Almost seven months later, Egon and Janine finally found themselves conducting interviews for the secretary who would replace Janine for three months. Over the past few days, people came in and tried to prove themselves to be as competent as Janine when it came to this important position. They had to do this quickly since Janine was due any day now.

The lower level of the firehouse was fairly quiet save for the electric fan that was placed in the corner of the room. Its movements were predictable enough that Egon could expect to feel a breeze from where he was sitting every seven seconds exactly. He was right next to Janine, who wearing a floral maternity dress and sitting in her usual spot behind the desk. She looked down at her swollen belly and rubbed it before looking back at Egon.

"Egon," she said, "How do you think this is going?"

"Well, the first two candidates screamed and ran off when they saw Slimer," said Egon, "The third candidate was a ghost in disguise. The fourth wanted to sell us a timeshare. The fifth was a ghost in disguise wanting to sell us a timeshare."

"So, not so well."

"That seems to be the consensus."

Janine tapped her fingers on the desk before changing the subject. "So, I had this weird dream last night."

"You did?"

"Yeah. It involved a typewriter with frog legs spewing blood everywhere. But that wasn't the weird part."

Egon was dying to know more. "What could possibly be weirder than what you just said?"

"Before I woke up, the entire dream played backwards like my mind was rewinding a video tape. And then, when I woke up, I couldn't move my body at all and this dark, horned creature was starring me in the face. Terrifying stuff."

This was enough to get Egon's attention. Janine was a fan of telling him about her crazy dreams but this final detail seemed almost worthy of investigation.

"Are you sure this wasn't a part of the dream? I don't want this company wasting resources on investigating a false alarm."

Janine thought for a moment. "Come to think of it, it probably was part of the dream. It was probably from a movie that I saw on TV."

"Other than you possibly hallucinating the demon, it sounds to me like you had sleep paralysis. That's nothing to worry about, just get your sleep hygiene in check and it won't happen again."

"Okay, Doctor Egon." After saying her sarcastic remark, Janine looked at her docket, which listed the names of the people who were being interviewed. All of the names were crossed out except one.

"Our next interviewee is named Gabriella Bermudez," she said.

"And she should be coming riiiiiiight now," said Egon.

He waited for the sound of the heavy door from the back of the building. Nobody from the outside opened it.

"Riiiiiight now."

Still, nobody came to the door.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk… Tardy for her interview. If this is the impression that she makes, then it's not looking too good for her."

Suddenly, the back door made its familiar squeaky noise. The person who came in was in so much of a hurry that they didn't shut it all the way. This was followed by the sound of heels clacking on the pavement.

Finally, the person showed up. She was a young woman of fairly short stature (even shorter if she wasn't wearing heels) and had black hair going down to her upper back with a headband. She went all out with her look for this occasion, wearing makeup, a white blouse and a flowing skirt that went down to her knees. However, she looked more than a bit bedraggled, catching her breath and showing some sweat stains on her blouse from her rush to get to her destination. She clutched onto a folder full of papers.

"Good Afternoon, Mister Spengler." she said. She had a bit of an accent.

"You're late," said Egon with little humor in his voice.

"Egon!" snapped Janine. She turned her head and looked back at the woman. "You're right on time, dear. Let's make our way upstairs to the interview room, shall we?"

Egon and Janine sat in two comfy chairs facing Gabriella in her own chair. There was a coffee table between them and on top of it was a plastic pitcher of water and two glasses. There was also a copy of the woman's resume facing Egon. Gabriella looked a bit calmer, although her shoulders were still a bit shrugged.

"First thing's first, let's get this out of the way," said Egon. He pulled out his PKE meter, activated it and waved it in front of the interviewee. It got no reading. "Good. You're not a ghost." He put the meter on the ground to the side of the chair before continuing. "We're more than happy that you've shown interest in working for us, Ms. Bermudez. The reason our company is hiring right now is because due to… technical difficulties, our current secretary will have to take a three-month leave."

Gabriella looked at Janine and smiled.

"Congratulations on your 'Technical Difficulties,' Ms. Melnitz," she said, "I wish you the best."

"Aw, thank you, dear," said Janine.

"We would like you to tell us a bit about yourself if you don't mind," said Egon.

"Well… My name is Gabriella Bermudez but I prefer to be called Gabby. I currently live in Spanish Harlem and I work in my family's shoe store."

Janine took a look at Gabby's resume.

"Oh, so your family owns Raul's Shoes?" she asked.

"Janine, don't interrupt," said Egon.

"No, it's quite all right," said Gabby, "Anyway, yes, Raul is my father and I have been working at his store on and off since I was a teenager."

"It also says here that you have a degree in Physics from Princeton University," said Egon.

"Wow, way to bury the lead," said Janine.

"Yes, I was about to get to that. I went to Princeton on a scholarship and I was the first in my family to graduate college. I hope to one day get a Masters in Parapsychology."

"I happen to have a Masters in Parapsychology, so you're in good company," said Egon. "So, my next question is: What skills would you bring to this position? What makes you stand out?"

"Well, I have customer service skills from my current job. When I work at my parents' shoe store, I greet people at the desk, answer phone calls and conduct monetary transactions. I have the patience to deal with difficult customers, far more than my mother does. I'm also bilingual."

"Ooh, that's a bonus," said Janine.

"So, what drew you to this particular position?" asked Egon.

"If you want me to be honest, I have always had an interest in the paranormal. When I was little, I became convinced that the house that I lived in was haunted and through various means, I discovered that I was right. Since then, I have managed to communicate with spirits and try to understand their ways. I know that this position will not let me work directly with ghosts and other beings but the very idea of supporting and being close to people who do is something that sounds exciting."

Egon was impressed by this woman's background. Customer service experience, physics knowledge AND she was a medium (or so she claimed)? The stars must have aligned.

"That's interesting," he said, "How are you talking to these spirits? Do you use a device of some sort?"

Gabriella suddenly started to look uneasy, as if Egon was invading her privacy.

"No, I don't do that," she said, "I have my own personal ways of doing so."

"You don't have to disclose these ways. I was just curious."

Slimer floated through the floor and noticed the plastic pitcher of water. He took off the top and gulped down the entire pitcher in one splash. He threw the pitcher to the floor when he was done.

Gabby was startled but ultimately unfazed by Slimer's presence, as if he were a happy dog who had just come inside from a romp in the mud.

"I see you're not reacting negatively to Slimer," said Egon.

"Oh, you gave it a name?" asked Gabriella, "That's so cute!"

"Anyway, is there anything else you would like to say before we conclude this interview?"

"Yes. Even though this position is only for three months, I would like to see it as a stepping stone towards bigger things, like being a scientist or a researcher."

"It sounds like you have some big aspirations," said Janine.

"That's all we need to hear," said Egon, "Thank you for joining us today. We wish you a safe trip home."

"Our people will call your people," said Janine.

Later on, Egon and Janine were back at the desk to make a final decision.

"I don't know about you but I think it's pretty obvious what our decision is going to be," said Janine.

"It is?" asked Egon.

"Yes, Egon. I think Gabby's the one."

"I don't know… there was something about her that was off."

"She passed your PKE test and she has good qualifications, what more do you want from her?"

"She told us that she was able to communicate with spirits using her 'own personal way.' To me, that sounds deeply suspicious. If she was interested in working at a paranormal-based company, why wouldn't she want to disclose her method of spirit contact? What does she have to hide, exactly?"

"We shouldn't have to coax her into admitting something that she's not comfortable admitting."

"I think we have every right to be suspicious after the previous three interviewees."

"I suppose. You should always be wary of people trying to sell you timeshares. But the fact that she has a passion about the subject of the paranormal and that she's a hard worker should be enough, right? We can't afford to be too picky."

"Hmm…" Egon had yet another tough decision to make. It was difficult enough to replace somebody who had always been there, even if it was just a little while. After all, this new person would bring their own style and attitude to the job. They weren't a robot, after all. At the end of the day, Janine had just as much of a say as Egon did, especially since she was the one who was being replaced.

The next morning, Egon picked up the phone on Janine's desk. He had made his decision after a night of weighing his choices, and really, the choice was obvious. After three rings, a person picked up.

"Hello, Bermudez Residence," said the voice of an older man.

"Good Morning, this is Egon Spengler," said Egon, "May I please speak to Gabriella?"

"Hold on one moment." The man put down the phone and called his daughter over.

There was several seconds of silence.

"Hello?" said the familiar voice.

"Good Morning, Gabby. I trust you're doing well this morning."

"I am."

"We've called to let you know that we have hired you on as temporary secretary and we would like you to start tomorrow."

"Oh my gosh, really?!"

"Yes. You've thoroughly wowed us with your experience and personality. It's just what we need at a job like this. We will see you at nine AM tomorrow, is that good?"

"That's more than good."

"Ok. Have a good day."

Instead of hanging up, it sounded like Gabby simply dropped the phone. Egon could still hear sounds in the background, particularly those of Gabby jumping up and down and cheering. Egon stayed on the line for another minute simply because it warmed his heart.

He hung up the phone, which was now free to be used for emergencies.

"Back to work," said Egon, "I have time to be suspicious later."