The Final Chapter for Some

By Patricia Bevin

Murder should only be reserved for books.

A small-town library is losing their stuff to murder.

What is the connection between the deaths of these people? They were just ordinary people carrying out their everyday jobs.

But secrets need to be kept hidden.

Who is hiding something that they do not want releveled at any cost?

And who next may be on the final chapter of this life?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Oct 13, 2023
• ISBN: 9781398464926

Patricia Bevin

Patricia Bevin was born and raised in Northamptonshire where she still lives. She is married to Keith and has three grown up sons and two young grandsons. In 1977, she qualified as a state-registered nurse. Apart from breaks to have her children she has spent her working life in nursing homes where she was a registered manager for over thirty years until her retirement in 2021. She has always been an avid reader of crime novels. This is her fourth novel.

Book preview

Dedication

All my books are dedicated to my parents who never got to see my name in print. They would have been extremely proud.

I miss you both.

Copyright Information ©

Patricia Bevin 2023

The right of Patricia Bevin to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781398464919 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781398464926 (ePub e-book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published 2023

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd®

1 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5AA

Acknowledgement

I am grateful to Austin Macauley Publishers for believing in my writing.

I am also grateful to my sister, Lynsan, and my daughter-in-law’s mother, Chris, who are the only two people I allow to read my books before I send them to the publishers.

I should also like to thank my husband, Keith, who has to put up with me disappearing into my office for hours on end!

Chapter One

It was almost five thirty and the library was about to close. Susan was pushing a now almost empty book trolley after returning borrowed books to the shelves. It had been a very busy day, Saturdays always were, and she was looking forward to going home and settling down to watch The Voice with her husband, Tom. He had told her this morning that he was going to order a Chinese takeaway to be delivered to save her cooking tonight so she had two things to look forward to. Three really, being with Tom, her husband of one year and two months was always lovely.

Unfortunately, borrowers didn’t always return books properly to the right places in the library so trolleys were left out for people to leave them on so the library staff could return them to the correct shelves. Susan sighed as she had needed to reorganise several books on the T shelf in the crime novel section. People had obviously taken them off the shelf to see if they wanted to borrow them and then just shoved them back anywhere after deciding they weren’t to their taste.

Her good friend and colleague Gill wandered over with her empty trolley. Gill’s stepfather Bill had just called into the library to return a book for her mother but Gill had told him that she was too busy to talk and that the library was closing soon anyway. I don’t want to get into trouble with the boss! She laughed.

Would you? he asked.

Yes, he soon cracks the whip if we are seen slacking! she joked. Bill then left the library saying he had better go as he didn’t want her to get into any trouble.

I’ve finished all mine. Are you about done? It’s almost time to go home, Gill asked Susan looking at her watch.

I’ve just finished rearranging ones that are in the wrong section. There were two authors with the initial S in the T section, Susan replied looking at the cover of the last of the books she’d taken off the trolley.

I found this book over on Norman’s computer desk, someone must have forgotten to put it on the trolley. It looks like a good read. I do like a whodunit, she commented showing it to Gill. A piece of paper fell out. Gill picked it up from the floor. It was a library receipt issued to someone when taking out a book to borrow. The date was five days ago. There was some handwriting in capital letters on the back of it.

It says to see page one hundred and one, she read out to Gill.

This is a bit odd, Gill said to Susan looking at the receipt. She made a note of the author and title and then put the note in her pocket. She turned to page one hundred and one and saw some words in the chapter half way down the page had been underlined.

I know what you did. Be careful I don’t tell.

Crikey, if this is for real it’s very mysterious indeed. I’m going to find out on Monday who borrowed this book a week ago, said Gill.

Agatha Christie, eat your heart out. Susan grinned as she put the book on the shelf.

The main door to the library closed with a bang. The girls looked up and saw their boss Mr Frith locking the doors after letting the last borrower out. He called over to them and said, Hurry up or you’ll be locked in for the night!

He says the same thing every evening, you’d think he’d get tired of saying it, murmured Gill shaking her head. Susan grinned agreeing with her. Mr Frith was a person of routine and came out with the same sayings most days not noticing his staff grimacing each time he repeated them. He was well liked though and a nice boss. He was sixty-five and had told the staff he was thinking of retiring in the near future. The head librarian, Miss Justice would probably assume the title of senior head librarian when he did retire.

They returned their empty trolleys to the station where they were kept which were alongside the machines where borrowers booked out their books and made their way over to the staff room at the back of the library. The other staff were in there preparing to go home. The staff room wasn’t very large. It had small bathroom attached to it with a toilet and sink for the staff to use.

The staff room housed a table and four chairs, a sink, fridge and kettle and a cupboard where mugs, coffee and tea were kept. It was all clean and tidy. A cleaner called Jean (Norman called her ‘Jeaner the Cleaner’ which annoyed her immensely) was employed for four hours on Wednesdays and Thursdays. She worked two hours on Friday mornings and then returned for two hours in the evening. (The library was open until 8 pm on Fridays) She worked between two and four hours on a Saturday morning depending on how much cleaning she had to do. She vacuumed and cleaned the library and had worked there for the last two years. She was a bit of a gossip and liked to know everything that was going on. The staff put up with some of her opinionated comments because it was hard to find a good cleaner. She was nice though. They had had several cleaners prior to Jean but none had been as thorough or reliable.

Miss Justice (woe betide if you called her Frances!) the head librarian was tying a scarf over her head. She was around sixty and a nice person. She had worked at the library for almost twenty years. She was liked by all even though her insistence for things to be neat and tidy could annoy others at times. I don’t want to ruin my hairdo. It’s very windy out there, she said as she tied the scarf firmly under her chin covering her tight perm.

Norman was putting his jacket on. No wind will disrupt my hair. He grinned as he patted his bald head. Susan and Gill laughed. He was around fifty-five and his widowed mother had lived with him since his father died eighteen months ago. He had worked at the library for nearly two years after leaving a post as an accountant within the council. Accounting had been very stressful so he had decided to apply for a less challenging job. To his surprise he really enjoyed being a librarian. His life was now much less demanding and he still worked with a computer which he liked.

He was a good sort and liked a laugh. He usually had a joke or funny story to tell but some were a little risqué which made Miss Justice frown and the girls laugh. Mr Frith told him many times to rein it in. He could also be a bit moody at times and the staff knew when to leave him alone.

Two other ladies worked part time in the library, from ten until four thirty. Cathy worked Tuesday and Wednesday and Harriet worked Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The library was closed on Sundays. It was a good solid team and they all enjoyed working with each other.

Susan and Gill had started working at the library a year ago. It wasn’t a huge library but was very well supported by the local community. The council had tried to close it about six years previously, saying costs need to be cut, but there was such an outcry with dozens of protesters waving banners, that the council thankfully decided to keep the library open.

The girls were both twenty-four and had been friends at school. Neither had aspirations for a high-flying career so working in the library suited them fine. They had both tried various other jobs since leaving school but neither had stayed in them very long. Gill lived in a flat with her boyfriend Kevin. He was a skilled mechanic and worked at a garage within walking distance of the flat.

She was hoping he’d propose soon as they had been together for over two years but so far, no proposal had been forthcoming. She needed to come up with a plan to make him ask her without him realising he’d be set up! She was envious of Susan who sported a wedding ring alongside a diamond engagement ring.

Come along all of you, said Mr Frith, or you’ll all be locked in for the night. He said this every day just before closing. He made sure the lights were off in the staff room and that the back door leading out onto a small patio was locked and then herded his staff out. He was the senior head librarian and had worked there for thirty years. He was married to Anne who had some sort of disability and lived in a care home but he never went into details about what it was and the staff didn’t like to ask.

They all made their way to the main entrance. Mr Frith turned off the main lights and unlocked the door and let them precede him out. Damn, I’ve forgotten my phone, he said patting his pocket. You all go ahead and I’ll just fetch it and then lock up. You needn’t wait for me.

He closed the door after letting them all out and made his way back to the staff room. He didn’t turn the lights back on as it was light enough to see his way back to the staff room.

Norman and Miss Justice headed to the nearby car park. They both lived in a village called Dovedale which was just a couple of miles outside the town of Bellhampton, where the library was situated, so they shared transport, each driving a week at a time. This week Miss Justice was driving so they got in her car and drove off.

Living close to each other, Gill and Susan walked to work together. Susan’s small terrace house was in one of the back streets and Gill’s flat was in the centre of town about five minutes away from Susan’s house. Neither drove, so it suited them fine to be working so near to where they lived, as buses were not as reliable as they used to be before the council cut some of the services. Susan was small and blonde and Gill was at least four inches taller with dark hair. They looked very different to each other but were firm friends.

See you on Monday, called Gill as they reached the end of the road where they went off in different directions.

Have a good Sunday, answered Susan.

You too, replied Gill with a wave.

Gill walked quickly home. She would have a quick cup of tea with Kevin and then ring her mum. If she didn’t speak with her daily then her mum would ring to ask why she hadn’t heard from her. Her mum, Linda, lived with her second husband Bill. She was always offering unnecessary and unwanted advice to Gill who got fed up with it. Her mother believed Gill should have settled down to a good career with prospects. She called into the library at least twice weekly to see Gill. Gill told her not to keep coming in as she usually only came to see her and not borrow books. Gill kept reminding her that it was her workplace.

Gill got on alright with her stepfather but he couldn’t or wouldn’t stand up for himself as he was quite dominated by his wife. Gill’s dad had left the family home years ago when Gill was eleven, after several domestic disputes with his wife. The police had been called out to the house a few times. He now lived contentedly in Scotland with his second family. Growing up, Gill had been much closer to him rather than her mother and although she hadn’t seen him for a while, they still spoke every week. Her mother was a bit of a cold fish, very quick to lose her temper and very self-opinionated.

–Her mother didn’t have any close friends. Any friends she used to have soon disappeared after one of her tongue lashings. Gill had been very surprised when she had married Bill five years ago. He had come to live next door to Linda about six years ago. He told her that he had been working for the Civil Service abroad and had been widowed for about seven years. He said he couldn’t talk about his job as it came under the Official Secrets Act. Linda never asked again as she really wasn’t interested.

He said he had moved to Dovedale for a new start. There were no photos of his late wife but Gill wasn’t really surprised. Her mother had probably banned him from displaying any!

Linda and Bill lived in the village of Dovedale in the house that Gill had been brought up in. Her father had given Linda the house in the divorce settlement. He had just wanted out.

Gill knew Bill had a lot to put up with. Gill felt sorry for him. He was a quiet mild-mannered man who didn’t argue back as shouting appeared to upset him. He agreed with Linda most of the time just to keep the peace.

–Gill called out to Kevin that she was home. He came to meet her in the small hallway with a big sloppy kiss. Get away! said Gill with a big grin.

Make yourself useful and put the kettle on, she said as she closed the front door.

Susan was also closing her front door and called out to Tom I’m home.

Her next-door neighbour had seen her arriving home and wanted a chat so she’d spent five minutes standing on her path discussing dustbins and collections!

Tom came to the hall and helped her off with her coat. She told him about the neighbourly dustbin chat. He grinned, hugged her hard and told her he had arranged for the takeaway to be delivered at seven.

Have you had a good day? asked Susan.

I’ve mowed the lawn and pulled up some weeds. He grinned. It was a most exciting day! They had a small garden which was very manageable for the young couple.

I’ll just have a quick shower and then we can settle down for the evening, she replied. Tom worked as a primary school teacher in Bellhampton. He came home with all sorts of amusing tales from the school day. Susan also usually had something to tell Tom from her working day. She would tell him about the strange note found in the library book later.

Susan had an older sister Helen who lived in a small town around fifty miles away. They were quite close and rang each other at least once a week. Helen lived with her girlfriend Dawn. They had been together for seven years and were very happy. They had a young daughter, Amy, who they doted on. They had used a friend as a sperm donor and planned to use the same person again in another year or so. He had contact with Amy and all parties were content with the arrangement.

Susan and Helens parents lived in Wales. They all met up when they could but it was not very often.

After her shower as they settled on the settee, waiting for the takeaway delivery to arrive, Susan told Tom about the receipt which had fallen out of the returned library book and the underlined words on page one hundred and one. Gill’s going to find out who last borrowed it as it’s intrigued her as the message sounded a bit sinister.

It does sound a bit mysterious, Tom replied. Let me know if she finds out anything!

The doorbell rang at seven and the Chinese takeaway arrived.

With The Voice and the food, they spent a very relaxing Saturday evening.

Monday morning arrived. Tom always went off to work a bit earlier than Susan. They breakfasted together and he left after kissing her goodbye. Susan took out some lamb steaks from the freezer to defrost ready for their evening meal. They had spent a most enjoyable Sunday going out for a long walk ending up at a pub for lunch. Walking in the countryside was something they both enjoyed.

It was a nice treat to eat out as money was tight and they were trying to save up to buy a larger house where they could start a family.

At eight thirty she collected her jacket and handbag and left the house making sure it was locked up. Gill was waiting for her at the end of her road.

Good day off? asked Susan. Has he been down on one knee and proposed yet?

I thought it was happening yesterday but it turned out he was just bending down to pick up a bit of fluff from the floor, but then over balanced ending up on one knee. I was just about to say yes when he got up and said the carpet needed a good vacuum, should he do it or me! Gill grinned.

One of these days, I’ll ask the same question and you’ll have a different answer! said Susan returning a grin.

Yeah, and pigs might fly! replied Gill laughing. Don’t worry, I’ll think of something that will make him ask me!

They walked companionably along the road and turned left into the road where the library was situated.

I must remember to look on the computer to find out who borrowed the book with that strange note inside, said Gill. Kevin was very interested when I told him about it.

I must admit I did think about that yesterday as well, replied Susan.

That’s strange, commented Gill as they arrived at the library. There are no lights on.

Very odd. Mr Frith always arrives early and turns them on ready for us, said Susan. Perhaps he’s overslept but I’ve never known him do that before.

There’s Norman and Miss Justice parking up, said Gill seeing Norman’s blue Volvo turning into the car park. They watched them get out of the car and Norman went to buy a parking ticket which he then placed on the dashboard. There’s Mr Frith’s car in the corner of the car park so he must be here, said Gill pointing out the black Corsa which he drove.

They waited for Miss Justice and Norman to arrive at the front door of the library. It was locked.

That’s odd, said Norman, It’s always open for us, he rapped on the door. Nobody came to open it and no lights came on.

But Mr Frith’s car is in the car park so he must have arrived, said Gill. She pointed over to the back of the car park where the black Corsa was parked.

That’s exactly where he parked on Saturday as well, remarked Miss Justice.

Norman rapped even more loudly on the door. Again, no one arrived to open it.

Let’s try the back door, suggested Susan.

The four of them went around the back of the library. They couldn’t see any lights on in the staff room.

The back door was locked. It was a full-length wooden door and had a Yale lock on the outside so there was no door handle to jiggle. Norman rapped loudly on the door but there was no answer.

What should we do now? asked Gill.

Let’s ring him, suggested Norman. I have his number on my phone. He took his mobile phone out of his jacket pocket and dialled his number.

They all heard a phone ringing from inside the staff room.

Quiet, let’s listen, said Miss Justice. The three of them stood silently.

It was definitely Mr Frith’s phone as they recognised the ring tone. There was no reply. After half a minute it went to voicemail asking the caller to leave a message. Norman pressed the button to end the call.

I think we should break the door down, said Norman. He could have arrived for work and collapsed in here before putting any lights on.

Good idea, replied Gill looking very worried. Susan said she hoped he was alright.

Norman put his shoulder against the wooden door and thrust his body as hard as he could. Nothing happened. He tried again and there was a slight creak. A bit harder if you can, said Susan.

Norman took a deep breath and thrust against the door and it suddenly opened with some splinters shooting out of the middle panel. He almost fell through the doorway but Gill and Susan grabbed him before he could fall.

They all looked into the staff room.

Mr Frith was lying on the floor and was quite obviously dead. He was lying on his back with his eyes and mouth open as if in a silent scream. His arms were flung to the sides and one leg was raised at the knee. One shoe was lying on the floor by his foot and showed a red sock. There was a pool of dark red congealed liquid around his head. His mobile phone was on the floor beside him.

Miss Justice screamed and shouted, Call 999. She sat down quickly on a chair saying she felt faint.

Susan and Gill were white as a sheet and peered at Mr Frith. Norman looked at him, gulped and without saying anything dialled 999.

Police, Norman answered the operator in a raised voice. Bellhampton library. There’s a dead body here in the staff room.

He listened. No he’s not breathing. He’s dead. Yes, we do know him. He’s the senior head librarian.

He ended the call and told the others that the police were on their way and they were not to touch anything.

I wouldn’t touch him anyway. Susan shuddered. She felt shaky.

Nor me. I’ve never seen a dead body before, said Gill in a small voice.

Miss Justice was groaning saying she needed to get out of there as she felt sick and faint and didn’t want to topple on top of Mr Frith. Gill and Susan helped her out of the staff room via the inner door that opened into the library. They sat her down on a chair and told her to put her head between her knees. Gill got her a cup of water from the water cooler by the library computer desk.

Norman followed them out. How dreadful, he said. I can’t believe it. He sat down on a chair beside Miss Justice who was sipping the water.

He looked up as he heard a loud knocking on the library front door. He went to the door but did not open it. An elderly lady who he recognised as a regular visitor to the library stood there holding up a book in her hand. Why aren’t you open? I need to return this book. Its due in today and I don’t want a fine thank you very much, she demanded. It’s not good enough. You are meant to be open at nine o’clock. It says that here on the list of opening times, pointing and tapping on the list displayed on the door.

Leave it outside the door and I will book it back in for you, said Norman, We can’t open at the moment.

But I want to choose a new book to read.

Please, just leave the book outside the door or post it in the returns post box around the corner and hopefully we will open tomorrow, Norman replied.

But I want a book today. I need something to read when I go to bed tonight. It helps me sleep. I’m not a good sleeper and reading a book really helps me to drop off.

Buy a newspaper then, retorted Norman turning his back on her and made his way back to the others.

The lady threw down her book outside the door and stomped off.

Five minutes later a loud knocking was heard again at the main entrance door. It was the police. Norman went over and asked them to come around to the back and he would let them in as he didn’t have any keys to open the front door.

He went back into the staff room and met two officers at the back door. They introduced themselves and asked who he was. Norman told them his name and then showed them the body lying on the staff room door.

It’s our senior librarian, Mr Alan Frith. I and my three colleagues, who are currently in the main library, arrived for work at around eight forty but couldn’t get in. Mr Frith always gets here first and opens up. We couldn’t get any answer when we knocked on the door so came around the back but found that was locked as well. I rang his mobile and we heard it ringing in here but not being answered. I broke the door down and this is what greeted us, explained Norman looking at Mr Frith lying on the floor.

The elder police officer donned a