Michael turned around and smiled at the war veteran, Mr Arthur. He was singing at the top of his voice and had his medals pinned proudly on his suit jacket. Nobody knew the old boy’s first name; rumour had it that he’d been christened Arthur Arthur, which would explain why he kept quiet about it.
Turning back to Vinny, Michael said, ‘Look, I know you’ve got a lot on your plate at the moment. Believe me, so have I. I am in no fucking frame of mind to celebrate and party today, but we can’t stop other people enjoying themselves. In fact, we should make an effort to forget our troubles just for today for the sake of our family. Mum and Auntie Viv won’t be happy if we turn up at the party with faces like smacked arses.’
‘Yeah, you’re right. So, what’s bugging you?’
‘You go first.’
Vinny admitted to Michael how worried he was about the safety of his children. ‘If someone has got it in for me that badly they could be capable of anything, bruv. Jo said her mum hadn’t long left when that brick was chucked through the window, and it’s made me wonder if someone was watching the house. At first I thought it might be Bobby Jackson, but he’s banged up now so it can’t be. And surely Preston wouldn’t organize for somebody to frighten and potentially hurt his daughter and grandkid just because he hates me?’
‘Well, apart from those flowers being sent in the shape of a gun, everything else that has happened is the sort of stuff kids would do. The graffiti, your car being done and the window being smashed – that isn’t the work of some big boy. I told you I saw two little herberts sat opposite the club the other day. Perhaps it was them? You ain’t upset any kids lately, have you?’
‘No, only me own son.’
Michael raised his eyebrows. ‘Well, perhaps you should look a bit closer to home then. I mean, if Little Vinny is jealous of Molly, who knows what strokes he might pull.’
Vinny felt sick. Surely he wasn’t being terrorized by his own flesh and blood? Desperate for a change of subject, he enquired about his brother’s problems.
Michael admitted he had spent the previous night with Bella and told him the sex was the best he had ever had. ‘I don’t know what I’m gonna do. I think I’m falling head over heels for her. If it weren’t for the boys, I’d walk away from Nancy tomorrow, but I can’t care for them on my own and do my job, and I know Nance would fight me tooth and nail for them.’
‘Nancy’s a registered nutjob, Michael. Get yourself a good brief. If you move in with Bella, she can look after the boys while you work.’
Michael shook his head. ‘Bella’s not like that, Vin. She’s a model, a good-time girl. Her gaff is like a palace and I just know she wouldn’t be very child friendly. Anyway, she’s often away for a week or two at a time. She’s off to Italy next week to do a shoot and visit her parents.’
‘Get a live-in nanny then,’ Vinny suggested.
‘It’s not that easy, Vin. Nancy said something to me earlier that made me think. She said how heartbroken Daniel and Adam would be if we split up and they couldn’t live with Lee any more. Nancy is right. The boys would all be devastated.
Vinny tutted. ‘The crafty bitch is playing mind games with you. Ignore the fucking psycho.’
Michael sighed. ‘I know Nancy isn’t the best mother in the world, but she does love them boys. I couldn’t take them away from her, even if the court gave me custody – which they wouldn’t. Her mother would go apeshit too, and I’m very fond of Mary.’
‘So, what you gonna do then?’
‘I suppose I’ll have to finish with Bella before I get in any deeper. I can’t see that I’ve got much choice.’
Back at the party, Queenie and Vivian were having a whale of a time. There had been a few tears this morning when they had spoken about their sons who were no longer with them, but they had then made a pact not to mention them during the party so they could enjoy themselves.
Mrs Mills had certainly livened up the day. ‘My Old Man’s a Dustman’, ‘Any Old Iron’, ‘Underneath the Arches’ and ‘Maybe It’s Because I’m a Londoner’ had already been sung loud and proud, but when ‘I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts’ blasted out of the speakers, Queenie and Viv both stood up to do their little party piece.
‘Is Nan and Auntie Viv drunk, Mum? They’re dancing funny,’ Tara asked her mother.
‘Yes, and she has the cheek to talk about me,’ Brenda hissed.
Nancy and Joanna were getting along as if they had known one another for years. Neither had properly met before and both girls were so pleased that the other was at the party as their men seemed to have done a disappearing act. They had mainly chatted about their kids, but Joanna had just told Nancy about the brick flying through her window.
‘Oh my God! That must have been awful. Thank goodness it missed Molly and you. I can’t believe how gorgeous she is, Jo. She’s made me want a little girl.’
‘You’ll have to get Michael into a baby-making mood.’
‘Chance would be a fine thing. We rarely get any us time now. It’s all about the boys.’
‘I know that feeling and I’ve only got the one child.’
Brenda glared at Nancy and Joanna. Both were pretty and slim and neither would ever have to worry about money, having got their claws into her brothers. ‘You want to think yourself lucky, yous two, instead of moaning. You should be in my shoes, bringing up two nippers with no man and no money. You’d have every right to whinge then.’
‘We was only joking, Brenda,’ Joanna said apologetically.
‘Don’t be worrying about her. She’s had a face like it’s been smacked with a wet fish all day,’ Vivian said as she sat back down at the table.
Spotting Michael and Vinny walking along with the seafood, Queenie shouted, ‘Where you two been? Get them eels in the fridge. All the bloody jelly will be melted, the time you took, and you know how I love me jelly.’
‘Dad, can me and Ben have a lager shandy? Billy Malcolm’s dad said he can have one, but Nan said I had to ask you first.’
Vinny stared his son in the eyes. He so hoped what Michael had said wasn’t true, but the more he thought about it, the more he reckoned it was a strong possibility. There was no way the flowers were anything to do with the boy, but the other three incidents could well be his and Ben Bloggs’ handiwork. And Little Vinny certainly had a motive. He was as jealous as hell of Jo and the baby, that much was obvious to a blind man.
‘Well, can I, Dad?’
‘No,’ snapped Vinny. ‘You fucking well can’t.’
After the party ended, Queenie and Vivian both sat glued to the telly, watching the highlights of the Jubilee. ‘Dead smart in that turquoise, the Queen, ain’t she, Viv?’
‘Looks lovely. Weren’t it a good day? Shame we don’t have street parties more often. I even quite liked the neighbours today. Reminded me of the war. It was that type of British bulldog spirit, wasn’t it?’
‘I loved the singalong. Took me back to the old days, when every pub had a piano in it. Not that me and you ever got taken out that often, mind. Our fault for marrying arseholes, I suppose.’
‘Speaking of the singalong, I ain’t ’arf missed me
Wheeltappers and Shunters
. Has it been as good? I never saw it when I was in hospital. The miserable bastards wouldn’t let me watch it.’
‘It’s the last in the series this week. Mouthy Maureen said they ain’t making no more. How the hell she knows is anyone’s guess. Perhaps Bernard Manning rang her up personally? Good job she went to her daughter’s today, eh? Party wouldn’t have been the same with her sticking her oar in. I’m sure she was the one who spread the rumour that you were in a nuthouse. I pulled her on it, but she denied all knowledge. Did anyone say anything to you?’
Vivian giggled. ‘Nosy Hilda and Big Stan asked me. I told them that I went to stay with our distant cousin in the Cotswolds and I spent months there because I met a rich man.’
Queenie was open-mouthed. ‘Viv, you didn’t say that.’
‘Yeah, I did, but the best part was when Nosy Hilda pulled me aside just after we all sang “Daisy Daisy”. She wanted to know if my fancy man would be visiting me in Whitechapel.’
‘What did you say to her?’
‘I told her I split up with him because his dingle-dangle didn’t work properly. Oh, Queen, it was hysterical. I don’t know how I didn’t laugh. Her face was an absolute picture.’
Queenie burst out laughing. Any worries she might have had about Viv sinking back into depression had now well and truly vanished. ‘That story will be round the whole of Whitechapel by tomorrow.’
Such was her laughter, Vivian had a stitch and was holding her sides. ‘Good! At least while the nosy bastards are talking about me, they’re leaving some other poor unsuspecting sod alone.’
Vinny Butler pulled up outside the restaurant in Stratford he part owned with Ahmed and Nick and got out of the car. He had an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach and he wasn’t sure if it was down to his son or his distrust of most Turks.
Ahmed was inside the restaurant already. Probably because of the Jubilee, the place was nigh-on empty. ‘Vinny, my friend. It is a pleasure for me to introduce Hakan and Bora to you.’
The first thing that struck Vinny was how well dressed both men were. Hakan was in a black pin-striped suit, Bora in a plain charcoal-grey one, but Vinny knew his suits and could tell the expensive from the cheap.
Hakan was the main man, Vinny knew that immediately. He spoke the better English, was extremely charismatic and self-assured, and it was he who did most of the talking. ‘Could we have bottle of your finest champagne please, sir?’ he said, clicking his fingers at a waiter. He turned back to Vinny. ‘Ahmed has told Bora and I all about you. He says all good things. Is there any questions you want to ask about us?’
Vinny asked where the two men lived, how long they had known Ahmed, and enquired about their families. He wanted to make the meeting as informal as possible before they got to the nitty-gritty. There was something about Bora that Vinny couldn’t quite take to. He had beady eyes, looked a bit shifty, and said very little, but Vinny guessed the lack of conversation was because Hakan ran the show and perhaps there was a slight language problem.
The conversation flowed nicely during the meal and Vinny knew he felt comfortable enough to do business with Hakan. ‘So, what’s the score then? How much we looking at and for what amount?’
Vinny’s ears pricked up when he heard the price and he glanced at Ahmed. They would be getting slightly more for their dosh than they had with their previous supplier, but the cocaine was nowhere near as pure. ‘I take it the gear is the same as the sample we had?’
Hakan nodded. ‘We only deal in best.’
When Nick came out of the kitchen, Vinny put his fingers to his lips. Even though he had rung Nick earlier to tell him they were meeting pals of Ahmed’s there to discuss importing leather goods from Turkey, Vinny still did not want to say too much in front of the guy. Nick’s brother-in-law was East End Old Bill, and you could never be too careful.
After a quick chat, Nick walked away and left them to it. As soon as he was out of earshot, Vinny turned back to Hakan. ‘How’s the cash part going to work? And where do we collect the goods from? Is it a straight handover?’
Hakan shook his head and spoke to Bora in Turkish. He then told Vinny that Bora would explain.
‘My brother-in-law. He work with us and fly plane. You wait for plane. We want half money up front and other half when you receive goods.’
‘I don’t fancy meeting no plane, Ahmed, and I take it it don’t land in Whitechapel? You up for meeting it?’
Ahmed chuckled. ‘I can do the pick-up, if you prefer?’
‘Nobody, and I mean nobody must ever pick up apart from one of you. Our location top secret, you understand?’ Hakan said sternly.
Vinny and Ahmed both nodded their heads in unison. ‘Excuse me while I use the toilet,’ Vinny said. There were parts of this deal he was not at all happy with, and if Hakan and Bora thought they were going to get one over on him, they could fucking think again.
When Vinny left the table, Hakan asked Ahmed in Turkish if he thought Vinny had fallen for their deception.
Ahmed lifted his glass aloft, clinked it against Hakan and Bora’s and replied in Turkish. ‘The silly English fool has fallen hook, line and sinker into our trap. Well done, my friends. Well done.’
Vivian clasped her hand over her mouth as she stared at her son’s grave. She had been too ill at the time to have any input into the inscription or choice of headstone, but her family had done her proud.
In Loving Memory of a True Legend
Leonard William Harris
1956–1976
A much-loved son, nephew and cousin,
you are in your family’s hearts and thoughts
every minute of every day
Sleep Tight Champ
Love Mum, Auntie Queenie, Vinny, Roy, Michael, Brenda,
Little Vinny, Tara, Daniel, Lee and Adam
Lenny and Roy’s graves stood out from all the others around them. The headstones were posh marble and they were surrounded by fresh flowers.
‘You do like it, don’t you, Viv? Vinny said he’ll change the headstone if you don’t. He can’t visit here, it upsets him too much, but Michael brings me over regularly to make sure the graves are kept nice. I haven’t been able to come over here on my own yet though.’
‘It’s lovely, Queen. A real tribute to my wonderful boy. Roy’s headstone is special too. I’m sorry I’m crying, but I can’t help it. I’ll be all right in a minute.’
Queenie hugged her sister, then said a few words to both Roy and Lenny. She was weeping too. It couldn’t be helped.
Vivian bent down next to her son’s grave and laid the flowers she had brought with her. She had wanted to tie Zippy the monkey on the grave somehow, but Queenie had urged her not to, insisting some bastard would steal it.
Putting her right hand to her lips, Vivian planted a kiss on it and held it against her son’s headstone. ‘Mummy misses you so much, Lenny. I loved the bones of you, I really did,’ she wept.
Queenie bent down and coaxed her sister to stand up. ‘Come on, darling, we’ve had enough for one day. Let’s go home and pack our stuff for Kings.’
In a West End hotel, Vinny was with Ahmed, Hakan and Bora, discussing their business transaction in finer detail. He’d had a rethink of the situation and, after a sleepless night, had decided to go ahead with the deal for the sake of his daughter’s future.