首发偶发空缺 (临时空缺)-第65部分

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‘If　we’re　going　to　look　at　information　on　the　clinic’s　work；　I　think　it’s　very　important　that　we　get　a　balanced　picture；’　said　Parminder。

‘I’m　terribly　sorry；’　said　Shirley；　blinking　down　the　table　at　Parminder；　‘but　could　you　try　not　to　interrupt　the　Chair；　Dr　Jawanda？　It’s　awfully　difficult　to　take　notes　if　people　talk　over　other　people。　And　now　I’ve　interrupted；’　she　added　with　a　smile。　‘Sorry！’

‘I　presume　the　Parish　wants　to　keep　getting　revenue　from　the　building；’　said　Parminder；　ignoring　Shirley。　‘And　we　have　no　other　potential　tenant　lined　up；　as　far　as　I　know。　So　I’m　wondering　why　we　are　even　considering　terminating　the　clinic’s　lease。’

‘They　don’t　cure　them；’　said　Betty。　‘They　just　give　them　more　drugs。　I’d　be　very　happy　to　see　them　out。’

‘We’re　having　to　make　some　very　difficult　decisions　at　District　Council　level；’　said　Aubrey　Fawley。　‘The　government’s　looking　for　more　than　a　billion　in　savings　from　local　government。　We　cannot　continue　to　provide　services　the　way　we　have　done。　That’s　the　reality。’

Parminder　hated　the　way　that　her　fellow　councillors　acted　around　Aubrey；　drinking　in　his　deep　modulated　voice；　nodding　gently　as　he　talked。　She　was　well　aware　that　some　of　them　called　her　‘Bends…Your…Ear’。

‘Research　indicates　that　illegal　drug　use　increases　during　recessions；’　said　Parminder。

‘It’s　their　choice；’　said　Betty。　‘Nobody　makes　them　take　drugs。’

She　looked　around　the　table　for　support。　Shirley　smiled　at　her。

‘We’re　having　to　make　some　tough　choices；’　said　Aubrey。

‘So　you’ve　got　together　with　Howard；’　Parminder　talked　over　him；　‘and　decided　that　you　can　give　the　clinic　a　little　push　by　forcing　them　out　of　the　building。’

‘I　can　think　of　better　ways　to　spend　money　than　on　a　bunch　of　criminals；’　said　the　accountant。

‘I’d　cut　off　all　their　benefits；　personally；’　said　Betty。

‘I　was　invited　to　this　meeting　to　put　you　all　in　the　picture　about　what’s　happening　at　District　level；’　said　Aubrey　calmly。　‘Nothing　more　than　that；　Dr　Jawanda。’

‘Helen；’　said　Howard　loudly；　pointing　to　another　councillor；　whose　hand　was　raised；　and　who　had　been　trying　to　make　her　views　heard　for　a　minute。

Parminder　heard　nothing　of　what　the　woman　said。　She　had　quite　forgotten　about　the　stack　of　papers　lying　underneath　her　agenda；　on　which　Kay　Bawden　had　spent　so　much　time：　the　statistics；　the　profiles　of　successful　cases；　the　explanation　of　the　benefits　of　methadone　as　against　heroin；　studies　showing　the　cost；　financial　and　social；　of　heroin　addiction。　Everything　around　her　had　bee　slightly　liquid；　unreal；　she　knew　that　she　was　going　to　erupt　as　she　had　never　erupted　in　her　life；　and　there　was　no　room　to　regret　it；　or　to　prevent　it；　or　do　anything　except　watch　it　happen；　it　was　too　late；　far　too　late　…

‘…　culture　of　entitlement；’　said　Aubrey　Fawley。　‘People　who　have　literally　not　worked　a　day　in　their　lives。’

‘And；　let’s　face　it；’　said　Howard；　‘this　is　a　problem　with　a　simple　solution。　Stop　taking　the　drugs。’

He　turned；　smiling　and　conciliating；　to　Parminder。　‘They　call　it　“cold　turkey”；　isn’t　that　right；　Dr　Jawanda？’

‘Oh；　you　think　that　they　should　take　responsibility　for　their　addiction　and　change　their　behaviour？’　said　Parminder。

‘In　a　nutshell；　yes。’

‘Before　they　cost　the　state　any　more　money。’

‘Exact—’

‘And　you；’　said　Parminder　loudly；　as　the　silent　eruption　engulfed　her；　‘do　you　know　how　many　tens　of　thousands　of　pounds　you；　Howard　Mollison；　have　cost　the　health　service；　because　of　your　total　inability　to　stop　gorging　yourself？’

A　rich；　red　claret　stain　was　spreading　up　Howard’s　neck　into　his　cheeks。

‘Do　you　know　how　much　your　bypass　cost；　and　your　drugs；　and　your　long　stay　in　hospital？　And　the　doctor’s　appointments　you　take　up　with　your　asthma　and　your　blood　pressure　and　the　nasty　skin　rash；　which　are　all　caused　by　your　refusal　to　lose　weight？’

As　Parminder’s　voice　became　a　scream；　other　councillors　began　to　protest　on　Howard’s　behalf；　Shirley　was　on　her　feet；　Parminder　was　still　shouting；　clawing　together　the　papers　that　had　somehow　been　scattered　as　she　gesticulated。

‘What　about　patient　confidentiality？’　shouted　Shirley。　‘Outrageous！　Absolutely　outrageous！’

Parminder　was　at　the　door　of　the　hall　and　striding　through　it；　and　she　heard；　over　her　own　furious　sobs；　Betty　calling　for　her　immediate　expulsion　from　the　council；　she　was　half　running　away　from　the　hall；　and　she　knew　that　she　had　done　something　cataclysmic；　and　she　wanted　nothing　more　than　to　be　swallowed　up　by　the　darkness　and　to　disappear　for　ever。

IX
The　Yarvil　and　District　Gazette　erred　on　the　side　of　caution　in　reporting　what　had　been　said　during　the　most　acrimonious　Pagford　Parish　Council　meeting　in　living　memory。　It　made　little　difference；　the　bowdlerized　report；　augmented　by　the　vivid　eye…witness　descriptions　offered　by　all　who　had　attended；　still　created　widespread　gossip。　To　make　matters　worse；　a　front…page　story　detailed　the　anonymous　inter　attacks　in　the　dead　man’s　name　that　had；　to　quote　Alison　Jenkins；　‘caused　considerable　speculation　and　anger。　See　page　four　for　full　report。’　While　the　names　of　the　accused　and　the　details　of　their　supposed　misdemeanours　were　not　given；　the　sight　of　‘serious　allegations’　and　‘criminal　activity’　in　newsprint　disturbed　Howard　even　more　than　the　original　posts。

‘We　should　have　beefed　up　security　on　the　site　as　soon　as　that　first　post　appeared；’　he　said；　addressing　his　wife　and　business　partner　from　in　front　of　his　gas　fire。

Silent　spring　rain　sprinkled　the　window；　and　the　back　lawn　glistened　with　tiny　red　pinpricks　of　light。　Howard　was　feeling　shivery；　and　was　hogging　all　the　heat　emanating　from　the　fake　coal。　For　several　days；　nearly　every　visitor　to　the　delicatessen　and　the　café　had　been　gossiping　about　the　anonymous　posts；　about　the　Ghost　of　Barry　Fairbrother　and　about　Parminder　Jawanda’s　outburst　at　the　council　meeting。　Howard　hated　the　things　that　she　had　shouted　being　bandied　about　in　public。　For　the　first　time　in　his　life；　he　felt　unfortable　in　his　own　shop；　and　concerned　about　his　previously　unassailable　position　in　Pagford。　The　election　for　the　replacement　of　Barry　Fairbrother　would　take　place　the　following　day；　and　where　Howard　had　felt　sanguine　and　excited；　he　was　worried　and　twitchy。

‘This　has　done　a　lot　of　damage。　A　lot　of　damage；’　he　repeated。

His　hand　strayed　to　his　belly　to　scratch；　but　he　pulled　it　away；　enduring　the　itch　with　a　martyr’s　expression。　He　would　not　soon　forget　what　Dr　Jawanda　had　screamed　to　the　council　and　the　press。　He　and　Shirley　had　already　checked　the　details　of　the　General　Medical　Council；　gone　to　see　Dr　Crawford；　and　made　a　formal　plaint。　Parminder　had　not　been　seen　at　work　since；　so　no　doubt　she　was　already　regretting　her　outburst。　Nevertheless；　Howard　could　not　rid　himself　of　the　sight　of　her　expression　as　she　screamed　at　him。　It　had　shaken　him　to　see　such　hatred　on　another　human’s　face。

‘It’ll　all　blow　over；’　said　Shirley　reassuringly。

‘I’m　not　so　sure；’　said　Howard。　‘I’m　not　so　sure。　It　doesn’t　make　us　look　good。　The　council。　Rows　in　front　of　the　press。　We　look　divided。　Aubrey　says　they’re　not　happy；　at　District　level。　This　whole　thing’s　undermined　our　statement　about　the　Fields。　Squabbling　in　public；　everything　getting　dirty　…　it　doesn’t　look　like　the　council’s　speaking　for　the　town。’

‘But　we　are；’　said　Shirley；　with　a　little　laugh。　‘Nobody　in　Pagford　wants　the　Fields　–　hardly　anyone。’

‘The　article　makes　it　look　like　our　side　went　after　pro…Fielders。　Tried　to　intimidate　them；’　said　Howard；　succumbing　to　the　temptation　to　scratch；　and　doing　it　fiercely。　‘All　right；　Aubrey　knows　it　wasn’t　any　of　our　side；　but　that’s　not　how　that　journalist　made　it　look。　And　I’ll　tell　you　this：　if　Yarvil　makes　us　look　inept　or　dirty　…　they’ve　been　looking　for　a　chance　to　take　us　over　for　years。’

‘That　won’t　happen；’　said　Shirley　at　once。　‘That　couldn’t　happen。’

‘I　thought　it　was　over；’　said　Howard；　ignoring　his　wife；　and　thinking　of　the　Fields。　‘I　thought　we’d　done　it。　I　thought　we’d　got　rid　of　them。’

The　article　over　which　he　had　spent　so　much　time；　explaining　why　the　estate　and　the　Bellchapel　Addiction　Clinic　were　drains　and　blots　on　Pagford；　had　been　pletely　overshadowed　by　the　scandals　of　Parminder’s　outburst；　and　the　Ghost　of　Barry　Fairbrother。　Howard　had　pletely　forgotten　now　how　much　pleasure　the　accusations　against　Simon　Price　had　given　him；　and　that　it　had　not　occurred　to　him　to　remove　them　until　Price’s　wife　had　asked。

‘District　Council’s　emailed　me；’　he　told　Maureen；　‘with　a　bunch　of　questions　about　the　website。　They　want　to　hear　what　steps　we’ve　taken　against　defamation。　They　think　the　security’s　lax。’

Shirley；　who　detected　a　personal　reproof　in　all　of　this；　said　coldly；　‘I’ve　told　you；　I’ve　taken　care　of　it；　Howard。’

The　nephew　of　friends　of　Howard　and　Shirley’s　had　e　round　the　previous　day；　while　Howard　was　at　work。　The　boy　was　halfway　through　a　degree　in　puting。　His　remendation　to　Shirley　had　been　that　they　take　down　the　immensely　hackable　website；　bring　in　‘someone　who　knows　what　they’re　doing’　and　set　up　a　new　one。

Shirley　had　understood　barely　one　word　in　ten　of　the　technical　jargon　that　the　young　man　had　spewed　at　her。　She　knew　that　‘hack’　meant　to　breach　illegally；　and　when　the　student　stopped　talking　his　gibberish；　she　was　left　with　the　confused　impression　that　the　Ghost　had　somehow　managed　to　find　out　people’s　passwords；　maybe　by　questioning　them　cunningly　in　casual　conversation。

She　had　therefore　emailed　everybody　to　request　that　they　change　their　password　and　make　sure　not　to　share　the　new　one　with　anybody。　This　was　what　she　meant　by　‘I’ve　taken　care　of　it’。

As　to　the　suggestion　of　closing　down　the　site；　of　which　she　was　guardian　and　curator；　she　had　taken　no　steps；　nor　had　she　mentioned　the　idea　to　Howard。　Shirley　was　afraid　that　a　site　containing　all　the　security　measures　that　the　superior　young　man　had　suggested　would　be　way　beyond　the　scope　of　her　managerial　and　technical　skills。　She　was　already　stretched　to　the　limits　of　her　abilities；　and　she　was　determined　to　cling　to　the　post　of　administrator。

‘If　Miles　is　elected—’　Shirley　began；　but　Maureen　interrupted；　in　her　deep　voice。　‘Let’s　hope　it　hasn’t　hurt　him；　this　nasty　stuff。　Let’s　hope　there　isn’t　a　backlash　against　him。’

‘People　will　know　Miles　had　nothing　to　do　with　it；’　said　Shirley　coolly。

‘Will　they；　though？’　said　Maureen；　and　Shirley　simply　hated　her。　How　dare　she　sit　in　Shirley’s　lounge　and　contradict　her？　And　what　was　worse；　Howard　was　nodding　his　agreement　with　Maureen。

‘That’s　my　worry；’　he　said；　‘and　we　need　Miles　more　than　ever　now。　Get　some　cohesion　back　on　the　council。　After　Bends…Your…Ear　said　what　she　said　–　after　all　the　uproar　–　we　didn’t　even　take　the　vote　on　Bellchapel。　We　need　Miles。’

Shirley　had　already　walked　out　of　the　room　in　silent　protest　at　Howard’s　siding　with　Maureen。　She　busied　herself　with　the　teacups　in　the　kitchen；　silently　fuming；　wondering　why　she　did　not　set　out　only　two　cups　to　give　Maureen　the　hint　that　she　so　richly　deserved。

Shirley　continued　to　feel　nothing　bu