Back Whispers Under Ground
Chapters (44)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Epigraph
  4. Sunday
  5. 1. Tufnell Park
  6. Monday
  7. 2. Baker Street
  8. 3. Ladbroke Grove
  9. 4. Archway
  10. 5. The Barbican
  11. Tuesday
  12. 6. Sloane Square
  13. 7. Nine Elms
  14. 8. Southwark
  15. 9. Shepherd’s Bush Market
  16. Wednesday
  17. 10. Russell Square
  18. 11. Brixton
  19. 12. Barbican
  20. 13. Sloane Square
  21. Thursday
  22. 14. Westbourne Park
  23. 15. Bayswater
  24. 16. South Wimbledon
  25. 17. Bayswater
  26. Friday
  27. 18. Notting Hill Gate
  28. 19. Ladbroke Grove
  29. 20. Holland Park
  30. 21. Oxford Circus
  31. 22. Warren Street
  32. Saturday
  33. 23. Warren Street
  34. 24. Sloane Square
  35. 25. Ladbroke Grove
  36. Christmas Day
  37. 26. Sloane Square
  38. Boxing Day and Beyond
  39. 27. Tottenham Court Road
  40. 28. Biggin Hill
  41. 29. Mornington Crescent
  42. Acknowledgements
  43. Also by Ben Aaronovitch
  44. Copyright

It took me a couple of hours to finish up Mr Huber’s statement and my observations about the possible change in James Gallagher’s personality as indicated by the abrupt change in his work. To relieve the boredom I Googled Ryan Carroll to see whether there was anything interesting about James Gallagher’s interest in him. His biography was pretty sparse – born and raised in Ireland and until recently based in Dublin. Best known for an installation of one-quarter-sized crofters’ houses made out of Lego and roofed with old library copies of the classics of Irish literature covered in a layer of horseshit. It didn’t seem twee enough for early James Gallagher or twisted enough for his late period. There were a couple of reviews in the online magazines, all within the last couple of months, praising his new work and an interview in which Carroll talked about the importance of recognising the industrial revolution as the fracture point between man as spiritual being and man as consumer. As someone who grew up in Ireland and witnessed at first hand the booming Celtic Tiger and then experienced its bust, Carroll brought a unique insight into the alienation of man and machine – or at least that’s what Carroll thought. His new work was aimed primarily at challenging the way we look at the interface between the human form and the machine.

‘We are machines,’ he was quoted as saying. ‘For turning food into shit and we’ve created other machines that allow us to be more productive – to turn more food into more shit.’ I got the impression that he was considered a man to watch, although possibly not while eating. I added these details to the report – I didn’t know how significant it was that an art student was planning to go to an art gallery, but the golden rule of modern policing is everything goes into the pot. Seawoll, or more likely Stephanopoulos, would read through it and decide whether she wanted it followed up.

I called the Inside Inquiry Team at Belgravia, which is the bit that handles the data entry, and asked them if I could email the statement. They said that was fine providing I handed in the original copy as soon as possible and I labelled it correctly. They also reminded me that unless the Folly had secure evidence storage I would have to turn over everything I’d recovered from James Gallagher’s locker to the Exhibits Officer.

‘Don’t worry. We’re very secure here,’ I told them.