The day started in the usual way. Danny woke, stared at the ceiling for several minutes and tried to deal with the already open floodgate of thoughts careering about in his mind. He slowly reached for the bathrobe at the end of his bed. It seemed bright outside and the sun was eager to break through the dark red curtains. The cold had abated and the summer was on the way. The sound of the chirping birds encouraged him to move that small bit faster. Coffee he thought, coffee and a fag.
He ambled up the corridor to the bathroom, turned on the water at the boiler for the obligatory shower and went through to the kitchen. He brewed a strong coffee, smoked a Benson and then switched on the radio. The news reader was finishing a story about a giraffe that escaped from the zoo in Canada. Shit, he thought picturing the image in his mind of walking to the shops and seeing a giraffe trotting by. The thought brought a grin to his face.
The newsreader interrupted Danny’s good humour with, “There are reports coming through that the Archbishop of Dublin, Doctor Peter O’Toole has been arrested on child abuse charges. Details are vague at present. Doctor O’Toole was taken from his home this morning and brought to the Bridewell Garda Station for questioning. We will bring you more details as they are released, hopefully before the end of this bulletin.”
Not another one, thought Danny. He was livid.
Two sides of the story (Extract)
