Disclaimer: All mine, when I'm dreaming. During my waking hours, all characters belong to other people way more awesome than I. No copyright infringement intended.

AN: Sorry it took so long :-). I'll try to space my updates a bit more closely together. But, I have a baby and it was my birthday, so I hope you'll forgive me. All feedback is greatly appreciated!

He was quite sure he'd seen the woman before. When and where, he couldn't tell. But the way she was scribbling notes gave him a distinct sense of déjà-vu. The pen looked awkward in her hand, and her tiny script lacked a certain flow. It was a bit like when you were walking with one foot on the sidewalk, step hobble step hobble step. Strange. Unfortunately, the words she had written down made no sense to him. Asphodel? Bezoars? Was she into Wicca or something? She surely didn't look the part.

Some people said his arrogance was his worst vice. That didn't bother him in the slightest, so he argued that his curiosity was worse. Like an itch he couldn't reach, once his curiosity was piqued he had to examine whatever the cause was. Since he wasn't just any feline, he'd gotten away with it so far but it was a bad trait nonetheless. Then again, he'd much rather worry about his virtues.

He sipped his tea. She knitted her brows and muttered something under her breath. He'd never seen anyone so engrossed in a children's book before.

When she had walked in, Jane had been reading the paper. A charming smile had convinced the librarian that the 'no drinks' rule didn't need to be enforced too sternly, so he'd been enjoying a cuppa. It was the third day he was keeping an eye on the woman.

The Urquart case was a tough one. Everyone at the NCA seemed ready to give up, consider it a cold one and have it over with. It was exceedingly frustrating, not finding any leads at all. And kind of like the woman's writing he'd been stepping and hobbling in all directions. He'd never felt so out of touch before. Any leads he had slipped through his fingers as if he were cupping water.

Vexing.

Urquart was a bit of a loner, according to his neighbours. Nice enough, always said 'good morning' and 'good evening', even talked about the weather when necessary. But strangely, nobody seemed to know what he did for a living or anything personal at all. If it wasn't for the fine from the library showing up, Jane never would have ended up here. He desperately hoped to find some clues. Something just felt off, and he had to find out what it was.

The woman wouldn't have caught his eye, but for two details. And the hair. Kind of hard to miss that, really.

One, the coin. Three days ago, she had dropped her bag, and quickly picked up its contents. Those were peculiar enough by themselves: parchment, a radish earring, a package of something he'd swear was labeled 'kneazle treats' and a small, green coin. It immediately caught his eyes: they had found a coin just like that in Urquart's possession.

None of the agents had been able to find out what it was for. They'd checked arcades, carwashes, even fairs - every possible thing you could use a token for. To Jane, it looked a bit like a security badge, but those were usually registered with your employer. Which so far, they hadn't found out.

Second, the scarf. The mystery lady wore a yellow and red striped scarf. It clashed horribly with her purple hat. The hat itself was quite a monstrosity - she had probably knitted it herself. He remembered seeing a similar scarf at Urquart's

Maybe he ought to check out some books on cryptography, he mused. There was obviously something connecting Mystery Lady to Urquart.

Suddenly, she gathered her things and left. He quickly followed her.

'Miss, miss! You forgot something!'

She looked back. He saw a flash of recognition in her eyes. He didn't know his show had been on air here... And wasn't she a bit too young to have watched it?

'Thanks for stopping me, sir! I get a bit scatterbrained sometimes.' She looked at him expectantly.

'Oh. Well, you didn't actually forget anything. I just wanted to talk to you.'

She scoffed. 'I'm flattered. But I'm not really interested, sorry.'

'Me neither. I mean, you're attractive off course but-' he pointed at his wedding band '- I'm married.' He beamed at her.

The Mystery Lady blushed prettily.

'Do you know a man named Peter Urquart?'. Immediately, the blush paled. Intruiging.

'No sir, never heard of him. And regardless, I'm not interested. Goodbye.'

'I understand, miss. Goodbye.'

Hah, she didn't expect that, he could tell. Her eyebrows went up ever so slightly, but she turned her heel and left the library.

Humming, Jane sipped his last bit of tea before he calmly set out to follow her. She looked furtive, constantly checking if anyone was paying attention to her.

And then, just like that, she was gone. He couldn't believe it. All he saw were some trashcans, a dule of doves and a small finch. It appeared to be looking at him.

'I suppose you didn't see Mystery Lady just now, did you? Petite, wears a satchel, impressive head of curls?' The bird cocked its head.

'Yeah, I didn't think so.'

Patrick Jane went back and finished his paper. For all the times he had told people he had placed a tracking device on them, he never really expected that he'd actually do it one day. He grinned. It made him very curious.

AN: The finch Jane saw is a European Goldfinch, in case you were wondering. Nice colours, don't you think? ;-)