for them, their plan was doomed to fail. As soon as the cabs had pulled up and heard their pikey accent, they accelerated at top speed. The boys lived on a site in Hainault and it was too far to walk, so running out of options, they chored a red Escort van and drove themselves home. They’d dumped the van away from their site but retrieved it again this morning to go out for the day. They owned a motor of their own, a pick-up truck, but with the ladders on the back it was too tuggable. They only used it for work as it was neither taxed nor insured.
‘Are you ready then, girls?’
Leanne and Lucy were drunk but up for an adventure. Typical sixteen-year-olds, Leanne had told her mum she was staying at Lucy’s house and vice versa. Neither mum had bothered to check their story. Both girls were virgins, led extremely boring lives and after a brief discussion in the toilets, they decided to take a chance and go for a drive with the two handsome lads that they’d met. Neither girl realised the boys were gypsies. They’d never met any before and wouldn’t have known a pikey if they had fallen out the sky and smacked them on the head. They knew the boys had a funny accent, but surmised they came from up north or something. Leanne stood with her hand on her hip looking at Sonny and Freddie.
‘Look, we’ll come for a drive with you, but don’t try nothing on ’cause we’re not like that. We’re decent girls and we won’t stay out all night, so you’ll have to drop us back home later.’
Both girls lived in Collier Row and were staying at their friend Kelly’s. She had an open house for a week as her parents had gone away. Kelly had been with them earlier, but had been sick and gone home early. Climbing into the back of the Escort van was a feat on its own. The girls felt woozy, but were filled with excitement.
Obeying his cousin’s orders to drive the van, Freddie put his foot down and headed towards his Uncle Sammy’s place. Sammy had a disused trailer on a site near Harold Hill. The boys had their own key and regularly took birds back there.
‘You’re driving like a prick, Freddie Boy, drive faster.’
The girls in the back squealed excitedly, egging him on. Freddie was as thick as pigshit and just did as he was told. Sonny took a wad of money out of his pocket.
‘Let’s have a little bet, Freddie Boy. I’ll give you fifty quid if you aim straight at the next motor that comes towards you.’
Freddie saw a red Mondeo heading his way and did as he was asked. He was frightened of his cousin Sonny, who was an out-and-out lunatic. He also had a very bad temper and Freddie didn’t dare disobey him. Holding his breath, Freddie was relieved when the Mondeo swerved to the right and out of harm’s way. The girls were screaming. This was such fun, it was like being on the rides at the fairground.
‘Aim at another one, Fred, and I’ll double it, hundred quid I’ll give you.’
Freddie didn’t want to play this game any more, but he headed at the oncoming grey Peugeot and winced as it just got out of the way in time.
‘No more, Sonny, this ain’t funny any more.’
Sonny sat in the front laughing like a hyena. He loved danger. He got off on it; he knew his cousin was shit scared and he was milking his fear. ‘One more, Freddie Boy, and I’ll double it again. Two hundred I’ll give you if you aim at one more.’
Driving towards home, Terry was deep in thought. He was doing buttons for the new baby to arrive. Jade was definitely having a boy, he could feel it in his bones and he knew Billie Jo would be over the moon. When she had been younger, Billie had often spoken of her desire to have a baby brother; hopefully her wish would soon be granted. Desperately missing his lover, Terry pictured their reunion.
Happiness in life was hard to find and he knew that he and Jade were destined to go the whole hog of the way.
Seeing the headlights in the distance, Freddie Boy felt sick with fear. If he bottled it, he’d be called a coward. If he went for it, he’d be deemed a hero. Weighing up his options, he put his foot on the accelerator and hurtled towards the oncoming Range Rover.
Bored with the current CD, Terry decided a change was needed. Sifting through the glove box, he searched for his Johnny Cash. Taking his eyes off the road for a split second, he was completely unaware of the oncoming vehicle.
‘Wheyhey!’ Sonny was almost creaming himself, such was his excitement. Rocking in the passenger seat, he urged his cousin on.
‘Ready. Foot down, Freddie. Go for it, go on now.’
Looking up, Terry saw the van and knew he was in trouble. In a split second, he thought of Billie, Jade and the baby. Swerving violently to the left, he did everything in his power to save himself. ‘FUUCCKK,’ he screamed as the Range Rover flew into the air.
‘You stupid cunt, Sonny. You dinlo. The motor’s off the road. We’re for it. I’m telling ya, we’re fucking for it.’
‘What’s the matter?’ Leanne asked innocently. She and Lucy were enjoying themselves in the back of the van. Giggling every time it swerved, they were totally unaware of the incident that had just occurred.
Realising the girls were in the dark, Sonny grabbed his cousin’s arm. ‘Just shut up and drive to the site. Drop the girls there and we’ll go, get rid of this thing.’
Leaning towards Freddie, Sonny whispered the rest of his bright ideas into his ear. ‘Tommy Boy’ll burn this for us. Trust me, we’ll be fine. The two fillies in the back know nothing. We’re sweet, Freddie Boy. We’ve got an alibi.’
Shaking like a leaf, Freddie glanced fearfully at the lunatic sitting beside him. Obediently, he did exactly as he was told.
Alfie Smith was out walking Butch, his beloved Border collie two days later. Noticing the Range Rover, he trembled as he dialled 999.
PC Collins and PC Galvin had just left a domestic dispute when the call came over their radio. The first to arrive, they immediately feared the worst. After a struggle, they managed to open the back door, driver’s side.
The stench of death confirmed their suspicions. The blood and gore were prominent and the partially decapitated head was squashed against the dashboard.
Terry Keane was brown bread.
A fast, painless death. Poor old Terry had died instantly.
‘MUM, I’M GOING for a walk. I need to get out of the house, it’s doing my head in. Ring me immediately if you hear any news.’
Billie slammed the door without waiting for a reply and walked aimlessly along the road. Stopping to check her appearance in the wing mirror of a car, she was shocked to see how ill she looked. Her eyes were puffy and red raw from crying. Her dark hair looked greasy and unkempt and she seemed to have aged ten years overnight.
Sitting herself down on a nearby wall, Billie took deep gulps of fresh air to help subdue her panic. She took her phone out of her pocket and dialled her dad’s number again. A hundred times she must have tried him in the last couple of days. Hearing his answerphone message, Billie put her head in her hands and sobbed like a baby.
Her dad had been missing for two days now and not a soul had heard a word from him. Yesterday, when she’d
