Gideon's Chair

Chapter 26

I pulled into the towns municipal car park , which doubled as a mud bath in the winter at about ten am.

" Oi mate , I've got an hour and a half left on this ticket , have it if you want " A burly man cigarette in hand waved a ticket at me from a green BMW .

" Thanks a lot " I replied taking the ticket from him " Kind of you "

Grabbing a daily paper from the news stand I thought I might waste an hour or so in Angelo's the new Italian coffee bar , which had just opened opposite the library . A young waitress who's uniform resembled a Thunderbird handed me a Cappuccino with a cheery

" Have A Good Day " And placed it on a coaster depicting a Venetian scene

I laughed to myself ' Have a good day ' if only . I thanked her and opened the paper .

The headline read that the  Police had charged a man after revisiting old evidence . Inspector Sutton commenting on the case said ' The use of forensic evidence allowed us to visit original evidence '

I wonder if I will have as much luck today .

My cell phone  rang . Struggling I pulled it out of my pocket

" Hello"

" Tutbury , this is Krey , any news ? "

" Not yet " I replied " I'm hoping to have a better day today "

" Well lets hope so " Krey still attempting this irritating English accent replied

" Yes lets " I felt like answering in an American accent

" Ok Tutbury , have a good day , I will be in touch " with that he hung up

Looking at the phone I shook my head . Have a bloody good day yourself , who ever invented that phrase should be strung up .

The coffee went cold as I gazed aimlessly at nothing . The faux vintage clock so out of place in an Italian coffee house struck a quarter to eleven . Rolling my newspaper up I walked onto the street . The sun was beating down . Apparently this was going to be the years hottest day . It had certainly brought out a series of fashion disasters . A particularly large woman dressed in dressed in white leggings and a vest top with the slogan 'HOT' breezed down the pavement with all the grace of a flailing water buffalo .

Stood at the crossing facing the library , I pressed the button and waited . A car horn startled a group of birds on top of the library roof causing me to look up.

The gargoyles seemed to sneer at me from the library façade . They had that look of  'Your Not Even Close'

I waited with my back to the library , to the left of the entrance . The sun warm on my face

" Hi John "

I jumped

" Oh hi Suzannah " turning towards her coming down the entrance steps " How did it go"

We started to walk towards the car park . She held my arm .

" Not good I'm afraid " She replied " I've got two options . I either resign , they will give me three months pay or they dismiss me for gross misconduct"

" What about him , you know the man you ..."

Suzannah finished my sentence

" The man I didn't fuck or anything , well him .....He's been given a written warning .....after all he is in charge .....and his mother is a Patron of the Library , funny that " She sarcastically replied

" That's harsh" I said

" Oh John , he just made up some rubbish , about how it was my fault , he was vulnerable ...yeah right ....and I had pestered him ...led him on ...that kinda shit "