Chapter 6

Joshua sat at his kitchen table. In one hand, he held his cell phone. The other hand was turning a soda can around on the scratched surface. The ever-circling can was next to Jessica's crumpled business card.

Sweat beaded from the outside of the soda can, and Joshua's fingers were wet and getting wetter. Still, he kept turning the can. He couldn't bring himself to do what he knew he needed to do.

He glanced over at Ava, who sat on the sofa watching a noisy cartoon. Joshua wasn't sure what she was watching, but there was howling coming from the set, and a lot of raucous laughter. It was getting on his nerves. But it wasn't really the sounds from the TV that were getting on his nerves. It was Ava herself who was bugging him.

As Ava watched the TV, she frequently pointed to it and then looked to her left as if sharing a moment with someone Joshua couldn't see. Another invisible friend? What was Joshua going to do about Ava's imaginary friends?

Looking away from Ava, Joshua's gaze landed on the custody papers he'd tossed onto the table when he and Ava had gotten home. He'd left them facedown, but he knew he needed to pick them up and put them away. Ava didn't need to know what was going on…yet. Joshua stood and stuffed the papers in a kitchen drawer. The papers reminded Joshua of Marla's plan.

His attention shifted back to Ava.

"See?" Ava whispered. "Teddiursa can do that."

A horrifying thought leaped out of the miasma of confusion in Joshua's head. How would Aunt Marla deal with Ava's invisible friends if she had custody? He couldn't think of the answer, though. Instead, he could only imagine Marla holding onto Ava, cradling her like a baby. Like the one she never had. It almost made Joshua feel sorry for Marla again, but then he remembered how she behaved in Dr. Pinery's office, and reminded himself that Marla couldn't let go of her jealousy. She just wanted to be a mother, like she couldn't have been.

Joshua let go of the soda can, wiped his fingers on his jeans, and then pulled the business card closer to him. He punched Jessica's number into his phone.

Ava continued to watch her cartoon and discuss it with her invisible friend. Joshua took a deep breath as he listened to the phone ring in his ear.

A click. Jessica's voice. "Yes? This is Jessica."

"Um, hi," Joshua said. "This is Joshua. The…the guy you spoke to yesterday?"

Silence. Joshua counted to five in his head. One…two…three…four…

"Ah yes," Jessica said. Her voice had switched to smooth. Then the voice turned gruff. "Mr. I-Can't-Work-Nights."

Joshua pulled the phone from his ear and scowled at it. He really did hate her so much…

His gaze flitted to Ava. He gritted his teeth and returned the phone to its proper position.

"The job you told me about," he said between his clenched teeth. "Is it still available?"

"Yes, yes," Jessica said. "It's most definitely available. Why? Had a change of heart?"

No, Joshua thought. His heart had not changed at all. But that didn't matter. He glanced at Ava again. As much as he didn't want to accept the job, he had to, for her sake.

"How soon could I start?" he asked.


Joshua's car sputtered as he turned onto the street that led through the most depressed part of Cabo Poco. He didn't blame the car for its hesitation. He didn't want to go down this street, either.

Potholed and swaddled - even though the sun was still grasping onto the last of the day, the long, straight road was bordered by testaments to business collapse. On both sides of the cracked and broken asphalt and the crumbling sidewalk that ran alongside it, an endless march of failed or fighting enterprises bulked in the descending dusk. A boarded-up factory, a derelict gas station, a small strip mall with only three still-open, dimly lit businesses, a restaurant with only two cars in the parking lot and a half-dark neon sign, a couple of bars that would make a seedy bar look upscale - this whole area would depress even the most upbeat person. But since Joshua hadn't been upbeat in years, he started at a deficit, and the area shoved him even further down into the dark hole of despair.

Keeping one hand on the steering wheel, Joshua used the other one to hold up the piece of paper he'd scribbled Jessica's directions on. The paper was the cover page of the custody papers.

Joshua frowned at the directions and leaned forward to peer left and right through his windshield. "Where the fuck is this place?" he asked aloud. Unfortunately for him, he didn't have an invisible friend to answer him like Ava did. Instead, Jessica's voice - in singsong mode - played out in his head.

"So, here's the deal," she said. Her voice rose and fell and sounded muffled, as it had when Jessica had spoken over the phone. "This place, it's pretty out there. It was hugely popular with the kids some time ago, but it's been shut down for a long time now. Only reason they haven't given it the old wrecking ball treatment is the owner's kind of…well, he's a sentimental guy, I guess. Just can't bring himself to let it go yet."

There was something weird about the way Jessica said "sentimental," but Joshua couldn't figure out what it was. Then or now.

Checking his notes again, he spotted the turn he'd been told to look for. He urged his car past another shuttered business - an ex-nail salon. No great loss. There were too many of those in other towns in Paldea anyway.

The new street was narrower than the last one. And after just a couple hundred feet, it was no longer bordered by old businesses. Thick stands of tall trees pressed close to the road. It felt like Joshua was heading into the countryside, in a completely different region in the world.

Before things got too rural, though, Joshua saw a deserted parking lot. It was just as Jessica had described it. Joshua turned his signal - out of habit; no one was around. He pulled off the road, into the lot.

As his car crept forward, swirls of drying leaves skimmed across the cracked pavement illuminated by the car's headlights. A few paper cups, a discarded newspaper, and a wadded-up fast food bag skittered past with the leaves.

Joshua pulled his car farther into a lot designed to hold at least fifty or more cars. Judging from the faded-to-almost-invisible white paint demarking the parking spots, it hadn't held that many vehicles in a very long time. Joshua pulled into what once would have been the prime parking spot, just a few feet from the night-shrouded entrance of a building that was so hidden in the dark, it was little more than a sprawling shadow. Surrounded by trees and far removed from other businesses, the building had no exterior lights. The old car's headlights did little to give Joshua a complete picture of the place. All he saw was red double doors and a boarded-up window.

Joshua turned off the engine. Typically, it chugged for a few seconds and then went quiet. Joshua looked out his side window.

Even though only minutes had passed since he had reached this part of Cabo Poco, dusk had abruptly given way to the night, a night completely lacking in any sort of lighting. Joshua was one hundred percent sure he was not in a safe place.

But there was no turning back now.

Looking left and right, Joshua steeled himself. He picked up the backpack he'd loaded his overnight needs in. He got out of the car and slung the bag over his shoulder.

Making sure his car was locked - as if anyone would want to steal it - he took a few steps toward the barely visible building entrance. Once again, Joshua heard Jessica's voice in his head. Back to the rasp. "Anyway, there's been some trouble with break-ins over the years," Jessica said. "Vagrants, drunks. Obviously, not ideal."

"No kidding," Joshua said aloud.

He looked around, turning full circle. He seemed to be alone, but there were a lot of places to stay concealed. He gripped the flat strap of his backpack and thought about what he'd packed. He thought he'd remembered everything, but like an idiot, he hadn't thought of a flashlight.

Suddenly, Joshua wanted to be inside the building. He felt way too exposed.

Hurrying forward, he headed toward the double doors. The doors were faded red, and judging from a few dents on their panels, they were made of metal. He quickly found the security pad next to the doors, just where Jessica had said it would be. The code was an easy one; Joshua had memorized it. So, he quickly typed it in.

A loud click came from the door. The disengaged lock, Joshua figured. He stepped to his left and grabbed a thick, vertical, black metal handle; he pulled open one of the heavy doors.

The door creaked. Of course it had to creak.

Joshua ignored the shiver that frisked down his spine. It felt like one of the dry leaves from the road had gotten inside his shirt and was tumbling end-over-end toward his tailbone. He stepped into the building.

Leaving the door open…just in case, Joshua hesitated on the edge of deep gloom. He inhaled several odors that made him doubt whether he'd made the right decision. The air smelled stale, not a surprise for an old, mostly unoccupied place. But more than just musty air met Joshua's nostrils.

Just then, a resounding clang nearly launched Joshua straight up out of his black sneakers. He whirled.

Either the wind had shoved at the door, or it was on a self-closing hinge. The door was shut.

As threatening as the deserted area outside had felt, the closed door was an even more powerful trigger of Joshua's fight-or-flight response. His heart rate doubled. He had a powerful urge to throw himself at the door and run for his life. But that would have been silly.

Get a grip, he told himself.

His words seemed to caper away from him before coming back. The still, stagnant air seemed to encircle him. Ignoring the disconcerting smell of the place, he studied his surroundings.

Barely lit beneath fluorescent light panels that had old, dim bulbs and dirty frosted glass coverings, the expanse in front of Joshua was a large - maybe thirty feet around - lobby. The right and left sides of the lobby were lined with low, red-vinyl-covered benches. The opening of what looked like a long hallway extended off to the right. The other side of the lobby, opposite Joshua, was a large archway. A little light shone through it, but not enough for Joshua to see what was beyond it.

Although the lobby's lighting was down-in-the-fathoms dingy, Joshua could see enough to be struck by the lobby's almost circus-y décor. The walls above the benches were striped red and white, and the floor beneath Joshua's feet was covered with black-and-white-checkered linoleum. The linoleum was cracked, and whole sections of it were peeling away from the floor. Hanging on the striped walls, rows of large old-fashioned posters behind glass advertised Spriggy FazSprig's Pizza.

Joshua took a step forward. His shoe caught on a curl of linoleum, and it crackled.

Once again, he heard Jessica's voice in his head. "The security system's dated, but it's fully functional. Floodlights on the exterior. Cameras inside and out. Fair warning: The electrical power can be a bit…iffy. If you have any issues, you'll find a system breaker in the main office. Just give it a little flip."

As soon as Jessica's voice faded from Joshua's brain, the already-weak overhead lights flickered. Joshua looked up at them. Oh no you don't. I gotta find the office, he thought. Quickly.

Joshua crossed the lobby and looked down the hallway. The six-foot-wide corridor was long, and it wasn't any better lit than the lobby. At the far end of the hallway, fifty feet away from Joshua, a bright red EXIT sign glowed. Joshua used it as his North Star as he stepped forward into what felt like a creepy, dark tunnel.

Jessica's voice spoke up in his head again. He made a face. He really didn't like having the rasp/singsong on automatic play in his mind.

"Now," Joshua heard Jessica say in his memory, "the rest of the building is on a different breaker, which was probably installed like…ten years ago."

Joshua mentally hit mute on Jessica's voice as he carefully continued forward. He kept his gaze sweeping left and right as he went.

Joshua's footsteps made a swish-tap sound as he walked over more of the old black-and-white linoleum. He could hear his breathing, too. He was still on edge.

The hallway's walls were painted in the same red-and-white stripes Joshua had seen in the lobby. They were also lined with large, framed posters. These posters, however, weren't pizzeria advertisements. They were more art than marketing. Some of the posters had images of pizzas and children playing. The rest of the posters featured portraits of odd-looking cartoon Pokémon. One of the images was of a Sprigatito wearing a bow tie and a top hat. It looked friendly enough. But Joshua took pause when he continued on and spotted a Quaxly wearing a bib and holding a googly-eyed slice of pizza, a Fuecoco gripping an electric guitar, and an Eevee wearing an eye patch and sporting a lethal-looking hook at the end of one arm. The toothy grins on those Pokémon didn't look as benign. Joshua found the Eevee especially to be disconcerting. The Eevee's one uncovered eye seemed to sparkle with good cheer, but the way it brandished the hook suggested that the amiability was a façade.

Joshua kept going. Above him, another bank of fluorescent lights dimmed a little.

Jessica's voice returned to Joshua's mind. "My advice to you: Don't mess with anything. Unless, you know, you've got a burning desire to die in an electrical fire. No pun intended."

Ha ha, Joshua thought as he looked up at the feeble light.

Joshua took another step, and he stiffened when he heard a loud crunch. He looked down and relaxed. Just broken glass from one of the poster frames. Joshua looked up at the one to his right. It featured all four of the cartoon Pokémon. All but the Eevee stood on a stage behind old-fashioned microphones. The Eevee was off to the left, on its own purple-curtained stage. Something about the separation felt threatening to Joshua.

He quickly went past the poster. He looked ahead and spotted the doorway he was aiming for.

Jessica's voice kicked in again. "You'll find the office at the end of the main hall. Last door on the right."

Joshua reached the door. Like the main doors to the building, it was red metal, scarred, and dented. Very dented. It looked like someone, or something, had tried to bash the door in. The frosted glass window in the upper part of the door, however, was intact. Strange.

Joshua frowned at the dents, but he reached for the black knob. It turned readily, and Joshua eased the door open. Once again, he was tense, poised to flee.

Damn, he thought. Why am I so fucking jumpy?

When Joshua stepped into the office, nothing attacked him. Nothing reassured him, though, either.

The office, dimly lit only by a red, round blaze coming from a colored bulb above a large breaker box with a prominent red handle, was small and confining. Probably because of the single red bulb, the room made Joshua think of the command rooms in submarines. The sensation of being submerged was heightened not just by the room's darkness but also by its rank air. The last time Joshua had smelled something like the air in this room, he'd been in a boxing gym with a friend. The smells there had been a combination of sweat and blood.

Joshua's nose twitched as he looked around. He might as well get used to the smell and familiarize himself with the space. He was going to be spending a lot of time in it.

The office was pretty sparse. It contained a long, narrow, black metal desk, which sat in front of a matching credenza. A small black fan and a landline phone next to an answering machine sat on it. The desk held an old TV sitting on top of an equally old VCR, a desktop computer, and several CCTV monitors, stacked on a rack at the back edge of his desk. Two gray metal filing cabinets were missing a couple drawers. The other was badly banged up along the front, as if it had been knocked over. Joshua's gaze dropped to the floor. He saw long scratch marks that seemed to match the length of the filing cabinet. The mark's didn't make him any happier than the office's smell did.

Joshua pulled his gaze from the scratch marks. He looked up at the unlit fluorescent lights above him. He noticed the bank of lights was next to an intercom speaker.

Joshua looked toward the breaker box again. Next to the breaker box, a large gray metal locker stood alone, looking like it had run away from its friends in a high school hallway. Joshua raised an eyebrow. Was he supposed to keep his stuff in that?

"Mostly, you'll just be hanging out in the office," Jessica's voice played out in Joshua's head again. "The rest of the job's pretty easy. Just keep your eyes on the monitors…and keep people out. Piece of cake."

The very second that Joshua's inner-Jessica-voice stopped, the feeble light in the office and in the hallway went out completely. All the electricity was cut off. The only remaining illumination came from the red emergency bulb.

"Uh, uh," Joshua said. "Nope."

He immediately strode toward the bulb and grabbed the lever on the breaker box. As he shoved the lever upward, Jessica's voice started up again. "So uh, I'll catch you on the flipside…hopefully."