首发偶发空缺 (临时空缺)-第75章

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‘You；’　he　said；　pointing　at　Andrew。　‘Unplug　that　puter。　All　of　it；　the　leads　and　everything。　You’re　ing　with　me。’

VI
Things　denied；　things　untold；　things　hidden　and　disguised。

The　muddy　River　Orr　gushed　over　the　wreckage　of　the　stolen　puter；　thrown　from　the　old　stone　bridge　at　midnight。　Simon　limped　to　work　on　his　fractured　toe　and　told　everyone　that　he　had　slipped　on　the　garden　path。　Ruth　pressed　ice　to　her　bruises　and　concealed　them　inexpertly　with　an　old　tube　of　foundation；　Andrew’s　lip　scabbed　over；　like　Dane　Tully’s；　and　Paul　had　another　nosebleed　on　the　bus　and　had　to　go　straight　to　the　nurse　on　arrival　at　school。

Shirley　Mollison；　who　had　been　shopping　in　Yarvil；　did　not　answer　Ruth’s　repeated　telephone　calls　until　late　afternoon；　by　which　time　Ruth’s　sons　had　arrived　home　from　school。　Andrew　listened　to　the　one…sided　conversation　from　the　stairs　outside　the　sitting　room。　He　knew　that　Ruth　was　trying　to　take　care　of　the　problem　before　Simon　came　home；　because　Simon　was　more　than　capable　of　seizing　the　receiver　from　her　and　shouting　and　swearing　at　her　friend。

‘…　just　silly　lies；’　she　was　saying　brightly；　‘but　we’d　be　very　grateful　if　you　could　remove　it；　Shirley。’

He　scowled　and　the　cut　on　his　fat　lip　threatened　to　burst　open　again。　He　hated　hearing　his　mother　asking　the　woman　for　a　favour。　In　that　moment　he　was　irrationally　annoyed　that　the　post　had　not　been　taken　down　already；　then　he　remembered　that　he　had　written　it；　that　he　had　caused　everything：　his　mother’s　battered　face；　his　own　cut　lip　and　the　atmosphere　of　dread　that　pervaded　the　house　at　the　prospect　of　Simon’s　return。

‘I　do　understand　you’ve　got　a　lot　of　things　on　…’　Ruth　was　saying　cravenly；　‘but　you　can　see　how　this　might　do　Simon　damage；　if　people　believe　…’

‘Yes。’　Ruth　sounded　tired。　‘She’s　going　to　take　those　things　about　Dad　off　the　site　so；　hopefully；　that’ll　be　the　end　of　it。’

Andrew　knew　his　mother　to　be　intelligent；　and　much　handier　around　the　house　than　his　ham…fisted　father。　She　was　capable　of　earning　her　own　living。

‘Why　didn’t　she　take　the　post　down　straight　away；　if　you’re　friends？’　he　asked；　following　her　into　the　kitchen。　For　the　first　time　in　his　life；　his　pity　for　Ruth　was　mingled　with　a　feeling　of　frustration　that　amounted　to　anger。

‘She’s　been　busy；’　snapped　Ruth。

One　of　her　eyes　was　bloodshot　from　Simon’s　punch。

‘Did　you　tell　her　she　could　be　in　trouble　for　leaving　defamatory　stuff　on　there；　if　she　moderates　the　boards？　We　did　that　stuff　in　put—’

‘I’ve　told　you；　she’s　taking　it　down；　Andrew；’　said　Ruth　angrily。

She　was　not　frightened　of　showing　temper　to　her　sons。　Was　it　because　they　did　not　hit　her；　or　for　some　other　reason？　Andrew　knew　that　her　face　must　ache　as　badly　as　his　own。

‘So　who　d’you　reckon　wrote　that　stuff　about　Dad？’　he　asked　her　recklessly。

She　turned　a　face　of　fury　upon　him。

‘I　don’t　know；’　she　said；　‘but　whoever　they　are；　it　was　a　despicable；　cowardly　thing　to　do。　Everyone’s　got　something　they’d　like　to　hide。　How　would　it　be　if　Dad　put　some　of　the　things　he　knows　about　other　people　on　the　inter？　But　he　wouldn’t　do　it。’

‘That’d　be　against　his　moral　code；　would　it？’　said　Andrew。

‘You　don’t　know　your　father　as　well　as　you　think　you　do！’　shouted　Ruth　with　tears　in　her　eyes。　‘Get　out　–　go　and　do　your　homework　–　I　don’t　care　–　just　get　out！’

Yet　the　deletion　of　the　post　could　not　remove　it　from　the　consciousness　of　those　who　were　passionately　interested　in　the　forthing　contest　for　Barry’s　seat。　Parminder　Jawanda　had　copied　the　message　about　Simon　Price　onto　her　puter；　and　kept　opening　it；　subjecting　each　sentence　to　the　scrutiny　of　a　forensic　scientist　examining　fibres　on　a　corpse；　searching　for　traces　of　Howard　Mollison’s　literary　DNA。　He　would　have　done　all　he　could　to　disguise　his　distinctive　phraseology；　but　she　was　sure　that　she　recognized　his　pomposity　in　‘Mr　Price　is　certainly　no　stranger　to　keeping　down　costs’；　and　in　‘the　benefit　of　his　many　useful　contacts’。

‘Minda；　you　don’t　know　Simon　Price；’　said　Tessa　Wall。　She　and　Colin　were　having　supper　with　the　Jawandas　in　the　Old　Vicarage　kitchen；　and　Parminder　had　started　on　the　subject　of　the　post　almost　the　moment　they　had　crossed　the　threshold。　‘He’s　a　very　unpleasant　man　and　he　could　have　upset　any　number　of　people。　I　honestly　don’t　think　it’s　Howard　Mollison。　I　can’t　see　him　doing　anything　so　obvious。’

‘Don’t　kid　yourself；　Tessa；’　said　Parminder。　‘Howard　will　do　anything　to　make　sure　Miles　is　elected。　You　watch。　He’ll　go　for　Colin　next。’

Tessa　saw　Colin’s　knuckles　whiten　on　his　fork　handle；　and　wished　that　Parminder　would　think　before　she　spoke。　She；　of　anyone；　knew　what　Colin　was　like；　she　prescribed　his　Prozac。

Vikram　was　sitting　at　the　end　of　the　table　in　silence。　His　beautiful　face　fell　naturally　into　a　slightly　sardonic　smile。　Tessa　had　always　been　intimidated　by　the　surgeon；　as　she　was　by　all　very　good…looking　men。　Although　Parminder　was　one　of　Tessa’s　best　friends；　she　barely　knew　Vikram；　who　worked　long　hours　and　involved　himself　much　less　in　Pagford　matters　than　his　wife。

‘I　told　you　about　the　agenda；　didn’t　I？’　Parminder　rattled　on。　‘For　the　next　meeting？　He’s　proposing　a　motion　on　the　Fields；　for　us　to　pass　to　the　Yarvil　mittee　doing　the　boundary　review；　and　a　resolution　on　forcing　the　drug　clinic　out　of　their　building。　He’s　trying　to　rush　it　all　through；　while　Barry’s　seat’s　empty。’

She　kept　leaving　the　table　to　fetch　things；　opening　more　cupboard　doors　than　was　necessary；　distracted　and　unfocused。　Twice　she　forgot　why　she　had　got　up；　and　sat　down　again；　empty…handed。　Vikram　watched　her；　everywhere　she　moved；　from　beneath　his　thick　eyelashes。

‘I　rang　Howard　last　night；’　Parminder　said；　‘and　I　told　him　we　ought　to　wait　until　we’re　back　up　to　the　full　plement　of　councillors　before　we　vote　on　such　big　issues。　He　laughed；　he　says　we　can’t　wait。　Yarvil　wants　to　hear　our　views；　he　said；　with　the　boundary　review　ing　up。　What　he’s　really　scared　of　is　that　Colin’s　going　to　win　Barry’s　seat；　because　it　won’t　be　so　easy　to　foist　it　all　on　us　then。　I’ve　emailed　everyone　I　think　will　vote　with　us；　to　see　if　they　can’t　put　pressure　on　him　to　delay　the　votes；　for　one　meeting　…

‘“The　Ghost　of　Barry　Fairbrother”；’　Parminder　added　breathlessly。　‘The　bastard。　He’s　not　using　Barry’s　death　to　beat　him。　Not　if　I　can　help　it。’

Tessa　thought　she　saw　Vikram’s　lips　twitch。　Old　Pagford；　led　by　Howard　Mollison；　generally　forgave　Vikram　the　crimes　that　it　could　not　forget　in　his　wife：　brownness；　cleverness　and　affluence　（all　of　which；　to　Shirley　Mollison’s　nostrils；　had　the　whiff　of　a　gloat）。　It　was；　Tessa　thought；　grossly　unfair：　Parminder　worked　hard　at　every　aspect　of　her　Pagford　life：　school　fêtes　and　sponsored　bakes；　the　local　surgery　and　the　Parish　Council；　and　her　reward　was　implacable　dislike　from　the　Pagford　old　guard；　Vikram；　who　rarely　joined　or　participated　in　anything；　was　fawned　upon；　flattered　and　spoken　of　with　proprietary　approval。

‘Mollison’s　a　megalomaniac；’　Parminder　said；　pushing　food　nervously　around　her　plate。　‘A　bully　and　a　megalomaniac。’

Vikram