George Barnabas - 04 - Fourth Attempt Read Online Free PDF

and the lesser lights of the administrative staff. He makes them all look so shabby when he dresses so well.
    ‘Very good of you to turn out when I know how busy we all are. We’re running at over ninety per cent capacity at the moment, I have to tell you. Pray there isn’t a major push on A & E, or we’ll find ourselves in the papers again!’
    A faint rustle moved round the room, not quite a sigh, not quite a laugh. They’d read the attacks on them in the local paper, and indeed in several of the nationals as well. The NHS was a choice political football at the moment and Old East in particular got more than its share of the kicks. All they needed was one more patient forced to spend the night on a trolley for want of an available bed in a ward and all hell would be let loose. The threat of closure always hung over them, they felt, even though the Department of Health had promised them they were safe. But then the Department had promised all sorts of things to all sorts of hospitals that somehow never quite happened.
    ‘And of course, we have had some unfortunate publicity over the sad — um — loss of three of our staff.
Not
all suicides, of course, though the papers tried to suggest so, using unfounded surmise as a stick with which to beat us.’ Herne scowled slightly, as though he were mentally castigating Mendez and Lally Lamark for having the temerity to die accidentally, let alone Pam Frean for actually killing herself. That he disapproved of all three of them rather than pitying them was very clear. ‘But we will no doubt weather this little storm as we have weathered greater ones. Yes. Hrrmph.’ He coughed, rearranged his facial expression to one he clearly regarded as suitable for what he had to say, and went on.
    ‘Now, tonight we have bad news and good news. The bad news you all know. We’re losing our esteemed and trusted colleague and long time medical guru, Professor Hunnisett.’ He turned towards the old man and made applause gestures and obediently everyone joined in. ‘We wish him a long and happy retirement and fruition of all his plans for the future. You’ll hear more about that in a moment. Right now, with the good news that will help cushion us against the loss of Professor Hunnisett, here’s our Chairman, Sir Jonathan Spry. Sir Jonathan, let me just move the microphone down a little for you.’
    Sir Jonathan, who was a little tetchy about the fact that Matthew was at least five inches taller than he was, smiled in a wintry fashion and firmly took the microphone stand from Matthew’s hand and made it his own. For the next half-hour.
    What he had to say did matter. He had to announce that Professor Hunnisett was retiring in one sense, but not in another; he would still be part of the Research Institute he had founded. That much he managed to make clear fairly quickly. The rest of his news was less easy to comprehend. But when he’d finished and there was a spatter of applause and the presentations of engraved silver salvers (‘Who uses things like that these days?’ hissed Hattie into George’s ear in disgust),George leaned towards Zack and murmured, ‘I need a précis. I’m not sure I got hold of all that.’
    ‘It’s not as splendid as he tries to make out.’ Zack sounded unusually serious. Generally he was a relaxed and cheerful individual, but now he looked enclosed and tight and George looked at him curiously.
    ‘As I understand it, the Research Institute is to go on working while they look for a new chap to take over from the Professor?’
    ‘Yeah,’ Zack said. ‘That’s what it sounds like, but the fact is unless we can get more money in on all our individual projects, no one worthwhile will want to come. He implied all that without saying it. We have to get more projects in place to make the job a really interesting one for a high-flyer. It’s a bastard.’
    ‘What happens if you don’t get more money in?’
    He grimaced. ‘End of Institute, I suppose.’
    She