The Bloodwater Mysteries: Doppelganger by Mary Logue, Pete Hautman

his heart starting to race.
    “What was his name?”
    “Dak-Ho. What’s your name?”
    “Brian.”
    “What’s your Korean name?”
    “Bok-Soo. What about this guy’s American name? The one who looks like me.”
    “Billy.”
    “Billy,” said Brian thoughtfully. He put the chip he had been holding into his mouth and bit down. Whatever it was, it was not a potato chip. It had the texture of a rubber band, and it tasted fishy. Brian didn’t want to spit it out in front of Molly, so he forced himself to chew and swallow. It wasn’t easy. Once he got it down, he looked at the otherchips on his plate, then at Molly, who had an impish grin on her face.
    “What did I just eat?” he asked.
    “
Ojinx-o teegim
means ‘fried squid finger food,’” Molly said. She laughed at Brian’s expression, then pushed her plate toward him. “Have some onion pancake,” she said. “It’ll wash away the taste.”
    It took Roni two days to get Officer Garth Spall alone. Every time she saw him, he was with his partner, George Firth. George Firth, a veteran of the Bloodwater Police Department, knew Roni too well. If she asked him for a favor, he would, first, refuse to do it, and second, probably mention it to Nick. Garth Spall—younger, less experienced, and several dozen points lower in the IQ department—would be more cooperative.
    She finally caught Garth alone in his squad car in the alley behind Bratten’s Café and Bakery, working his way through a bag of donuts. He was a tall, athletic young man with overdeveloped muscles and a weakness for raised glazed donuts. Roni walked up to the passenger window and looked in at him. He was staring dreamily off into the distance while shoving a donut into his maw. She rapped on the glass.
    Garth jumped so hard he hit his head on the roof of the car. His hand went immediately to his belt, fumbling with the strap on his holster.
    “Garth! It’s just me! Roni!” she shouted through the glass, preparing to dive for cover. Garth Spall had nevershot anyone, but he was notoriously quick to wave his gun around—which was why police chief Grant Hoff rarely let him go out on his own.
    Garth recognized Roni and relaxed. Roni opened the door and climbed into the squad car. “Hi! How’s it going?”
    He looked at her suspiciously.
    Roni pulled out her notebook. “I’m writing an article about Bloodwater’s finest. I was wondering if I could interview you. You know—straight from the mouths of the men on the front line? Since you’re the youngest and most physically powerful member of the department, I thought I’d start with you.”
    Garth stared at her. He may have been thinking, but she didn’t wait to find out.
    “After all, you’re the department’s future. The police force is aging. Another ten years and you’ll have Grant Hoff’s job.” She gave him her most sincere fake smile and pointed at his face. “You have icing on your chin.”
    Garth wiped his face with the back of his hand. “Chief Hoff says don’t talk to reporters.”
    “I’m sure he wasn’t talking about
me,
” Roni said. “I mean, it’s just the high school newspaper.”
    “I don’t know…”
    “Hey!” Roni turned her attention to the computer mounted on the center console between them. “I bet you can find out all kinds of cool stuff on here. Am I on it?”
    “You?”
    “Yeah. Am I on your master criminal database?”
    “I don’t know. Have you committed any crimes recently?”
    “Nothing serious,” Roni said. “I bet if you know somebody’s name and address and license number, you can find out all kinds of stuff.” She reached toward the keyboard. Garth slapped her hand away.
    “Ouch! Police brutality!”
    Garth looked alarmed.
    Roni laughed. “Just kidding. So, when you pull somebody over for speeding or something, do you look them up on the computer?”
    “If I don’t know them.”
    “How do you do it?”
    “I just enter in their license number. It tells me if the car is