Odd Thomas

Rather than disposing of the card, Odd goes to the KPMC Radio station. Inside, he meets with Shamus Cocobolo, the DJ with blindness, who runs the late-night music show. They banter before Odd gives him the meditation card and asks what it says, but he does not reveal its association with Robertson. Shamus translates the braille as “Father of Lies” and associates it with Satan or the devil. Shamus warns him to be careful and cautions of the danger of dealing with Satanists.

Odd returns to Rosalia’s home, still fearing for her safety. To his surprise, he finds her sitting at the kitchen table. She tells Odd two policemen visited her earlier following a report of a gunshot near Odd’s apartment. She believes someone may have called the police to check on him. Odd suspects the call was made by the person who killed Robertson. She says the officers found nothing in the apartment. Odd asks to borrow Rosalia’s car, and she says he already has. He thanks her for her kindness, and she compares him to her “invisible” nephew Marco, who was in one of the hijacked planes during the 9/11 attacks. She asks Odd never to become invisible, and he promises he won’t.

Odd drives to Stormy’s apartment to find the police presence outside is gone. He hurries inside to find Stormy safe. He can’t bring himself to reveal the gruesome details of the night, including Chief Porter’s shooting, Robertson’s murder, and the strange Satanic meditation card. He believes he’ll put her in further danger if he does. Instead, he says he sees bodachs everywhere and is worried about what’s coming. He suggests she stay home for the day, but Stormy insists she doesn’t want to live in fear. She wants to go with him, but he says she should focus on her work.

Odd visits the house of the Takudas, one of the places where he saw bodachs the previous night. There are no bodachs any longer, and everything seems normal. He encounters Dr. Ken Takuda, a university professor, as he’s leaving. Odd talks with the professor, pretending to seek advice about college plans. Dr. Takuda discourages him from pursuing anything other than the hard sciences in academia. This surprises Odd, as the man is usually cheerful. He persists, hoping to learn Dr. Takuda’s schedule to determine where Robertson’s accomplice might strike next. Dr. Takuda mentions his children are choosing the lunch location, and they plan to see a movie about a dog and an alien, despite Odd’s discouragement.

Odd returns to Viola’s home, where no more sign of bodachs exists. He takes Viola and her daughters to her sister’s, Sharlene, house. Sharlene welcomes them, accompanied by her golden retriever, Posey. They serve the birthday cake for one of the daughters’ birthdays. Viola asks Odd if he still sees her death, and he reassures her she and the girls will be fine, but he avoids asking her the same question.

Odd drives around Pico Mundo, looking for clues about Robertson’s collaborator and wondering about the sudden absence of bodachs. After refueling and getting caffeine to compensate for his lack of sleep, he revisits the casita in Camp’s End. While looking through the study again, he hears a noise and thinks someone is in the house with him, but he finds no one. Instead, his search uncovers more connections to Satanism. This includes Latin-engraved knives, a pyx with black crackers, an obscene chalice, and a jar of human teeth. In the freezer compartment, he finds containers labeled with names. When he examines one, Odd finds it contains a woman’s breasts.

Odd puts the container back into the freezer and struggles to contain his nausea. Odd knows he must act quickly to prevent catastrophe since the bowling alley opens and the films start in three hours. He hesitates to involve the police since the only one who knows about his abilities is Chief Porter, who is still recovering. Rather than taking him seriously, they might arrest him for breaking into Robertson’s house. As he contemplates his options, he is startled by the sound of something breaking. He looks around but finds no sign of the source. When he returns to the kitchen, he’s confronted by Robertson.

Odd’s experience with the paranormal tells him Robertson’s spirit denies his death, and his intense hatred toward Odd fuels his lingering presence. Even though Odd didn’t kill him directly, he made him a liability. As Robertson prowls the kitchen, the atmosphere becomes charged with negative energy, and he unleashes bursts of destructive power. He hurls objects around the kitchen, causing chaos and destruction. Odd tries to escape. Amid the chaos, he is struck by a fork, causing him pain but no serious injury. He finally escapes the house and finds refuge under the carport. The destruction continues inside, but Odd knows Robertson’s spirit will eventually wear itself out in its rampage.

Odd stops at a convenience store to buy supplies and tends to a minor wound on his forehead caused by the fork. Feeling overwhelmed by the impending confrontation with Robertson’s accomplice, he drives aimlessly and eventually visits his wealthy father’s house. Inside, he finds his father and his young companion, Britney. Odd shares his upcoming wedding news with them, but tension rises as Britney criticizes Odd. He reflects on his father’s reckless behavior and attraction to volatile women. Odd says he thinks whatever he’s looking for relates to his mother, but his father dismisses this. Odd leaves his father’s house without finding the guidance he sought.

Odd visits his mother in the historical district of Pico Mundo. He recalls his father inherited the house, but in the divorce his mother received it along with substantial alimony. Despite her distant relationship with Odd, she is welcoming when she greets him in her rose garden. Odd says he came seeking help with a problem and hopes she can provide insight. Their conversation turns when she mentions John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Odd becomes more insistent about needing her help, saying people’s lives are at stake, but this terrifies her. She crushes the rose she gave him and rushes into the house. Odd stays on the porch, determined to wait until she returns.

On the porch, Odd reflects on his childhood, marked by neglect from his mother. She was emotionally distant, even when he was ill, and resorted to using a gun to manipulate and control him when he intruded on her “perfect world.” When she returns, she has a gun with her. Despite her cruel behavior, Odd feels love for her, the confession of which causes her to turn the gun on herself. His mother continues to taunt him, and he realizes he came here to force her to enact their disturbing ritual of threatened death by suicide and force him to confront the chest wound he couldn’t examine on Robertson. As Odd leaves the house, she criticizes him, claiming he poisoned her with his presence. He hurries away, reflecting on his troubled upbringing and wondering why his cognition hasn’t been impacted.

As Odd drives away from his mother’s house, he reflects on his feelings toward her and her mother, Granny Sugars. She knew of her daughter’s mental health conditions but didn’t intervene to help Odd. This was due to fear of her daughter and her wanderlust and gambling habits. Odd never shared the full extent of his mother’s cruelty with anyone, even Stormy. Granny Sugars asked Odd to travel with her when he was 16, but he refused. Odd wonders if a closer relationship with her might have revealed a different side to her personality. Arriving at the Church of the Whispering Comet, Odd takes a flashlight, scissors, and moist towelettes from his bag and enters the hut where he left Robertson’s body.

Robertson’s corpse remains where Odd left it. Armed with moist towelettes to block the smell, Odd cuts away the shroud covering the body. To his shock, he finds a tarantula inside the dead man’s mouth, which escapes in his panic. Recovering, Odd continues to investigate the body. He finds a tattoo on the victim’s chest, which spells out “FOL” in red letters, another reference to “Father of Lies.” Odd also recalls Officer Varner’s similar tattoo, suggesting Varner’s potential involvement. Odd hastily wipes away his fingerprints and leaves.

Odd believes Varner’s tattoo, POD, stands for “Prince of Darkness,” another name for the devil. As he heads back to Pico Mundo, he goes into a state of deep focus called psychic magnetism, or PMS, which allows him to follow the clues and signals of his supernatural gift. He couldn’t use it previously because he didn’t have a clear target. Now, he allows it to direct him where he needs to go. Rather than heading to the bowling alley or the movie theater, Odd is drawn to the Green Moon Mall, which is unusually crowded due to the summer sale.

Odd arrives at Green Moon Mall. He parks near the loading docks and spots a police cruiser, confirming Varner’s presence. Odd initially plans to call Stormy and warn her to leave the mall, but he hesitates. He believes in their destiny together. Instead of calling her, he decides to confront Varner and prevent potential violence. Odd calls Chief Porter’s private number and speaks with Karla, who updates him on the chief’s condition. He considers taking the gun from Robertson’s murder, which he left in his car, but ultimately decides against it. He chooses to trust his intuition instead as he exits the car and heads into the mall’s loading docks.

Odd passes through the underground parking garage and enters the loading dock. The employees don’t notice him pass through and grab a baseball bat on the way. Guided by his PMS, he reaches a door marked “SECURITY,” and intuition makes him step aside. A man armed with an assault rifle steps out. Odd incapacitates him with the bat and pulls him and the gun through the door. Inside, he finds three dead security guards. Pulling off the man’s ski mask, he realizes it is Bern Eckles, not Varner.