Read The Trap for Free Online Page B

decorated properly so that they could live there permanently.
    ‘I dunno. We’ve got to pay that conning bastard Geary fifteen hundred quid next week, which will leave the coffers a bit lean, Roy. Not only that, I like to keep a daily eye on Mum and Auntie Viv and make sure Champ is OK. Leave the idea with me and I’ll have to think about it.’
    Due to the freezing December temperature and the lack of heating in his bedroom, Michael decided to skip having a wash until after he’d had a cup of tea to warm himself up.
    Queenie sang ‘Happy Birthday’, as her son galloped down the stairs.
    ‘Thanks, Mum. Is there any tea in the pot? Bleedin’ taters, I am.’
    ‘It’s just started snowing, boy. Told you yesterday the sky looked full of snow, didn’t I? Bet you’re glad you took this week off work, eh?’
    Michael nodded. He had left school earlier in the year and was working as a trainee mechanic in a local garage. He loved the job as he loved tinkering with cars and bikes, but the money was crap, and the garage was freezing cold this time of year.
    ‘I’m gonna pop up the hospital and take your father his toothbrush and razor before we go out for lunch. Do you wanna come with me so he can wish you happy birthday?’ Queenie asked.
    ‘Yeah, I’ll come,’ Michael replied without hesitation. Unlike his brothers, he was actually very fond of his father. He often went for a pint with him on Sunday lunchtimes and he was upset that his dad had been set upon by those bloody yobs.
    ‘Many happy returns, bruv,’ Roy said, giving Michael a manly hug.
    ‘Is it present time yet?’ Queenie asked excitedly.
    ‘Sure is,’ Vinny grinned.
    Ordering Roy to go and get Vivian so she wouldn’t miss out on the fun, Queenie handed Michael a parcel. ‘That’s from me and your dad. Your brothers picked it, so if you don’t like it, blame them,’ she chuckled.
    Michael was thrilled when he unwrapped the paper and saw the blue Fred Perry polo shirt. ‘That’s well nice, Mum. I’ll wear it today,’ he said. Fred Perry shirts were really in for Mods at the moment. His best mate Kev had two of them.
    ‘Happy birthday, Michael,’ Lenny said, running into the house with a handmade card in his hand.
    Michael hugged his nephew to his chest. ‘Cheers, Champ.’
    ‘Right, you ready for mine and Roy’s present?’ Vinny asked.
    ‘Yep.’
    ‘Follow me then,’ Vinny ordered.
    Queenie and Vivian followed the boys out the front and clapped their hands with glee when Michael caught his first glimpse of the trendy moped.
    ‘Oh my God! It’s a Lambretta! Is it really all mine?’ he asked, his eyes shining with excitement.
    Vinny threw him the key. ‘Yep, it’s all yours. Me and Roy have got another surprise for you as well, but you won’t find out what that is until we get to the restaurant.’
    ‘Bloody hell! This is the best birthday ever,’ Michael exclaimed, throwing his leg over the saddle. He already knew how to ride a moped. Kev had got one over a month ago and had let his friend ride it many a time.
    ‘Be careful because that bleedin’ snow’s settling,’ Vivian yelled, as Michael fired the engine up.
    ‘So, what other surprise have you got for him?’ Queenie asked Vinny and Roy.
    ‘A mohair suit. We want him to come and work with us at the club. He’s old enough now,’ Vinny replied casually.
    ‘But he’s already got a job and you know how he has his heart set on being a fully qualified mechanic,’ Queenie reminded her sons.
    ‘Yeah, and he’s on shit money and spends half his life covered in grease and making the tea for that prick he works for. That ain’t a job, it’s a piss-take, Mum. From now on, he works with me and Roy.’
    Determined to see Vinny again in the hope that he might still give him the half a crown, Christopher Walker bribed his sister with a bag of sweets so she would sit in the doorway opposite the snooker club with him.
    ‘Dad is gonna go mad if you take money off that man,’