BooksBarbecue
Back Darkest Truth
Chapters (54)
  1. COVER
  2. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  3. DEDICATION
  4. PROLOGUE
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. 10
  15. 11
  16. 12
  17. 13
  18. 14
  19. 15
  20. 16
  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. 20
  25. 21
  26. 22
  27. 23
  28. 24
  29. 25
  30. 26
  31. 27
  32. 28
  33. 29
  34. 30
  35. 31
  36. 32
  37. 33
  38. 34
  39. 35
  40. 36
  41. 37
  42. 38
  43. 39
  44. 40
  45. 41
  46. 42
  47. 43
  48. 44
  49. 45
  50. 46
  51. 47
  52. 48
  53. EPILOGUE
  54. Acknowledgements

After Gill had gone, there was a gasp, a collective intake of breath. Then came uproar. Confusion quickly gave way to anger and, despite his questionable behaviour, it was clear that Gill wasn’t the students’ target. I heard a girl’s voice, one of the students, I didn’t know which one.

‘Lawyer bitch,’ the voice said.

‘Yeah,’ another voice said, male this time.

I knew that I had a choice to make: to go, or stay and fight it out. I decided to stay but, within seconds, I felt a firm hand on my left shoulder. I turned around. It was Alice.

‘A word,’ she said, and walked out of the room.

I followed, and when we were both in the corridor Alice closed the door behind us. I started to talk but she put her index finger to her lips and spoke in a voice that was barely above a whisper.

‘Shhh. I don’t want you to say anything, I just want you gone. I don’t know what you think you’re doing, or what your fucking fixation on Jeremy Gill is, and I don’t want to know. Ever. I heard you talking to him last night, I mean what the fuck was that about? No, don’t answer, I don’t give a flying fuck what it was about, actually. And then I hear you’ve been “borrowing” photographs from the archive. Photos of Jeremy Gill. And fuck knows what else you’ve been doing. All that matters is, you’ve just landed me and the festival in the middle of a shitstorm and, let me tell you, Gill won’t have to write to the board about you, I’ll do it myself. Now get the fuck out of here, Finn Fitzpatrick, and you know what, don’t even think about coming back.’

20

When something unforeseen and previously unimaginable happens, and there are no rulebooks, and no professional guidelines to follow, the best thing to do is nothing. Let the dust settle. See how things pan out. That’s what I tell my clients, and that’s what I was frantically telling myself now. It was time to regroup, take deep breaths, lick wounds, a whole shedful of platitudes and clichés that were easier to dispense than to apply. I felt sick, and sorry too, for the error I’d made in confronting Gill like I had, and for what Alice had said, the shitstorm I had brought on the festival and on her: decent, hard-working Alice. She had always been a good friend to me. It was no wonder she felt angry and hurt and betrayed.