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in one piece with the Jewel in my possession.
    Anyway, I thought to myself, I had to put that mystery out of my mind for now—I had a movie to watch.

3 JULY

    182 days to go …

    I woke up in a sweat and quickly scrambled off the recliner chair I was sprawled on. I’d let myself fall asleep after watching the movie last night, but my old nightmare had returned and sent my mind into a spin.
    Weird shadows filled the spacious room. I jumped up and went to the living room, back to my place on the rug, still trying to shake the white toy dog and the wailing baby from my head. When the sound wouldn’t go away, I realised a real baby was crying, far away in a neighbouring property. Huddled against the wall, I tried telling myself everything was all right.
    I couldn’t fool myself. I was still haunted by the dark and desolate nightmare—its thick atmosphere wouldn’t let me go. The world of the nightmare was too similar to the world I was sitting in right now—with a dark, deserted house,and the sound of a baby crying. Someone lost and abandoned. Someone exactly like me.
    My mind flashed back to the ‘Twin Baby Abduction Nightmare’ article I’d seen at Great-uncle Bartholomew’s house.
    What had he been hiding, and why?
    Did those babies have something to do with me … and my recurring nightmare? When Bartholomew was dying, had he meant to say that one of them was me? Or had that been a slip of the tongue? A sick feeling in my gut grew the more I thought about it. It was starting to feel way too personal.
    Twin baby . The face of my double hovered in my consciousness. He had my face.
    Dad and Rafe were twins.
    Was I?
    The thought of having a long-lost twin seemed impossible. If only I could call my mum to ask her for the truth.
    I fell back on my sleeping-bag. Right now, I couldn’t deal with this.

5 JULY

    180 days to go …

    The house phone was ringing. I waited, hoping it would match Boges’s code. After two short rings, followed by one long, I snatched it up.
    ‘Eric Blair’s back!’ he said. ‘I’ve been scoping out your dad’s old office on my way to school, and this morning I saw some new guy heading up the stairs outside the building. Immediately he caught my attention—he looked a bit frail—like someone who hasn’t seen the sun in a while.’
    ‘Yeah?’ I urged, excitement building.
    ‘And then this woman,’ Boges continued, ‘ran up the stairs after him, calling out—wait for it— Eric !’
    ‘No way!’
    ‘Yes, way! It has to be him. You must try calling him again.’
    ‘I will, I’ll try on a public phone today.’
    ‘Cool. I have to go, but I’ll see you on Wednesday .’

    It took me quite a while to find a public phone in Crystal Beach, and I pounced on the first one I saw, dialling Eric with flying fingers.
    ‘Eric Blair, please,’ I said when the receptionist picked up. I noted it was a new voice, and was relieved I didn’t have to deal with the suspicious woman from my last call.
    ‘One moment,’ came the reply.
    I waited, wondering what in the world I was going to say to him. I’d been anticipating this moment for so long, but hadn’t figured out a strategy. I had no idea how he was going to react to hearing from me.
    ‘Thank you for holding,’ the voice returned, like a recording. ‘Transferring you through.’
    I could hardly believe it. Finally, I was getting the chance to talk to the guy that had been with Dad in Ireland, when he got sick.
    ‘Eric Blair speaking.’ His voice was tentative and gentle. ‘Hello?’
    ‘Mr Blair,’ I said, ‘I’ve been trying to get in touch with you for quite some time …’ I faltered, completely freaking out about what to say.
    ‘Yes, and how can I help you?’
    ‘Please don’t hang up on me when I tell you who I am—I really need your help, and have been counting on you for information.’
    ‘Information on what?’ he asked in a voice that was a little more familiar to me. He’d always sounded very confident and