Queens of Crime: 3-Book Thriller Collection. Kimberley Chambers
and display of affection towards Roger, and he treated Mary to one of his I-told-you-so smiles. The smile was soon wiped off Donald’s face though, when his daughter announced that she was going to take her friend Rhonda with her.
Mary, Margaret and Derrick all flinched as they realized that Nancy had got the wrong end of the stick.
Clocking the embarrassed look on his father’s face, Christopher decided to take the bull by the horns. ‘Roger is going to accompany you to the Top of the Pops studio, Nancy. He has got the tickets for you to go with him.’
Appalled by the very thought of Roger accompanying her anywhere, Nancy knew she had to stand her ground. She was truly poxed off with her father’s cumbersome match-making skills, and now she had met Michael, was damned if she was going to put up with it one minute longer.
‘Where do you think you are going, young lady?’ Donald yelled, when Nancy ran from the table and grabbed her jacket.
‘Out! I am quite capable of finding myself a husband, thank you, so in future, just keep your noses out of my bloody business.’
Red-faced with embarrassment as Nancy slammed the door, Donald turned to Roger and his parents. ‘I am so sorry for my daughter’s rudeness. I really don’t know what’s come over her.’
Vinny was fuming. Not only had his brother Roy turned up at the party two hours later than promised, he also had his Irish tart in tow.
Watching his mother and aunt fawn all over Colleen, showering her with compliments like they always bloody seemed to, Vinny ordered Roy out into the back garden.
‘Look, I’m sorry about not turning up for work last night, but I’ll make it up to you, I promise,’ Roy said, holding his hands face upwards.
‘We run a fucking prestigious nightclub, Roy. Not a chip shop,’ Vinny replied cuttingly.
‘Yes, I know that. Look, why don’t you take the next couple of nights off, Vin, and let me and Michael hold the reins. It’s ages since you did that, and we all need a break at times. Perhaps we should start a rota?’
‘So, why did you take last night off, Roy? You know Saturday is our busiest night,’ Vinny spat.
Even though he knew his brother wouldn’t be happy with his reply, Roy couldn’t wipe the grin off his face. ‘Because I got engaged.’
Vinny looked at Roy as though he had completely lost the plot. ‘You did what?’
‘I asked Colleen to marry me yesterday, and she said yes.’
Vinny crouched down and put his head in his hands. Roy had changed so much since he had met Colleen that Vinny knew if Roy married her, he would all but lose his brother for good. Vinny was jealous – not of Roy’s actual relationship, but of the hold that Colleen had over his brother. The reason being, that hold used to belong to him. Even as kids, Roy would always dance to his tune, but since he’d met that Irish slag, he had stopped bloody dancing. Yvonne Summers had once had a hold over him, and Vinny would hate Roy ever to suffer the heartbreak he’d been through. Colleen was just a gold-digger.
‘You OK, bruv?’ Roy asked, worriedly.
Vinny stood up with a smile on his face that didn’t quite reach his eyes. He was well aware that Roy was none too keen on his friendship with Ahmed. ‘You treat him more like a brother than you do me these days, and I don’t trust the bastard as far as I can throw him,’ Roy had said in a hissy fit only last week. Well, from now on Vinny would make sure Ahmed spent even more time at the club than he already did. Two could play at Roy’s game.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Nancy was just about to take her tea-break when Rhonda dashed towards her waving her arms like a lunatic. ‘What’s up with you?’ Nancy asked, bemused.
‘It’s that Michael! He’s just walked in the shop!’ Rhonda exclaimed, unable to contain her obvious excitement.
‘What shop?’ Nancy asked, dumbly.
‘This shop, you div! He’s up by the till. I said I was coming to find you.’
‘I can’t talk to him now. What am I meant to say? What do you think he wants?’ Nancy asked, her heart beating wildly in her chest.
‘He wants you, you daft mare. And you will speak to him. Come on,’ Rhonda said, linking arms with her pal and dragging her towards the till.
Michael smiled as Nancy walked towards him. ‘No need to be so nervous. I don’t bite,’ he joked.
‘What do you want?’ Nancy asked, staring at her sandals. She was far too nervous to look Michael in the eyes.
‘I wanted to know if you would be kind enough to accompany me to the pictures tonight?’
‘Yeah, ’course she will, won’t you, Nance?’ Rhonda said, nudging her friend who was currently standing there like a stuffed dummy.
‘Er, all right then. I’ll meet you at Ilford station at seven, if that’s OK?’ Nancy mumbled.
Michael grinned. Nancy had been quite shy when he had met her at the fair the other day and seemed even more reserved in her work environment. He hated loud girls, and found Nancy’s obvious awkwardness rather endearing. ‘Sounds perfect. See you at seven then, darling.’
When Michael strolled out of the shop, Rhonda jumped up and down excitedly. ‘He really likes you, Bren, I can see it in his eyes. I bet you end up marrying him.’
Vinny smiled as his son fed the ducks the last of the loaf of bread. ‘Shall we have a sandwich ourselves now, boy? Bloody starving, I am.’
‘So am I, Dad. Where shall we park our arses?’ Little Vinny said, putting his hands in his trouser pockets as he walked next to his father.
Vinny chuckled. His son seemed to have a memory like an elephant and remembered every saying going. Parking one’s arse was one of Vivian’s favourites. ‘Right, let’s sit here, shall we?’
When his son flopped down on the grass next to him, Vinny handed him a ham sandwich, then decided to get the little talk out of the way before he ate himself. ‘Now, I don’t want you to think I’m telling you off,boy, because I’m not. Just think of it more as a bit of fatherly advice. I know you was excited yesterday because it was your birthday, but you really can’t go through life punching, kicking and pushing people like you do.’
‘But you told me to stick up for myself when I started school. You said if anyone hit me, I was to hit them back,’ Little Vinny reminded his father.
‘If somebody hits you, you should hit them back, boy. But, you shouldn’t hit people for no reason. Look at yesterday for instance, when you pushed that little boy and cut his head open. If you behave like that at school, you won’t have many friends, and you’ll get in trouble with the teachers.’
Used to his father worshipping the ground he walked on, Little Vinny’s lip began to wobble. ‘I didn’t push Jacob. He fell over and cut his head,’ he insisted.
‘Do not lie to me, boy. I saw you push him, so did your Uncle Michael.’
‘No, I never.’
Furious at being lied to, Big Vinny grabbed his son roughly by the arm, put him across his knees and gave him a good clump on the backside. ‘Don’t you ever fucking lie to me again, do you hear me?’
Thrilled by Roy’s engagement, Queenie and Vivian had been busy discussing his forthcoming wedding. Queenie liked Colleen. She was good for her Roy and as a couple they were extremely well-suited.
‘Where’s Brenda? Is she talking to you yet?’ Vivian asked. Brenda and her suitcase had turned up on the doorstep at twelve o’clock last night and Queenie had given her daughter a bloody good wallop for worrying the life out of her by coming home so late.
‘Nope.