“Hey, that’s weird,” Amy said. “That girl looks just like the girl from the hotel . . . Chloe.”

“You noticed that too, huh?”

Amy nodded. And it wasn’t just referring to the fact that they shared the same name. Physically they bore a striking resemblance to each other. Not only did they appear to be of a similar age and height, but Ryan’s young student had also been wearing the same polka-dot dress, the same pig-tailed blonde hair, and, if Amy remembered correctly, the same sparkly shoes. Amy knew that kids dressed up as their favorite fictional characters all the time, but this was impressive on a whole other level—the girl could have literally stepped right off the page.

“Well, I guess we know who her hero is. Whose book is this? Did it belong to your mother?”

“No, it belonged to me,” Ryan said quietly. “I bought it while Mom was pregnant, soon after I found out she was having a girl. I wanted to get something for when she was older, a gift from her big brother, so my father took me to the bookstore, and I chose this. I remember liking this picture. I’d forgotten all about it. It’s been so long since I’ve seen it. Years.”

Amy put her arm around him and rubbed his back. “I’m sorry you never got the chance to give it to her.”

Ryan shook his head. “No, you don’t understand. There’s something very strange going on. Something’s not right.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s Chloe. It’s something she said.” His eyes were glued to the cover, his gaze sinking deeper into the picture. “When she first introduced herself this morning, she told me she was named after the girl in this book. But then—and here’s the weird part—she acted like I should have known, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Her exact words to me were, ‘You must remember it?’ ” He looked at Amy. “It was as though she knew.”

“Knew what?”

“That I had this book.”

“A book you bought nine years ago?”

“Yes.”

“But how could she know something like that?”

He shrugged. “Don’t know. But somehow she knew.”

“And the two of you had never met before today?”

“No.”

“You’re sure?”

“Positive. I’d remember.”

Amy stared back at him. “Then what you’re saying doesn’t make any sense. Maybe you misheard.”

“I didn’t. That’s what she said, I’m sure of it. It had sounded so strange at the time, which is why I remember it so well. I’m not making this up.”

“Okay, then what happened?”