The Chief Librarian had never been a people person.
In short, he was rude. The man sitting at one of the small reading tables turned the page of a reference book he considered borrowing. He occasionally looked up and watched the librarian; remembering. He remembers a time, a decade earlier, as a boy, borrowing books for his school projects. He was uncivil and dismissive of all youngsters who wanted use the library back then. He remembers how he’d seen a schoolgirl cry on more than one occasion. He was obnoxious with adults too. He had often wondered exactly what it was that allowed such a horrible person to keep his job. You wouldn’t expect anyone as nasty as him to remain in a role where he continually deals with members of the general community.
Voices were raised as the man in question spoke roughly to a staff member. He hadn’t changed. This proved the case that he was still getting away with his bad behaviour. The man got up and returned the book to the shelf. He stood looking at the man through the open shelf, while an idea began to form. In a way, he was surprised that such a notion should occur to him, especially in such precise detail. Had such a proposal been brewing at the back of his mind for years? It was possible. He knew the library held a very large collection of jig-saw puzzles and he knew where they were kept.
His sudden and unexpected motivation to put the idea into action surprised him. Had he really just been subconsciously biding his time? Maybe, but it was on! He looked at the clock. Only twenty minutes before closing time. He took another book back to the table and waited. Then, just before the library doors were closed he went to the toilet. There, he lifted the latch on the widow, just enough. He casually strolled out.
It was around two in the morning when he returned. It would be a while before the full implications of what he was about to do would come to light. That was OK. His would only be a token act of revenge. He climbed in through the window, made his way to the shelves crammed with jig-saw puzzles and spent the next two hours removing a single piece from each.
