We had reached the ballroom. I could hear the rumbling of voices on the other side of the doors.
"Is it going to be hard for you to go in there?" Rose asked, putting a comforting hand on Poppy's shoulder.
"Of course not," Poppy said. "It's where Gage first told me he loved me. Besides, I can't wait to hear what the council has to say." With that, she bravely opened the door and led us into the room.
When I saw the size of the crowd in the ballroom, I realized why this meeting wasn't being held at Mort's. There was no way the Tranquility Room would hold this many people.
I recognized quite a few of my classmates and former classmates. Elise Wilder and Bane Paxton were there, although not in Were form. They were holding hands and ignoring everyone around them.
I don't know how I ever suspected Elise of being interested in Ryan. From the way she was looking at Bane, she was clearly into him.
I spotted Ryan sitting a couple of rows from the front. He motioned for us to join him. I saw there were open chairs next to his.
"There's Ryan," I said to Poppy. "Let's go sit by him."
She followed me through the crowd. Rose had already made a beeline for Nicholas, who was lurking in a corner.
"Welcome back!" I said happily.
"Hi there," Ryan said as I slid into the seat next to him and Poppy grabbed the seat next to me. "Dad drove nonstop to get back in time for the meeting."
"I stopped at Slim's for coffee," he said, handing a cup to each of us.
Mine was a vanilla latte, just the way I liked it.
"You're the best," I said. I gave him a quick kiss.
He grinned at me." Coffee is the only way I'll make it through tonight. I can't get used to these midnight meetings," he explained. "I've skipped most of them lately, but Nicholas called me today and said it was important that I attend. Does either of you know what's up?"
I started to answer but was interrupted by Natalie. "Daisy, do you mind if we sit by you? Grandma's not feeling very well and most of the chairs are already taken."
"Of course, go ahead and take these," I said, moving back so they could get through the aisle.
Natalie helped her grandma sit down. Mrs. Mason didn't look very well at all. She was wearing a hot-pink tracksuit and bright white running shoes, but her face was gray.
"So, how's your grandmother?" I asked Ryan.
"Her hip has mended completely," he said. "She's as good as new."
"Already?"
"It's the Were blood," he explained.
"Your grandma is a werewolf, too?" I hadn't really thought about who else in Ryan's family had the trait.
"Yes," he confirmed, then laughed at my expression. "But relax. The scariest thing she does is make T-shirts covered in metallic buttons."
"What does she think of you dating a non-Were?"
He shrugged. "It never came up. But it's not a big deal. My mom is a norm, too."
Ryan never talked about his mom. She'd left Ryan and his dad years ago and now lived in San Francisco with her new boyfriend.
I shot him a curious look. "Does she know about...?"
"About me being a werewolf? Yes."
I wanted to ask him if he'd told Sean yet, but our conversation was cut off when a gavel sounded from the front of the room. Mr. Bone stood at the podium, in a long black robe, calling, "Order!" over the rumbling of the crowd. Most people there wouldn't recognize that the leader of the Nightshade City Council was one and the same as the round, perpetually sunburned golf-loving funeral homeowner we called Mort. The creature there at the podium had a skull for a face.
Nicholas was adopted, which explained why he hadn't inherited the same paranormal trait as his father. I'd met many paranormals in the last few months, but I'd never met another Skull.
When the room finally quieted down, Skull, AKA Mr. Bone, said,"Thank you all for coming. A grave matter has come to my attention. After several reports of strange behavior by various Nightshade residents, the council has determined that our town is plagued by doppelgangers."
The room burst into loud conversation. Everyone talked at once as Mr. Bone banged on his gavel. No one paid attention. I could tell what he was saying had some sort of significance for many of the older city council members, but I had no idea what was going on.
An elderly Were stood up and yelled over the din, "But there hasn't been any word of doppelgangers in almost fifty years. You're telling us that they've returned and have descended upon Nightshade?"
"What's a doppelganger?" I whispered to Ryan and Poppy.
A droopy-looking harpy in the row behind us overheard me. "A doppelganger is an exact double. A very dangerous double."
"You mean like an evil twin or something?"
"Exactly," she replied. "And if the real person should ever meet his double..." She shuddered.
"What? What will happen?" Poppy said. I knew she was wondering if the man I'd seen outside Slim's was really our father or just some sort of DoppelDad.
"If you come face-to-face with your doppelganger, legend has it that you will die."
Skull gave up banging on his gavel and began shouting, "Quiet, please. Please, there's no need to panic. We must have order."
"Why is everyone so upset?" I asked Ryan, but Mr. Bone's next words answered my question.
"Doppelgangers love to create chaos and we cannot allow that to happen!"
"Where did they come from?" asked one of the vampires. She looked familiar and I realized I had seen her at the very first city council meeting I had attended, although that one had been without an invitation.
"We don't know," Skull admitted. "There is a suspicion that someone, maybe even someone in Nightshade, is creating new doppelgangers, using simple material, like a piece of the person's hair, and magic. We plan to ... address this, but our number one priority now is to get rid of them before they take over the lives of our residents."
I shivered. That sounded sinister.
Mrs. Mason gave a little moan, and when I looked at her, her hands were trembling as if she was nervous.
"If they're exact doubles, how are we supposed to know who's a doppelganger and who's just a regular person?" I wondered aloud.
"I have a feeling we're about to find out," said Ryan.
Chief Mendez stood and said, "We believe they're in town to discredit our citizens. Doppelgangers will deliberately destroy someone's life. They behave horribly, make mischief, and then watch as the person they resemble has their life ruined."
After his pronouncement, he left the room and then returned, wheeling a large cage with golden bars. Inside was none other than Miss McBennett from the post office. The crowd gasped.
"This is not really Miss McBennett," Skull assured the crowd.
Nevertheless, it was an unsettling sight. The frail-looking woman inside the cage shook the bars angrily. When Chief Mendez wheeled her past the refreshment table in the corner of the ballroom, she reached out in a desperate attempt to swipe a cookie. She snarled when the cookie remained out of reach.
I leaned into Ryan. "That's some sweet tooth," I said softly.
The harpy heard me. "Sugar," she said in a gloomy voice. "There are doppelgangers in Nightshade, definitely. They can't get enough sugar. You see someone with a vacant look in his eye and stuffing his face full of sugar, you'd better believe it's a doppelganger."
A moment later Skull confirmed what the harpy said. "Be on the lookout for anyone who consumes an unusually large amount of sugar."
The woman in the cage let out a feeble moan. "Why have you brought me here, Chief Mendez? Why, I've known you since you were a boy."
For a minute, she had everyone convinced she was the real Miss McBennett. A vampire even jumped to his feet and said, "Let the poor old woman go." The crowd broke into noisy debate.
Chief Mendez held up a hand for quiet and then when the noise finally died down, said, "The real Miss McBennett is here. Miss McBennett, please come forward."
A woman stepped out of the
shadows and walked up to the cage.
"You can't tell the difference, can you?" the chief continued.
"Doppelgangers have knowledge of the memories and experiences of their double," Skull explained. "This makes them very convincing."
The crowd shifted in their seats uncomfortably. What was going to happen? Clearly, the legend about dying if you came face-to-face with your double must only be a myth because both Miss McBennetts in the front of the room were alive and well.
"I don't even want to know why the Wilders have that cage in their house," I muttered to Poppy.
She giggled and unwrapped a piece of gum. She always chewed gum when she was nervous.
Suddenly the woman in the cage went wild. "I smell sugar!" she cried, looking straight at Poppy.
Poppy gave a little yelp and quickly popped the gum into her mouth.
The doppelganger threw herself against the cage, screaming hoarsely and rattling the bars. In the next few minutes, she begged, pleaded, and threatened, all for a little bit of sugar.
After he thought that the point had been sufficiently made, Mr. Bone tossed a couple of cookies into the cage and the doppelganger gobbled them down frantically.
Clearly, the demonstration proved that the doppelganger was the one who was caged.
Even though my brain told me that it wasn't really Miss McBennett, it gave me the shivers.
The real Miss McBennett was led away to a seat far from her mirror image. Finally, her double's hunger seemed to subside. "May I have a little more, please?" she said in a sweet voice.
"First tell us who made you," Mr. Bone said.
A sly look crossed her face. "What will you give me?"
Mr. Bone waved a whole pie in front of her. A greedy look came over her face, and she seemed to consider it. After a moment, though, she shook her head, then cackled. "By the time you figure it out, it'll be too late."
Mr. Bone gave her the pie, anyway. Most of the audience turned away. It wasn't a pretty sight to see an eighty-year-old woman gulping down fistfuls of pie with her bare hands.
"We just wave sugar in front of them?" Bane said doubtfully.
"Yes," Skull responded. "It's that simple. But we've got to capture them first—and keep them from sugar for a few hours. They'll go wild trying to get to it."
"If you see a doppelganger, report it immediately to me at the Nightshade police department," Chief Mendez said. "Or tell any other council member and we'll take care of it right away."
I squirmed in my seat and glanced at Ryan. I hadn't told him yet about seeing my dad. Or maybe it was just a doppelganger. I wanted to wait until I knew for sure before reporting him to the city council.
After the meeting was over, Rose left with Nicholas. As Ryan walked Poppy and me to the car, Poppy tactfully strode ahead of us.
Ryan took my hand. "Promise me you'll be careful?" he said. "Don't go meeting your double in a dark alley."
"I promise." I hesitated.
I don't know why I was reluctant to mention it to Ryan, especially after everything we'd already been through. If I couldn't trust him by now, when would I?
I took a deep breath. "Speaking of doubles," I said, "you'll never guess who I saw hanging out by Slim's dumpster..."
After I'd let it all spill out, there was silence. I stole a peek at Ryan. He looked lost in thought.
"So what do you think it all means?" I asked.
"I have no idea," Ryan admitted. "But since doppelgangers are doubles of living people, it does mean one thing for sure. It's possible that your dad—your real dad, not the imitation—is still alive."
"Do you really think so?" I was afraid to hope.
Ryan looked doubtful. "I don't know, Daisy," he said. "If you see this guy again, please call me or my dad. The council can find out for sure if it's your real dad or just a doppelganger."
"You have a point," I admitted. Now was not the time to throw caution to the wind, no matter how much I wanted it to really be my dad.
I kissed Ryan good night and assured him again I'd call him if I saw the mysterious man. But in my heart, I wasn't sure what I would do if I saw my dad again.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
I had the early shift at Slim's the next day, which meant I should have gone to sleep immediately after the meeting. Instead, I lay awake thinking about what Ryan had said. Was it possible that my father was alive and well? Then, why hadn't he contacted us?
I must have finally fallen asleep, because I jerked awake when the alarm rang. I'd been having a marvelous dream, in which the entire Giordano family was reunited with my father.
I made it to Slim's on autopilot. Though I was barely awake, I managed to notice Flo's T-shirt, which read I AM THE EVIL TWIN.
Despite an extra-large latte, I was practically sleepwalking through the lunch rush.
Even Slim noticed. "Daisy, are you all right?"
I smothered a yawn. "Why do you ask?"
"Because you just put nuts in that salad. Mr. Webster ordered it without. He's allergic."
"Oh, my gosh!" I set the salad aside and started a new one. "It'll take me just a minute."
"It's okay," he said. A spatula pointed me toward the front. "Get yourself a cup of coffee. I can handle it for a bit."
I grabbed the largest coffee cup I could find and headed for the pot. My back was turned away from the door, but I heard it open and then Flo's gasp.
"Daisy, is that you?" There was something familiar about the voice. I turned as a tall dark-haired man in a suit approached the counter. I suppressed a gasp of my own. My father's face stared back at me. "Can I help you?"
"It's me, your father. Don't you recognize me?"
The jukebox kicked on. The song playing was "Lips Like Sugar" by Echo and the Bunnymen. Coincidence? I remembered the harpy had said that doppelgangers loved sugar.
Lil was definitely trying to tell me something. "How do I know you're my father?" I asked. He didn't look like the desperate guy who had been dumpster diving the other day. He was clean and well-dressed.
"The first thing you ever cooked was pancakes. And you burned them."
But he had eaten every bite, I remembered, and then taught me how to use the stove properly. I relaxed a little. I figured he would, too, if I got him some refreshments.
"Can I get you something?" Test number one.
"Black coffee, please."
"Would you like a donut with that?"
His eyes jittered to the display case, but his expression remained serene. "No, thanks. Just the coffee, please."
I bent under the counter, where we kept our coffee cups, and caught a whiff of his cologne. It sent a pang through me. It was a smell I'd never forget. Dreamer by Versace. Dad had worn it as long as I could remember.
I set the cup in front of him and poured it, then scooted the sugar container closer to him. He passed that test, too, when he carefully chose three packets of sugar and stirred them into his coffee. A tiny bloom of hope grew in my chest. That was exactly how my dad used to take his coffee. He used to let me put the sugar cubes in his cup for him when I was little.
"Where have you been? Why haven't you been in contact with us?"
"My memory is fuzzy," he replied. "I'm not sure exactly what happened. I guess I must have been unconscious ... And when I woke up, I was being dumped out of a van onto the beach here in Nightshade. I don't remember where I was or who I was with before that. I was so confused. I slept under the boardwalk and ate out of dumpsters for days. It took me a while, but I started to regain memories of my life in Nightshade. But there are still big gaps."
Amnesia? Or maybe his faulty memory was just a cover.
Before I had time to think about it, I was in his mind. I caught a glimpse of a tiny room without windows and a voice saying, "I'm not done with you yet." The memories whirled through my consciousness. He was knocked on the head and abducted. I jumped out of his mind when I started delving into his memories of when I was a kid. It hurt too much to remember how happy we wer
e then.
His voice interrupted my rummaging in his memories. "You've grown up. I barely recognized you," he said. I wondered if he knew I had psychic powers. I doubted it. When I last saw him, I hadn't had any abilities.
I certainly didn't look the same as I did when I was twelve. But to me, he looked like the same old dad.
But if he remembered where he was held captive, why was he pretending he didn't?
Without thinking, I snapped, "It's not like the world stopped when you went away." I felt a pang of regret immediately after saying it. My long-standing bitterness about his absence was slipping out.
"No, of course not," he said softly. "How is your mother?"
"Why haven't you called her to tell her you're back? She's never changed her cell phone number." She didn't want to, just in case he somehow decided to contact her.
I realized that I was talking much too loudly when I saw Flo's face. She grabbed a rag and began wiping down the stainless steel, but I knew she was listening to every word.
He shrugged. "I told you, there are gaps in my memory. I don't remember her number. And besides, I heard she was in Italy for the summer. I'd rather just wait until she gets home so we can talk in person."
"But she's your wife," I said, trying to keep my voice down. To my amazement, he wasn't paying attention to me. He was staring at the clock behind me above the wall.
"Am I keeping you from something?" I said sarcastically.
"No, it's just, this isn't the place for this discussion. We'll talk later, at home." He carefully adjusted his wristwatch and, before I could speak, threw a bill on the counter and walked out.
Unbelievable.
"Was that your father?" Flo's voice broke into my thoughts.
"Apparently." But I wasn't sure. My memories of my father had faded over time. Wait—he said we'd talk at home? I really needed to talk to Poppy and Rose.
I kept getting Rose's voice mail but reached Poppy and gave her a brief summary of the conversation I'd just had.
Poppy was supposed to pick me up after work, so we decided we'd head to the university after that. Rose was bound to be there; she'd been spending every extra minute at the lab lately.