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crocheted scarf, in neutral tones of beige and cream stripes, with wool fringes at the end.
    â€œGuess we know a drag queen wasn’t the only one who’s been in here,” I said, fear rising in the pit of my chest.
    Brianne swung her gaze from Abby, to me, back to Abby. “What do you mean? What does she mean?”
    I couldn’t take my eyes away from the scarf; it was as good as finding the smoking gun.
    â€œCamilla was here.”
    Brianne’s impatience escalated. “How could you possibly know that for a fact?”
    â€œBecause that’s her scarf. I know because I made it for her. Maybe she left it here on purpose.”
    â€œLike a clue.” Abby frowned. “But why?”
    Brianne tossed the scarf at me. “Probably on the run or hiding out. Who cares? Let’s just go already. It’s getting creepier by the second.”
    Pieces of what Adrius had said floated back to me. He’d sensed someone from his world had been in Gran’s house. Maybe Camilla had packed the mystery box for me, and maybe whoever broke in found her there.
    â€œI don’t think she’s running or hiding,” I said solemnly, fingering the fringe of the scarf.
    â€œI think she was taken.”

 
    Chapter Four
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    Spending time in another world, hunting and being hunted… it leaves an indelible stain on your soul. It made returning to normal life almost impossible. Still, it was what I had to do to stay sane.
    I sighed and checked my watch. Not even 10 am and already I’d had enough of work. If I had to brew one more low-fat half-caff tall soy latte for another pretentious faux-vegan anorexic cheerleader, I was going to lose it. I mean what happened to coffee with cream and sugar?
    The door opened, and a pack of ‘tweens walked in. No Neil.
    Where the heck was he? He was supposed to open this morning. Now it was two hours past my patience limit and he was still a no-show. Probably off at that Irish pub all night with Brigit. They were known to drink the night away together on too many occasions.
    I was grumpy. Too much worry with nowhere near enough sleep. It had been days since I’d heard anything from anyone. Days since our weird trip to search for Camilla. Days since I’d last seen Adrius. And to say I was on edge was more than an understatement. I hated not knowing what was going on. Wiping down the spotless counter for the twentieth time, I recalled his words, “ I’ll be back before you can miss me. ” He was already too late for that. Hopefully he’d return soon, because I couldn’t wait to get his insight into things.
    Finding Camilla’s scarf had seemed like a clue, but in reality it was just a scarf. It didn’t tell me where she was now. She might have been at the Bates Motel Peterson sent us to at some point, but who knows when. Or why, or for how long. Adrius wouldn’t be happy I’d gone without him, but everything turned out fine and I was safe. Peterson’s number came up unknown and with that link broken, I had no idea what to do next.
    Maybe it was time to involve the cops. But all I had was a disconnected phone number, a broken door, my missing aunt’s scarf and a card for some MBD, whoever that was. Not much to go on. Plus, if whatever was going on involved witchcraft or faerie magic or both, it made everything that much more complicated… and dangerous. Didn’t it always?
    I poured another round of vanilla lattes infused with healing lavender into takeout cups and smiled warmly when they left me a substantial tip, before leaving.
    Another customer walked in, carrying an attaché, wearing three inch silver heels and a cloud of cheap perfume. Phyllis. The secretary of my excommunicated elven royal shrink.
    Yes, I know how crazy that sounds.
    She clicked over to the counter and smiled. Red lipstick smeared her front teeth and I started to tell her, but then stopped when I saw she was