‘Round your nan’s with your father. We dropped Ava off there before coming here. In a right state of shock, she is, bless her. She sends her love to you and Sammi.’
‘Sammi’s gonna need more than love. The first doctor we spoke to said her heart had stopped for a few minutes. Then the Indian quack said it was longer, and hinted if she wakes up she might be brain-dead. What am I gonna do, Granddad? I love her so bloody much.’
‘I know you do, lad. She’s a fighter is Sammi. Let’s hope she—’
Albie never got to finish his words of comfort. The doctor appeared at that moment and the look on his face spoke volumes.
‘I’m so sorry. We did our utmost, but Sammi-Lou didn’t make it, I’m afraid.’
Little Vinny picked up the chair and threw it down the corridor. ‘Nooooo. Not my Sammi-Lou. This ain’t happening. It can’t be. Sammi, Sammi,’ he screamed.
Georgie and Harry O’Hara were in an extremely upbeat mood. Neither child had liked Stuart. He was far less of a pushover than their mother, and they were delighted he was now out of the picture.
‘She’s wailing again. Hark at her. Sounds like that Jack Russell I used to torture,’ Harry chuckled. He, more so than Georgie, was getting a real buzz out of his mother’s pain. It served her right.
‘I think we should say something to her. We can pretend to be sad, can’t we?’ Georgie suggested. She and Harry had been earwigging earlier when their granddad and Uncle Gary had delivered the shocking blow to their mother. She’d screamed like a nutter, then locked herself in her bedroom and had not stopped making weird noises since.
‘I ain’t saying nothing to her. And why should you? The bitch took us away from our family. Now she knows how it feels to be apart from someone you care about. Poor old Stuie. I wonder how badly he suffered before snuffing it?’
‘Oh, don’t say that, Harry. He did buy us loads of stuff. I’m gonna knock on Mum’s door and tell her we’re sorry for her loss.’
‘Go on then, crawler. And while you’re at it, ask the slag when we can go and visit Calum next.’
Michael Butler glared at the unfeeling police officer. ‘The lad’s in no fit state to talk to you mob. Would you wanna chat if you’d just lost a son and your wife?’ he hissed.
‘No. But I will need to take a statement from him soon. How about tomorrow?’
‘How about you go catch the killers instead of pestering us? I’ve already told you everything that happened. I ain’t telling you again,’ Michael snarled.
Little Vinny pinched himself on the arm to check he was actually awake. He felt so numb, he doubted he was capable of stringing a couple of words together, let alone a full sentence. His mind kept replaying the first time he’d laid eyes on Sammi-Lou. He might have only been a teenager back then, but he’d known immediately that one day he would marry her. People question whether love at first sight exists, but he and Sammi were living proof that it did. Or they were up until this morning. Now his beautiful wife was dead, and he was about to say his goodbyes to her. Surreal didn’t even scratch the surface.
‘One of the nurses will be with you in a minute,’ the doctor told Little Vinny.
‘Do you want me to go in with you? Or would you rather be alone?’ Michael asked his nephew.
‘Alone. I want to be alone – with my wife,’ Little Vinny replied. Even his voice didn’t feel like it belonged to him. It sounded flat and dead, which was exactly how he felt inside.
‘I’ll make up the spare bed. You can stay at mine for as long as you like. With Calum, of course,’ Albie said. He really did not know what else to say. On a day like today, there were simply no words.
‘I’ll go home.’
‘Me and Granddad’ll come and stay with you then,’ Michael stated. Little Vinny was understandably shell-shocked and no way was Michael leaving him all by himself.
‘Nah. You go back to Barking. I need my own space.’
Michael and Albie shared a worried glance. Both were thinking the same thing. Little Vinny had endured problems with drink and drugs in the past. Would this send him spiralling out of control again?
‘Mummy! Mummy, please open the door. I want a cuddle,’ Brett Mitchell wept. He had loved Stuart and seen him as the dad he’d never had. They’d played lots of games together, had fun days out, and Stuart had bought him toys and games. Now he was gone for good and Brett knew his life was about to get a whole lot worse. His mum would be sad all the time, and Harry would pick on him even more.
‘Move out the way, Brett,’ Eddie ordered. ‘Frankie, unlock the door, darlin’,’ he bellowed. After hours of constant wailing, it had all gone worryingly quiet inside the bedroom.
‘Do as Dad says, Sis. I know you’re upset and want to be alone, but Brett needs his mummy,’ Joey added. Being twins, he and Frankie had always been exceptionally close. His heart went out to his sister, it really did. Even though his own relationship was rocky at the moment, he’d still managed to find and hold on to love. With Stuart, Frankie thought she’d finally found love too.
Unable to stop himself, Harry O’Hara burst out laughing. ‘Brett needs his mummy,’ he mimicked.
Georgie giggled. ‘Shhh. They’ll hear you.’
‘Go shut that pair up, Gary. If I go in there, I’ll strangle both of ’em,’ Eddie ordered his son.
Georgie and Harry insisted on sharing a bedroom, and as Gary flung the door open, Harry scowled at him. ‘You’re meant to knock first. Says so on the sign outside. Georgie might’ve been getting changed. Hoping to see her titties, was ya, you perv?’
Seeing red, Gary raised his right hand and whacked the cheeky little shit around the head. He didn’t feel like an uncle to these kids. They were vermin, just like their father had been.
Harry O’Hara was stunned as he fell to the carpet.
‘Leave him alone, you bastard. Touch him again and I’ll beat the granny out of ya,’ Georgie O’Hara screamed as she flew at Gary, scratching at his face like a wildcat.
Gary held both of Georgie’s wrists and glared at Harry. ‘We could hear you, taking the piss. Your mum’s fiancé has just been murdered. Have you no fucking heart?’
‘We’ve lost our family an’ all, you know,’ Harry spat.
Letting go of Georgie, Gary Mitchell wagged his forefinger at both kids. ‘I’d watch my back if I were you two. Me and your granddad are on to ya, big time.’
When Gary slammed their bedroom door, Harry O’Hara stuck both middle fingers in the air. ‘Go fuck your grandmother,’ he mumbled. In the travelling community, that was the worst insult there was.
Little Vinny stared at his wife’s pretty face. It didn’t have a mark on it. Sammi looked as though she was sleeping and would wake up any second. She truly was beautiful, even in death.
Sammi’s body was covered over, but unable to stop himself, Little Vinny lifted up the cover to hold her hand. It was still warm. ‘I love you, babe. I’ll always love you. Forever soulmates, eh?’
As he continued to pour his heart out to Sammi-Lou as though she could hear him, tears flooded down Little Vinny’s cheeks. ‘I won’t let you down, I won’t fall to pieces, I promise you that. It’s your job to take care of Ollie now, and mine to look out for Calum and Regan. I’m going to get in touch with Regan’s social worker tomorrow, fight tooth and nail to get him an early release. That’s what you would’ve wanted, eh? And Calum’s gonna need his brother now he hasn’t got you or Ollie, isn’t he?’
For a split second, Little Vinny could have sworn he felt Sammi-Lou’s hand