Fast-forward 5 years and Ben is now 20 years old, a recent high school grad who walks with a limp due to a childhood car wreck, and one with zero job prospects. His dad delivers newspapers and can't quite pay the bills and his stepmom is a shell of a person and has been since her little angel disappeared. Ben has applied everywhere in his little Florida town and he just can't get a job, until he does. The grocery store where Eric disappeared is hiring a stocker and Ben gets the job - his last resort. Although he can barely stomach going back, his family needs the money, so he does.
The boss, Mr. Palmer, is a total jerk and doesn't even recognize him from all those years ago, but Ben works overnight and doesn't see too much of the man. His co-workers are Marty, a wise-cracking sort that becomes Ben's immediate friend, and Frank, a black guy whose dad works alongside Ben's dad. Frank is a bit odd in that he is always quitting, but then coming back to work, but otherwise he seems fine, if a bit on edge. Beverly is a cranky old woman with Parkinson's who works in the deli, but she likes Marty, so by extension, she treats Ben decently.
Although the store gives Ben the creeps from the very start, which is understandable, odd things start happening during his late night shifts. For starters, his little brother's stuffed animal shows up in the lost and found, all these years later. Then, someone starts removing the missing child flyers that Ben has plastered all over town. To make matters worse, someone slips one into his locker with scribbling and drawings on Eric's face, including a cryptic image that starts to show up other places in the store as well. Is someone messing with Ben or do they know the truth of what happened to little Eric all those years ago?
As Ben is plagued by nightmares and driven to discover his brother's fate, shocking revelations come to light that may shed some light on what happened way back when, but further mysteries unfold among Ben's circle and, soon, he doesn't know who to trust. Will he ever learn the truth, and if he does, what happens next?
Bad Man is a really good read and one that I thoroughly enjoyed, so much so that I'd love to go back and read Auerbach's first book Penpal, now that I've had a chance to experience his writing style. It's a really good blend of creepy, mysterious adventure and as I was reading, I just couldn't imagine where the book was going as it headed to the end. I can say that the end was incredible and one I didn't see coming and I loved it. Highly recommended, especially with Halloween inching towards us.
