I thought the eBay teapot was something really sinister and that Nathan's theft was a faux mystery to mislead the reader!

Now that's an idea. If I decide to write this as a novel, I might just do that. In my head this is a short story using the characters from a series of novels. I do want to use these characters again, to tell the story about Sweetpea and the puppy mill, or the one where the previous mayor is found dead in the ravine behind Marin's house, putting her under suspicion...