Odd Thomas

The chase leads them to a backyard, where Harlo threatens a young woman. Odd intervenes, and they end up in a pool, triggering Odd’s discomfort with water due to past trauma. Odd is temporarily incapacitated when Harlo strikes him in the throat, but he manages to chase Harlo out of the pool. The chase continues indoors when Harlo smashes through a sliding glass door and confronts a woman in the kitchen beyond. Odd apologizes and continues the pursuit. Upstairs, Harlo attempts to use the woman’s child as a hostage but is stopped by Odd. After a tense standoff, and as sirens from the police draw closer, Harlo finds himself cornered.

Odd explains his ability to see and interact with the dead but explains the dead cannot speak. Harlo is taken into custody, and photos of Penny are found in his wallet, one with her alive and one with her dead. Odd contemplates the nature of the afterlife. He thinks about how Stormy believes life is a boot camp to prepare souls for the next world and those who fail cease to exist. Odd reflects on their differing outlooks and the potential consequences of delaying gratification.

While he waits in the boy’s room, Penny offers him comfort, then leaves when Chief Wyatt Porter enters. Chief Porter acknowledges the complications of Odd’s abilities, and they discuss the possible legal consequences of his involvement. Chief Porter says Odd should think about a career change, hinting he should join the police force, but Odd isn’t interested. He leaves the house and returns home, ready to properly start his day.

Odd explains he has a proactive approach to helping the deceased, which is sometimes messy. He changes clothes and visits Mrs. Sanchez, his landlady. He apologizes for being late, citing his strange morning. She expresses her concern about becoming invisible. The fear stems from her inability to deal with the deaths of her loved ones, who she believes might return. Odd comforts her and encourages her to focus on the present.

As Odd walks to work, he encounters shadowy entities called “bodachs.” They are not ghosts but dark spirits that signal impending trouble. The chapter ends with Odd arriving at the Pico Mundo Grille, determined to focus on his cooking despite the unsettling presence of the bodachs.

While working as a short-order cook at the Pico Mundo Grille, Odd notices a peculiar customer he calls “Fungus Man.” The man has an unsettling smile and an eerie demeanor. Odd’s suspicion is amplified by the bodachs that gather around the man. Odd notes that ordinary deaths don’t draw them, but acts of extreme violence do. Fungus Man finishes his meal and leaves the diner, followed by the bodachs. Odd notes their growing numbers, which hints something terrible is approaching.

Odd describes Terri, his Elvis-obsessed employer and surrogate mother figure. He attributes her fascination with the deceased singer to her latent medium abilities. Terri’s obsession with Elvis stems from her belief that his music represented a more innocent era in pop culture. After Odd’s shift concludes, they eat lunch and play an Elvis trivia game. One of the waitresses, Viola, tells Odd she dreamed of being dead. Terri encourages Odd to help Viola by using his abilities, but he is reluctant. He also mentions his concerns about Fungus Man. Terri lends Odd her car to help in his investigations and jokingly warns him not to transport any dead people in her car.

Odd drives to Green Moon Mall. Odd sometimes visits Tire World, the tire store in the mall’s parking lot, due to his interest in tires, but he doesn’t plan to leave his job as a cook. While walking around the store, he is unsettled by a ghost trying to be funny with him and leaves to go to the mall.

There, he meets up with Stormy, who works at an ice cream parlor at the mall. They sit by the mall’s koi pond and discuss their plans for the future along with Odd’s search for Fungus Man. While they talk, Fungus Man appears and walks in their direction, which unsettles Odd.

Fungus Man enters the ice cream parlor. Stormy asks if the bodachs are with him. When Odd says they are, Stormy says their negativity is bad for business. She returns to the store to see what Fungus Man wants while Odd waits outside. After he leaves once again, Odd follows him out of the mall. As he does, he realizes the bodachs are no longer following Fungus Man. Odd notes this is unusual since they usually accompany those who will cause harm until the act is committed. Despite his new doubts about Fungus Man’s nature, he continues the pursuit.

Odd follows Fungus Man to Camp’s End, an underserved neighborhood in Pico Mundo. The man enters a dilapidated casita. Odd parks in front of an empty lot across the street to wait. After almost an hour, Fungus Man leaves. Rather than following him again, Odd enters the casita. Inside, he finds the house in disorder. Odd enters Fungus Man’s bedroom, which is cold despite the air conditioning not running and has a foul smell. His curiosity leads him to another door. On the other side, he finds a black and soundless void.

Despite his fear, Odd enters the black room, which he describes as the darkest place he ever encountered. The room is cold, dark, and eerily silent, though Odd can still feel his heartbeat. As he moves further into the room, Odd spots a red light that disturbs him. He tries to walk toward it, but it never gets any closer. When he looks back, a figure stands in the doorway. Rather than Fungus Man, Odd sees himself. He believes it isn’t a reflection but a different version. He tests this by waving, a gesture the other Odd doesn’t return. When the other Odd enters the black room, Odd is transported back to the casita’s living room. He checks his watch to find he went a few minutes back in time. After considering the ramifications of the time paradox, he follows the second version of himself back into the black room.

On his second visit to the black room, Odd is more determined to reach the red light. Once again, he is ejected from the room a few minutes into the future and outside the casita. Odd is puzzled by what happened and contemplates Fungus Man’s true identity and intentions and the nature of the room itself. When Odd reenters the house, he finds the strange silence and cold fading. As he prepares to explore further, he senses danger and hides behind the kitchen door. Soon after, bodachs swarm into the living room.

The bodachs swarm from the black room in numbers higher than Odd ever encountered. One of the bodachs separates from the group and stands in the center of the living room. Odd remains hidden, afraid to do anything that might attract its attention as it scans the room. Despite its featureless appearance, it senses Odd’s presence. However, it eventually loses interest and rejoins the swarm as they leave the house. Odd regains his composure after they depart. He checks outside but sees no sign of the bodachs in the neighborhood. The chill and foul odor in the house vanish. Odd returns to the black room, but finds it gone.

Odd explores the place that used to be the black room: Fungus Man’s Study. It is neat, contrasting with the state of the rest of the casita. Three large black-and-white photographs hang on the wall. They depict Charles Manson, Timothy McVeigh, and Mohammed Atta. When he searches the room, Odd finds files on serial killers and mass murderers. He also discovers bank statements addressed to “Bob Robertson,” Fungus Man’s real name. The statements, along with Robertson’s checkbook, reveal his substantial wealth. His choice to live in a casita in Camp’s End puzzles Odd. Finally, he finds a file with Robertson’s name, which contains only a calendar page for August 15th, the following day.

Odd explores Robertson’s yard but finds no signs of any recent digging that might suggest foul play. He theorizes that if Robertson were a serial killer burying his victims, he would have maintained the soil to make digging easier. The date in the file suggested he would instead start the following day. Odd notices a crow on the roof, which he believes might be an omen. He says in the narration its connection to Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” is significant and that his failure to understand its meaning results in damage to Pico Mundo. Odd is joined by Elvis’s ghost, and they drive to a poolside gathering Chief Porter is hosting at his home. There, Odd expresses his concerns about Robertson to Chief Porter. With the help of a new officer, Bern Eckles, the chief checks Robertson’s background but finds no criminal record. However, he does decide to keep an eye on him.