Within an hour of the TV news broadcast indicating that April Murphy was alive and accounted for, Francine, Sue Ellen, Mrs. Cooper, and Odette gathered at Mr. Ratburn's house, where the teacher lived with his new wife, Carla. All present were expressing their astonishment that April had confessed to the theft of a valuable crystal, and was in police custody.

"I thought she was just a normal girl," Odette marveled. "I never imagined she would steal anything, let alone secret scientific stuff."

"I've had no luck reaching her on the phone," Mr. Ratburn related. "Apparently the FBI is involved, and they won't let her talk to anyone."

"We've got to get in touch with her," said Sue Ellen earnestly. "If she's alive, that means my parents may be alive too."

"Someone needs to go to Los Cactos and bail her out," said Carla. "But she has no family."

"I'll do it," Mrs. Cooper offered.

"Really, Mom?" responded Odette, her eyes lighting up.

"We have more than enough in our college fund," the duck woman continued.

"Can I go too?" asked the swan girl hopefully.

"Certainly," replied her mother. "But it's all boring desert."

"I still don't understand why she stole the crystal in the first place," said Carla.

"Perhaps I can explain," came a voice from the propped-open door.

All eyes turned and beheld a blond rabbit woman in a turquoise blouse and short skirt, who had welcomed herself into the house.

"Hi, Augusta," Francine greeted her.

"Hello, Francine," the woman replied. "And Nigel, and Carla...and mini-April."

Sue Ellen made a bewildered face.

"I'm Valerie Cooper," Mrs. Cooper introduced herself. "And this is my daughter, Odette."

"I'm Augusta Winslow." Augusta shook hands with the duck lady.

"April told me about you," Sue Ellen blurted out.

"I've heard the most fantastic stories about you," said Mrs. Cooper to the rabbit woman.

"They're all true," was Augusta's reply. "Except for the one about being a natural brunette."

"Then...you're a witch," said Mrs. Cooper, taking a nervous step backwards.

"When I'm not selling houses," Augusta admitted, then turned to Carla. "I promised you an explanation, and here it is. Three years from now, at least in the old timeline, Sue Ellen--or April, as she'll be known--will use a time device of my invention to travel to our day. When she arrived, she stole the crystal from Los Cactos in the hope that I would be able to conduct an experiment with it that would change the fates of her parents."

"So April and Sue Ellen are the same person, just different ages," Odette mused. "It makes sense, if you believe in time travel."

Augusta grinned. "I believe in a lot of things. At the moment, I believe we should work together to bring April home."

Mrs. Cooper couldn't help but scowl disapprovingly. "I can do it without your help," she insisted.

Beaming, Augusta stepped closer to the anxious woman. "April's case is special," she explained. "The government won't give her up easily. You may find my powers of persuasion to be advantageous."

It appeared to her that Mrs. Cooper was sweating.

"My mom has this thing about witches," Odette pointed out.

----

"Odette and I just agreed to go on a cross-country trip with a witch," Mrs. Cooper related to Reverend Fulsome, as her family (minus Quinn) had gathered at the church on Sunday morning. "Do you think that's a good idea?"

The rabbit man cleared his throat. "That depends," he replied indifferently. "Are you going by plane, car, or broom?"

Mrs. Cooper, leading little Megan by the hand, seated herself on a pew with her husband and children. Odette's long neck stood out among the parishioners like a lone tree on a prairie.

The chapel lacked air conditioning, but was cooled by ceiling fans. This was no comfort to Arthur and D.W., who squirmed restlessly while Kate drew random circles in a coloring book at their feet.

"Kate's lucky," D.W. remarked. "She gets to do whatever she wants, but we have to sit quietly and listen to the boring lecture."

Arthur nodded. "I guess we should get used to it. I hear heaven's really boring too, and you have to stay there forever."

"I wish something exciting would happen," sighed D.W.

"Me too," said Arthur. "Or at least something different."

And then something different happened.

A rabbit couple walked past their bench. They wore humble clothing, but were dressed properly for the occasion. The man had a rough, unshaven appearance, but smiled as if the entire world belonged to him. Arthur had seen the woman attend church meetings on occasion, but never the man, or the girl who accompanied them. He recognized her as Molly McDonald, the infamous girl bully of Lakewood Elementary.

Recognizing her wasn't easy, as her hair had been lopped off over her round, hazel eyes, and she was wearing a red dress.