Harry Lester opened his mail and examined the diploma he had received from law school. At last he had achieved what he always wanted and it had all been worth while. He had wondered at the beginning if he would regret it, but time had proved to him that he had done the right thing.
While stuck in a dead-end job, faith had handed him an opportunity to acquire the funds needed to study full-time without the burden of having to earn a living.

It all started one evening in autumn as Harry was on his way to the library. An attractive, wealthy looking woman in a well-kept car had parked just round a corner and picked up a passing taxi. Unusual, he thought, to park a car and take a taxi. With that a bus arrived. He ran to the stop and caught it.

By sheer coincidence the woman he had seen park the car was in the library. Harry had to stop himself watching her as she moved through the shelves. Moments later he removed a book and noticed her in the next aisle searching for a book. She found the one she was looking for and looked round suspiciously to see if anyone could see her.

Harry was intrigued. She was acting very strangely. Satisfied that no one was watching, she took a piece of paper from her pocket and slipped it into the book. She replaced the book and left in a hurry.
Harry found the book with the paper without much difficulty. Unfolding the paper he read the note. “Do not ring me at the house again, I will pay, but you must give me more time, it is too much money to raise at such short notice without drawing undue attention.” It was not signed.

Harry replaced the note and hurried from the library. He hailed a passing taxi. The well-kept car was pulling away as he arrived. He noted the registration number and went home to figure aout what to do.

Next morning he had made up his mind to follow things through. Obviously, the woman was being blackmailed. She was paying someone off and the price was high. He made a few enquiries and found the car was registered to a Mr Douglas Price-Burrows, undoubtedly the husband. He had a vague recollection of seeing the name in the society pages.

For the next few days Harry kept a close watch on the library from a nearby coffee shop. On the fourth evening he saw Mrs Price-Burrows enter the library. Harry followed discreetly. She went to the same bookshelf and when she left he checked the book again. This time there was no note.

As he replaced it he noticed a thick envelope pushed in behind the books. Making sure no one was watching he looked inside. Money! Lots of money. Certainly enough to give him a good start in law school. He could take it now and no one would ever know, but that could cause complications. Instead, he replaced it and moved away to think.

Passing a window he saw Mrs Price-Burrows leave the building. Of course! The blackmailer would be doing the same thing from some other vantage point to make sure she had gone before touching the money.

He sat down to read, wait and watch. People came and went. The librarian passed several times with her trolley replacing books on the shelves. The librarian worked replacing and rearranging books, then, almost unnoticed, with a quick glance in both directions, she slipped the envelope onto her trolley. Harry was surprised, but on reflection reasoned that if she was caught at this point she had good reason to remove any unauthorised item from the shelves.

He watched as she returned to the counter and casually placed her prize on the desk. After a discreet delay she took some negatives from her handbag and put them in a small envelope, addressed the envelope and sealed it.

Harry waited about half an hour until she left the counter unattended. He moved swiftly. Leaving the library he quickly reached over the counter picked up the two envelopes and went on his way. He posted the letter with the negatives and enrolled in law school next day.