He also claimed that the trauma of his captivity had affected his memory and his speech in ways that were difficult to specify.

He was also seventeen years old, not sixteen — his general appearance and bearing read as somewhat older than Nicholas should have been, and explaining away a small age difference was less difficult than explaining away major physical discrepancies.

He dyed his hair blond to match Nicholas’s hair color.

He studied everything he could find about Nicholas — his family, his neighborhood, his friends — to be able to discuss them with apparent knowledge.

He had the tattoos he knew Nicholas had described.