Carnage on the Committee Read Online Free PDF Page B

paused for reflection. 'Well, not unless we were stuck there for a long time. And she agreed to put a bag over her head.' She accelerated. 'Unlike her sister, whom I would dally with any day of the week. What time is it?'
    'Just after eight o'clock.'
    'When is Perkins announcing I've taken over?'
    'Prothero, Jack. Prothero. Prothero. Prothero. Don't know yet. He'll ring me when he's done it.'
    She smirked. 'That should upset a lot of people. I'm warming to the whole idea. Where were we before you passed out? What am I supposed to know?'
    'That you're supposed to read two hundred works of fiction by Tuesday.'
    She emitted a cheerful bellow. 'Nearly four days. In my spare time.'
    'A doddle for a woman of your gifts.'
    'Have you read them?'
    'More or less. The ones one could actually read, that is. A full complement should be on their way to St Martha's by courier van as we speak.'
    'Am I inheriting the chairman's set?'
    'No. Georgie had spares. It would have seemed rather brutal to have demanded Hermione's when her body is hardly cold. Besides, if she really was murdered they'll probably become part of the investigation since the word is she collapsed on top of them.'
    She chortled. 'What a photograph that would be. I could pose purposefully in front of her body, with my hand on the highest pile, promising that right will prevail. Come to think of it, if I've anything to do with it, the Right will prevail. Now, you know what I'll need.'
    'Naturally. I'll go through the books, eliminate most ofthose you'd hate and select those I think you might like because they're throwbacks to half-a-century ago.'
    'A century ago would be better. If not a century-and-a-half ago.'
    'But you'll have to read the ones that are seriously in contention as well. Then there's the matter of the long-lists we're supposed to provide by Tuesday - minimum of twenty; maximum of thirty, graded by preference. Then at the meeting next Thursday we're supposed to agree a list of twenty-five. Later today I'll give you a draft long-list for yourself, which will have some in common with mine, will reflect your prejudices... '
    'Tastes.'
    'Prejudices and tastes. And will also include the known favourites of your committee. As part of her insistence on making a meal of everything, Hermione insisted on regular weekly meetings where we discussed - or rather fought over - the books we most liked and hated. I'm all too well aware of what my colleagues value.'
    The baroness yawned.
    'So you'll know what to read.'
    'Skim.'
    'Skim.'
    His phone vibrated. 'Yes, Georgie . . . That's good . .. Right . . . Well, I suppose it's an accurate description . . . Really? . . . No, no, I won't talk to him till you've reported back. Good luck.'
    'Was that Pickering?'
    'Prothero, Prothero, Prothero. So far he's only managed to reach the women. He says Wysteria Wilcox squealed a bit and said, "Oh, but she's dreadfully uncouth".'
    'What does she mean?' The baroness sounded indignant.
    'Rosa Karp was furious because you're a misogynist. . .'
    'How did she work that out?'
    'No doubt she'll let you know. But neither of them is fighting your appointment since they're smarming up to Knapper ...'
    'What for?'
    'God knows. He's rich and everyone's hoping he'll scatter largesse towards their pet projects on the same scale as he's done with the Warburton.'
    'So where does the Warburton fit into the prize world? Which I gather is big business these days.'
    'The world's awash with literary prizes. Even just in the UK, there are prizes for every genre you can think of. Not just fiction and poetry and history and biography and politics and, of course, crime and fantasy and science fiction and romance and all the other things Hermione despised, but cookery and gardening and medicine and probably pornography.'
    'There's the Bad Sex Award. That'd be a lot more fun to judge than this one.'
    'I agree. The Bad Housekeeping Award would probably be more fun than this one. Don't forget I've been suffering for