Odd Thomas

with determination, Viola said, "We'll stay home, have a little party, just ourselves."
        "I'm not sure that's wise, either," I said.
        "Why not? I don't know what place that was in my dream, but I'm sure it wasn't this house."
        "Remember… different roads can take you to the same stubborn fate."
        I didn't want to tell her about the bodachs in her daughters' room, for then I would have to reveal all my secrets. Only Terri, the chief, Mrs. Porter, and Little Ozzie know most of the truth about me, and only Stormy knows all of it.
        If too many people are brought into my innermost circle, my secret will leak out. I'll become a media sensation, a freak to many people, a guru to some. Simplicity and quiet hours will be forever beyond my reach. My life will be too complicated to be worth living.
        I said to Viola, "In your dream, this house wasn't where you were gunned down. But if you were destined to be shot at the movies, and now you aren't going to the theater… then maybe Fate comes here to find you. Not likely. But not impossible."
        "And in your dream, tomorrow is the day?"
        "That's right. So I'd feel better if you were two steps removed from the future you saw in your nightmare."
        I glanced toward the back of the house. Still no bodachs had ventured after us. I think they have no effect on this world.
        Nevertheless, taking no chances with the girls' lives, I lowered my voice further. "Step one - don't go to the movies or the Grille tomorrow. Step two - don't stay here, either."
        Stormy asked, "How far away does your sister live?"
        "Two blocks. Over on Maricopa Lane."
        I said, "I'll come by in the morning, between nine and ten o'clock, with the photo I promised. I'll take you and the girls to your sister's."
        "You don't have to do that, Odd. We can get there ourselves."
        "No. I want to take you. It's necessary."
        I needed to be certain that no bodachs followed Viola and her daughters.
        Lowering my voice to a whisper, I said, "Don't tell Levanna and Nicolina what you're going to do. And don't call your sister to say you're coming. You could be overheard."
        Viola surveyed the living room, worried but also astonished. "Who could hear?"
        By necessity, I was mysterious: "Certain… forces." If the bodachs overheard her planning to move the kids to her sister's house, Viola might not have taken two safe steps away from her dreamed-of fate, after all, but only one. "Do you really believe, like you said, that I know about all that's Otherly and Beyond?"
        She nodded. "Yes. I believe that."
        Her eyes were so wide with wonder that they scared me, for they reminded me of the staring eyes of corpses.
        "Then trust me on this, Viola. Get some sleep if you can. I'll come around in the morning. By tomorrow night, this'll have been all just a nightmare, nothing prophetic about it."
        I didn't feel as confident as I sounded, but I smiled and kissed her on the cheek.
        She hugged me and then hugged Stormy. "I don't feel so alone anymore."
        Lacking an oscillating fan, the night outside was hotter than the warm air in the little house.
        The moon had slowly ascended toward the higher stars, shedding its yellow veils to reveal its true silver face. A face as hard as a clock, and merciless.
        

CHAPTER 27
        
        LITTLE MORE THAN AN HOUR BEFORE MIDNIGHT, worried about a new day that might bring children in the line of gunfire, I parked the Mustang behind the Pico Mundo Grille.
        When I doused the headlights and switched off the engine, Stormy said, "Will you ever leave this town?"
        "I sure hope I'm not one of those who insists on hanging around after he's dead, like poor Tom Jedd out there at Tire World."
        "I meant will you ever leave it while you're alive."
        "Just the idea gives me hives on the brain."
        "Why?"
        "It's big out there."
        "Not all of it is big. Lots of towns are smaller and quieter than Pico Mundo."
        "I guess what I mean is… everything out there would be new. I like what I know. Considering everything else I have to deal with… I can't at the same time handle a lot of new stuff. New street names, new architecture, new smells, all new people…"
        "I've always thought it would be nice to live in the mountains."
        "New weather." I shook my