Murray was her last rebuttal. “How did he survive over a decade? He lived like a seal. Eventually he must have joined a pod of seals. In this book, Uncle Percival talks about learning to speak rat.” When the others raised their eyebrows, she shook her head. “Listen. I know it sounds bizarre, but stick with me. Uncle Percival was stuck as a rat for forty-two days. He had to learn to speak rat so he could get the other rats to lead him home. What if it took Teddy years to figure out how to speak seal? And when he finally did, he told them his story, and they brought him back to Saint John. But for whatever reason, he still can’t change, maybe because he’s sick. I thought the sick seal’s eyes were gray because it was blind. But apparently all Copycats have pale gray eyes. I didn’t know that until today. I need to go to Tin Can Beach to see if it’s him, and I can’t tell Alfie or my family in case I’m wrong. I can’t go without you guys. I may need help.”

There was a long silence. Ali was sure her counterarguments hadn’t been enough to convince them. But then Murray smiled. “Cassie and I have our bikes. We’ll double you and Emily. It sounds wacky, but then your whole family is kind of wacky, Sloane. Let’s do it!”

Emily grabbed a throw blanket off Ali’s bed and wrapped it around her shoulders. “I’m bringing this, in case.”

Ali, on the verge of tears, pulled them into a group hug. She scribbled a note to Digger—Back soon—and then the four of them snuck down the stairs and slipped out the front door.

The bike ride to Tin Can Beach was the longest half hour of Ali’s life. It was slow going along the dark trail, and when they had to bike on the street again, they discovered that the few cars on the road were still crawling, like they weren’t used to driving without fog. Despite the starry sky, the night was dark, with only streetlights and their bicycle lights to guide them.

“Well, this is super creepy,” a cheerful Murray called over his shoulder when they reached Tin Can Beach. “It’s like every scary movie ever.”

“Assuming your theory about this seal is right, how exactly are you going to change him back?” asked Cassie.

Ali thought of Uncle Percival and the raccoon. Instead of saying anything, she morphed into a copy of Alfie and then turned back to herself.

“I don’t get it,” said Cassie.

Emily did. “Ali’s going to change into people Alfie’s dad knows to see if she can get him to remember.”

“That’s brilliant!” Murray cried.

“It’s only brilliant if it works,” said Ali.