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Karina and Daria, another of the Firefly Girls, help Piper find out more about Jewel using her belongings. Based on an electric company Jewel mentioned having to call in her diary, the girls figure out she probably lived in Kentucky. They also theorize that the silver key is a locker key, based on its size and what is engraved on it: “CWS three, number twenty-five” (152).

Mrs. Bailey tells the girls that the boxes of brownies have arrived, and Piper and the others help unload the boxes. Just as they are done, Ree arrives with news of Baby: He made it to the hospital, but the hospital staff took him away before he could find Jewel. The hospital sent him to the animal shelter.

Mrs. Bailey spots Ree, and Meg returns from the library with Dylan as well; Piper and Ree fill both in on what has happened. Both tell Piper that they cannot bring Baby back to the shelter as it doesn’t allow pets, but Mrs. Bailey takes Piper to the animal shelter to sort out the situation. On the way there, Mrs. Bailey muses out loud about how she would never give up having a roof over her head for an animal. Piper explains what she has learned from Ree: having a pet makes a person feel important and loved, which people without a home or family need more than anyone else.

Tamara, the woman behind the desk at the animal shelter, confirms Baby has been brought in. They can only hold him for two weeks before giving him up for adoption, but she is sympathetic when she hears about Jewel and Baby and takes Piper to meet Baby. Piper gives Baby the toy bunny and promises him she will find him a way to reunite with Jewel.

Baby listens to the sounds of the other dogs whining and wondering why they are here. Like them, Baby, too, waits for someone to come back, remembering Piper’s visit earlier. He tries to bite through the wire or unlatch the door with his teeth but is unsuccessful. Defeated, he lies down, eventually falling asleep and dreaming that he has wings and is flying back to Jewel.

On the way to school, Piper fills Karina and Daria in about Baby and the animal shelter. Karina reveals that her family had to give up their dog to move into the shelter; she knows what Jewel and Baby must feel like. Karina devises a plan: She will call some of the numbers listed in Jewel’s book, Daria will do some more research, and Piper will figure out what the key is for.

As Piper puzzles over what the initials on the key stand for, she suddenly realizes it could mean “Country-Wide Station,” which is the bus station at which the Trudeaus arrived. She tells her lunch group about this, including Jerome and Noah, two boys who also live at the shelter. Noah thinks the “three” stands for station number three, which is the one he and his brother arrived at some months ago. There are lockers at the station, and Noah agrees to take the subway there with Piper.

A confused Jewel remembers a woman coming in and asking her questions about herself and her family. Jewel is unsure about everything, including who she is. She misses being outside and longs to be with Baby again, wondering if she was dreaming that Baby was here in the hospital.

Noah and Piper take the subway together; Sapphire, who was supposed to join them, stays behind as her mother is “having one of her spells” (177). On the way to the station, Noah tells Piper about how he and his brother used to ride the subway at night until they found a shelter, as the streets weren’t a safe place for them. Noah doesn’t know his father, and his mother is in jail; Patrick, Noah’s 19-year-old older brother, got Noah out of foster care. Patrick works two jobs and goes to school at night so he can care for Noah.

At the station, Piper and Noah tell the woman at the counter that they are there to pick up their grandmother’s suitcase. They find Jewel’s locker and her suitcase inside and take it back with them on the subway. The suitcase contains clothes, medicine bottles, photographs, and postcards; all the letters are written to “Sis” and addressed to “Heartwell Manor, Room 23-B” (184). Piper is initially elated at having potentially found a family member and address for Jewel before Noah points out none of the postcards mention a town or state.

Baby observes the other dogs at the animal shelter—some are hopeful, others not. Some dogs leave with people to new homes, while others return “smelling of disappointment” (188). Every time someone stops by Baby’s cage and calls him cute, he turns away, as they are neither Jewel nor Piper.

Meg is furious at Piper’s escapade, having been worried sick. Piper explains herself as best as she can and manages to wrangle a half hour to meet with Karina, Daria, and Sapphire to discuss her discoveries. The girls pore over the postcards, though Sapphire seems uncharacteristically downhearted. They also look up Heartwell Manor—there are only three in the country, and one of them is a senior living space in Boise, Idaho, which also allows pets.

The girls are sure this is where Jewel and Baby were headed but wonder how Jewel ended up living on the streets. Sapphire, who looks through Jewel’s empty medicine bottles, realizes why: The names are of pills prescribed for bipolar disorder, which is what Sapphire’s mother has as well. The medicines were last filled out six months ago; Sapphire explains that if Jewel hasn’t been taking them, she probably won’t remember she needs to. Through her mother’s experience, Sapphire knows how important the pills are for someone with the condition. As the girls head back to their rooms, Piper expresses sympathy and admiration for Sapphire having to deal with her mother’s situation and tells her she might have figured out the most important clue in Jewel’s story.

People in white coats keep asking Jewel questions. She, in turn, asks where Baby is, but a nurse thinks she is asking about her child. Jewel repeats that things get mixed up in her head; she suddenly remembers that she has to find “Sis” and gets agitated. The hospital staff immediately sedate her.

Piper, Karina, and Sapphire walk through the park after school, talking about how to help Jewel and Baby. They run into Ree and Ajax and another woman named Linda with her dog, Duke. Piper fills them in on everything they have learned so far, and Ree and Linda agree with Jewel possibly ending up on the streets because she ran out of medication.

Karina suggests that the two most important things are to tell the doctors at Mercy Memorial about Jewel’s medication and find Jewel’s sister. Ree agrees to go with the girl to the hospital the next day. Later that night, Piper looks through Jewel’s photographs, all of which have hand-written titles at the back. There are photographs of her home, her family, and her pets, including Baby.

A man at the animal shelter takes Baby for a walk. Baby recognizes him as the person who feeds him and checks on the other dogs every day. When the man signals it is time to go back in again, Baby refuses to move and tries to slip free of the collar. The man gently picks him up and takes him back in.

Mrs. Bailey ends up driving Piper, Ree, Meg, and Sapphire to the hospital. Only two visitors are allowed in at once, so Ree and Piper go up to Jewel’s room. Jewel recognizes Ree, and Ree tells her how Piper has been helping take care of Baby. Jewel begins to get agitated when Ree mentions Baby, and it worsens when Piper asks about “Sis.” A nurse comes in and asks Ree and Piper to leave; Ree promises Jewel they will be back soon.

When they go back down, Sapphire is extremely upset that Ree and Piper forgot to mention the medicines, claiming Jewel will keep getting worse without them. Meg takes the bottles, and she and Piper go to talk to a nurse. Once the head nurse, Ms. Dillard, hears about the medications and Jewel’s story, she immediately gets in touch with Jewel’s doctor, a caseworker, and a friend of hers at the animal shelter. Piper repeats the entire story for all of them.

Samantha Madison, Jewel’s new caseworker, gets in touch with Jewel’s sister, Bernadette, who has been expecting Jewel and Baby and has been worried about them for months. Dr. Wells, Jewel’s doctor, speaks to her old doctor back home and confirms Jewel needs to get started on the medication right away. However, Piper is still worried that time is running out for Baby. Meg promises to go over to the animal shelter with Piper the next day and talk to them about Jewel and Baby.