I am reminded of reading the first sentence of one of Ken Follett’s books: “The last camel died at noon.” I put down the book and paused to reflect that I would never be a writer. I was not the only one grabbed by this opening, as some time thereafter Elizabeth Peters/Barbara Michaels used that line as the title of one of her books. That said, action is fine but characterization is vital, and all of it falls apart without good writing. I particularly appreciate your notes on the Crystal Dualogy, to the effect that you and Steve could not have written this 20 years ago, you needed to mature as writers first.
As far as the missing keys, I recall that Sprite had a nocturnal adventure spilling stuff off the table. Have you checked the farflung reaches of the floor, in case said keys were tossed aside and slid under something? Just a thought.