"So? What does that mean?" Brian asked, a little confused.

"I guess you don't have the same suspicious mind as I do. I attribute it to being a writer of horror novels. Anyway, can't you see it?" Cairo asked, shaking slightly over her discovery.

"No, I can't."

"Okay…let's try this. This journal that I found in Brickwood is supposed to be really old. I'm thinking 15th century at the latest, just by the descriptions of the plague and the mention of the war."

"And?"

"Even if England was involved with trade to Taiwan, do you honestly think they would think to, or even have the capabilities to stamp that into leather? I mean, this is almost like an icon of the twentieth century, because everything has it on it."

"So what you are saying is that there is no way that Katherine could have written this journal in the 15th century. You thinks it's a fake." It wasn't a question, but a statement.

"I know it."

"So, what are we going to do about it?" he asked.

"What are your sleuthing skills like?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

* * * *

"The tour manager, Meagan. Surely you did a background check on her before you hired her. Okay, look, she seems to be the cause of what may be the imminent break up of a very popular music group, and you can't tell me, a member of that music group anything?" Brian asked, frustrated.

"And you thought you had connections," Cairo hissed from her spot behind her computer.

"Thanks a lot," he said politely as he hung up the phone.

"Well?"

"They're faxing a copy of her resume."

"Good, it'll give us something to start with. And if we can't find anything, our back up will."

"Then why don't we just go straight to your little secret weapon?" Brian asked logically. Cairo had been hinting and alluding to her 'secret weapon' all morning and he was growing sick of it.

"Because Betty is only for emergencies, and we aren't there yet. We don't have quite enough information on this situation yet," Cairo explained, turning back to the computer screen, and resuming her search.

"Having any luck?"

"Well, I have found listings for three Meagan's with the same last name. Unfortunately, they are all advertising for sites that we just aren't interested in. I have managed to find her parents email address. We'll email them to inquire about their daughter soon enough," Cairo grinned.

"Here it is," Brian said as the fax machine started making noises. Cairo's ancient machine spewed out the copy of the resume after a very long period of time, during which Brian paced in front of it, urging it on.

"Patience, my dear Brian," Cairo said, laughing hysterically at her own joke until an annoyed side look from him caused to realise how horrible the joke had really been.

"Okay, so here's her job history," Cairo said as she snatched the paper away from Brian.

"Head of PR for a minor record company, sound tech for three different tours, assistant director of a management firm. Don't you think she's just a little over-qualified?" she asked as she read off the list.

"I think that's why we wanted her."

"Did you check references?"

"I don't know. It's been over two years," he shrugged.

"What say we find out about Manipulative Meagan's past."

* * * *

"Yes. I'm sure that that is the name. No records? Are you certain about that? Thank you very much," Cairo said. She quickly hung up the phone and sighed. "The record company she supposedly head of PR for has never heard of her."

"None of her references are checking out. Carrie, at first, when all this began, I thought that you were just insanely jealous, but I'm beginning to think that you were totally right about her. There is something wrong with everything that happened," Brian said.

"Okay, well, we need to know about her. Really know her life story, otherwise we have nothing, other than a forged resume. It's time to bring in Betty," Cairo said. Brian half-expected an ominous crack of thunder to sound as she said her name, simply from the way that Cairo had mentioned her earlier.

"By all means," he said, his curiosity pricked.

* * * *

"What do you need to know about her, anyway?"

"Everything we can. She's a real nuisance and you know how I feel about people like that," Cairo answered.

"You want to blow her out of the water. That, I can understand," Cairo's contact laughed.

"Lacey, I had no idea that you worked for a private detective," Brian said, still a little surprised to find out that Lacey was the ominous Betty.

"No, I don't work for one, you poor chauvinistic male, I am a PI," Lacey answered.

"But…when we came in, you were in the secretary's desk," Brian exclaimed, confused.

"Let me break it down for you. I am one of the very few women in this profession, and while we are in the new millennium, I still lose business due to my gender. So, when meeting clients, I am the secretary and the secretary is the PI. After I've found what they wanted - and I do, because I am good - I fill them in on the truth," Lacey explained to Brian.

"Back to my crisis!" Cairo whined.

"Right. So, give me a day, and I can pull up her life history pretty accurately. However, I have to warn you that it could take a little bit longer, depending on how law-abiding she is," Lacey warned.

"Sounds good. I just need something to tell me that I'm not crazy and that everything is not my fault!" Cairo exclaimed.

"Don't worry, honey, I'll find something that we can use," Lacey promised.

"So, Lacey, how's the husband?" Cairo asked.

"Shit, Kay. We have to keep in touch a lot more. We broke up."

"Oh my god!"

"It just wasn't working out. We were better off as friends. We still are. Isn't that weird?" she asked.

"Wow. Where have I been, Lacey?" Cairo asked, reaching out and grasping Lacey's hand across the table.

"Where you always are, Kay. Planet Cairo!" she exclaimed.