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I shook my head "Paul, that wasn’t me She wasn’tthe next load of crap to get trucked by" He was looking a little ill now "That was you Joanne Christ, I’ve known her-you-half your life I’d know the difference!"

The scariest thing about it? Maybe he was right about that Maybe the Demon really had become more me than me

"She showed you what she wanted you to see," I said "She showed David the faithful lover She showed each of you exactly ould get her the e" God, what had she shois? One hell of a good time I tried hard not to even consider it "She wanted you on her side Against ot zero reason to believe you And I’ to convince me"

I spread my arms "I’m not a Demon You can check"

"How do you think we do that? It’s not the fucking Inquisition around here"

"Ask Marion She’d know She can see Deed the question"Why didn’t she recognize Evil Twin?" I asked it aloud, not expecting an answer, but surprisingly Paul actually had one

"She wasn’t awake," he said "After you pulled your stunt that night in the clinic, she was in a co"

"When the person you thought of as me left," I said He frowned and nodded "Well, that’s a coincidence Lucky ET didn’t just kill her"

He looked suddenly ill

"What?"

Paul’s ain to say, "Marion’s breathing stopped three tiht If there hadn’t been an Earth Warden with her"

Evil Twin didn’t dare act directly, then, not if she was trying to carry on her can to become the one true Joanne That had saved Marion’s life No doubt ET would have been delighted to have dispatched one of the only people in the world who could see her true, unpleasant nature But Faux Joanne probably would have ed to keep her in a coma indefinitely, until an opportunity caaze, which had unfocused to s over, sharpened back on me "How do I know you weren’t behind that?"

"We could play this game all day, Paul, but the point is, I’ at , ’De to have to take so on faith" My turn to fold my arms and frown "Paul, if I was in love with David, I’d never have slipped off with you Not that you aren’t studly, but"

He looked deeply uncomfortable Shuffled his feet and cleared his throat Adjusted the limp tie at the collar of his much-rumpled business shirt, which was finely tailored but not up to the rigors of a Joanne Baldwin crisis "Yeah," he uess I knew that I’ve known you a long time You’re a tease, but-"

"Tease?"

"Flirt," he amended hastily "Jesus Touchy, ain’t ya? Look, whatever happened, the point is, she didn’t get what she wanted, right?"

I wasn’t so sure of that "What did she want?" I pushed away from the door and paced a little, nervous and chilly "She wanted to cut me off from any support, sure, but it was more than that She went out of her way to enlist people She wanted to be part of the Wardens Why?"

"Because you were?"

I shook my head "It wasn’t just that she wanted a life It’s more than that" I remembered the way she’d felt in the clinic when she’d been about to kill me And even back in the forest before the helicopter rescue She’d refined her methods, but what she wanted wasn’t just to be me "Before she ca, and it wasn’t just about findingthe California fire-as that?"

Paul pulled a handheld computer from his pocket and booted it up with a press of his thu out commands with effortless speed "Same day," he said "Same day you disappeared in Sedona"

I nodded "Then I need to talk to Kevin Now"

Su which soood food could taste, and devoured two sandwiches without pausing for ood I’d been willing to settle for some of Lewis’s stale trail bars

When he arrived Kevin wasn’t alone; he screeched up the drive in a black Warden-issue SUV, the kind with the sun symbol aetherically embossed on the side, and for a second I was afraid that Evil Twin had coer door opened, it was Cherise who got out I was unreasonably cheered to see her, because she looked a hell of a lot better than she had-fresh, scrubbed, cute as a button in her snowflake-patterned tight sweater and blue jeans

She had to be feeling better Her nail polish matched the outfit

"Jo!" Cherise was the only person I didn’t need to win over; she flew across the rooed h with Sarah, more like the sister I wished I had "God, you look like hell! Hygiene, honey! Look into it!"

"Been busy," I said

"Too busy to corin faded fast "What’s going on? I thought you were better"

"Was I?" I gave her a long look as we stood at arth, and she slowly shook her head

"Oh,rong; I knew" If she had, Cherise had been the only one Ironic, since she was also the only one of the entire group without so fabulous under difficult circumstances "You didn’t seeed "But still So Evil twin?"

"Evil twin"

"That’s hot"

"Not so much, from this side"

"Oh, come on, I’d kill for an evil twin How cool would that be?"

I reached out and put a hand on Cherise’s shoulder "Cher, I think she’s the one who hurt you And Kevin"

I felt her flinch, but soed to hold on to her smile "Okay I take it back Wouldn’t kill for an evil twin, but Iour conversation, sto distrustful looks around the roomental about it He didn’t like anybody, except, of course, Cherise He unzipped his black jacket-it was a Raiders down jacket, with the pirate logo on it-as if he were intending to pull out an Uzi and mow us all down, but that was just his normal urban ’tude