'Part Four Chapter V\r'

'V\r\nShirley Molli male child was convinced that her husband and son were over-stating the danger to the council of leaving the stalks military positions online. She could not stick with and through how the essences were worse than gossip, and that, she knew, was not yet punishable by fair play; nor did she believe that the police would be foolish and unreasonable abundant to punish her for what somebody else had written: that would be monstrously unfair. Proud as she was of Miles law degree, she was sure that he essential hire this bit wrong.\r\nShe was tameing the meat boards tied(p) more frequently than Miles and Howard had advised, provided not because she was alarmed of legal consequences. Certain as she was that Barry Fairbrothers move had not yet finished his unauthorised task of crushing the pro-Fielders, she was eager to be the first to set eyes on his next post. Several generation a day she scurried into Patricias rare room, and clicked on the web pa ge. Somemultiplication a little gelidity would run through her while she was hoovering or peeling potatoes and she would race to the think, exactly to be disappointed over again.\r\nShirley felt a special, inexplicable kinship with the Ghost. He had chosen her website as the forum where he would expose the double-dealing of Howards opponents, and this, she felt, entitled her to the p dischargee of the naturalist who has constructed a habitat in which a ancient species deigns to nest. plainly thither was more to it than that. Shirley relished the Ghosts anger, his brutality and his audacity. She wondered who he big businessman be, visualizing a strong, faint man standing basis herself and Howard, on their side, cutting a path for them through the opponents who crumpled as he slayed them with their ingest ugly truths.\r\nSomehow, none of the men in Pagford bring break throughmed worthy to be the Ghost; she would extradite felt disappointed to learn that it was any of the anti-Fielders she knew.\r\n‘Thats if its a man, verbalise Maureen.\r\n‘Good point, say Howard.\r\n‘I think its a man, say Shirley coolly.\r\nWhen Howard left for the cafe on sunshine morning, Shirley, calm in her impregnation gown, and attrisolelye her cup of tea, padded automatically to the study and brought up the website.\r\nFantasies of a delegate victor posted by The_Ghost_of_Barry_Fairbrother.\r\nShe set surmount her tea with trembling make passs, clicked on the post and read it, open-m come onhed. Then she ran to the lounge, seized the telephone and called the cafe, but the number was engaged.\r\nA mere phoebe bird minutes later, Parminder Jawanda, who had also developed a habit of looking at the council message boards much more frequently than usual, receptive up the site and saw the post. standardized Shirley, her immediate reaction was to seize a telephone.\r\nThe skirts were breakfasting with issue their son, who was still asleep upstai rs. When Tessa picked up, Parminder cut crosswise her friends greeting.\r\n‘Theres a post astir(predicate) Colin on the council website. Dont let him see it, whatever you do.\r\nTessas stir eyes swivelled to her husband, but he was a mere three feet from the receiver and had already perceive each word that Parminder had intercommunicate so loudly and clearly.\r\n‘Ill call you back, express Tessa urgently. ‘Colin, she express, fumbling to replace the receiver, ‘Colin, wait †‘\r\n barely he had already stalked protrude of the room, bobbing up and go across, his arms stiff by his side, and Tessa had to jog to catch him up.\r\n‘Perhaps its best not to look, she urged him, as his big, knobble-knuckled gain travel the mouse across the desk, ‘or I can read it and †‘\r\nFantasies of a substitute Headmaster\r\nOne of the men hoping to present the community at Parish Council level is Colin Wall, legate Headmaster at Wint erdown Comprehensive School. Voters might be interested to hold out that Wall, a strict disciplinarian, has a truly extraordinary fantasy life. Mr Wall is so frightened that a pupil might file him of inappropriate sexual behaviour that he has often necessary time impinge on work to calm himself down again. Whether Mr Wall has actually fondled a first year, the Ghost can only guess. The fervour of his hectic fantasies suggests that, even if he hasnt, he would corresponding to.\r\nStuart wrote that, design Tessa, at at a time.\r\nColins deliver was brainsick in the light pouring out of the monitor. It was how she imagined he would look if he had had a stroke.\r\n‘Colin †‘\r\n‘I suppose Fiona Shawcross has told people, he whispered.\r\nThe denouement he had perpetually feared was upon him. It was the end of everything. He had al ways imagined taking sleeping tablets. He wondered whether they had enough in the house.\r\nTessa, who had been momentaril y throw by the mention of the headmistress, tell, ‘Fiona wouldnt †anyway, she doesnt know †‘\r\n‘She knows Ive got OCD.\r\n‘Yes, but she doesnt know what you †what youre afraid of †‘\r\n‘She does, said Colin. ‘I told her, out front the last time I needed sick leave.\r\n ‘Why? Tessa abound out. ‘What on earth did you tell her for?\r\n‘I wanted to explain why it was so important I had time off, said Colin, almost humbly. ‘I panorama she needed to know how serious it was.\r\nTessa fought down a powerful desire to shout at him. The tinge of distaste with which Fiona treated him and talked close to him was explained; Tessa had never bidd her, always thought her delicate and unsympathetic.\r\n‘Be that as it may, she said, ‘I dont think Fionas got anything to do †‘\r\n‘Not directly, said Colin, pressing a trembling hand to his sweating upper lip. ‘But Mollisons heard gossip from somewhere.\r\nIt wasnt Mollison. Stuart wrote that, I know he did. Tessa recognized her son in every line. She was even astonished that Colin could not see it, that he had not connected the message with yesterdays row, with hitting his son. He couldnt even propel a bit of alliteration. He must have done all of them †Simon footing. Parminder. Tessa was horror-struck.\r\nBut Colin was not thinking about Stuart. He was recalling thoughts that were as vivid as memories, as sensory impressions, violent, vile ideas: a hand seizing and squeezing as he passed through densely packed teen bodies; a promise of offend, a childs tone contorted. And then asking himself, again and again: had he done it? Had he enjoyed it? He could not remember. He only knew that he kept thinking about it, perceive it happen, feeling it happen. Soft flesh through a thin cotton blouse; seize, squeeze, pain and shock; a violation. How many times? He did not know. He had fagged hours won dering how many of the children knew he did it, whether they had speak to each other, how long it would be until he was exposed.\r\nNot knowing how many times he had offended, and unable to trust himself, he burdened himself with so many papers and files that he had no custody bleak to attack as he locomote through the corridors. He shouted at the swarming children to halt out of the way, to stand clear, as he passed. None of it helped. There were always stragglers, running past him, up against him, and with his hands burdened he imagined other ways to have improper march with them: a swiftly repositioned elbow brushing against a breast; a side-step to ensure corporal contact; a leg haply entangled, so that the childs groin make contact with his flesh.\r\n‘Colin, said Tessa.\r\nBut he had started to cry again, great sobs shaking his big, ungainly body, and when she put her arms around him and pressed her face to his her own tears wet his skin.\r\nA few miles away, in Hilltop House, Simon Price was sitting at a speckless family computer in the sitting room. watching Andrew cycle away to his weekend trouble with Howard Mollison, and the reflection that he had been forced to turn out full market price for this computer, made him feel irritable and additionally hard done by. Simon had not looked at the Parish Council website once since the night that he had thrown out the stolen PC, but it occurred to him, by an association of ideas, to check whether the message that had cost him his job was still on the site and thus seeable by potential employers.\r\nIt was not. Simon did not know that he owed this to his wife, because poignancy was scared of admitting that she had telephoned Shirley, even to request the removal of the post. Slightly cheered by its absence, Simon looked for the post about Parminder, but that was asleep(p) too.\r\nHe was about to close the site, when he saw the newest post, which was entitled Fantasies of a Deputy Headmaster .\r\nHe read it through in two ways and then, alone in the sitting room, he began to laugh. It was a savage triumphant laugh. He had never taken to that big, bobbing man with his huge forehead. It was good to know that he, Simon, had got off very lightly indeed by comparison.\r\n shame came into the room, smiling timidly; she was glad to hear Simon laughing, because he had been in a dread(a) mood since losing his job.\r\n‘Whats funny?\r\n‘You know Fats old man? Wall, the deputy headmaster? Hes only a bloody paedo.\r\nRuths smile slipped. She zip forward to read the post.\r\n‘Im going to shower, said Simon, in high good humour.\r\nRuth waited until he had left the room before trying to call her friend Shirley, and alerting her to this new scandal, but the Mollisons telephone was engaged.\r\nShirley had, at last, reached Howard at the delicatessen. She was still in her dressing gown; he was pacing up and down the little back room, behind the counter.\r\n‘à ¢â‚¬Â¦ been trying to get you for ages †‘\r\n‘Mo was using the phone. What did it say? Slowly.\r\nShirley read the message about Colin, enunciating like a newsreader. She had not reached the end, when he cut across her.\r\n‘Did you copy this down or something?\r\n‘Sorry? she said.\r\n‘Are you teaching it off the screen? Is it still on there? Have you taken it off?\r\n‘Im dealing with it now, lied Shirley, unnerved. ‘I thought youd like to †‘\r\n‘Get it off there now! God above, Shirley, this is getting out of hand †we cant have stuff like that on there!\r\n‘I bonny thought you ought to †‘\r\n‘Make sure youve got rid of it, and well talk about it when I get home! Howard shouted.\r\nShirley was furious: they never raised(a) their voices to each other.\r\n'