BooksBarbecue
Back The Copycat
Chapters (68)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Epigraph
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Chapter One
  7. Three
  8. Four
  9. Five
  10. Six
  11. Chapter Two
  12. Seven
  13. Eight
  14. Nine
  15. Chapter Three
  16. Ten
  17. Eleven
  18. Chapter Four
  19. Twelve
  20. Thirteen
  21. Fourteen
  22. Chapter Five
  23. Fifteen
  24. Sixteen
  25. Chapter Six
  26. Seventeen
  27. Eighteen
  28. Nineteen
  29. Chapter Seven
  30. Twenty
  31. Twenty-One
  32. Twenty-Two
  33. Chapter Eight
  34. Twenty-Three
  35. Twenty-Four
  36. Twenty-Five
  37. Chapter Nine
  38. Twenty-Six
  39. Twenty-Seven
  40. Chapter Ten
  41. Twenty-Eight
  42. Twenty-Nine
  43. Thirty
  44. Thirty-One
  45. Chapter Eleven
  46. Thirty-Two
  47. Thirty-Three
  48. Thirty-Four
  49. Thirty-Five
  50. Chapter Twelve
  51. Thirty-Six
  52. Thirty-Seven
  53. Thirty-Eight
  54. Chapter Thirteen
  55. Thirty-Nine
  56. Forty
  57. Forty-One
  58. Forty-Two
  59. Chapter Fourteen
  60. Forty-Three
  61. Forty-Four
  62. Forty-Five
  63. Forty-Six
  64. Forty-Seven
  65. Chapter Fifteen
  66. The Following Summer
  67. About the Author
  68. About the Publisher

Nobody spoke, just exchanged wary expressions. “No—listen! I found out this afternoon that Alfie is a Copycat too. He got hurt and had trouble changing back into himself because he was so scared. Everyone believed Alfie’s dad drowned going over the Reversing Falls, but what if he changed into a seal and then couldn’t change back?” She held up Uncle Percival’s book. “This is a book about Copycats, and there’s a whole chapter about what to do if you can’t change back, which means it must happen a lot. My dad says Alfie’s dad’s powers weren’t very strong.”

Cassie took the book and began to thumb through it. “Ali, this book is about fog,” she said, looking at Ali like she’d lost it.

Ali grabbed the book back. “I know that’s what it looks like to you. It’s what it looked like to me before I became a Copycat too. But once I changed, I realized that it was really a handbook for Copycats.” She ignored the doubt on Cassie’s face and kept going. “A couple of minutes ago, Alfie told me that they never found his dad’s body. What if the reason the last seal hasn’t left isn’t because it’s sick, but because it’s Teddy? Remember last week, when I changed into a seal—the sick seal was the only one that reacted? But that doesn’t make any sense, because it’s supposed to be blind.”

Emily’s voice was gentle when she spoke. “Ali, I know you want this to be true, but it doesn’t make any sense.”

“You know that the simplest explanation is always the most likely explanation,” added Cassie.

“And he’s been gone for over a decade,” Murray reminded her. “How could he possibly survive?”

Frantic, Ali tried to think of a rebuttal to their arguments. She needed to persuade them; if it was Teddy on that beach, she’d need their help. She took a deep breath and began, refuting their points one by one.

“Emily, I know you think this doesn’t make any sense, but does it make any sense that there are a whole bunch of people on this planet who can copy other creatures?”

“Nooo,” said Emily,

She turned to Cassie. “I agree, the simplest explanation is always the most likely explanation. But you’re forgetting that Alfie’s father is a Copycat, not a regular person. He goes over the Reversing Fall and drowns? Yes, he wasn’t as talented a Copycat as my dad, but he’d read all about not drowning in this book. For a Copycat, I think the simplest explanation is that he changed into a seal when the boat turned over, got carried away by the current, and then couldn’t change. Maybe it’s taken him all this time to find his way back.”

“Maybe . . . ,” conceded Cassie.