"Any luck guys?" Peyton asked as she tried her best to stifle a yawn.

"Nothing", Mary sighed. "A bunch of worthless newspaper articles and some rumors of a pretty shady reputation, sketchy business deals and all. But nothing concrete. I can't find anything that damning on the guy."

"Me neither."

"Look Cagney and Lacey. Maybe we're looking in the wrong spot", Gordon said. "Felix Colwell…handsome? Yes. Sneaky? Definitely. Shady dealings and investments? Probably. Sexy? You bet. Other than that…what do you want? I don't think we're gonna find anything else on this guy or at least not the kind of stuff y'all are looking for."

"Gordon's right", Mary agreed. "Damn, this is hopeless. We're never going to get the bastard but I can't shake my intuition that there is something about him…"

"Gordon, I need you to think", Peyton said. "Remember when I said you were the key? That's because you've been there from the beginning. You've been in New York the whole time and out of the three of us, you've been closest to Brooke."

"Shoulders, I barely remember that bird food you and Miss Mary Mack here fed me for lunch today. How do you expect me to remember every little detail from almost a year ago."

"Because it's important and it's going to help Brooke. Now think."

"I don't know. It was kind of weird how he ended up at Sascha Naj. I mean, he had the fashion rep and he could do great things but it's like, Jessica never recruited him. He just kind of showed up out of nowhere, volunteering his services."

"Like he sought you guys out…", Peyton said as she jotted down notes.

"Exactly Lois."

"Lois?"

"Lois Lane. We totally got this Court TV investigative vibe going on. You could totally be Lois if you didn't have…"

"The shoulders of a linebacker. We all know. Go on, Gordon…"

"Anyway, his first day there, all the bosses make a big deal like it was Michael Jackson giving a free concert in Central Park or something. Well with a name like Felix we're expecting some old, bald dude in a suit and lo and behold here comes this dreamboat in running shorts and sneakers. Child, if you could have seen those legs! Whoo! Scrumptious! All tight and toned and muscular and buttocks you could serve breakfast on just pressing against the thin material of his shorts and…"

"Gordon!"

"Huh?"

"Would you get a hold of yourself and get to the point, please?"

"What were we talking about again? Oh yeah…anyway, it's like right away he just takes to Brooke. He was in her office rifling through papers on her desk the first time she saw him. Thought he was the janitor. I don't know. Don't get me wrong, Brooke is a pretty girl and she's a very important person in the company ranks but there are tons more prettier girls and a lot more important people than her in that company. But from day one he was in her face like a fly on shit. Then he had that party on his stupid boat, you know, mandatory fun night or whatever. And once again he was all up in Brooke's personal space, flashing that toothy little grin of his. She hated his guts at first but something changed that night. Don't know what he said but went from wanting to put rat poison in his lunch to being his new best buddy."

"What did you think?" Mary asked.

"I don't know. Honestly, I figured he was just trying to get in her pants and considering all her problems with Judas, I figured she might let him. Then there was the baby shower and y'all saw that with your own eyes. Showing up all late, eating up all the food, taking up all the attention, bringing the biggest gift. And poor Diva was just eating it up like the last crumbs of a McDonald's Happy Meal. That's when she had decided to go to Italy. That's when I became more suspicious than Star Jones on her wedding night. Because before all that, Brooke had zero interest in that trip, then you know who comes along and all of a sudden wild horses couldn't have kept her from getting on that plane."

"What was Italy like?"

"Busy. We worked a lot and when it was playtime it was mostly Brooke, Chantal, Jessica and me. Then towards the end Diva got to complaining about the spas and being bored and carrying on so she went off on her own to 'explore the city'. Yeah right! All she explored was that no good Felix. Said they just talked and stuff and that he understood her. Anyway, everybody and their mama saw that nice photo of them dancing the night away on Page 6."

"He went away after that, right?"

"London, I think. I'm not sure if they kept in touch or not although they might have exchanged e-mails a couple of times."

"So six months later, he comes back."

"Like a thief in the night, Child. Came when Brooke was having a real hard time over some new drama with Judas."

"It's funny", Peyton shook her head. "Whenever Brooke is most vulnerable, our friend Felix just happens to show up and save the day."

"That's right, Sherlock Shoulders."

"So how did all come to pass at my Art show?" Peyton asked, ignoring his comment.

"Diva and I were working late on an important project for work so we couldn't fly out with Luke as planned. Soon as old Felix found out we were going out of town, he was all up in the Kool Aid. Apparently the week before, he had taken Diva and Baby Diva to some art exhibit at a museum so all of a sudden, he was an expert on everything…"

"He knew", Mary said. "He had to have known about your show Peyton way beforehand. So he plotted and planned, took Brooke and Harmony to the museum pretending to be some art history historian and that's how he weaseled his way to Chicago."

"Maybe because he was hell bent on going. Personally, I just think Brooke wanted to make Judas jealous and boy did it work. Just the fact that he was there and her in the low cut wanna be J. Lo dress didn't help but out of the corner of my eye, I saw Felix and trust me, he was digging at Judas all night. Judas may have thrown the first punch but Felix was itching to start that fight."

"Brooke was pretty pissed at Lucas but not Felix."

"Oh no because he turned it around all on poor Judas. After that though, Diva's little game plan sort of backfired on her. For months her and Judas were going back and forth with their little cat and mouse game. The Art Show was the last straw for him. He was done and she knew it."

Peyton stared at her notes waiting for something to jump out at her and put the puzzle together. After a few minutes, a thought hit her so powerfully it felt like a thousand bolts of electricity. She sat up abruptly, sending the note pad and pencil flying.

"Uh-uh, child! What is your malfunction? You got a Grudge up in here? We need to call an Exorcist? What? Because you know them shoulders are too wide to be making sudden movements like that…"

"I got it! Wait a minute. It's gonna sound silly but I think I have a clue!"

"Well share it with the rest of us Thelma so we can divide the Scooby snacks."

"We have to keep digging. Come on, let's look at some of the Society columns on the Internet."

"All that jerking around for that? You're a regular Einstein, Shoulders."

"Just trust me."

The three spent hours searching and digging for any and everything. With each passing moment, hope seemed to fly by the wayside.

"Well we tried", Peyton said, sadly shaking her head.

"We can't give up", Mary protested.

"Mary, what else can we do? We've looked everywhere. We've spent the past two days brainstorming. I don't want to stop but this really is a dead end."

"Whoo! Oh Lord! Oh my God!"

Gordon looked like he was having a seizure.

"Gordon, what is it? Are you okay?"

"Hell no. I'm about to take my boot off and beat my own ass! Get over here and look at this, y'all."

The women crowded the computer.

"I don't understand", Peyton said. "It's just a picture of Felix a few years ago at some party."

"Look in the background…right there. Ain't that a sight for sore eyes?"

"Mrs. Patterson!" all three said in unison once the women got a closer look.

"Ain't that odd?"

"Weird but it still doesn't prove anything", Peyton said. "I don't see a connection…"

"I do", Mary said quietly.

"Mary, what are you talking about?"

"The night Brooke came back from Hong Kong after Lucas went off on her and she was arrested. I had the strangest feeling and I saw Mrs. Patterson and Felix exchanging this look. I can't describe it but it really bothered me. What bothered me more was the other person sharing that look…Dan Scott."

"Child, somebody call Oliver Stone because we got a conspiracy."

"Dan?" Peyton questioned. "None of it makes sense but it has to be tied all together. It has to be. We have to keep looking. That connection might be the most important piece of the puzzle. We have to find it."

"Where do we begin?" Mary questioned.

"I think I got it", Gordon shouted. "Benny Raimo, an Italian-Puerto Rican friend of mine who is quite familiar with New York society and the Karma Sutra I might add. Whoo child! Don't know why I didn't think of this before but maybe he could help us dig up some dirt."

Without further ado, Peyton handed Gordon the phone, anxiously listening as he gabbed and cackled for what seemed like hours. Finally he hung up.

"Tell me why I broke up with his fine ass again…"

"Gordon!" both women screamed simultaneously.

"Okay, okay. Let's not get our thongs in a bunch. Here is the juicy gossip from good old Benny. Seems like Felix's whole family is shady. His father died and his mother remarried and had another daughter. She lives in Miami and goes by the name of Anna-Maria Aggabao. The best part is seems like she and old Felix are more estranged than Liza and David."

"Let's Google her and get an address", Mary nodded.

"Yep", Peyton shrugged. "Well gang, looks like we're about to take a little trip to South Beach."