BooksBarbecue
Back Going Under Save as PDF
Chapters (70)
  1. COVER PAGE
  2. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  3. DEDICATION
  4. PROLOGUE
  5. PART I BIRTH
  6. ONE
  7. TWO
  8. THREE
  9. FOUR
  10. FIVE
  11. SIX
  12. SEVEN
  13. EIGHT
  14. NINE
  15. TEN
  16. ELEVEN
  17. TWELVE
  18. THIRTEEN
  19. FOURTEEN
  20. FIFTEEN
  21. PART II LIFE
  22. SIXTEEN
  23. SEVENTEEN
  24. EIGHTEEN
  25. NINETEEN
  26. TWENTY
  27. TWENTY-ONE
  28. TWENTY-TWO
  29. TWENTY-THREE
  30. TWENTY-FOUR
  31. TWENTY-FIVE
  32. TWENTY-SIX
  33. TWENTY-SEVEN
  34. TWENTY-EIGHT
  35. TWENTY-NINE
  36. THIRTY
  37. THIRTY-ONE
  38. THIRTY-TWO
  39. THIRTY-THREE
  40. THIRTY-FOUR
  41. PART III DEATH
  42. THIRTY-FIVE
  43. THIRTY-SIX
  44. THIRTY-SEVEN
  45. THIRTY-EIGHT
  46. THIRTY-NINE
  47. FORTY
  48. FORTY-ONE
  49. FORTY-TWO
  50. FORTY-THREE
  51. FORTY-FOUR
  52. FORTY-FIVE
  53. FORTY-SIX
  54. FORTY-SEVEN
  55. FORTY-EIGHT
  56. FORTY-NINE
  57. FIFTY
  58. FIFTY-ONE
  59. FIFTY-TWO
  60. FIFTY-THREE
  61. FIFTY-FOUR
  62. FIFTY-FIVE
  63. FIFTY-SIX
  64. FIFTY-SEVEN
  65. FIFTY-EIGHT
  66. FIFTY-NINE
  67. SIXTY
  68. EPILOGUE
  69. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  70. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

‘Hot Licks, mate,’ are her last words to me before I leave the cafeteria to attend my own execution. ‘It’ll be way more fun than this.’

FIFTY-SIX

fifty-six

‘Send not to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee,’ I think gloomily as I make my way to level two. Well, I’ve been a doctor for a little less than a year, and it looks as if the journey is about to end.

I’d like to thank my friends, my family …

A billion years of hard studying only to find myself in this stupid situation, I think as I stand in front of the door to Dr Lawson’s office.

I knock.

The door opens, and I see Dr Lawson, Nicole (to whom I give a dark look), Professor Trimby (who is the big boss overarching everything), and two empty chairs.

‘Take a seat, Katarina,’ Dr Lawson says—quite kindly, all things considered.

I sit.

‘We’re just waiting for a couple more people,’ she explains, seeing me glance at the other chairs.

This is interesting. The Joker will be one of them, I suspect, but who’s the other?

No one says anything. Professor Trimby offers me a glass of water, which I decline. Then I hear footsteps coming up the corridor. The door opens and in walks …

‘Max?’

My housemate is standing in the doorway, looking extremely nervous.

I jump to my feet. ‘Mate!’ I exclaim, too loudly. ‘I thought you weren’t back from Europe for another ten days, at least!’

Max gives me a look that says, Just shut up for a second.

‘Came home early,’ he mutters, his eyes boring into mine.

No one else looks surprised to see him. I sit back down, completely speechless. What on earth is Max doing here? I suddenly remember the few times I’d seen him before he left for Europe, how stressed and anxious he looked, as if there was something he was on the verge of saying, but he was holding back.

Another tap at the door and the Joker appears, looking bored and irritated.

Dr Lawson clears her throat. ‘Well, now we are all here, I suppose we can get started.’

I take a deep breath, and steel myself for the worst.

‘I’d like to ask what the hell this is about?’ the Joker demands, sounding incredibly angry.

I look at him in disbelief. What? Hadn’t he been the one to call the meeting, to discuss my affair with Dr Prince? I try to catch Nicole’s gaze, but she steadfastly refuses to make eye contact.

I start to feel extremely confused.

‘I think Max should begin,’ Dr Lawson says, giving the Joker a sharp look. ‘Max, would you like to tell us what you saw on the night of June the twelfth, while you were in the male theatre change rooms?’