Free Trapped!: The 2031 Journal of Otis Fitzmorgan by Bill Doyle

thinking about this when Crockett gave me a nudge. “All set?”
    I nodded, and we left Yves's room to begin our starch for the DNA of a criminal.

JUDGE WAS SITTING WITH CHARLOTTE AND LYSA.

JANUARY 4, 2031
Day 4 of 6      5:20 PM
    A half hour later, Crockett and I walked into the Common Room. Judge, Lysa, and Charlotte were sitting around a table discussing the case.
    Judge was absentmindedly sketching something on a piece of paper. I heard her say, “That's one idea, Lysa. I just don't know
     if the criminal is an alien—” She broke off when she saw us enter. “How'd it go?” she asked eagerly.
    Crockett and I looked at each other. How could we begin to tell what we had discovered?
    Charlotte stood and rushed over to us. “Come on! Spill! What'd you find?”
    “You'd better sit down,” I told her.
    “You're scaring me,” she said, taking her seat again. “What happened?”
    I took a deep breath before speaking. “Crockett and I went to my room first. I thought if we were going to go around invading
     people's property, we should start with my room. We went to my closet and ran the DNA probe over my clothes. It said my name
     constantly. Then I ran it over my FSA uniform, the one I was wearing when I first met you. So I wasn't surprised when my probe
     said your DNA was on the jacket. But I was surprised by who else's DNA was there, as well. In the exact same spot.”
    “Whose was it?” Charlotte asked.
    “Can I show you?” I asked her.
    She nodded. I placed the probe on her arm. The probe chimed and then said, CHARLOTTE NOONAN. It chimed twice more and recited
     two more names: LYSK A. BENATO MAXINE BENATO.
    “What?” Lysa was on her feet. “Why did it say Mom's and my names? And how did our DNA get on your jacket?”
    “That's just it,” I answered. “Neither of you touched my jacket. But you didn't have to in order for your DNA to be on it.”
    “You're not making sense!” Lysa cried.
    SIMPLE CLONE TESTING
    So, you're going to the pet store to pick up Rover, but you want to know whether or not you're getting a clone. Just remember
     BONE and use the following checklist
    B othered? Do you care if you have a clone? If not, skip the rest of the list. After all, clones deserve the same love and
     care as other creatures.
    O ne of a kind? Clones are like identical twins. Do all puppies in the litter have the exact same marking?
    N eed proof? A clone only needs one parent—so if the dog's papers list a mother and a father, you don't have a clone.
    E xtract DNA? Get a sample of the puppy's and the parent's DNA for testing. If the samples are identical you've got clone.
    “Yes, he is, charlotte said. “He's saying that we all have the same DNA”.
    Lysa swallowed. “But that would only be possible if we were…”
    “lf we were clones”, said charlotte, getting up again.
    I'd hated springing it on Charlotte like that, but I'd needed to see her reaction. Would she be surprised? Or would she angrily
     deny it?
    But instead, charlotte just seemed numb. Not Lysa, though. She shouted, “Just because we look alike doesn't mean we're clones!
     If we were, wouldn't we be identical?”
    “Not necessarily,” I said “clones share the same DNA, but environmental things—like what you eat and where you live—can change
     your appearance.” Lysa shook her head, not wanting to hear any more. But I had to keep going. “Lysa, your mom is decades older,
     so she's going to look different than you two.” Then, looking at Charlotte's blonde locks, I added, “And one of you has been
     coloring her hair.”
    Charlotte took a moment to speak. “Am I a suspect?” she asked quietly.
    “We're all suspects,” I told her.
    I think my gentle tone actually made things worse. She seemed to take it as a sign of pity or something. “But I think I might
     have moved closer to the top of the list,” she snapped. guess you might feel safer if I stayed in my room.”
    I couldn't argue with her. “Just for now,