Searching for Father Christmas

Note: Ths is part 3 of the Vinny the Diamond story for part one click here

and part two click here

Note there is no photo of cubes. I let the cubes inspire part one and two but then let it flow.

Part 3 

Vinny looked at Pieter’s text message again just to check his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. After the bar Vinny had headed home. He needed time to think. Were the Iscru family behind his stabbing? And if they were, why did they take him to hospital? It didn’t make sense, but he was beginning to wish he had passed that bitch’s message on to his boss now and not taken this so personally. 

Pieter’s message was still there on the phone. Pieter was Vinny’s boy in blue, his man on the inside, the message was short and to the point.

‘Eleanora dead. Stab wound. Will call later.’

Vinny couldn’t believe it, Eleanora, dead! Only an hour had passed since she had texted him, he read her message again.

‘Porcule = Pig in Romanian. No one knows FC. Thanks for gift, I’ll come to yours after work to thank you properly ;-)’

She had been on her way to him but now she was dead.

His doorbell rang, Vinny hoped that it might be her, that she might still be alive, that the text message from Pieter might be a hoax, a cruel sick joke. He made his way to the door and opened it. Deep down he knew it would not be her standing there but he was still disappointed to find it wasn't. Instead Katerina, her make-up smudged, her eyes puffy and tears on her cheeks, fell into his arms. She was like a scared fox, shaking, breathing, vulnerable. He held her in his strong arms, fighting back his own tears.

She tried to talk but the sobs drowned her words. She just repeated her name over and over again. Eleanora, Eleanora, Eleanora and that awful word, dead.

Vinny eventually calmed her down, he sat her down with a shot of schnapps and told her to talk.

'T'was' sniff 'so normal' sniff 'black car pulled up, young lad beckons her over’ sniff, ‘she did her thang and and and and... ' the tears were coming again, 'that was the last I saw of her.' Katerina was the prettiest of the girls, a beautiful doll’s face with porcelain sharp features. But her beauty was warped by her tears, crying as she was with the force of a tornado. Vinny knelt down in front of her, held both her hands and spoke. 'You stay here, lock the door, have a drink, have a bath, sleep. I'll be back soon.' With that Vinny picked up his 3 phones and left the flat. 

As soon as he was outside he hit the call button on his least used phone. It only had one number in it. 3 rings and it answered.

‘I can’t talk now’ Pieter said.

‘Find a way.’ said Vinny, his voice contained a no nonsense edge.

‘Ok, ok’ Pieter went quiet for a moment and then spoke.

‘What do you wanna know?’

‘Everything.’

‘Okay, so her body was found on the side of the road not far from her ‘spot’. One single stab wound, looks like 7 cm blade, some kind of stiletto. This was not a robbery, she had plenty of cash on her and it doesn’t look like rape. Post mortem will tell us more.’

‘Anything else.’

‘Well one odd thing; she had a note in her pocket, it said ‘don’t mess with Father Christmas.’ strange eh?’

Vinny was silent, 7 cm stilletto, same tag line. What the fuck was going on here?

‘Vinny?’

‘Yeah I hear you Pieter, thanks, let me know.’ he didn’t wait for a response. He ended the call, got in his car and headed for where the Romanian girls worked their pitch.

The Romanians worked the other side of the station from Eleanora and her crew. There were only two girls left on the street at this time of night. He pulled up and lowered his window.

‘You looking for a good time?’ the girl bent into his window. Shit, she was young, even with the make up and the slutty clothes she barely looked legal.

‘Get in.’ Vinny’s voice was cold.

She looked scared.

‘We need to agree a price.’ she said, her voice less sure than before.

Vinny pulled back his jacked to reveal his gun.

‘Get in.’ he repeated ‘and you won’t get hurt.’

The girl did as she was told. Vinny put the car into gear and sped away; he knew one of the Iscru pimps would be around somewhere so he didn’t want to hang around.

The girl was silent next to him. He glanced at her again, those bastard Romanians, at least his boss used girls old enough to fuck. This girl was just a child. She let out a sob, she was shaking with fear.

‘What’s your name?’ His voice had changed, the steal had gone, it was kinder, avuncular.

She was silent.

Vinny asked again and this time a little voice croaked back at him.

‘Mila.’

‘How much you earn for a trick?’

She told him. Vinny pulled over and parked the car. He shifted in his seat so he was facing Mila. She backed away as much as the seat would allow her.

‘I’ll double that if you give me what I need and there could be more in it for you if you’re a good girl.’

‘I don’t do anal and I always use a rubber.’ she said in her tiny voice.

‘I don’t want sex, I want information.’ He told her. She jumped as he reached into his pocket then to Vinny’s amusement a relieved expression flooded her face as he took out his wallet. He counted out some money and gave her a wad of notes. Mila looked at the money and then at him. ‘But I don’t know nothing’ she said.

‘Yes you do’ said Vinny still playing the nice guy, ‘you’ve just not been asked the right questions.’

First he asked her about Porcule just to double check the info that Eleanora had given him just minutes before she’d died. He asked if she knew the Iscru brothers, Mila nodded.  Then Vinny described the woman who stabbed him.

‘I don’t want your money.’ said Mila, panic across her face, trying to force the money back on Vinny. He let the money fall in her lap.

‘You’re safe with me.’ said Vinny lying through his teeth.
They sat in silence.

‘That’s Georgina.’ Mila said eventually.

‘Georgina?’

‘One of the triplets.’

‘Triplets?’

‘Dan and Gregor’s sister. They’re triplets.’

This was news to Vinny, he knew the Iscru boys were twins but had no idea there was a third.

‘What does she do?’

‘She runs us girls. The pimps you see on the streets are just her henchmen, she’s the real pimp. She’s a bitch, she’ll slap you around if you step out of line. Rumour has it she’s killed girls who tried to rip her off.’

‘Where does she live?’

‘I don’t know.’

Vinny looked at her.

‘Honest, but she comes to our place everyday.’

Vinny took the address and the details and then asked the final question.

‘And who is Father Christmas?’

‘Take me back now please.’ said Mila, her voice firm.

Vinny put another note in her lap. But the girl just looked at it and said nothing.

‘He’ll kill me’ she whispered.

‘Who?’

Again she said nothing. Vinny waited.

Finally she shrugged and started talking.

‘Papa… He’s their grandfather, none of us have seen him but we all know him as Father Christmas. He’s old but he runs the business. And you don’t mess with Father Christmas,’ her voice trailed off.

Vinny put another note in her lap, he was getting sick of hearing that line. He started the car.

Before he drove off he said to her.

‘You keep your ears open. I’ll pick you up now and again as a punter. You know I pay good. But if you tell a soul…’ he tapped his gun. The message was loud and clear. ‘If she comes to the house, let me know and if you need me, call this number, remember it but don’t write it down. He said the number 3 times. Just before he dropped her off he turned to her again.

‘How old are you?’

‘18’ she said without missing a beat.

‘No really?’ Vinny said.

‘Really’ she said as she got out of the car.  Vinny lit a cigarette and sped away. Thinking he’d never see her alive again. 

and here are parts 4 and 5 
and here is the whole thing.