But then there's the 80-year old man who approaches the desk and is looking for a new biography to check out on his iPad. We do live in San Francisco, and I should expect the unexpected, although Mira also directs the man to the hard copy of the book the library carries as well.

     Mira goes over the break schedule with me; we'll be covering each other's lunch hour. "I take my lunch at noon, so I hope you don't mind going at 1," she asks.

     "That's fine with me," I say, then curiosity gets the better of me. "So what happened to Chris Smith? Did she get another job?"

     Mira looks a little panicked, and shakes her head. "She just didn't come in last week. No one has heard why, or wha...

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