The ending is that I found the shifters in that tub, hence the photo. Couldn't have gotten the photo otherwise. Don't know how they got there or when, and I've been through that tub a couple of times since the shifters vanished. It's not so much a miracle as a mystery to me. I'm glad they turned up and will use them if they don't vanish again before I get the chance to use 'em.

I did get my buddy's bike fixed. Happy ending there, too.