"I like you, Cassandra. I just don't trust you." Jake's words to Cassandra seemed written on the air everywhere she looked. Even worse than the words themselves was the memory of his face when he'd said them, so pleasant, smiling and meeting her eyes so directly. It was painfully clear that he had no problem with Cassandra on the team as long as he was never in a position again where he might have to trust her, and she was at a loss what to do about the situation. Eve had shrugged off Cassandra's concern, assuming that Jake would come around in time. Ezekiel hadn't been angry to begin with-he understood Cassandra's betrayal of the team when she was offered a cure for the brain tumor that was killing her and took it for granted that anyone would do the same. Jenkins didn't even know there was tension between Cassandra and Jake.

She sighed and picked up another book from the table, idly leafing through it before writing the title and the author's name on a file card. She had a strong suspicion that Jenkins only had them cataloguing books to keep them from talking to him, but she didn't care. She might as well fill in the time this way.

"All right, people, listen up!" Jenkins strode into the room holding the clipping book.

"Let me guess." Eve put down the book she was working on. "A giant sea serpent is attacking Manhattan."

Ezekiel grinned. "An invisible thief is robbing Fort Knox."

"Somebody's been sucked into a painting at the Louvre." Jake didn't even look up from the file card he was writing on.

"Garden gnomes are coming to life!" Cassandra shrank back as everyone turned and stared at her. "What? It could happen."

Jenkins rolled his eyes. "As colorful as all your suggestions are, it's nothing so exciting. Merely a statue that requires investigation and possibly retrieval."

"Just a statue?" Eve shook her head. "Why would a statue show up in the book?"

Jenkins frowned. "Actually, I'm not sure. I'll have to do some research…"

Jake reached out and took the book, laying it on the table and studying the newspaper clipping that had appeared. "A dragon? Doesn't look like anything special." He read the short column underneath the grainy picture. "It says that it was a donation at a local fundraiser. The only reason they put it in the paper at all is that it was donated by some prominent rich family."

The others crowded around to look at the picture. The statue was on a table among the sort of jumble one generally finds at a sale of donated items, and it didn't appear to be anything special. It was just a small dragon, a snaky looking creature with a mane and long whiskers, and Cassandra said, "I thought dragons had wings."

"Dragons in western mythology have wings." Jake pointed to the picture. "Chinese dragons can look like almost any animal, but this is the most common form. Like a snake with four feet. So what's so special about this thing, Jenkins?"

"I told you, I don't know. I have to research it. The picture showed up in the book, and the dragon is the only thing mentioned specifically, so I'm assuming it may need to be in the annex."

"That's a pretty big assumption," said Eve thoughtfully, "but we could use an outing. It says here the sale is in San Diego."

"Sounds good to me." Ezekiel smiled widely. "I wouldn't mind a trip to the beach."

"Well, get going." Jenkins snapped the book shut. "I'll see what I can find out."