She was filled with a deep humiliating shame, but beneath the shame was a profound uneasiness. Who was this man? Where had he found out all this information about her, and why was he here? To offer her a job at his bank? Could he possibly think that a 75-year-old former housewife was the best qualified person for any position?

Nothing about this added up, and as he continued to snoop around her living space, examining the pictures on her walls and the knickknacks on her shelves, checking out her bed, Helene’s uneasiness graduated to agitation. She wanted him out of here. She wanted him gone.

He picked up a small figurine then put it down. “So what do you say? Would you like to work at the bank?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know anything about banking and I’m too old to learn.”

“You’re never too old to learn.”

“I’m too old to work, though. I’m here because I fall sometimes, and I’m not well. Besides, I can’t go out. I don’t even think they’d let me leave.”

“Oh, that’s taken care of,” Mr. Pickering said easily. “I talked to the administrators. They’re fine with it.”

Again, stronger, that feeling of apprehension. He had come here specifically looking for her and had gone to the effort to get pre-approval for her to work at his bank? How and why had he chosen her, and what made her different than all of the other residents in the home? For that matter, what made her different than all of the men and women in town who were actually looking for a job?

He was staring at her as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. “You are unique,” he said. “And you have exactly what we’re looking for.” He sat down on the couch and patted the cushion next to him, indicating that she should sit down. After a moment’s hesitation, she did so. “Staffing a business is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle,” he told her. “The right piece has to fit in the right spot in order for everything to work. That’s what I’m doing now: looking for the right pieces. And one of them is you.”

Against her will, Helene felt herself drawn in.

“What would I have to do?”

“Just come with me,” he said. That ultra-white smile was back. “We’ll get you set up.”

6

The doorbell rang at midnight.