before she’d had anything to eat or drink. Patience had never been Katy’s virtue, so she ripped open the box.
The Enemy met his pal in the Eastbrook pub. Dale Grainger and himself had been best mates whilst locked up. In addition to being his drug supplier, he was also going to give him an alibi if and when needed. Dale had no idea what the alibi was for and that’s the way the Enemy liked it. The Butlers were very well known, even in Dagenham, and the less anybody knew the better.
Two drinks and twenty minutes later, the teenager had attracted the attention of two extremely drunken, much older women. ‘You’re handsome, you, ain’t ya?’ the ginger woman slurred, nudging her equally awful mate.
Dale nudged his pal. ‘Ignore them, otherwise we won’t get rid. A nightmare they are, proper alkies. Been barred from the Keys, Bull and the Railway. The ginger one goes out with Brett Carpenter, the biggest knob-end in Dagenham. The other one’s shacked up with Dave Green, another prick. You should see ’em perform down the Roundhouse of a weekend when the bands are on. It’s hard to believe she’s Vinny Butler’s sister.’
‘Who is?’
‘The one with the frowsy blonde hair. That’s Brenda Butler. Minging, ain’t it?’
Nodding in agreement, the Enemy stared at Brenda and pictured her covered in blood.
‘Michael! Stop it! I really do have to get home to Antonio. I promised my friends I would pick him up before noon, and it’s nearly that now,’ Bella explained.
Obligingly moving his finger away from Bella’s clitoris, Michael propped an elbow on the pillow beside her and rested his head on his hand. ‘When am I gonna see you again? And the little man? Missed him big time an’ all.’
‘I’m very busy the next couple of days. I have a lot of work to catch up on and meetings to attend. How about Saturday? I’d like to introduce you properly to my friends who run my favourite Italian restaurant. That’s where Antonio stayed last night. Will you be able to take time away from the club?’
Michael grinned. ‘You bet I can.’
‘Fabulous. But you still haven’t answered my earlier question,’ Bella reminded him.
‘What?’
‘I asked you did you date anybody else while I was away?’
‘Of course I didn’t, you daft mare. Not unless you count my old mucker, Black Kevin. I took him out a couple of times to cheer him up. Split up with his old woman, poor sod. And I can assure you we’re not gay.’
‘I believe you, many wouldn’t,’ Bella chuckled.
Feeling edgy all of a sudden, Michael leapt out of bed. ‘I’ll put the kettle on, babe. You hungry?’
‘No. A coffee will do just fine, thanks.’
Instead of the kitchen, Michael made a beeline for the sitting room. He’d switched his mobile off last night, then turned his landline and answer phone on to silent. Seeing the black machine flashing away like a good ’un, Michael sighed deeply. He would bet his club on who the calls were from and he had to get rid of her now, fast.
Vinny Butler was in a filthy mood. He’d been trying to get hold of Michael since early this morning, and had a vision of why his brother still wasn’t answering his phone.
‘I thought you were going to take Ava out for the whole day, boy?’ Queenie questioned.
‘Nah. Not today, Mum. I took her to the café and we’ve taken the mutt out for a run. Ava’s happy here, playing in the garden.’
‘It doesn’t give me much of a break though, does it, Vinny? I’m going down the Roman all day on Saturday with Viv, so best you up your fatherly duties by then.’
‘Glad you and Auntie Viv are OK. Who made the first move?’
‘Don’t change the bloody subject. I know you love Ava, but you can’t put on me so much. I haven’t had a chance to tidy upstairs properly and change the bedding since Tara and Tommy left. I’m no spring chicken now. I might look like one still, but me bones ache some days and I get tired in the afternoons.’
‘When did Tara and Tommy leave?’
‘The day Bren came out of hospital. I told you yesterday. Whatever’s wrong with you lately? It’s like talking to a silly boy, and you’ve got a face like a smacked arse.’
Rather than admitting to his mother that he’d spent most of the day visualizing his brother fucking Bella and wishing it was him, Vinny stood up, waving his hands. ‘I’m going now. Can’t be doing with you when you’re in one of these moods. And you shouldn’t be coming out with insults such as “silly boy”. Champ wasn’t exactly bright, was he? How would Auntie Viv feel, hearing you saying that?’
‘Me and Viv both call him next door “silly-boy-got-none”. Unlike you, Viv hasn’t had a personality bypass,’ she sniffed. ‘Sod off then, and don’t bother coming back until you’re more cheerful. Or on Saturday, when you will be looking after your daughter for once.’
Without saying goodbye to Ava, who was in the garden with Fred, Vinny slammed the front door behind him.
Driving off like a maniac, he immediately regretted his actions and punched the steering wheel. Out of all the birds in the world, why did Michael have to fall in love with that cunt?
As soon as Bella left, Michael Butler listened to the messages on his answer machine. There were nine in total – six from Katy and three from Vinny.
Pacing up and down the room, Michael wondered what to do for the best. Katy was young, worked for him, so was it fair to sack her over the phone? It had to be wiser to do so in person. He should blame her dismissal on the boys’ recent bad behaviour and pay her off with a wad of money. Surely that would keep her sweet? And quiet, regarding him and her.
Before he could pick up the phone and ask Katy to meet him, the buzzer disturbed Michael’s pre-planned speech. Nobody else was at the club, so he answered it himself. It would be proper handy if it was Katy. Save him a journey.
‘It’s Vinny,’ came the gruff voice over the speaker. ‘Where the fuck you been and why aren’t you answering your phone?’
Michael ran down the stairs and flung the door open. ‘Sorry, bruv. I had a visitor last night – Bella. She’s back from Italy and we’re gonna give it another go.’
‘How very romantic! And did it not occur to you that me and Mum might be worried if you wasn’t answering your phone?’
A bit taken aback by Vinny’s obvious anger, Michael shrugged. ‘I’m a grown man, Vin, give me a break. I had to switch both phones off in case Katy rang. Good job I did: she’s left tons of messages.’
‘I’m not interested in your fucked-up love life, Michael. If you’re silly enough to take a bird back who has already dumped you, that’s your lookout. What I wanna talk about is Dagenham Dave. He needs to be taught a bit of a lesson. Brenda might be a pain in the arse, but she’s still our sister.’
‘But she threatened you with the Old Bill, Vin,’ Michael reminded his brother.
‘So
