Lizzie watched as the older woman mulled over the names but finally gave up when she couldn't place either name. "My daughter is in jail. I'd like you to get her out of there as soon as possible. Back there in the casino I told you that I see things. I mean that literally. My mother and my grandmother had the same ability. I think my daughter has the same. . .curse. I don't know for sure because. . .well, because I thought. . .What I did was estrange myself from her, literally from birth, hoping it wouldn't rub off because I. . .I don't understand any of it. My mother didn't understand it, either. We just have it, the ability to see things at times that other people can't see. I don't like to say we can predict the future, we can't. We see things a few seconds before events happen. Sometimes within the hour. I don't know what triggers those moments. Certainly not stress. Most of the time they happen when I'm at rest or just at peace with my life. I'm sorry to burden you with this, and I'm sure you think I must be demented. I'm not. I almost wish I was.

"While I am estranged from my daughter, it doesn't mean I don't love her or care about her. I have people who have watched her every hour of her entire life. Of course she doesn't know this. While most people wouldn't understand my reasoning, I say they don't have to live with this abominable curse, and if doing what I did for her meant she would escape being plagued with it, that's all that matters. Before you can ask, I've been all over the world seeking help. I've had every test known to man. I've seen every person in the field, and no one was able to help me. Experts are the ones who told me to remove myself from my daughter's life so, possibly, just possibly, she wouldn't be affected."

"And was she?" Lizzie asked. She couldn't help but wonder if the woman was demented. She looked at her in the dimness of the car and decided she was the real McCoy. Lizzie took great pride in her judgments of people and was rarely, if ever, wrong.