The Wronged: No parent should ever have to bury their child.... Kimberley Chambers

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СКАЧАТЬ let me take them off for you. There’s only one person Little Vinny takes after and that’s his bloody father.’

      ‘I suppose you’re right. Both got a bleedin’ temper on ’em, that’s for sure,’ Queenie admitted begrudgingly.

      Pleased that her sister had agreed with her verdict, Vivian happily changed the subject. ‘How’s your Bren? You heard from her recently?’

      Queenie pursed her lips. Since her daughter had moved to Dagenham to live with a bloke fourteen years her senior, contact had dwindled between herself and Brenda. ‘Nope. No matter what time of day I ring up, she’s never in. Out on the piss all the time with that tosser, if you ask me. It’s Tara and Tommy I feel sorry for. Must be raising themselves – and probably running riot, poor little mites. Do you think me and you should pay Bren another visit? Just to check the kids are being looked after properly.’

      Vivian shrugged. Tara was twelve now, Tommy seven, and the last time Queenie had dragged her over to Dagenham for an unexpected visit, both kids had been happy enough and looked well-fed and dressed. Brenda and Dave had seemed content enough as well. ‘If you want my honest opinion, I don’t see what you’re gonna gain by us keep poking our trunks in. Even if you think the kids are unhappy, you ain’t gonna want custody of ’em, are you? Brenda and Dave are both pissheads, so they’re well suited. And at least Dave takes Bren out, Queen, unlike my Bill and your Albie did with us. Kitchen-sink women me and you were.’

      Hearing the chugging of what sounded like a clapped-out vehicle outside accompanied by loud voices, Queenie ran over to the window. ‘Aw my dear Lord! Please don’t tell me this is our new neighbours.’

      Vivian hobbled over to the window. Their old neighbour, Lil, had croaked it a few weeks back. They’d seen the council popping in and out a few times since, and had been expecting new neighbours to arrive any day now. Not at nine o’clock at night though, in a poxy old Transit tipper truck. There were two women, a man and a couple of boys.

      ‘Blimey, Queen. D’ya reckon they’re gypsies?’

      ‘No idea what they are, but I don’t like the bleedin’ look of ’em.’

      ‘We did say we’d be happy to get anyone other than Indians,’ Vivian reminded her sister.

      Seeing the youngest lad, who looked about twelve, stick two fingers up at her, Queenie did the same back, then shut the curtains. ‘I’d prefer Indians any day of the week to that motley-looking crew. Trust our luck, Vivvy. I reckon God must bastard-well hate us at times, I really do.’

      When ‘Relax’ by Frankie Goes to Hollywood began to blare out of the speakers, Joanna grabbed Nancy’s hand and dragged her off the dance floor. ‘Let’s get another Malibu and pineapple. My feet are killing me in these shoes.’

      ‘That bloke is still staring at you, Jo. He’s ever so handsome, don’t you think?’

      ‘I’m really not interested, Nance. Vinny’s put me off men for life. I’m quite content being a single mum, thanks very much.’

      ‘You can’t allow Vinny to ruin your life, Jo. You are stunning, you’ve got a heart of gold, and you deserve to find true love. Oh my God! I think he’s coming over. Please don’t be nasty to him. He just might be Mr Right.’

      Little Vinny was not in the best of moods. He’d had a row with his girlfriend earlier, which was probably the cause of him kicking off in the Rose of Denmark. Now his uncle had just informed him that his father’s cellmate would be working at the club in the near future. ‘Why didn’t you say no? What’s he gonna be doing here? We don’t need any more staff.’

      ‘Jay’s brother has been murdered, and the lad is in bits. He can’t face going back to Liverpool by all accounts. I dunno what he’ll be doing yet, but to be honest Jay can only be an asset to the business. He’s a good-looking bloke and the birds will love him.’

      Little Vinny hated Jay Boy Gerrard. He’d seen him when visiting his dad and thought he looked a flash bastard. His father was always banging on about what a great lad Jay was and that pissed Little Vinny off immensely. He got the distinct impression that his old man would have preferred Jay as a son. That was why he hadn’t bothered visiting the prison for the past six weeks. ‘I don’t wanna work with Jay, Michael. There’s something about him I don’t like. You better tell my dad it’s either him or me.’

      ‘Don’t talk wet. You’re my right-hand man. Jay will either work as a bouncer or behind the bar, that’s all. He isn’t going to have a position of importance.’

      ‘He will if my fucking old man has anything to do with it.’

      ‘Vin, I half own this club. Your dad might think he’s still the overall boss, but he ain’t any more. It was me that turned this gaff into a disco and made a huge success of it. Therefore, I can promise you that Jay will just have an average job, OK?’

      When the DJ put on Wham’s ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go’ Little Vinny stormed into the office. Sammi-Lou was a massive Wham fan and she loved this song.

      Staring at his uncle’s bottle of Scotch, Little Vinny undid the lid. He had not touched a drop of alcohol since that drunken, drug-fuelled night when he’d thought his dead sister had paid him a visit. Molly had been wearing a white gown and her eyes were bulging with terror in the same way they’d looked as he’d throttled the life out of her. He still wasn’t sure if he had seen her ghost, but he preferred to think that his mind was playing tricks on him.

      Neither his father nor Michael had any idea that Little Vinny had visited brothels and snorted cocaine with Ahmed in the past. The Turk had been a massive support for him since his dad had been banged up and, even though they’d seen far less of each other recently, Little Vinny knew that if he ever had a problem Ahmed was the man to turn to.

      Little Vinny took a sip of Scotch but immediately spat it on to the carpet. He might have had a bad day today, but he quite liked the new him. Alcohol was evil. All it did was remind him of bad things.

      He picked up the phone and dialled, and to his relief it was his girlfriend who answered. The last time they’d had a row, her dad had picked up the blower and all but threatened him.

      ‘You OK?’ he asked. ‘Didn’t you go to your mate’s birthday bash?’

      Not wanting to admit that she’d been crying periodically ever since they’d parted in Roman Road earlier, Sammi pretended she was just getting ready to go out.

      ‘Well, I’m missing ya. So if you fancy coming to the club later, we can cuddle up in bed,’ Little Vinny suggested.

      When Sammi-Lou told him she’d be there by midnight, Little Vinny smirked. He had his pretty girlfriend firmly in the palm of his hand and he liked that very much.

      Over in Pentonville, Vinny tipped the wink for the fun to begin. He’d arranged for Andy Tucker and three of his cronies to be paid a bullseye each for kicking off at the appointed hour.

      ‘You can fuck off,’ Tucker bellowed. ‘We ain’t going back to the cell. We should be allowed to watch Match of the Day.’

      One of Tucker’s pals threw a chair across the room and a moment later all hell broke loose as other inmates joined in.

      ‘Let’s do it,’ Vinny urged Jay Boy.

      Jock СКАЧАТЬ