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forward. Apparently she was meant to open the door, because once her fingers touched the chain holding the locks together, it fell away, falling from the door softly like cloth. It fell to the floor like a serpent. Lucia watched the chain and locks pool at the floor with wide open eyes.
    "How did you do that?" she whispered.
    "I don't know." She sighed. "I have no idea." She reached forward again, the rust red door glaring back at her in the darkness. With a shaking hand, she tried the knob. It turned.
    "Go on," Lucia whispered. "Open the door."
    Slowly, slowly, Alicia opened the door. She knew the door was magic, knew it the moment she saw it. Her thoughts were confirmed when the chains slipped away when she touched them; the door was locked to all but her; maybe not just her, but it was all she could think of. It was her occult store, after all.
    But she knew that the door was magic. She was wary of opening the door, but really, what choice did she have.
    The door creaked open and both girls stood before its open darkness. Alicia looked inside and saw nothing but an empty space, the size of a closet. Great , she thought, a magical broom closet, just what every Witch needs . She was about to close the door when Lucia stopped her.
    "Alicia! Look!" she said, pointing at the floor.
    Alicia saw where she was pointing and wondered how she could have missed them: three pieces of bone, glowing in the blackness. Alicia scooped them up and closed the door. The door closed with an audible click and the wall shimmered, bending and twisting before them like water running over the wall. When the shimmering stopped, the door was gone.
    Lucia let out a breath beside her. "What the hell was that all about?"
    Alicia shook her head, not knowing what to say. Then she looked down at what was in her hand.
    Three pieces of bone, carved at the top to look like little Buddhas. The detail on them was amazing and intricate. After Buddha, the bone curved to a point, like a tooth. The bones made a clinking sound in the palm of her hand, like teeth. She flipped them over and gasped.
    Names were carved into each of them on the flip side: Alicia, Orlando and Lucia. Lucia looked down at the bone talismans with wide-eyed wonder. "Why is my name on one of those bones?" she asked quietly.
    Alicia thought for a moment and then said, "I think it's because you're supposed to help us."
     
    * * * * *
     
    At Harrow House, Poppy was flipping through different Chinese food menus, waiting for Alicia to come home, when the phone rang.
    "Hello?"
    "Poppy?" Her mother's soft voice filtered through the phone. Lucy Stone always sounded as if she were out of breath when she called, but Poppy knew that her mother had a light voice, like Marylyn Monroe's. Every time Poppy brought up the comparison, her mother blushed.
    "Mom? Hey, it's me."
    "Oh, Hon. I'm so glad I caught you at home."
    "Why, what's up?"
    "Oh, nothing much, now I don't want you getting excited. . .."
    Poppy's heart began to race. "You found him! You found Keech Robinson?"
    "No," Lucy said. "No, Darling, I'm sorry. He's dead."
    Poppy felt herself wither inside. Their one link to her father, their one clue, vanished like smoke. "Then we can't do anything. We can't find my father."
    "I didn't say that Darling. Keech Robinson is dead. . .but his wife is not."
     
    * * * * *
     
    "His wife?" Poppy said. "Keech Robinson had a wife?"
    "Indeed he did. I found her in the phone book."
    "What did you do, call all the Robinsons in the phonebook and ask them if their husband recently died?"
    "Yes, actually." Lucy smiled. "There are only three Robinsons in the phonebook. One was a young woman in her twenties, another was a man and the third was an old woman who had lost her husband."
    "Who happened to be named Keech?"
    "How many people do you know that are named Keech? I was going at this blind, Poppy. You can give me a little bit of credit, at least," her mother huffed.
    Poppy felt a twinge of guilt. "I'm sorry Mom, you're