Tyler couldn’t shake the feeling he was being watched the whole time he was in the house. He was glad to get out of there. He didn’t like this business. If his boss hadn’t offered to pay his grandmother’s medical bills, he wouldn’t have agreed. He drove to North Industries and went in. It didn’t matter that it was late. There was always someone at the desk. Mister North lived in the building. He told the receptionist why he was there and was escorted to an elevator. At the top, he was met by Mister North’s personal assistant who took him to Mister North. Mitch was there too. He gave Tyler the creeps. He wasn’t quite sane, and Mister North kept him locked up for safety. He said Mitch could sometimes get dangerous, but he didn’t have enough proof to get him committed. “Hi, Tyler, did you bring pizza?” Mitch asked. “No.” Tyler shook his head. “Do you want pizza?” Sometimes he felt sorry for the man, being confined. “How about Chinese? I never get Chinese anymore.” “I can order pizza. Do you like pepperoni?” Tyler offered. Sometimes he thought it was a good idea to play along. “He doesn’t need pizza. He just ate.” Mister North frowned. “What are you doing here?” “You asked me to tell you when the owner of the boarding house came.” “No!” Mitch shouted. “No! Don’t tell him that. No one came. No one. Don’t tell him!” “Quiet!” Mister North approached him menacingly. Mitch fell to his knees, cowering. “No, don’t tell him,” he sobbed. “Let’s talk in the other room. Mitch has been avoiding taking his meds,” Mister North suggested. Mitch growled. He sounded like an animal. Tyler quickly followed his employer. “Now, you were saying?” Mister North asked once they were in the other room. “I was at the house the other night, and several people showed up and went up to the third floor where the owner’s room is. I didn’t see anyone, I just heard them. “Today, I was just there. There was a man sleeping outside. He said he was a friend of Jo’s and Ann’s and that Ann was there.” “What did he look like?” “Tall, over six feet, long red hair.” “Anything odd about him?” That was a strange question to ask. “It almost looked like he had cat eyes, but that was just a trick of the light. He didn’t want to touch me. He said Ann was there and so was someone named Nim.” “Nim?” Mister North’s eyes lit up. “No!” Mitch cried from the other room. “He said there were others too. I don’t know who but it was a houseful.” Mister North nodded. “Very good. I’ll make sure you’re compensated as promised.” He walked Tyler back to the elevator. “Perhaps if I were to order Mitch a pizza, I can slip his meds in. He always feels much better when he takes them,” he mused as they walked. The memory of Mitch’s cries haunted Tyler all the way down to the ground floor and the drive back to his parents’ house. He wished he never taken the job. He’d worked in the mailroom at North Industries for about a year trying to get money to help pay his grandma’s bills. One day, a flyer had gone up about a scholarship that included room and board. He applied and won. When Mister North learned of his sick grandmother, he offered to set him up at the boarding house instead. If Tyler paid for his own food, it would cost North industries less than if he lived in the dorm, and Mister North would give the rest of the money to the hospital for Tyler’s grandma. Tyler had agreed. It was only later that Mister North asked him to tell him about the other residents and the owner. He said Jo was the estranged daughter of a business associate, something Jo sort of confirmed. Ann was related to Mitch somehow. Mitch claimed she was a granddaughter, but he wasn’t that old. Tyler didn’t like any of it. Maybe he should forget the whole thing. But Mr. North said this was all he wanted. Tyler was done. If he asked for even one more thing, Tyler would quit. He told himself Mister North hadn’t done anything to Jo. Ann would be leaving again soon, and she lived in a different country. What could he do?