Payback (11 page)

Michael sat up and put his unshaven face in his hands. Knowing his pal would disapprove, he had not felt able to confide in Kevin and he needed to tell somebody. ‘I’ve done something stupid, bruv.’

‘What?’

‘I stayed round some bird’s house last Sunday and I can’t get her out of my mind.’

Vinny grabbed a chair and sat on it the wrong way round so he could face his brother. He had always hated Nancy, so this was welcome news to him. ‘Well, well, well. Alfie strikes again! Don’t feel guilty, bruv, not after the shit you’ve had to put up with. Been a crap mother and wife, has Nancy, and I just don’t fall for all that depression bollocks. Auntie Viv’s been mentally ill, the real deal – Nancy’s only playing you. So, who is this bird then? Where did you meet her?’

Michael explained about his day out with Kev and where he’d met Bella. ‘She’s really beautiful, Vin, and stinking rich. I’ve never met a bird that could mesmerize me like she did. I stayed the night at hers and, even though I felt as guilty as hell in the morning, I had to have her again. The sex was incredible, it really was.’

‘Well, if I was you I’d get straight on that blower and call her. Birds like that don’t come along too often. I’ll always cover for you here if you want to get your nuts in.’

‘But what about Nancy?’

‘What about her?’ Vinny shrugged. ‘This is the same Nancy that can’t be bothered with or accept your eldest son, isn’t it? I rest my case.’

Johnny Preston was sitting in the visiting room opposite his ex-wife, who was now his fiancée again. She had just informed him that Joanna had given birth to a baby girl and instead of going ballistic, as he would have done in the past, Johnny was calm and deep in thought.

‘Well, say something then, Johnny. You’re making me feel uneasy,’ Deborah urged. She couldn’t shake off the memory of what had happened when he found out Joanna and Vinny were a couple. Such was his pain, Johnny had tried heroin for the very first time, taking an overdose which had very nearly resulted in Deborah losing the man she loved.

‘How did Joanna sound on the phone? Did you speak to her for long?’ Johnny asked.

‘We chatted for about five minutes. She seemed happy enough in herself and spoke constantly about the baby. She’s called her Molly and said she weighed ten pound. Obviously, Jo asked about you. She also said she’d love me to meet the baby. I refused, of course. My loyalties will always lie with you, Johnny, and I want nothing to do with that bastard Vinny whatsoever.’

Squeezing Deborah’s hands, Johnny forced a smile. He had done a lot of thinking while waiting to be told his grandchild had arrived and now he had come to a decision. The thought of Vinny Butler being anywhere near his beautiful daughter still made Johnny feel physically sick, but there was sod all he could do about it so long as he was stuck inside. He didn’t have that many links to the underworld and there were only two guys he’d have trusted enough to ask for help, but both were unfortunately dead now. ‘I want you to do something for me, Deb. I want you to make things right with Jo and visit her regularly.’

‘What! Are you mad? I can’t sit there playing happy families, Johnny. He makes my skin crawl.’

‘He makes mine crawl too, but this isn’t about Vinny, it’s about making sure our daughter is OK. It will drive me bonkers trying to get through the rest of my sentence not knowing how Jo is coping with that bastard and a kiddie. I’m just relieved she had a girl and not a boy. At least it won’t turn out like him. Please say you’ll do this for me, Deb. That girl will need you, you can bet your life on that.’

Deborah reluctantly nodded. She was still angry with Joanna, but all the same she missed her, and if it put Johnny’s mind at rest, it was the least she could do.

Johnny grinned. ‘That’s my girl.’

Ahmed Zane sat down opposite his cousin in their restaurant. He had a severe stiff neck today, a regular occurrence since the accident, but he knew he had been lucky over all.

‘Is your neck playing you up again?’ Burak asked.

‘Yes, but it’s nothing that tucking up Vinny won’t cure, which is the reason for my visit today. I have set the ball rolling already. Hakan and Bora Koç are coming to London to play our two Mr Bigs. They are perfect for the role, especially Hakan. I have agreed to pay them ten grand each for their trouble, and they will also get a two-week holiday, no expense spared. What do you think?’

Burak grinned. Hakan and Bora were old associates of his and Ahmed’s from Istanbul and were more than capable of pulling the wool over Vinny Butler’s eyes. ‘When will they arrive?’

‘I haven’t booked their flights yet. We need to make sure Vinny falls for my lies first. I’m sure he will though. And seeing as he hasn’t any contacts himself, he has no option but to trust me,’ Ahmed replied. Vinny had never met his supplier. The guy was Turkish and would only ever deal with his own kind. He didn’t trust the English.

‘When will you tell Vinny?’

‘This afternoon. I have a carload of presents for his baby and I am meeting him at his house at four.’

Chuckling, Burak poured them both a drink. He chinked glasses with his cousin. ‘Let payback begin.’

Nancy Butler eyed her husband suspiciously. He had been acting strange all week and had just handed her a big bouquet of flowers. ‘What you done wrong, Michael?’

Michael felt himself blush. ‘What you talking about? I ain’t done nothing wrong. Jesus, is it a crime to buy my wife flowers?’

Chuckling at his annoyance, Nancy put her arms around Michael’s neck and kissed him. He had been ever so patient with her and now Daniel was at school with Lee, and her mum looked after Adam a couple of mornings a week to give her a break, she felt much better in herself.

‘What you doing?’ Michael asked.

‘I think it’s about time we made some special time for ourselves, don’t you?’ Nancy replied, taking her husband’s hand and leading him up the stairs.

Michael felt a mixture of emotions as he stripped off and slipped into the bed beside her. He hadn’t used a condom when he’d slept with Bella, and even though he’d had the sense to withdraw in time so he didn’t get her pregnant, what if he’d caught a dose off her? There’d be hell to pay if he passed it on to his wife.

‘What’s up?’ Nancy asked when he tried to insert himself inside her but struggled to do so.

Michael had never suffered with impotence in his life and he knew it must be guilt that was stopping him from getting an erection. ‘I’m so sorry, Nance. I haven’t been sleeping well and I think I’m just tired.’

When he went to put his finger inside her vagina, Nancy pushed his hand away. If he couldn’t make love to her, then what was the point in staying in bed? Feeling as though she wanted to cry, she sat up and got dressed in silence.

Unlike the trendy café they had once owned in Whitechapel, the one that Mary and Donald ran now was just a clean, plainly furnished café. Donald had forbidden Mary to make it showy like their previous one. He insisted that they should learn by past mistakes and not bring any unwanted attention to themselves.

Donald was wiping the tables down and humming along to a song on the radio when there was a knock on the door. ‘We’re closed,’ he shouted out. On the two days a week that Mary looked after Adam, Donald couldn’t wait to tidy up and dash home to see the boy. Nancy would pick Daniel up from school and bring him to the house too. The café was deemed unsuitable by Donald for two young boys – there were far too many dangerous utensils lying around to have the grandchildren running in and out of the kitchen.

‘It’s me – Freda,’ Donald heard a voice shout out.

He opened the door. When they had first moved to Whitechapel, Freda was the woman who had warned them that the Butler family were bad news. At the time Donald had thought she was the local scaremonger, but he knew now she was far from it.

‘Hello, Freda. How are you? Recovered from your operation now, I hope?’ Donald asked politely. Freda had been in hospital when Nancy was admitted for depression the previous autumn. She had been very kind to Nancy, and Donald was grateful for that.

‘I’m doing fine, thank you. Take more than a bit of cancer to kill me off. How’s your Nancy now? It’s her I’ve come to see actually.’

‘She’s doing well, thanks, Freda. Back with Michael unfortunately, but Mary and I see our grandsons now. Wonderful lads they are. Very polite and loving.’

‘Well, they won’t stay that way. If they were girls they might have stood half a chance, but those boys will be forced into the same lifestyle as their father soon as they’re old enough, you mark my words. Vinny’s brat of a son is at it already. Robbed the Patels’ shop recently. Smokes like a chimney as well and he’s only ten. You wanna tell your Nancy all this, make her see sense before it’s too late.’

Feeling dizzy at the thought of his grandsons robbing shops at the age of ten, Donald sat down on a chair. Everything Freda had said about the Butlers thus far had been proved right, so he was not about to argue with her. Nancy insisted that Michael was a legit club owner, but Donald guessed there was more to his business than met the eye. You certainly did not get a reputation like that family had by being law-abiding citizens. ‘So is that what you come to tell Nancy?’

‘No. I came to give her a message from my Dean. Got himself sorted now with a job and a flat, and he asked me to give Nancy his phone number. Thinks the world of her, he does. Such a shame he got with that Brenda. I’d have loved to see him settle down with a decent girl like your Nancy. I’m not allowed to see Tara any more. I’m sure that old cow Queenie put the block on it. Just had a son as well, Brenda has. Fat Beryl said she’s called him Tommy. I’ll never be allowed to get to know him either – my own flesh and blood. Not right, is it, Donald?’

Seeing the tears in Freda’s eyes, Donald felt incredibly sorry for her. Her son Terry’s body had never been found, but he had supposedly been murdered by Vinny. Dean was her only grandchild and he had been forced to flee the area. Now the poor old dear had no family left whatsoever. ‘Look, I know nothing will make up for not being able to see your family, but why don’t you pop round our house for tea, seeing as you’ve travelled here from Whitechapel? Mary’s cooking, and Nancy will be there with Daniel and Adam. You can give Nancy your message personally then, and I’m sure she will be thrilled to see you.’

Freda smiled. Because of her blunt independent nature, she had no close friends and the only creatures that were nice to her were her cats Moggers and Midge. ‘Thank you, Donald. I would like that very much.’

Ahmed smiled as Vinny placed his daughter in his arms. He had never seen a newborn baby with such a mop of blonde curly hair. ‘I can’t believe how big she is. She really is a beautiful baby.’

‘Wow, look at this, Vinny,’ Joanna exclaimed as she unwrapped the last of Ahmed’s gifts. It was a gold baby bangle engraved with flowers and hearts.

‘Aw, thanks, pal. You needn’t have bought so much stuff, but we really do appreciate it, don’t we, Jo?’ Vinny said.

‘You haven’t opened the card yet,’ Ahmed reminded Joanna.

Having already unwrapped a massive teddy bear, two pretty dresses, a rattle and the bracelet, Joanna was gobsmacked when she opened the large card and saw it was full of twenty-pound notes. ‘We can’t take money from you too, Ahmed. You’ve bought Molly plenty already.’

‘It’s to open a building society account for her. It is the custom in my country to give money to babies. Although I think Molly might have just thanked me by having a little dump in my arms,’ Ahmed chuckled.

‘Take Molly upstairs to change her, Jo. Ahmed and I need to talk business, so make yourself scarce for a bit and I’ll give you a shout when we’re done,’ Vinny ordered.

When Joanna left the room, Vinny shut the lounge door and poured himself and Ahmed a Scotch.

‘So, how’s it going with you and Jo? You seem to be getting along OK,’ Ahmed pried.

Vinny sat opposite his pal in his favourite armchair. ‘All right, I suppose. She don’t seem to grate on me as much as some birds do, and she’s gonna be a good little mum. Her old man must know she’s had Molly now ’cause Jo rang her mother the other day. I wonder how he’s handling the news?’ Vinny said, smirking sadistically.

‘Have you fallen in love with Jo?’

‘Don’t be daft! I can’t even be arsed giving her one any more. But she’s the mother of my kid and I need someone to look after Molly and Little Vinny. As long as she does as she’s told and don’t get in my face, then we’ll get along just fine. This was all your fucking idea, me moving her in in the first place,’ Vinny reminded his pal.

‘So, when are we going to the whorehouse again? It’s been months,’ Ahmed asked. He wanted to act as normal as possible in case Vinny smelt a rat.

‘Soon, pal, soon. How’s business? Did the last drop-off go OK?’

‘Yes, it went fine, but we do have a slight problem now.’

‘What?’ Vinny asked, alarmed. He had always been happy to be the silent partner and let Ahmed be the active one. His mother and Auntie Viv would disown him if they knew what he was up to, so he’d kept his involvement in the drug trade under wraps, though he was sure Michael had a hunch.

Secretly enjoying the look of panic on his so-called friend’s face, Ahmed took a couple of sips of his drink before explaining. ‘You know Emre, my main man? Well, he has a court case coming up in Turkey for tax evasion charges. His brief reckons he is looking at a two-year sentence, and his trial starts the end of June.’

‘So what we going to do? Surely Emre will leave somebody in charge while he’s away?’

All their heroin and cocaine came from Emre, and they bought in such bulk now that they only needed to place an order every few months.

Ahmed shook his head. ‘Emre will not trust anybody to run his empire. He would rather take a break.’

‘Well, you must know somebody else we can buy from.’

‘Not that I can trust like Emre. Look, how long have we been buying off him? Never had any problems with him or the Old Bill, have we? Why change something that works, eh? What I suggest we do is stock up before he goes inside. Buy enough to last us for the two years.’

Vinny immediately shook his head. ‘Fuck off, Ahmed. You pay Emre up front and I’ve never met the bloke. How do we know his court case story is true? He might rip us off for a fortune.’