Chapter 42

Chapter 42: Finger Bones
Paid publication
Book #4	Book 4
Chapter	6
Free publication
Date posted	Oct 21, 2024
Word count	21,766
Points of view	Steph, Bethany, Christine, Lorna, Frankie, Monica, Adam, Tabitha, Diana, Edy, Valérie
AO3 Scribble Hub
Chapter 41 ← Previous	Chapter 43 Next →

Chapter 42: Finger Bones is the sixth chapter of the fourth book of the series, and forty-second chapter overall.

The title comes from Valérie kicking over the candle stubs from her vigil, comparing them with bones being exhumed at Stenordale.

The chapter consists of 23 scenes all taking place on Monday, 13 January 2020.

Plot

Steph and Beth return to Steph’s basement room, where Bethany has an attack of claustrophobia

Beth goes to gather some clothes for taking up to Steph’s first floor room

Steph hears Adam in the common room and finds he is highly upset

Beth and Steph find Steph is blocked from leaving the basement and the network is down; Beth melts down

Steph and Beth watch as Tabitha and the other sponsors arrive, announcing the building is under lockdown

Beth is reassured by Steph and her panic recedes

Steph reads on Pippa’s phone that the lockdown has been triggered by the discovery of bodies at Stenordale

Christine has a meltdown and leaves in the middle of her linguistics lecture to get away from it all

Vicky gets a message to return to the Hall as per normal, to receive a briefing

Christine continues to ignore her phone as she ascends the hillock overlooking the Uni, where Paige finds her

At the Peckinville site, Frankie considers the crisis

Monica and Diana enjoy the quaintness of the B&B

Lorna and Vicki arrive for Indira’s briefing on the crisis

Adam still restless, and is disturbed by Edy being upset

Tabitha polls the sponsors on whether they want to stay for the next shift

Monica connects to to the secure Dorley server to read the lockdown message

Frankie and the rest (without Trevor) are driven back to Dorley

Monica and Diana consider the terrible things that happened at Stenordale

Beth has another meltdown, and a confession

Adam continues to be worried as Edy tries to tell her story and that of Dorley

Steph and Pippa discuss the impossibility of re-running the past

Edy reveals she was a part of Adam’s world as a child, when she was named Seth

Once again Val holds her vigil, and disgustedly kicks the candles to the floor when they have burnt out

This article is incomplete. You can help by expanding it.