“They said as soon as possible.”
“Well, I’m pleased one good thing has come out of this damn library closure,” Mrs.B said. “Stanley would have been happy for you.”
“About Stanley. I have some news.” June felt their eyes on her and swallowed. “I found a letter from him this morning.”
“A letter from Stanley?” Jackson had appeared from the Children’s Room. “What did it say?”
“Well, it turns out he had a will.”
“What could he have possibly left in a will?” Marjorie said. “The poor man was homeless.”
“In his letter, Stanley told me that he’d managed to claim rights to the land he was squatting on, and he’d decided to sell the land to the property developers.”
“Why on earth would he do that?” Mrs.B said. “He hated those developers—they made his life hell.”
“So, that’s the other thing. Stanley knew he was going to die.”
“Oh, dear Lord,” Vera said, crossing herself. “That’s sent chills down my spine.”
“He had a brain tumor, but he refused all treatment. I think, because he knew he was going to die, he decided to sell his land.”
“The poor old bugger,” Mrs.B said, shaking her head. “But how does all of this involve you?”
June felt her cheeks growing red. “Well, for some reason, Stanley decided to leave the money to me.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful.” Marjorie smiled at June. “He always had a soft spot for you.”
“What are you going to do with the money?” Vera said.
“If I were you, I’d get the hell out of this village,” Chantal mumbled.
“I could. But there was one other idea I had.”
June’s phone bleeped. There was a text message on her screen, just two words.It’s done.
“What’s going on?” Mrs.B said.
“It’s a message from Alex.”
“For god’s sake, we don’t care about your love life. You were telling us about Stanley’s will.”
“Thisisabout Stanley. In his letter, he said that Alex had put him in touch with a solicitor, a woman called Eleanor. I called Alex this morning and he told me she’s his flatmate, Ellie, and she’s also been dealing with Stanley’s will and the sale of his land.”
“Yes, and?” Mrs.B said.
“Alex said that Stanley had expected to get ten to twenty thousand pounds for the land. But it turns out the property developersreally want it, and they’ve offered Ellie almost one hundred thousand pounds.”
“For a piece of derelict land? That’s insane.”
“Apparently they want to build a luxury leisure complex, and Stanley’s plot of land is key to that.”
“So, is all of that money yours?” Marjorie asked.
“There are a few expenses that have to be paid from it, but Alex said I’ll end up with most of it.”
Chantal’s eyes were wide. “Just think of all the things you could do with that much money.”
“I’ve decided there’s only one thing I want to do with it.” June looked around her at the library and then at the group standing in front of her. “I want this building.”
