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The Black Notebook

Ara discovers a black notebook at the library that Emily can communicate on. The only problem is that Emily is dead. With the help of the black notebook can Ara help Emily solve her murder?

By Melissa Bezborotko Published 3 years ago 27 min read
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Cover Art by Matthew Braitman

Ara stepped out of her house just in time to see the city bus round the corner of her block.

"Oh, Crap!" She said, gritting through her teeth.

Ara dashed down her front steps running towards the bus stop. She can't be late for her first day at her new job. Ara could hear the bus creeping up behind her, so she started to run faster towards the bus stop. She made it just in time to listen to the bus slowing down and coming to a halt. Ara hunched over to take big gulps of the cool morning air, trying to catch her breath. The door to the bus opened, and Ara was greeted by the most handsome man she had ever seen. He had golden locks that fell just over his ears, dark blue eyes that sparkled, and the most dashing smile that made catching her breath that much harder to do.

"Good Morning, are you coming in?" The bus driver asked, smiling.

"Oh yes, sorry. Just trying to catch my breath." Ara panted, "Thank you for stopping."

"No Problem." He replied, still smiling.

As Ara stepped up the stairs into the bus, she put her money into the coin slot and glanced at his name tag. Colin, she read, smiling to herself. Ara needed to shake off this lusty feeling and get into work mode. The first days are always rough. New tasks to learn, people to meet, and a new boss to impress. Working at the downtown library was not the most exciting job to have, but it will help pay the bills. Ara liked to read, mostly adventure novels because her life was boring. Nothing exciting ever happens in this small city of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.

Ara chose a seat near the back of the bus and stared out the window. The sun was just barely up, making the most beautiful pink, purple, and blue colours intertwining in the sky. She could get used to this view every morning. Saskatchewan is a very flat province in Canada, but here in the valley is beautiful scenery. As much as Ara loved watching the horizon, she changed her focus to the streets the bus was driving on. Her stop was approaching soon. She took a deep calming breath and pulled the cord. "Ding" The bus started to slow and pull over to the bus stop in front of the downtown library.

"Thank you!" She called to Colin as she exited the bus at the rear.

Ara stood in front of the big entrance doors to the library. She had a smile on her face as she pulled the giant door open and stepped inside. There was a book return box to her right and doors to a public washroom to her left. Ara took another deep calming breath, taking in that old library musty smell of earthy wood. Just ahead, she saw the main front desk. As Ara approached the desk, a tall, thin woman stood up from her chair. She had long, chocolate brown hair and wore the cutest pair of white-framed glasses. Her blouse was a light pink tucked into a long black skirt. Ara hoped that her outfit was just as lovely as this woman. Ara wore a pair of black pants and a plum shirt with roses embroidered down the sleeves. She put her long, blonde hair into a bun.

"Hello." The tall lady greeted Ara. "How can I help you?"

"Hello, my name is Ara Crit. It's my first day today." Ara said with a smile.

"Yes, I am expecting you. I'm Brianna Low, but everyone calls me Bree."

Bree extended her arm out for a handshake. Ara acknowledged and shook her hand. Then Bree came around from the desk.

"I'll show you where you can put your belongings."

Ara followed Bree through the library. As they walked, Ara looked around. She saw rows of tall shelves full of books, areas to sit and read or study. There were various sections, including fiction, science, crime, adventure, documentary, and children section on the second floor. She also noticed a long table with computers on top in the back corner. At the ends of the table are two large black printers. Once Bree and Ara were on the other side of the Library, Bree pushed open a door that read "Staff Only."

"This is the staff room." Bree announced, "Here we have lockers, a table and chairs, tv, fridge, microwave, and sink. You can take any locker that does not have a lock and claim it. I would suggest bringing a lock. People have snuck in and stolen things in the past."

Ara walked over to the coloured lockers and opened number four. It was empty, so she hung her purse onto one of the hooks and shut the locker. She will have to have faith that no one will steal her wallet today.

"Staff has a personal washroom that we share." Bree continued, pointing to another door on the other side of the room. "There is a rotation to clean the staff room and washroom. You will start the rotation tomorrow. But we all pitch in every day with dusting and washing floors." Ara nodded in assurance that she was listening. "Now, let's get you signed into the computer system, and then you'll be with Thomas for the rest of your shift. He'll give you training for the next couple of days."

Ara and Bree went back to the front desk to get Ara's information into the librarys' computer program. Ara was thinking to herself that it was not so bad so far. Ara watched as Bree typed in passwords and wrote the information down for her on a notepad. Just as they were finishing up, a gentleman walked through the front entrance. Ara noticed that he was looking straight at her with piercing brown eyes. It made Ara feel a little nervous. He stopped at the counter and extended his arm out towards her.

"Hey, I'm Thomas. You must be the new girl?"

"Yes, my name is Ara." She replied, taking his hand for an awkward handshake.

"Great, I'll put my jacket and lunch in the staff room, then we'll get started putting away returns," Thomas said with a big grin. He had thin lips and crooked teeth, but that big grin made Ara nervous.

After Thomas showed Ara how to research the computer where each book goes, he sent Ara on her way with a full cart of returns. Ara took her time researching each book for its proper location. Book returns are easy, Ara thought to herself. Time went by, and Ara was close to the end of her pile when she noticed a black notebook sitting randomly at the bottom of the cart. It was clearly not a return, looking more like a personal notebook. With curiosity, Ara picked up the notebook and opened it. Inside were some notes, passwords and emails. The notes were "how-to" tasks that Thomas was just training her on. So, Ara looked for Thomas. Maybe this was his black notebook.

"Hey, Thomas!" Ara called from where she stood.

"Here!" came a voice from the True Crime section.

Ara headed in that direction. It was not much of a walk from the Religion section she was currently in.

"I think I found your notebook?"

Ara handed the notebook to Thomas, but he did not take it. Instead, he was just staring at it like he was looking at a ghost. Completely frozen. Ara did not know what to do. Should she put it down? Should she walk away? Finally, Thomas swallowed hard.

"No, no, it's not mine. Actually, it belongs to someone that used to work here. Uh, Emily."

"Oh, I guess I can just toss it then?" Ara asked.

"Yeah," Thomas replied, a little high-pitched.

Ara headed for the Staff Room; she remembered seeing a trash can by the sink. As she was walking towards the Staff Room, Ara thought it might be a good idea to keep the notebook. There were some excellent notes there, and they could help her learn the job more quickly. So, Ara put the black notebook into her purse instead, planning to read through it later. The day ticked by, and it was finally time to go home. It was a good first day. She thought, walking to the bus stop.

On the bus ride home, Ara decided to peek at Emily's black notebook that she found. Wonder why she quit? Ara thought to herself as she pulled the notebook out of her purse. Lifting her knees onto the edge of the bench, Ara opened the notebook.

"Auhhh!" Ara shrieks, dropping the notebook onto the floor. Everyone on the bus turns to look in her direction. "Sorry, a spider landed on my book." Ara quickly recovered and picked up the notebook from the floor.

Slowly Ara reopens the notebook. She lied; it was not a spider that frightened her. The words "HELP ME!" were written in red marker on every page. All Ara could do was flip through the pages as her heart began to beat fast. Too frightened, Ara closed the notebook and put it back in her purse. She remained quiet the rest of the bus ride home.

When Ara walked through her front door to her house, she went straight up to her room and tossed her purse onto the floor beside her bed. That notebook was the last thing she wanted to see right now. Ara's tummy rumbled, so she went downstairs to see if her mom has made anything for supper. Walking into the kitchen, her mom was staring into the fridge.

"Hi, mom."

"Hi, kiddo." Brenda replied, "How was your first day at the library?"

"It was good. Bree and Thomas seem like great people to work with."

"That's awesome, Kiddo! Hey, I cannot find anything to make for supper. How about we order a pizza and celebrate your first day?"

"Sounds like a plan."

After pizza and some tv time with her mom, Ara went upstairs to settle down for bed. She opened her door and stared at her purse on the floor. There must be an explanation for what Ara saw on the bus. Maybe she was tired, and her imagination was going crazy. Ara picked up her purse and reached in for the notebook. She sat on her bed and opened it up. There on the pages were all of Emily's notes on how to do her job. Ara was relieved.

"Yup, it was just my imagination," Ara said to herself out loud as she closed her eyes for a good night's rest.

The following day Ara made it to the bus stop on time. As she took the last bite of her granola bar, the bus rounded the corner of the block. Pulling to the side, the door to the bus opened, and Colin was greeting her with that handsome smile. Ara was blushing a little as she put the coins into the coin slot and took her seat at the back of the bus. Ara stared at the beautiful sunrise again to her stop. Bree was at the front desk when she walked into the library.

"Morning sunshine." Bree greeted. "I have a list for you of books I need you to pull from the shelves."

"No problem," Ara replied, taking the list and heading to the staff room to put her purse away.

Ara brought a lock today. Her old gym lock from high school. After locking her purse safely in her locker, Ara grabbed a cart. Finding all these books should not take too long. As time went by, Ara had only one more book to find before her first break. The book was in the True Crime section. Walking over there, she found shelf TC400, Row C08. Running her fingers along with the titles, she stopped where the book should have been located. Instead of the book she was supposed to see, staring at her was the little black notebook of Emily's. Ara took the notebook off the shelf, curiously opened it, and gasped. On every page in red marker read, "HELP ME!"

"Hey, what are you looking at?" Thomas said, standing at the end of the aisle.

Ara jumped, "Look at this!" She practically shoved the notebook right in Thomas's face.

"Why do you still have this?" Thomas shouted angrily, grabbing the book, "You were supposed to throw it away!"

Ara just stood there in shock. Why was he so angry? She thought.

"I'm going to toss this myself!" Thomas shouted again a little pitchy as he stomped away quickly.

Ara was confused by what just happened. That notebook was in her purse, locked away. How did it get on this shelf? Good thing she had a break right now; her head was spinning. Walking into the staff room, Ara took her lunch out of the fridge. She sat down at the table with her left-over pizza from last night's dinner. She took her phone out of her back pocket and scrolled through social media. As Ara was scrolling, a news article caught her eye. "$20,000 Still Missing from Carter Jewelers." Ara clicked on the article to get more details. It continued to say that the jewelry store was robbed a week ago around 7 pm. The police suspected the owner's daughter because she has been missing since her last shift at the downtown library on the same day as the robbery; if anyone has any information on Emily Carter to come forward, please.

Ara nearly dropped her phone at the site of the name, Emily Carter.

"No way!" Ara whispered out loud to herself.

"What's no way?" Bree said, opening the fridge to grab a bottled water.

Ara nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Oh nothing, just reading a comment on social media. You know how some comments are just crazy."

"I hear you on that." Bree agreed, sitting down next to her.

"Well, my lunch is done," Ara said, standing up, then walking over to the garbage can; she tossed away the plastic wrap from her pizza. "Back to work."

Ara left the staff room and grabbed a cart of returns. Her thoughts were going a mile a minute. That little black notebook said, "HELP ME" inside. Emily is missing and obviously needs help, but how can she help? Why her? The only clue Ara had was in the black notebook, and Thomas threw it away. She had to get that notebook back! Ara left her cart and dashed back to the staff room. Bree was not there anymore, so Ara pulled out the garbage bin by the sink, pushed some items aside, but did not see the notebook.

Maybe a different garbage bin? Ara thought to herself, leaving the staff room.

She looked in the bin by the front desk, the bin in the public washroom, and the bins by the study area—no black notebook. Ara's anxiety was starting to rise. Where did Thomas put that notebook? The library was closing soon. Ara had to get those returns put away and sweep the floors. Just then, a thought came to her.

"The returns!" She whispered to herself.

Ara returned to her cart and started to look through the pile. There underneath all the books was Emily's little black notebook. Ara was relieved as she hugged it tightly.

"Yes, Emily, I will help you!" She whispered to the book.

Ara had to put the notebook back into her purse right away before anyone saw it. After doing so, Ara returned to her duties. She was almost done putting away each book to where it belonged, but at the end of her book pile, staring Ara in the face, was the little black notebook. Confused, she picked up the notebook and opened it. On every page, it now reads "RG 200 W57" It is a location of a book here in the library. Ara now realized that Emily is communicating to her through the notebook. Wasting no time, Ara went into the religion section of the library and took the book off the shelf. The title read, "A Beginner's Book to Wicca." Ara was perplexed, she knew nothing about Wicca, but following Emily's instructions, Ara checked the book out of the library. The excitement came over her as she rode the city bus back home after her shift.

When the city bus pulls over at Ara's stop, she makes a mad dash out of the bus towards her house. Ara ran up the stairs to her bedroom and shut the door. She reached into her purse and pulled out the Wicca book.

"Ok, Emily, what am I supposed to do with this book?" Ara asks out loud as if speaking to Emily.

Just then, the book zips from her fingers, lands on her bed, and opens to a page near the middle. Ara takes a big gulp and slowly walks towards the bed. Peering cautiously at the open page, she reads "Easy Locator Spell."

"I guess I need to locate Emily," Reading more, Ara says to herself, "I need a white candle, a city map, and belonging or blood of the person you are locating."

Ara grabbed a vanilla candle that she got for her birthday that was on her side table. Then she pulled a city map that she took from the city bus depot out of the drawer, and finally the little black notebook of Emily's from her purse. Ara had everything she needed. Ara followed the instructions. She sat peacefully on her bedroom floor, put the notebook on her lap, and then lit the candle beside the city map. Ara repeated these words out loud.

"Be it high in the air or low to the ground. Let who I'm looking for be found."

Ara repeated the verse three times before taking the candle and pouring wax onto a corner of the map. Since she did not have Emily's blood, the spell read that the candle wax would do. She watched in amazement as the wax moved across the map and stopped at the downtown library.

Emily is at the library? Ara questioned herself.

Flipping the page to read what comes next. It says, "The person you are searching for will now glow. A glow that only the spell caster will see. Happy searching." Of course, Ara will have to wait till tomorrow to search the library. So, she blew out the candle and put the map back in the drawer. After placing the notebook into her purse, Ara went to bed. She tossed and turned all night with so many thoughts in her mind, but morning finally came. Ara got dressed, grabbed a hardboiled egg out of the fridge, and headed for the bus stop. She made it on time to see Colin's dashing smile as she dropped her money into the coin slot. She took her regular spot at the back of the bus and stared out the window at the beautiful sunrise. Ara was determined to find a glowing Emily somewhere in the library today.

Once the bus came to her stop, Ara got out and dashed right to the staff room. Thomas was eating a bagel at the table, but Ara ignored him. She was on a mission today.

"Morning." Thomas greeted her, "I have to organize some things in the basement this morning. I will be swamped, so do not bother me. If you have questions, ask Bree."

Ara nodded and left the staff room. She did not care what Thomas had to do today. He gave her chills anyway. Ara took a cart and the morning list of books for pickups. She was not really looking for the books. It was to make her look busy as she searched the library for Emily. Ara went up and down every aisle; nothing was glowing.

She must not be on this floor. Ara said to herself.

So, Ara decided to go upstairs. Looking around, she did not notice anything glowing there either. Feeling defeated she headed back towards the stairs, Ara saw a glowing light coming from a door in the back corner of the library on the main floor. The basement! she said to herself in excitement. At the bottom of the stairs, Ara was greeted by Bree.

"Have you gotten all the books ready for pickups?

"I'm just about done." Ara lied, "I'll get them up to the front desk right away!"

Ara returned to her cart. She will just have to search the basement later. Hustling, Ara found all the books and brought them to the front counter for customers. Bree smiled at Ara as she unloaded the cart of books off to the side of the counter.

"I'm going to do some dusting now." Ara lied again to Bree.

Ara grabbed a dusting cloth from the staff room and made her way towards the True Crime section. The door to the basement was by that section, but Ara wanted to make it look like she was dusting as she crept closer to the glowing basement door. When She arrived at the door, Ara slowly turned the handle—opening the basement door as little as possible, Ara slipped inside. She made her way halfway down the stairs and sat on a step. Peering to the right between the railing bars, she saw Thomas. He was throwing a sheet over a couple of carts placed in a row that were also glowing. Realizing she was holding her breath, Ara inhaled and almost lost her breakfast to the smell, an awful rotting smell. Unable to handle it, Ara dashed back up the stairs shutting the door quietly behind her. Walking fast to the staff room, Ara went straight into the staff washroom. Ara was confused, breathing heavy, and her heart was racing. She decided to splash some water on her face to calm down. After a couple of minutes, Ara heard the water running on the other side of the door. Taking a calming breath, she opened the washroom door to see Thomas washing his hands. He turned around, startled.

"Oh hi," Thomas said, surprised, "Didn't know you were in there."

"Yeah. I have been dusting and had to go to the washroom quickly. Are you done in the basement?"

"Yes, and I have somewhere I need to go. So, if you need help, ask Bree. I'll be back later to help close."

Ara nodded and left the staff room. She felt that she handled that encounter with Thomas well. What was he doing in the basement? She thought. Continuing to pretend to dust, Ara made her way back to the basement door. With Thomas gone and Bree at the front counter, she could continue to look for Emily. There was still a glowing light coming from underneath the basement door. Ara grabbed the handle while covering her mouth and nose with the dust cloth. She was relieved that the fabric smelled of Windex. She crept back down the basement stairs and made her way towards the glowing carts Thomas had covered. She bent down and lifted the cloth. Ara froze! She had found Emily all right…DEAD! Ara had never seen a dead body before, but here one was, rotting. Ara had to get out of the basement before someone noticed she was down there. Completely frightened, Ara returned to the staff washroom. She sat on the floor and began to cry. Now what? She thought to herself. After what felt like hours, but was only minutes, Ara took her cell phone out of her pocket and dialled 911.

"Hello, 911. How may I assist you?" Said a female operator.

"Yes, I smelt a bad odour coming from the basement at the downtown library. I went to check it out, and there is a deceased body down there." Ara said, a little shaky, eyes filled with tears.

"Where are you now?"

"In the staff washroom. I work here at the downtown library."

"An ambulance and police car are on their way. Please go outside. I will stay on the line until they arrive."

"Ok. I have a co-worker here as well. Should she go outside too?" Ara asked.

"Yes."

Ara left the staff washroom and headed towards Bree. She was still at the front counter.

"Bree, I need to talk to you." Ara held her cellphone to her chest. "I was dusting in the true crime section, and I smelt an odour coming from the basement. I went to investigate and found a dead body. I have 911 on the phone, and the operator has instructed us to go outside."

Just as Ara finished telling Bree, they heard the sirens. Bree, Ara, and a few people that were in the library made their way outside. They watched as the police car pulled over. Two gentlemen got out and approached the girls. One man had red hair, about 5' 8", and the other was very tall with dark hair. Probably 6' 2". Both are very built.

"Good day, ladies. I'm Officer Grimaldi." The red hair man said, "Which one of you called in the body?"

"Me, Sir!" Ara responded, "The body is a female. She is in the basement under a white cloth."

Both men nodded and made their way into the library.

"Ok, what in the world is going on?" Bree said, turning to Ara hysterically.

"As I told you, I was dusting in the true crime section and smelt something awful. When I realized it was coming from the basement, I investigated and found a body hidden under a white cloth. I called 911 in shock. That's basically it." Ara fibbed just a bit.

No way was Ara going to say the spirit of Emily Carter was communicating through a black notebook she found in the library. Then she cast a spell to find Emily, followed by the fact that Ara witnessed Thomas with Emily's body this morning. That info will remain a secret between her Emily.

Once the Police Officers came back out of the library, three people from the ambulance entered the library. Ara gave the same statement to Officer Grimaldi, she said to Bree. Ara knew it had to remain the same. Any slip-up people will know she is not telling the whole story. Officer Grimaldi wrote her statement into his notepad just as Ara saw Thomas coming up the street. They both made eye contact as Thomas froze. His eyes went wide as he turned around and hid behind a parked truck. Just then, the doors to the library opened, and three EMTs wheeled out Emily's body on the stretcher. Thank goodness Emily was covered. Ara could not stand seeing her dead body again.

"Thank you for your statement, Ara." Said Officer Grimaldi. "If you think of anything else, here is my card. Call me at any time. Have a great day, Ladies." He handed Ara his card, tipped his hat, and climbed into the police car's passenger side.

Ara and Bree headed back inside the library. They were both silent as they stood at the front counter.

"That was Emily Carter, wasn't it?" Bree asked Ara whipping away tears from her face.

"I believe so," Ara responded.

"I should have known. Emily was not the type to just disappear. But when I heard about the robbery at her family's jewelry store, I just did not want to make myself involved. The police came here looking for her, but I didn't have much to say." Bree started to cry again.

"Hey, it's ok. It is not your fault." Ara reached out and gave Bree a big hug, "How could you have known?"

Just then, the doors to the library opened, and Thomas walked through. Bree and Ara turned around.

"What's happening, Ladies?" Thomas said, a little too cocky.

"Emily's body was just found in the basement," Bree responded, wiping more tears away from her face.

"Oh!" Thomas said, starring hard at Ara.

He knows, Ara thought to herself. Keep cool!

"Let's just clean up and get out of here," Bree commanded.

The three of them split up in different directions. Thomas headed to the staff room. Bree took a dusting cloth and headed upstairs. Ara grabbed the last cart of book returns. The library never seemed so quiet as they all did their jobs. Ara had just one more book to put away. When she arrived at its location, there was no empty spot. Where the book was supposed to go was Emily's little black notebook. Ara grabbed the notebook and put the proper book in its place. She opened the book to see what Emily had to say.

There in green pen was written:

"Thank you! Your reward is located four steps forward and three steps to the left of where you found me."

Reward? Ara thought to herself.

Given everything that just happened, should she go back into the basement? Ara stood there for a moment. Then she decided to go for it! She peered around the main floor. Seeing no one, Ara headed for the basement doors. Before opening the door, she looked around one more time. Sure, that the coast was clear, she slipped into the basement. Ara stood where Emily's body was found. She took four steps forward and three steps to the left. Now what? Ara looked around; all she could see were dusty boxes everywhere. She looked up and realized it was a drop ceiling. Getting a ladder that was by the stairs, Ara pushed back the square tile. It was dark, so Ara took out her cell phone. Pressing on the flashlight app, she peered into the ceiling. There on the next tile was a backpack. Removing the backpack, Ara made her way down the ladder and unzipped the bag. To her surprise, it was filled with money. There in her hands was the stolen $20,000, and it now belonged to her. Ara quickly zipped up the backpack and hid it in a box under the stairs just in case Thomas knew where the money was hidden. She ran back up the stairs and peered around before fully opening the basement doors. Knowing the coast was clear, Ara slipped through the doors and made her way back to her cart. Pretending to be all done, she went into the staff room to get her purse. Bree and Thomas were in there chatting about Emily.

"I think I'm still in shock!" Bree said.

"Me too!" Agreed Thomas.

"Yes, me too!" Ara cut in.

All three of them made their way out of the library. Bree locked up and headed towards her truck. Thomas strolled down the street whistling, and Ara stood at the bus stop. She was surprised to see Colin in the driver's seat on the bus. It was usually a short, overweight guy that drove the bus going home.

"Hi," Ara said, dropping her coins into the slot.

"Hello," Colin replied with that dashing smile.

Ara made her way toward her spot in the rear. Just before sitting down, she noticed a piece of paper. Ara picked it up and read; I am coming for you!

To Be Continued…

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About the Creator

Melissa Bezborotko

I never know what to write here! I am a mother to two beautiful daughters. As my full-time job, I handle freight and logistics for an office supply company. I enjoy the gym as an outlet for life's stressors, I and I have my own radio show.

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