the hospital corridor. Stuart was currently undergoing a life-saving operation and the doctors had already warned Eddie that his chances of pulling through were no higher than fifty–fifty.
‘I’ll go and get us some coffees. Anyone hungry?’ Raymond asked. Not many men would still be pals and employed by a bloke who’d ended their sister’s life, but Raymond had been employed by Ed since he was a teenager and wasn’t a man to hold unnecessary grudges. Eddie Mitchell was a good person, Jessica had idolized him. What had happened was no more than an accident, a horrific case of mistaken identity.
Gary Mitchell, Ed’s eldest son, shook his head. He and Raymond had been out collecting a few debts when they’d heard through the grapevine about the shooting. News travelled fast amongst the underworld and as relieved as Gary was to learn his dad was unscathed, he was gutted that Stuart had copped it. Stu was a good bloke and since he’d taken up with Frankie, he’d well and truly become one of the family.
When Raymond walked away, Eddie plonked himself on his chair. ‘I’m such a cunt when that Scotch gets in my veins, ya know. Stu wanted to leave the wake, but I weren’t having none of it. Spoke to him like a piece of shit, I did. If only I’d listened to him. Poor bastard’s fighting for his life now because of me.’
‘Don’t beat yourself up, Dad – you weren’t the one who went loopy with a poxy gun. Any idea who’s responsible? Gotta be somebody who’s got it in for Vinny, surely?’
‘I heard a murmur as I left that they were Turks. Someone said they shouted out Ahmed’s name.’
‘Ahmed who?’
‘Ahmed Zane – you must remember him. Used to be Vinny’s business partner, and pal. Slimy shitbag, he was. I never liked him. Well, he wronged Vinny, him and his cousin Burak, so Vinny made them vanish. Years ago now, though. Why wait all this time for revenge?’
Gary sighed. ‘It’ll all come out in the wash, I dare say. I bet you wish you’d never got involved with Vinny bloody Butler now?’
Eddie shrugged. ‘Even if it’s true that it was revenge for Ahmed, it ain’t exactly Vinny’s fault. Ahmed had it coming to him and disappeared years ago. Whoever is responsible must be the same sickos who sent us the rats and snake.’
‘What rats and snake?’ Gary asked.
Eddie explained about the unwanted gifts that had turned up at the casino.
‘Why didn’t you mention that before?’
‘Didn’t seem important. I thought it was something to do with the pikeys, if I’m honest. Something Harry said pointed towards those bastards.’
‘Stu better pull through, Dad. Frankie’ll go to pieces without him by her side. No way will she be able to manage the devil’s spawn on her own.’
About to reply, Eddie was stopped from doing so by the appearance of a stony-faced doctor. ‘I’m so sorry, Mr Mitchell. We really did do everything we could, but Mr Howells’s injuries were far worse than we could have imagined. The bullet was lodged only a centimetre from the heart and as we tried to dislodge it, he went into cardiac arrest.’
‘He’s dead?’ Eddie mumbled stupidly.
The doctor nodded.
Little Vinny Butler felt like his whole world had collapsed, and it had. He’d been sick and couldn’t stop shaking, and as an image of Molly flashed through his mind once again, he shut his eyes and rocked to and fro. He could see his little sister clearly, she was smiling at him, laughing almost, and he knew without a doubt this was retribution for his past sins. To lose a much-loved child was an excruciating feeling, and Little Vinny now knew how his dad must’ve felt when Molly died.
‘I think the doctor needs to sedate him, love. He looks grey and can’t stop trembling, bless him,’ Queenie muttered in Vinny’s ear. They were currently in Newham General Hospital. Against all odds, Sammi-Lou had been resuscitated after her heart had stopped. However, the doctors weren’t overly hopeful of a full recovery, as her heart had stopped for a good few minutes.
‘I wanna go home. I need to phone Regan,’ Calum spat. His tears had turned to anger, and he hated the world.
‘I’ll ring Regan’s social worker in the morning. Once the authorities know what’s happened, they should allow him home,’ Vinny replied, rather coldly. He had never particularly been a granddad type. Pipe and slippers were not his style, and he’d tended to treat his grandsons like little mates. He remembered how he’d once ordered young Oliver to call him ‘Vinny’ rather than ‘Granddad’. How he wished he could change that now. Oliver could call him ‘Granddad’ every minute of every day, if only it would bring him back to life.
Queenie squeezed her eldest’s hand. Ava hadn’t wanted to come to the hospital, had chosen to go back to Albie’s house in Barking with Michael. No way would Queenie leave Vinny’s side though. She could see in his eyes how hard this had hit him, and even though she was still in a state of shock herself, she needed to remain strong. It was her duty as a mother.
‘Tell me again what the bastards said, Mum. See if you can remember the exact words this time.’
‘It was all such a blur, Vin, I really can’t think straight at the moment. But they definitely spoke with Turkish accents, and I’m ninety-nine per cent sure I heard them mention Ahmed’s name. They said something like “This is for Ahmed.” It was the one in the Bill Clinton mask, I think. No, it might’ve been the other one. So scary, those awful masks were. I thought they were armed robbers at first, I really did.’
‘I’ll find ’em and fucking make ’em wish they’d never been born, I promise you that much. When I get my hands on the bastards, I’ll—’
‘Shut up! Just fucking close that big mouth of yours for once, will ya?’ Little Vinny screamed, stopping his father mid-sentence. ‘My beautiful wife is fighting for her life. My son is dead. And all this is your fault. You playing the big man is what has brought on this tragedy in the first place. How dare you sit there, planning your revenge at a time like this? Piss off home, and take him with you an’ all,’ Little Vinny said, poking Calum on the arm. ‘None of yous are bothered about Sammi-Lou. All he’s bothered about is Regan. As for you and Nan, you’re two of a fucking kind. All you care about is each other.’
About to jump to his mother’s defence, Vinny Butler was stopped from doing so by the arrival of Sammi-Lou’s father. Vinny and Gary Allen had never seen eye to eye, and when Gary started insinuating that what had happened was his fault, instead of arguing the point, Vinny blanked the man and stood up. ‘Come on, Mum, and you, Calum. We’ll leave Sammi’s family in peace and pop back later.’
The last thing Vinny heard as he stomped down the corridor was the scathing comments from Gary Allen: ‘Leave us in peace! I’ve never had a decent night’s sleep since my Sammi became a Butler. A disaster waiting to happen, this was. And it isn’t your son’s fault, it’s yours.’
‘Don’t let him talk to you like that,’ Queenie hissed.
Unusually for Vinny, he chose to ignore his mother’s advice. Oliver was dead; Sammi-Lou, even if she did survive, would probably be brain-dead. So for once, Mouth Almighty Allen did have an extremely valid point.
Albie Butler was sitting in silence in his favourite armchair. It was full of cigarette burns, and worn out in places – and that’s exactly
