November 10, 2023

After following a crime report on the town’s website, Violet and Iris are horrified to find Professor Everard Bright, beloved cult theorist, dead by apparent bee sting at the Question Mark Motel. While Iris pretends to faint, Violet sneaks inside the room and spots a final clue to decode. As the town confronts this latest murder, Violet shows Officer Ron the deciphered message and Officer Ron reasons the hideout of the Order of the Arranger must be the Hall of Dazzling Glass at the nearby abandoned Question Park.

At the park, Violet and Officer Ron discover Glenn Warner of the Office of Vital Records and Art Compton, manager of Question Mark Foods, hiding within the mirrored attraction, with several maps and explosive materials. After handcuffing both suspects, Officer Ron travels deeper into the maze and finds town council candidate, Owen Brandt, who has been wounded and deeply frightened, muttering something about a ghost tiger, a possible reference to the park’s missing tiger, Sheba. All three suspects are booked for trespassing as the QM Police gathers additional evidence.

The entire town waits as the results of the election for town council are announced. Violet is pleased to learn Gerald Ames, assistant librarian, has won Tom Childs’ vacant seat, but expects something terrible to happen. Instead, returning home from a long day at school, she finally works up the nerve to listen to the CD from her mother and discovers the first track is David Bowie’s “Life on Mars,” which returns Violet’s sense of hope.

Meanwhile, Officer Ron attempts to support ex-convict Judah Towns, as he recognizes both feel trapped by their past mistakes.

As Violet and Iris feel a sense of normalcy returning to the town, they spot Mayor Elizabeth Zisk’s car at the Question Mark Motel. Once she departs, they watch Gerald Ames exit the same motel room, and dispose of a note. Reading between the lines, they learn the Mayor and Gerald Ames seem to have been meeting in secret for some time. What might this latest development mean for the future of the town?