首发偶发空缺 (临时空缺)- 第71部分

‘I　heard　it　was　Krystal　Weedon；’　said　Betty。

‘You　heard　wrong；’　said　Parminder；　except　that　she　did　not　say　it；　she　shouted　it。

They　were　shocked。　She　had　shocked　herself。　The　echo　hummed　off　the　old　walls。　Parminder　could　barely　swallow；　she　kept　her　head　down；　staring　at　the　agenda；　and　heard　John’s　voice　from　a　long　way　off。

‘Barry　would’ve　done　better　to　talk　about　himself；　not　that　girl。　He　got　a　lot　out　of　St　Thomas’s。’

‘Trouble　is；　for　every　Barry；’　said　another　woman；　‘you　get　a　load　of　yobs。’

‘They’re　Yarvil　people；　bottom　line；’　said　a　man；　‘they　belong　to　Yarvil。’

‘That’s　not　true；’　said　Parminder；　keeping　her　voice　deliberately　low；　but　they　all　fell　silent　to　listen　to　her；　waiting　for　her　to　shout　again。　‘It’s　simply　not　true。　Look　at　the　Weedons。　That　was　the　whole　point　of　Barry’s　article。　They　were　a　Pagford　family　going　back　years；　but—’

‘They　moved　to　Yarvil！’　said　Betty。

‘There　was　no　housing　here；’　said　Parminder；　fighting　her　own　temper；　‘none　of　you　wanted　a　new　development　on　the　outskirts　of　town。’

‘You　weren’t　here；　I’m　sorry；’　said　Betty；　pink　in　the　face；　looking　ostentatiously　away　from　Parminder。　‘You　don’t　know　the　history。’

Talk　had　bee　general：　the　meeting　had　broken　into　several　little　knots　of　conversation；　and　Parminder　could　not　make　out　any　of　it。　Her　throat　was　tight　and　she　did　not　dare　meet　anyone’s　eyes。

‘Shall　we　have　a　show　of　hands？’　Howard　shouted　down　the　table；　and　silence　fell　again。　‘Those　in　favour　of　telling　the　District　Council　that　Pagford　will　be　happy　for　the　parish　boundary　to　be　redrawn；　to　take　the　Fields　out　of　our　jurisdiction？’

Parminder’s　fists　were　clenched　in　her　lap　and　the　nails　of　both　her　hands　were　embedded　in　their　palms。　There　was　a　rustle　of　sleeves　all　around　her。

‘Excellent！’　said　Howard；　and　the　jubilation　in　his　voice　rang　triumphantly　from　the　rafters。　‘Well；　I’ll　draft　something　with　Tony　and　Helen　and　we’ll　send　it　round　for　everyone　to　see；　and　we’ll　get　it　off。　Excellent！’

A　couple　of　councillors　clapped。　Parminder’s　vision　blurred　and　she　blinked　hard。　The　agenda　swam　in　and　out　of　focus。　The　silence　went　on　so　long　that　finally　she　looked　up：　Howard；　in　his　excitement；　had　had　recourse　to　his　inhaler；　and　most　of　the　councillors　were　watching　solicitously。

‘All　right；　then；’　wheezed　Howard；　putting　the　inhaler　away　again；　red　in　the　face　and　beaming；　‘unless　anyone’s　got　anything　else　to　add　–’　an　infinitesimal　pause　‘–　item　nine。　Bellchapel。　And　Aubrey’s　got　something　to　tell　us　here　too。’

Barry　wouldn’t　have　let　it　happen。　He’d　have　argued。　He’d　have　made　John　laugh　and　vote　with　us。　He　ought　to　have　written　about　himself；　not　Krystal　…　I’ve　let　him　down。

‘Thank　you；　Howard；’　said　Aubrey；　as　the　blood　pounded　in　Parminder’s　ears；　and　she　dug　her　nails　still　more　deeply　into　her　palms。　‘As　you　know；　we’re　having　to　make　some　pretty　drastic　cuts　at　District　level　…’

She　was　in　love　with　me；　which　she　could　barely　hide　whenever　she　laid　eyes　on　me　…

‘…　and　one　of　the　projects　we’ve　got　to　look　at　is　Bellchapel；’　said　Aubrey。　‘I　thought　I’d　have　a　word；　because；　as　you　all　know；　it’s　the　Parish　that　owns　the　building—’

‘—and　the　lease　is　almost　up；’　said　Howard。　‘That’s　right。’

‘But　nobody　else　is　interested　in　that　old　place；　are　they？’　asked　a　retired　accountant　from　the　end　of　the　table。　‘It’s　in　a　bad　state；　from　what　I’ve　heard。’

‘Oh；　I’m　sure　we　could　find　a　new　tenant；’　said　Howard　fortably；　‘but　that’s　not　really　the　issue。　The　point　is　whether　we　think　the　clinic　is　doing　a　good—’

‘That’s　not　the　point　at　all；’　said　Parminder；　cutting　across　him。　‘It　isn’t　the　Parish　Council’s　job　to　decide　whether　or　not　the　clinic’s　doing　a　good　job。　We　don’t　fund　their　work。　They’re　not　our　responsibility。’

‘But　we　own　the　building；’　said　Howard；　still　smiling；　still　polite；　‘so　I　think　it’s　natural　for　us　to　want　to　consider—’

‘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　replac