The Pale Horse

Unsure of his next step, Mark calls Mrs. Oliver and asks for the name of a girl whom he met at the church festival. He finds out that the woman goes by the name Ginger, her full name being Katherine Corrigan (no relation to Jim). Meeting her at the White Cockatoo restaurant, Mark discovers her to be a much more willing listener than anyone before (especially Hermia), and she immediately questions him on what he plans to do, even offering to participate in the investigation.

They determine to attack the problem on two fronts, Ginger seeking out Poppy and Mark seeking out the mother of Thomasina Tuckerton, the dead girl he had seen in the café. Ginger meets with Poppy, discovering nothing of interest, and Mark makes an appointment to meet with Thomasina’s mother when she returns from a trip.

Three days later Ginger calls Mark and informs him of a new lead that she wrangled out of Poppy, a man by the name of Bradley who lives in Birmingham. Mark arranges a meeting with the man, and they have a conversation laden with euphemisms as Mark attempts to ferret out whether the women of