He blinked. The little witch, he thought... snooping around too. He supposed he couldn't blame her, for her brother needed to be taken down off his high horse. He wanted to know where Cora was. Ahh, his beautiful Cora. She had freely given of herself to him. She had been on his mind for months, the only woman who ever saw him as a human being. Where was she? They were supposed to have run off together, but she never showed.

He looked at Pearl incredulously as she moved to hand him a piece of paper with instructions. He dropped his cigarette on the ground and ground it out with the heel of his boot. "Fine, fine, I'll do it. But ye'd better prepare yerself fer the worst." He moved out of the shadows, "And try ta stay out of me way, yeah?" At the rolling of her eyes and eventual nod, he scribbled the address of the brothel on the bottom of the paper she had handed to him, ripped it off, and said, "Meet me there at midnight."

He felt himself smile as he watched the girl leave. He now had the funds he needed to grease some palms.

The first place he went was the nearby tavern to hear some gossip. Somehow, luck was on his side when he found a man who worked at the brothel. He slipped a few shillings his way... "She got away," said the man when asked about Cora. "But it was at a great price... She said she was the last of Master Magnus' concern. There were other girls disappearing and she wanted to let everyone think she was one of them. I swear on my mother's grave, I showed her to the passage I did..."