It was the night after I got my new case from Sally Cane that I finally called my client and made an appointment to visit her at her home. Spencer, who usually kept his paws out of my business, decided to come along with me. He walked quietly behind me, and didn't say a word when Dr. Melissa Cage opened the door to her huge house and granted me entry. He had the door shut loudly in his face, and a few minutes later, I saw his ghostly silver and white frame in the window. Melissa Cage was a mousy dame; small in size with big brown eyes that peeked over a pair of round spectacles. Her light brown hair was pulled back in a loose bun, and she wore a large cardigan sweater over a pair of blue jeans. She jumped at every sound, and always glanced around, as if she expected someone to leap out from a corner and attack her. Her home was decorated in shades of brown and gray, with rows and rows of large bookcases. "Would you like some coffee?" Dr. Cage asked me quietly. "Sure, that'd be great." While Dr. Cage went to get me a cup of java from her kitchen, I examined her extensive collection of books. "You a big Nietzsche fan?" I asked when she entered the room. "He's one of the better philosophers," she replied, handing me my cup of coffee. "I read some of his work back in high school. He was a neat guy. You know, a little out there...but neat." "Indeed. Now, you and detective Cane...are you friends?" Dr. Cage asked me nervously, wringing her hands. "One could say that, I guess. We're more like friendly rivals." Ha. Right. Friendly. "It's just, well...you see, Miss Monroe, I'm usually very protective about my work and the artifacts I bring home for study..." "I understand. It's big business, these kinda things, on the black market and all that." "Black market?!" Her eyes bulged over her spectacles. "Well, n-not that your artifacts will go on the black market, it's just that, sometimes...well...I mean, you never know." I stumbled over my words like a klutz in a narrow supermarket aisle. "My artifacts are very important to me," Dr. Cage sighed. "Come, come. Let me show you my study." So I followed her down the hall and into another large room, which was filled with tables and shelves, all lined with ancient relics that Dr. Cage must have gathered over the years. "I've been all over the world," Dr. Cage said. The gal obviously knew she had earned the privilege to honk her proverbial horn at anyone within honking range. "I've been to Cairo countless times, and there have been no problems," she continued. "Until now. And I don't know what to think of it, I really don't." "Is there anyone who would have the motive to steal anything from you? You know, aside from the obvious value issues we're dealing with here?" She sighed. "Oh, Miss Monroe...it's hard to narrow it down." Her shoulders sagged. "It's my own fault, really. You see...nothing exciting ever really happens to me, even though I'm an anthropologist. I find interesting things all the time, on every excursion, but this..." She smiled sadly. "This was something so monumental, so absolutely incredible...why, I couldn't contain myself! I went around the campus and told all the professors about finding that mummified hand, because I thought they were my friends, you see. We always tell each other about this sort of thing. It was the topic of the week, even to my higher-ups. But I should have known better...even friends can turn into enemies when something that unique is at stake." "Who did you tell?" I asked, whipping out my notebook and pen. This sort of thing called for note taking. "Dr. McEvery, Dr. Nelson, Dr. Velmer...all of the professors in the anthropology department." "I'm going to need all of their names." "I can provide them easily, if you'd just give me a little while. I'm still a bit shaken, you see." I smiled. "Not a problem." Had I known then that I was lying through my teeth, I wouldn't have said it. NEXT TIME: QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS...