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Stormy lives three blocks from the Pico Mundo Grille We held hands and walked in silence

My course was set irrevocably In spite of her objections, she kneell as I did that I had no choice but to do whatever I could to help Chief Porter stop Robertson before he cohter that had drenchedthat could be said on the subject noould be useless repetition And here on the dark side of a threatening dawn, small talk had no charm

The old, two-story Victorian house had been divided into four apartht

We didn’t expect Robertson to be waiting there for us Though he had somehow learned who I was, it didn’t follow that he would easily discover Stor in wait for e was a better bet than Stormy’s place

Prudence, however, made us cautious as we entered the foyer and then her apartment Inside, the cool air had a faint peach scent We left the Mojave far behind us e closed the door

She has three roohts, ent directly to her bedrooazine, checked it to be sure that it was fully loaded, and snapped it back into the weapon

I aun, anywhere, anytime - except when it’s in Storer on the detonation button of a nuclear weapon, and I would feel safe enough to nap

A quick check of the s revealed that they were locked, as she had left theeyman had taken up residence in any of the closets

While Stored for bed, I called Green Moon Lanes and listened to a recordedtheir hours,

services, and prices They opened for business at 11:00 AM Thursday through Sunday, and at 1:00 PM Monday through Wednesday

The earliest that Robertson could walk into the bowling center with murder in mind hen they unlocked the doors at one o’clock

Two reater Pico Mundo area By phone, I learned that the hters was playing at two theaters in only one multiplex I made a mental note of the show times, the earliest of which was 1:10PM

In the bedroom, I turned down the bedclothes, took offfor Stormy

She has furnished her humble home with items from thrift shops run by Goodwill and the Salvation Army; however, the look is neither shabby nor without character She has a talent for eclectic design and for discerning the ht see as rotesque

Floor laes, chairs in the Stickley style paired with plump Victorian footstools upholstered in tapestries, Maxfield Parrish prints, colorful carnival-glass vases and bibelots: The mix should not work, but it does Her roo that I have ever seen

Time seems suspended in this place

In these rooet eists are lifted from me

Here I cannot be harmed

Here I know my destiny and am content with it

Here Stormy lives, and where she lives, I flourish

Above her bed, behind glass, in a fra machine: YOU ARE DESTINED TO BE TOGETHER FOREVER

Four years ago, on the audy

contrivance called Gypsy Mummy had waited in a shadowy back corner of an arcade tent filled with unusual games and macabre attractions

The machine had resembled an old-fashioned phone booth and had stood seven feet high The lower three feet were entirely enclosed The upper four feet featured glass on three sides

In the glass portion sat a dwarfish fearish jewelry and colorful headscarf Her gnarled, bony, withered hands rested on her thighs, and the green of her fingernails looked less like polish than like mold

A plaque at her feet claimed that this was the hteenth-century Europe, she had been renowned for the accuracy of her prognostications and foretellings

The ht over the skull The eye­lids were stitched shut with black thread, as were her lips

Most likely this was not the art of Death working in the medium of flesh, as claimed, but instead the product of an artist who had been clever with plaster, paper, and latex

As Stormy and I arrived at Gypsy Mummy, another couple fed a quarter to the lass and asked her question aloud: "Gypsy Mue?"

The man, evidently Johnny, pushed the ANSWER button, and a card slid into a brass tray He read it aloud: "A cold wind blows, and each night seems to last a thousand years"

Neither Johnny nor his bride-to-be regarded this as an answer to their question, so they tried again He read the second card: "The fool leaps from the cliff, but the winter lake below is frozen"

The wo that Gypsy Mummy had misheard the question, repeated it: "Will Johnny and I have a long and happy e?"

Johnny read the third card: "The orchard of blighted trees produces poisonous fruit"

And the fourth: "A stone can provide no nourishment nor will sand slake your thirst"

With irrational persistence, the couple spent fouron receipt of the fifth card By the tiht, the cold wind predicted by the first fortune was blowing at gale-force between them

After Johnny and his love departed, Storle coin produced for us the assurance that ere destined to be together forever

When Stor to us what the other couple had wanted, the mummified dinked

I didn’t see this wink I don’t understand how a sewn-shut eye could perfore of a winking mummy resonates with me nonetheless

Now, as I waited under the Gypsy Mummy’s framed card, Stormy caeBob SquarePants T-shirt

All the s and skimpy teddies and peekaboo bras, collectively possess a fraction of the erotic allure of Stor on her side, cuddling against me, she put her head upon ot an earful

She often likes to be held in this way until she falls asleep I am the boatman she trusts to row her into restful dreams

After a silence, she said, "If you want me… I’m ready now"

I am no saint I have used my driver’s license to trespass in homes to which I’ve not been invited I answer violence with violence and never turn the other cheek I have had enough ihts to destroy the ozone layer I have often spoken ill of ht of the orphaned girl, then known to the world as Bronwen, alone and afraid at the age of seven, adopted and given safe harbor, only to discover that her new father wanted not a daughter but a sex toy Her confusion, her fear, her huine