4) It had to be someone who would not notice the lost time themselves.

A suspicious fleshie was the worst kind of host. Best to choose someone who wouldn’t be aware that something unusual was going on—or at least could come up with a logical explanation for the missing time.

With all these things to consider, Allie was undecided for days, shuttling from person to person, hiding within them, observing them, thinking she had the perfect host, but then changing her mind. Allie finally settled on a woman who lived alone, except for a multitude of cats that came and went through a pet door. By Allie’s observations, the woman’s life was simple, and predictable. Tending to the cats, watching TV, crocheting, taking an afternoon nap. No one bothered her, and she bothered no one else. She was the perfect host for a long-term project.

When the woman lay down for her nap at two o’clock the following afternoon, Allie skinjacked her, and her detective work began. The first few phone calls determined that none of the Adams and Andreas listed were her parents, so she went on to the countless A. Johnsons. The idea that one of her parents’ live voices could be at the other end of any phone call made her borrowed heart race, but mostly she got answering machines, which was a relief each time. That first day all she did was make calls, but not a single A. Johnson had been her mother or her father, and what few Memphis relatives she knew by name must have been unlisted too.

After three hours of unsuccessful phone calls, Allie began to doubt everything. What if the people in New Jersey were wrong, and her parents didn’t come to Memphis? What if her father died in the accident after all? Allie began to despair, and her own emotional turmoil began to wake the woman.

Losing control of a fleshie was like slipping on wet ice—once you lost control, it was hard to get it back, and Allie was slip-sliding like crazy. The woman awoke, took over her own body, and Allie quickly hid behind the woman’s thoughts—which, without proper preparation, was like hiding behind window curtains. Now there was only a slim veil between her consciousness and Allie’s—any powerful thought would reveal her presence, so she tried not to think at all.

—My my my—half past five long nap—my my my—how did I get into the kitchen—my my my—I didn’t leave that phone book out did I—my my my—