Extracts from The Domini Conspiracy.
The book opens with two mini-stories within a prologue. They are seemingly unconnected but both illustrate a world where ruthless greed and goodness co-exist. There is another more profound link that becomes evident much later in the main story.
The first of these mini-stories is about a priest in Colombia whose life is threatened because of information he has about US businesses behind the Colombian drug scene. The priest, Father Manuel Romero, is interrogated repeatedly. Eventually, to save the lives of a parishioner and his young daughter, Romero agrees to let his captors have the name of the person who has given him the details about high-ranking officials in the Colombian government and US businessmen implicated in the drugs deals.
These are some brief extracts from the text:
Extract 1 (Prologue, page 1)
Father Manuel Romero was ill. He had been held for twenty-six days. The room that was his prison was so small there wasn’t space for his tall frame to lie down. There was no window and the dank air could only be replenished through the gap under the door. Water constantly seeped through the walls. Everything, including his clothes, was filthy and damp.
They gave him food once each day. It was always the same – stale bread and rancid lard. He was given no water and had to survive on what he could get from the puddles that formed on the floor of his cell.
Extract 2 (Prologue, page 3)
On the thirty-first day of his captivity, at around sunrise, Manuel Romero was taken from his cell and led along a corridor into a shabby room, dimly lit by a single light bulb suspended from a tobacco stained ceiling. They sat him on an old wooden chair and bound his hands behind him. No one spoke.
Extract 3 (Prologue, page 6)
Romero sat at the table and slowly wrote on the paper he had been given. When he had finished Jiminez snatched it. As he read what Romero had written his expression changed from irritable impatience to explosive anger. He glared at the priest.
‘That is correct,’ said Romero calmly. ‘That is the name of the person who told me all about your boss’s criminal dealings.’
Jiminez thumped the sheet of paper on the table and thrust his face inches away from Romero’s.
‘You take me for a fool? You give me this nonsense! Tell me the truth now or I swear I will shoot you.’
‘I have told you. What I have written is the truth,’ said Romero.
Jiminez hardly hesitated. He took the pistol that was habitually tucked inside the waistband of his trousers and held it against the side of Romero’s head.
‘One more chance priest.’
Manuel Romero was tired and sick and did not fear death. He reached inside his shirt and clasped once more the cross around his neck.
‘I have nothing more to say.’
He was still holding the cross when the momentum of the shot knocked him sideways onto the floor.
Blood from the gaping wound spread quickly and mingled with the filth on the floor. Jiminez was expressionless. One of his companions retched and hurriedly left the room. Another picked up the piece of paper that Romero had written on. It simply read, "Ramon Gonzalez".
‘But this is impossible! We got rid of Gonzalez eight years ago!’
‘I know,’ said Jiminez. ‘The priest was lying. Gonzalez never knew the names of our contacts so he could not have told anyone. Unless of course his ghost has being spying on us!’
They both laughed and left the room with Romero still lying on the floor. In the corridor they came across their companion who was leaning against the wall with vomit over his shoes. Jiminez kicked him as he passed.
‘Get rid of the priest’s body. No traces you hear, or it will be you next.’
More extracts to follow...
The book opens with two mini-stories within a prologue. They are seemingly unconnected but both illustrate a world where ruthless greed and goodness co-exist. There is another more profound link that becomes evident much later in the main story.
The first of these mini-stories is about a priest in Colombia whose life is threatened because of information he has about US businesses behind the Colombian drug scene. The priest, Father Manuel Romero, is interrogated repeatedly. Eventually, to save the lives of a parishioner and his young daughter, Romero agrees to let his captors have the name of the person who has given him the details about high-ranking officials in the Colombian government and US businessmen implicated in the drugs deals.
These are some brief extracts from the text:
Extract 1 (Prologue, page 1)
Father Manuel Romero was ill. He had been held for twenty-six days. The room that was his prison was so small there wasn’t space for his tall frame to lie down. There was no window and the dank air could only be replenished through the gap under the door. Water constantly seeped through the walls. Everything, including his clothes, was filthy and damp.
They gave him food once each day. It was always the same – stale bread and rancid lard. He was given no water and had to survive on what he could get from the puddles that formed on the floor of his cell.
Extract 2 (Prologue, page 3)
On the thirty-first day of his captivity, at around sunrise, Manuel Romero was taken from his cell and led along a corridor into a shabby room, dimly lit by a single light bulb suspended from a tobacco stained ceiling. They sat him on an old wooden chair and bound his hands behind him. No one spoke.
Extract 3 (Prologue, page 6)
Romero sat at the table and slowly wrote on the paper he had been given. When he had finished Jiminez snatched it. As he read what Romero had written his expression changed from irritable impatience to explosive anger. He glared at the priest.
‘That is correct,’ said Romero calmly. ‘That is the name of the person who told me all about your boss’s criminal dealings.’
Jiminez thumped the sheet of paper on the table and thrust his face inches away from Romero’s.
‘You take me for a fool? You give me this nonsense! Tell me the truth now or I swear I will shoot you.’
‘I have told you. What I have written is the truth,’ said Romero.
Jiminez hardly hesitated. He took the pistol that was habitually tucked inside the waistband of his trousers and held it against the side of Romero’s head.
‘One more chance priest.’
Manuel Romero was tired and sick and did not fear death. He reached inside his shirt and clasped once more the cross around his neck.
‘I have nothing more to say.’
He was still holding the cross when the momentum of the shot knocked him sideways onto the floor.
Blood from the gaping wound spread quickly and mingled with the filth on the floor. Jiminez was expressionless. One of his companions retched and hurriedly left the room. Another picked up the piece of paper that Romero had written on. It simply read, "Ramon Gonzalez".
‘But this is impossible! We got rid of Gonzalez eight years ago!’
‘I know,’ said Jiminez. ‘The priest was lying. Gonzalez never knew the names of our contacts so he could not have told anyone. Unless of course his ghost has being spying on us!’
They both laughed and left the room with Romero still lying on the floor. In the corridor they came across their companion who was leaning against the wall with vomit over his shoes. Jiminez kicked him as he passed.
‘Get rid of the priest’s body. No traces you hear, or it will be you next.’
More extracts to follow...
posted by Matt | 8:45 AM
1 Comments:
The Domini Conspiracy
I have not yet read this book. In fact, I got the information only from Matt's blogs. I read the blogs more than once. I also read the details of the book, its description, synopsis, and so on, on the Amazon.co.uk website.
Going by the issues dealt with, such as tale of corruption and greed in the highest business, political and religious circles..., the book must be a very ambitious project - action-packed, a moral, ethical and social do-gooder - and as the Amazon website states, a fast-moving thriller. I look forward to reading it.
There is, however, some confusion in Matt's blog, which he could probably correct. It is not said anywhere that the book is by M E Gallagher alias Matt. Among those who read Matt's blogs some may think that his blogs are on someone's else book. That probably explains a related question in another comment.
Congrats MATT. By the way, do you relate your work to restoring the respectrability of the Aspidistra at least in your part of the world?
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