Mrs. P. sat on the edge of the sewing table, her eyes heavy with sleep, the fur between her ears limp. "What's this about, doll?" She wore a pink silk robe trimmed in tiny feathers.

Pepe paced behind her, dressed in a nightshirt that reminded me of something out of a Dickens book.

Although it was barely ten, I'd apparently dragged them out of bed.

Getting into Bewitching Boutique hadn't been an issue, considering Godfrey had been one of the villagers outside the Tavistock house. I'd doubled back to find him after seeing Harper home. She was eager to call Marcus to tell him about her big find.

I was eager to see Mrs. P to find out what in the world was going on. If anyone knew of another possible Vaporcrafter, it was her.

Godfrey had taken one look at my face and didn't even remark about my choice of outfit.

He wasn't a fan of denim.

Instead, he'd taken my arm and fast-walked me to the shop. He took extra glee in banging on Pepe's door.

I sat on a swivel stool. "There was another break-in at the Tavistock house tonight."

"Andreus again no doubt," Godfrey exclaimed. "The man has such gall. And impeccable taste in clothing, I might add."

I glanced up at him.

Scratching his snowy beard, he said simply, "I cannot help if I notice such things."

Pepe twisted his mustache. "What else is there, ma chere?"

He knew me well. "The intruder was hard at work pulling paneling from the bathroom wall when Harper and I surprised him. There was a skeleton behind the wall."

Mrs. P jumped to her feet and did a little jig. "Shut the front door! Harper finally found herself a body? Hot diggety, I bet she's excited."

I had to smile at Mrs. P's response. She'd truly become one of the family over the past year. Only someone so close to Harper would understand her strange obsession with finding a corpse.

"Ecstatic," I said. "The big weirdo."

Mrs. P cackled.

"Whose skeleton is it?" Godfrey asked. "Was there any identification?"

"Not that I saw, but I admittedly didn't see much. I imagine a team from the medical examiner's office is on its way. Hopefully they'll find something more behind the wall. An ID would be really nice, but even knowing how long the skeleton was there would be good."

Godfrey shook a finger. "That Eleta Tavistock was not one with whom to trifle."

I swiveled and rubbed a piece of velvet left on the table. "Harper suspects that it might have been a treasure hunter who somehow made it past the charmed door."

"Entirely possible," he said. "Eleta was engaged to Sebastian Woodshall. She knew the Roving Stones well. There are some dangerous charms out there if you know whom to ask."

Although the Craft motto was to do no harm, charms weren't included in that. They could be beneficial or harmful.

"You said you confronted the intruder." Pepe sat next to Mrs. P "Who was it?"

His tiny feet dangled and I resisted the urge to reach out and tickle them. "I don't know. That's why I'm here. I'm hoping Mrs. P knows."

She pushed tiny paws to her heart. "Me?"

"The intruder was a Vaporcrafter," I said.

There was a moment of silence as my words sank in. Finally Mrs. P said, "There must be some mistake. Other than my family, there was only one other Vaporcrafter family in the village, and they've been gone many years now. Twenty at least. They were dear friends."

"Yes, yes." Godfrey's bushy eyebrows dropped. "The Abramsons. A lovely couple. They died in the late nineties as I recall, a drunk driver." He tsked.

My head snapped up and my skin prickled. I knew that name. Jane Abramson. I'd seen her photo in the Toil and Trouble microfilm. "Did they have a daughter who went missing right around the time of the diamond heist?"

A missing young woman, a Vaporcrafter. A skeleton in the Tavistock house . . .

Mrs. P's eyes grew wide as she nodded. "You don't think . . ."

A chill went down my spine. "It has to be. It's too coincidental. But why? What's her connection to Eleta? Were they friends?"

"I have no recollection of ever seeing them together," Mrs. P said. "This makes no sense."

Pepe said, "It also does not explain what happened tonight. Jim and Susan are long since dead and buried."

"What about their son? I saw a picture of him in the Toil and Trouble that was taken right after Jane's disappearance," I said. "Where's he?"

Mrs. P said, "I have no clue. I lost touch after his parents died. But, doll, it couldn't have been him in that house tonight."

"Why?" I asked.

"He was adopted," she said. "Susan had infertility troubles, so when an opportunity came along to adopt a newborn, they jumped at it. They couldn't have been happier."

Adopted. That certainly threw a wrench into my theory. "We have to be missing something obvious. Because there was a Vaporcrafter in that house tonight."

Pepe examined his nails nonchalantly. "I do recall a bit of gossip from back in the day that perhaps relates to what has happened tonight."

"What kind of gossip?" I asked.

"This makes me most uncomfortable," he said.

"This is not the time to stand on high moral ground, my pudgy friend," Godfrey said. "Speak up."

"One who lives in glass houses, butterball, should not throw stones," Pepe retorted.

"How dare you," Godfrey bellowed.

Pepe stood up, handed his glasses to Mrs. P and started jabbing tiny fists at nothing in particular. "Put them up!"

Next to him, Mrs. P put her fists up, too, mimicking his movements. I expected a "Two-four-six-eight-who-do-we-appreciate" out of her at any moment.

Godfrey shuffled his feet and threw a left hook. "I'm ready when you are."

Arguments about their weight was a common occurrence between the two. They usually ended with one of them bleeding. Even though Godfrey was about a zillion times bigger than Pepe, it was usually Pepe who emerged the victor.

"Stop that now," I said, stretching my arms out to keep them separated. "I've got to get back to Mimi and don't have time to watch you two do battle. Plus, you know how I feel about blood."

Pepe took back his glasses. "To be continued," he said, shaking a fist at Godfrey.

Godfrey huffed. "I look forward to it."

Families. Sheesh.

"Now, what were you saying, Pepe?" I asked. "A rumor?"

He sat, adjusting his nightshirt. "Yes. I recalled hearing gossip after the boy was adopted . . . A rumor that perhaps Jane hadn't gone off to a semester abroad in high school as her parents had the village believe. That she, possibly, had gone off and had a child."

Mrs. P tipped her head, scratched her chin, and said, "They were often evasive about the whole adoption process."

Excited, I said, "That means the boy was Jane's son. A Crafter."

"Non," Pepe said, correcting me. "A Vaporcrafter."

I had to find that man.

Godfrey said, "I am still in denial that it is sweet Jane in that house. A more wonderful girl you've never met. A sweetheart."

"Oui," Pepe added in a rare moment of agreement.

Mrs. P wiped her eyes. "Poor, poor girl. I'll always remember her smile. And when she and her brother visited with me, she was so thoughtful, bringing me the most wonderful lemon cookies. They were delightful."

I nearly fell off my stool. Lemon cookies.

Lemon. Cookies.

"Darcy? What's wrong?" Godfrey asked.

Standing up, I looked at Mrs. P. "The Abramson boy? Was his name Scott by any chance?"

I just wish I knew where she was. Peace of mind, you know.

"Yes," she said. "How'd you know?"

"My dog has a crush on him."

Chapter Twenty-four.

Early the next morning, as Missy and I trudged toward As You Wish, the rain had stopped and the cloudy sky was a beautiful bluish black that reminded me of the India ink I sometimes used for drawing.

With an hour until sunrise, chirping crickets provided accompaniment to the cheerful but somewhat frantic birdsong that already filled the crisp morning air. The flapping of the Roving Stones tents didn't sound nearly as menacing as it had last night.

I hadn't been able to sleep after Nick had come home, so I decided to head back to As You Wish. I wanted to do some computer work and also go through the vital records Harper had given me a little more carefully. Something had to give with this case.

Nick and I had plans to meet up later to go talk to Scott Abramson. I hoped he had some answers to our questions.

Missy looked up at me, flicked her left ear. Her expression made me think she believed I'd lost my mind for dragging her out so early. "We're almost home. Then you can sleep all you want."

Home.

But it really wasn't.

As You Wish was Ve's home. I loved it, but it was hers. I hadn't really even moved in fully-a lot of my stuff was still in the garage.

Maybe home was Nick's place. Or would be. Someday.

When.

Missy's head suddenly came up, and she growled low in her throat. Instantly alert, I glanced around and saw Glinda and Clarence about fifty yards away. She was dressed in sweats with her hair tucked under a ball cap and still managed to look stunning. She gave me a tentative wave.

As I waited for Nick to get home, I'd had a lot of time to mull over Raina's case, and something Glinda had hinted at was eating at me.

And it has to be someone who knows Andreus's mother.

The only concrete connection between this case and Zara was that charm. For Glinda to say what she did, that meant that the Myrian hadn't come to Raina through Andreus.

It's the key to this case, I believe.

I waved back and groaned when she headed my way. You give her an inch . . .

Clarence and Missy were delighted to see each other and commenced sniffing. "You're out early," I said.

"I could say the same of you."

"Long night," I said. "You?"

"Clarence has a weak bladder."

"My sympathies." I looked longingly toward As You Wish. So close.

"Thanks. It's trying. Isn't it, Clarence?"

He balefully gazed up at her. I wasn't sure how she disciplined him-I wouldn't be able to ever say no to him if he looked at me that way.