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Chapters (93)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Prologue
  4. Chapter 1
  5. Part One
  6. Chapter 1
  7. Chapter 2
  8. Chapter 3
  9. Chapter 4
  10. Chapter 5
  11. Chapter 6
  12. Chapter 7
  13. Chapter 8
  14. Chapter 9
  15. Chapter 10
  16. Part Two
  17. Chapter 1
  18. Chapter 2
  19. Chapter 3
  20. Chapter 4
  21. Chapter 5
  22. Chapter 6
  23. Chapter 7
  24. Chapter 8
  25. Chapter 9
  26. Chapter 10
  27. Chapter 11
  28. Chapter 12
  29. Part Three
  30. Chapter 1
  31. Chapter 2
  32. Chapter 3
  33. Chapter 4
  34. Chapter 5
  35. Chapter 6
  36. Chapter 7
  37. Part Four
  38. Chapter 1
  39. Chapter 2
  40. Chapter 3
  41. Chapter 4
  42. Chapter 5
  43. Chapter 6
  44. Chapter 7
  45. Chapter 8
  46. Chapter 9
  47. Part Five
  48. Chapter 1
  49. Chapter 2
  50. Chapter 3
  51. Chapter 4
  52. Chapter 5
  53. Chapter 6
  54. Chapter 7
  55. Chapter 8
  56. Chapter 9
  57. Chapter 10
  58. Chapter 11
  59. Part Six
  60. Chapter 1
  61. Chapter 2
  62. Chapter 3
  63. Chapter 4
  64. Chapter 5
  65. Chapter 6
  66. Chapter 7
  67. Part Seven
  68. Chapter 1
  69. Chapter 2
  70. Chapter 3
  71. Chapter 4
  72. Chapter 5
  73. Chapter 6
  74. Chapter 7
  75. Chapter 8
  76. Chapter 9
  77. Chapter 10
  78. Chapter 11
  79. Part Eight
  80. Chapter 1
  81. Chapter 2
  82. Chapter 3
  83. Chapter 4
  84. Chapter 5
  85. Chapter 6
  86. Chapter 7
  87. Chapter 8
  88. Chapter 9
  89. Epilogue
  90. Acknowledgments
  91. Reading Group Guide
  92. About the Author
  93. Copyright

In 1991, he got married—to Miss McRae, of all people. That was disappointing; I have to admit it rankled a bit. Plus, I think she and Johnny may have discussed me behind my back. Perhaps she told him some of the things that I had told her in confidence. Rather unethical, I would have thought—not that it matters to their kind. They were always a different breed, even when they tried to be friends. And now that they’d got what they needed from me, it was back to the scrap heap for Spikely, and up, up the ladder for Harrington.

Do I sound bitter, Mousey? I don’t mean to sound bitter. Objectively, I’m a success. I have done important things. To avoid unwelcome attention, I’ve changed my name. I delegate. I moved back to Malbry in ’99, the year my mother remarried. Perhaps I needed to go back home. But it’s a far cry from the home I knew, that little house in the Village. Instead, I have a very nice house near the top end of Millionaires’ Row. I am respected; even feared. I have regained my healthy physique. Even my hair has grown back now. Why then do I still feel so unfulfilled, so tragically dead inside?

I thought that writing a diary again, after so many years, might help with that. And it seems very natural, Mousey, to write my diary to you. Not that I think you’re still around, or anything like that, of course. But things have come full circle again. Once more the dice are rolling. And this time, it seems as if Fate may have given me the chance to settle another old score . . .

Chapter 6

6

October 28, 2005

A disciplinary hearing is never a very pleasant affair. This one featured Kitty Teague, as my Head of Department; Thing One and Thing Two; Dr. Devine; and, of course, the New Head in all his pomp and sanctimony.

I won’t bore you with what was said. Suffice it to say that, as of then, I am on report. For the next few weeks or so, someone will shadow my classes, watching out for any irregularities. This is for my protection, says Harrington, with a little smile. The parents of Chanelle Goodman have made a serious complaint. In order to address it (and hopefully, dismiss the charge), we henceforth need to know exactly what goes on in room 59; what kind of comments, if any, are made; and how to address any problems, real or perceived, on either side.