh, I can’t bloody wait, Queen. Nutty Nora’s been at it again. Yesterday she was a bestselling author and today she’s a famous film star. Been flouncing around in her nightie this morning quoting lines from Sunset Boulevard.’

Queenie chuckled. Now that Viv’s humour had returned, the pair of them could share a right old giggle at the expense of some of the other patients.

‘How’s Bren and the baby doing, Queen? No news on Vinny’s little ’un yet, I take it?’

‘No, no news. Jo is long overdue now. She has another hospital appointment on Monday and I reckon they’ll keep her in and start her off. She can barely move and feels ever so uncomfortable, the poor little cow. Vinny said she’s been having trouble sleeping as well. Bren’s OK. She came out of hospital yesterday and is going to stay here for a week or two before she goes home. Tommy’s a gorgeous baby, Viv. Big fat cheeks, arms and legs. You wait until you see him. Happy little soul he is, too. Rarely ever cries. Shame the same can’t be said about the other one,’ Queenie said, referring to her sulky granddaughter.

‘Has Bren mentioned Dean lately?’ Vivian asked. It had been over seven months now since her niece’s husband went out for a newspaper and never returned.

‘Not since the birth, but I can tell she’s missing him. That’s why I suggested she stay here for a while. Not going to be easy for her, bringing two up on her own. If I ever find out where that Dean Smart is, I swear I will pay him a visit and string him up by the bollocks. How a man can walk away and leave his kids is beyond me.’

‘Well, my Bill did,’ Viv reminded her. ‘What time you coming up to see me today? Will you be on your own?’

‘Yes. Michael’s going to drop me off and Vinny said he’ll pick me up. I’ll stop at Mum’s grave and put some fresh flowers down, then I’ll come straight to you. About two-ish, I reckon. I’ve written out a list of ideas for the street party. We’ll go over it together and you can add to it. I want our contribution to be better than anybody else’s, Viv. Vinny suggested setting up a music system in the front garden so we can play all the old wartime songs.’

Vivian smiled. She loved a sing-song and a royal celebration. The Queen’s Silver Jubilee was just what the doctor had ordered for her imminent homecoming.

Little Vinny Butler was currently in the doghouse. A fortnight ago, he and Ben Bloggs had broken into the general store run by the Indians along the High Street. The robbery had not been successful. An alarm had gone off and, even though the lads had scarpered quickly, the police had caught them hiding in an alleyway shortly afterwards with their hoard of stolen cigarettes.

Queenie Butler had gone apeshit when the police had knocked on her door in the middle of the night. Not only had her grandson lied to her about his whereabouts, he had also robbed a store that she used regularly.

The following morning, Queenie had rung her son to inform him Little Vinny would not be living with her any more. She had also marched the boy round to the Patels’ shop to make him apologize in person and offer his services to do any odd jobs on a Saturday for the next year.

‘Dad, please can I go out and play? I won’t go far and I’ll behave myself, I promise,’ Little Vinny begged.

‘No, son. I have to pop out in a bit and I need you to stay here and look after Jo for me. The baby might come anytime now, and Jo can’t be left alone.’

‘But I don’t want to stay ’ere with Jo, and I’m sick of hearing about the baby. I don’t like living here. I want to live with Nan again.’

‘Well, you should have thought of that before you robbed Mr Patel’s shop. Your nan won’t have you back, so best you get used to living here and start treating Jo with a bit more respect. Fucking rude you were earlier when she made you that sandwich. I want you to apologize to her.’

Unable to control his temper, Little Vinny punched the wall. He and his dad used to be so close once upon a time. Not any more though, and Little Vinny rued the day his dad had met Joanna Preston. In fact, he wished she would die.

Ahmed Zane met his cousin at their restaurant in Tottenham. Being Sunday lunchtime, the gaff was packed, so Ahmed followed Burak into the small office.

‘What’s that?’ Ahmed asked, clocking an unlabelled bottle.

‘Raki. I found us a new cheap supplier. Taste it.’ Burak poured a glass and handed it to him. ‘So, how’s it going with Vinny?’

‘OK. Since I started making more of an effort to spend time with him, he’s more like his old self. He still won’t touch any cocaine though, which is a damn shame. He was a lunatic on that stuff and would have had a really bad habit by now. It would have been so much easier to pull the wool over his eyes if he was permanently high like in the old days.’

‘Why don’t you try snorting in front of him?’ Burak suggested. ‘Lay a big mound out so he can’t help but be tempted. Once an addict, always an addict.’

‘I’ve already tried that. Reckons he won’t touch it because he promised his dead brother he wouldn’t. He’s acting all saintly at the moment and doesn’t even want to visit the whorehouses. He says it isn’t right because he has a new baby due any day.’

‘And what about his surprise gifts? Has he received any more of those?’

Ahmed shook his head. Vinny had not told him about the pistol-shaped flower arrangement until two weeks after the event. That was how Ahmed knew that his pal was wary of him now. Had the incident happened before the car crash, Vinny would have told him immediately.

The flowers had sod all to do with Ahmed, which meant somebody other than himself obviously had it in for Vinny. His car had recently been vandalized too, and the front of his club daubed with threatening and obscene graffiti. ‘I think it is time to put our real plan into action. As soon as the baby is born, I will make a fuss of the child. Then, we will start stitching its cunt of a father up good and proper. Those who sin must pay for their wrongdoings, Burak.’

‘Get away from us. Go on, go away,’ Vivian ordered. Mad Malcolm had a habit of staring at her and Queenie while trying to listen in on their conversations.

‘Gives me the fucking willies, he does,’ Queenie said when Malcolm slunk away like a scolded puppy.

Vivian laughed. She still missed her Lenny like mad, always would, but it was so nice to be able to smile and feel normal again. Some parts of the past seven months were a complete blank to Viv, especially around the time she tried to kill herself and first arrived at Goodmayes. There was no point crying over spilt milk, but Viv could never forgive herself for certain things. How could she have put Queenie through her attempted suicide and chucked all Lenny’s things away? She must have been really ill to do either.

‘I’ve been thinking, Queen. Can we go down to Kings on the first weekend I’m out? I would love a game of bingo and an hour or two in the amusements. I wonder if that handsome Mike is still running the arcade?’

Queenie squeezed her sister’s hands. Vinny had been trying to entice her down to Eastbourne ever since the holiday park reopened in April, but Queenie hadn’t been able to face it. She and Vivvy had loved that place and, without her sister by her side, it just didn’t feel right. ‘Oh, Viv, of course we can. I am so glad to have you back. My life was empty when you were ill.’

Vivian’s eyes filled up with tears. ‘And I’m sorry for what I put you through. I love you, Queen, and once I get out of this funny farm I intend to live the rest of my life to the full. I know we’ve both lost sons, but your Roy and my Lenny wouldn’t want us moping around.’

Queenie smiled. ‘You bet they wouldn’t.’

Michael Butler picked up the newspaper and immediately threw it back on the kitchen top. ‘BURNED ALIVE’ was the front-page headline and Michael could not stomach such stories any more.

Trevor Thomas’s death still played on Michael’s mind. Three days after his remains were found, the police had turned up at the club asking questions. Trevor had been identified by breaks he’d suffered in his collarbone and left leg in the past. He’d also had a plate and screws put in his knee, which made him even more identifiable.

Vinny had been as cool as a cucumber when the Old Bill showed up, insisting that he had not seen Trevor since he ran off with Yvonne. ‘No disrespect, officer, but I was no more than a child when Trevor ran off with my bird. I am now a man in a stable relationship with my second kid on the way. Do you honestly think I would still be bothered about some teenage love affair that happened all those years ago?’

Michael had been anything but cool, but had backed up the alibi that he and Vinny had concocted. Forensics had managed to narrow down the day the fire had been started on, and the guvnor of the Blind Beggar had verified that Vinny and Michael had been in the pub that particular evening.

Thankfully, the police hadn’t returned. Michael had asked Vinny not to talk about Trevor’s death any more. He did not admit to his brother that he kept having reoccurring nightmares about it. What would be the point? Vinny would only have taken the piss out of him.

Daniel and Adam running into the kitchen snapped Michael out of his daydream. ‘We’re going now, Dad,’ Daniel said, hugging his father’s leg.

Michael Butler ruffled his sons’ hair and kissed his wife goodbye. Nancy was spending the night at her parents’ house with Daniel and Adam, which she now did a couple of times a month. Michael was quite happy with the set-up, as it gave him and Nancy a break from one another.

Life had been OK since Nancy came back home, but it hadn’t exactly been a bed of roses. His wife was very needy and it grated on Michael that when he wasn’t around to give her a helping hand she struggled with the basics of motherhood. She also treated Lee differently to her own sons, and that pissed Michael off immensely. In his eyes, if Nancy was a decent human being she would include Lee in the trips to her parents and the days out they had. She knew Lee had no grandparents on his mother’s side.

‘I’m looking forward to seeing the dog, Dad, but I am gonna miss my brothers,’ Lee told his father on the journey to his aunt’s house.

‘I know you will, boy.’ Lee had an aunt in Bow whom he stayed with whenever Daniel and Adam went to their grandparents, and he adored her old bull terrier, Spike.

After Michael had dropped Lee off, he got back in the car and grinned. His best pal Kevin was usually under the thumb but his wife was away visiting relatives, so today he and Kev were going out on a good old-fashioned pub crawl. Letting his hair down was just what Michael needed.

Vinny Butler was feeling anxious. He had never found out who had sent those flowers, and knowing somebody had it in for you, but not knowing who that person was, was driving him insane. He had always been paranoid when it came to his safety and that of his family, and now he felt as though he was constantly looking over his shoulder. He had even purchased two guns recently. One was hidden at the club and the other at home, just to be on the safe side.

Vinny had completely ruled Ahmed out of his list of suspects now. Things had been a bit stilted between the two of them for a month or so after the accident, but they had since got their friendship back on track. The drug business was becoming more and more profitable by the day, and Vinny knew Ahmed well enough to know vandalizing cars and daubing graffiti was not his pal’s style. Like himself, Ahmed had class, and would never resort to something so petty.

Vinny stared at the photo of himself, Roy and Michael that sat proudly on his office wall. It had been taken years ago, long before Roy’s accident. ‘If I were a betting man, Roy, my money would be on either Bobby Jackson or Johnny Preston pulling these stunts. What do you reckon, eh, bruv?’

Averting his focus from his unknown stalker, Vinny thought about Joanna. He had only got her up the spout to piss her father off and pay him back for shooting Roy, yet he was now really looking forward to the birth of his second child. He had dreaded the birth of Little Vinny when Karen was pregnant, but he loved being a dad and was hoping for a daughter this time around. Girls were more of a worry, but far less trouble than boys, he imagined.

Michael Butler was having a whale of a time. He was in the Carpenter’s Arms, and it had been a long time since he had really let his hair down.

‘Slow down a bit, mate. You’re drinking for England,’ Kevin said.

‘You’ve been sinking ’em like there’s no tomorrow as well. Talk about pot calling kettle,’ Michael retorted.

‘Are you insinuating I is black?’ Kevin joked.

Michael burst out laughing. Kev was mixed race and they went back years. When they were in their early teens there had been far fewer black faces in the East End, and whenever the pair of them came across some bigot, Kev would always lay on a thick Jamaican accent just for fun. His mum’s family were white and he barely knew his father, so Michael could never work out how he managed to do the accent so well.

‘What’s up? Who you looking at?’ Kevin asked.

Unable to tear his eyes away from the girl, Michael continued to stare at her. She was tall, dark-skinned, with long glossy hair and the sexiest body that Michael had ever seen. She was wearing high-heeled boots, a black leather jacket that had tassels swinging from the sleeves, and faded jeans.

Kevin changed seats and chuckled. ‘Put your tongue away, mate, you’re a married man now, remember?’

With his handsome face, cheeky grin and legendary chat-up lines, Michael had been a real player in his heyday. He had slept with so many girls his mum and aunt nicknamed him Alfie after the womanizing rogue played by Michael Caine in the film. Meeting Nancy had changed all that, but when the girl locked eyes with him, Michael could only think of one thing.

Fucking her senseless.

Vinny Butler was dumbfounded as he listened to what Paul had to say. ‘You sure it was her?’

When the doorman said he was positive, Vinny thanked him for the information, replaced the receiver, then grabbed his car keys. Seeing was believing and he needed to see the slag with his own eyes.

Joanna Preston clutched hold of the sink for support as the searing pain shot through her body again. Where was Vinny? He should have been home ages ago.

Feeling a strange sensation, she started to panic. There was water gushing out of her and it had created a puddle by her feet. Overcome by another jolt of pain, Joanna sank to her knees. ‘Vinny, Vinny. I need you to ring the club, and find out where your dad is. I think the baby’s coming,’ she screamed out.

Little Vinny was sitting on his bed listening to this week’s chart countdown. Debating whether to respond to Joanna’s desperate cries for help, he quickly decided against it. Instead, he turned the volume up on his radio and sang along with Joe Tex. ‘Ain’t Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)’ was such a catchy tune.

Vinny Butler’s heart was beating like a drum when he pulled up outside the Three Travellers pub in Dagenham. He hated the bitch with a passion, but felt anxious and sick to the stomach at the thought of seeing her again.