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

When Ali stepped into Andrew Sloane’s study, the first thing she observed, even before she saw the old man on the leather recliner, was all the photographs. They were everywhere and told the story of Andrew Sloane’s life, one picture at a time. There was a black-and-white photograph of a man in a uniform, who she assumed was Edward Montgomery. It made her catch her breath to look at him. If Edward Montgomery had lived, Alfie would be Alfie Montgomery, and Ali and Digger would never have been born. The rest of the photographs were of Andrew Sloane and his family through the years. There were tons of photos of Teddy. But the most surprising thing was that Gigi and Digger were in some of the pictures. Ali hadn’t expected that.

“You going to look at pictures all day, or are you going to come introduce yourself?”

Ali started, and stumbled her way over to where Andrew Sloane sat in front of the muted television set. On the screen, a man struggled to get his golf ball out of a sand trap.

“I’m Ali.”

Andrew Sloane nodded. He had a full head of thick white hair, a bulbous red nose, and the Sloane gray eyes. He wasn’t smiling, but he also wasn’t scowling, which she took as a good sign. He motioned for her to take a seat on a small chair nearby. For several minutes, neither spoke as they watched the golfer try to sink his ball in the hole.

ALI’S RULES FOR MAKING YOUR CASE

  1. Be prepared with well-thought-out arguments.
  2. Don’t show any emotions.
  3. Always expect the other person to say no.

Andrew Sloane’s gruff voice broke the silence. “You look like her.”

Ali turned to him. “Like your mother?”

He shook his head. “No, like my grandmother. She lived with us during the war.” He picked up a bowl of pretzels from the table next to him and passed it to her. Even though she wasn’t hungry, Ali took one.

“Her name was Carrie, and she could spin a yarn. You look just like her. So . . . did my mother send you or did Digger?”

“Neither. They don’t know I’m here.”

Andrew Sloane nodded. “You’re brave.”

Ali pulled a scrap of paper from her pocket. Andrew Sloane pointed at it. “What’s that?”

“I wrote down a list of things I want to ask you so I don’t forget.”

There was a flicker of smile. “Go ahead.”

“Number one: I’m throwing your mother a hundredth birthday party, and I want all the Sloanes to be there.”

She chanced a glance. Andrew Sloane shook his head. “The answer is no.”