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librarian told me that he likes to make house calls sometimes. Offer him a glass of water. Tell him I’ll be right down.” Morgan climbed up the stairs again.
    “He looks really weird, Gramps,” Thomas whispered.
    Morgan leaned over the railing with clenched teeth. “Open the door,” he said.
    “Okay,” Thomas answered adding a little “jeez” under his breath.
    Thomas hesitantly unlocked the bolt and opened the front door, but he purposely left the screen door locked.
    Doctor Franco was staring at the street. As he turned to face Thomas, fresh snow fell from his shoulders and top hat.
    “You must be Thomas,” Doctor Franco said with a smile. “Is your grandfather home?”
    Thomas unlocked the screen door. “Yes. Please come in.”
    “Wonderful, I’m Doctor Franco,” he said as he reached for Thomas’s hand and shook it vigorously.
    “Grandpa will be down here in a moment. Would you like some…”
    The doctor took off his heavy coat and handed it to Thomas. The fabric was cold and powdery snow covered the crevices, and Thomas was sure that snow was hard to come by in the middle of summer in California. Weirder still was the fact that under the heavy winter coat the doctor was wearing a tuxedo.
    “A glacier wedding,” the doctor said as he handed Thomas his cane. “Water is fine.” With a swift movement, he removed his hat and collapsed it into a neat little disk before placing it on top of the coat Thomas was holding. “You have a lovely house,” he said. “I’ll wait in the living room…” and he took off as if he knew his way around the house.
    Thomas shook his head and dropped the coat on a chair in the kitchen. He tightly held the cane, examining it. It was made of black wood and an intertwined metal serpent ran the length of the cane ending with a serpent’s head at the top.
    “The Rod of Asclepius,” he heard Dr. Franco say from the living room. “God of Medicine.”
    The mind-reading trick at the mansion annoyed Thomas, and this guy was no different. He placed the cane over the coat and served two glasses of water as slowly as he could. He finished when he heard his grandpa enter the living room and exchange pleasantries with the Doctor.
    “I’ll be in my room,” Thomas said after leaving the water on the living room table, trying to make a quick escape.
    “No, no, no,” Doctor Franco said. “Don’t go, Thomas. You’ll want to hear this.”
    Thomas gritted his teeth and reluctantly sat down beside Grandpa. What did these people want? They were so weird. There was something about this man that he didn’t like, the way he removed his leather gloves, fast, but with the utmost care, pulling them finger by finger, and the way he wiggled in the seat accommodating himself on the cushion.
    The doctor twirled his right moustache with two fingers before looking back at grandpa.
    He seemed to be a bag of nervous ticks, and Thomas just couldn’t believe he was completely sane.
    The doctor flashed Thomas a quizzical look.
    “I guess this is about the job?” Morgan asked.
    “Yes, Morgan. I rushed back to town once Mrs. Pianova told me about your application and interview. I’ve reviewed it thoroughly, but I’m afraid that the librarian job is not for you.” The Doctor rubbed his hands mischievously and pointed at Thomas. “It’s for him!” he exclaimed. “If you want it, of course.”
    Morgan and Thomas exchanged a look of surprise. “Is this some kind of joke?” Morgan said with an edge.
    “Whoa! Wait. I haven’t said you’re not hired, Morgan. You are hired, but not as assistant librarian.” He moved his hands so much as he talked that he seemed to be explaining the words with gestures.
    “You see, I’m in the habit of making background checks for all my future employees. For example, Morgan, you were in the Marines and received the Purple Heart, then worked in a factory and finished your C.P.A. exam, which allowed you to work in accounting for many companies until your