Through Charles’s and Fergus’s connections, they had been able to determine Marcus’s whereabouts long before Franny had. The relay of information had gone through the ranks. Eileen to Avery. Avery to Charles. Charles to whomever. No one was ever quite sure.

As he turned the corner by the entrance of the hospital, Franny pulled his cap down to the bridge of his nose, put on the pair of glasses he kept in his jacket pocket, and unfolded the collapsible cane he had tucked in his belt. He couldn’t risk being recognized. He also couldn’t risk letting Marcus breathe another day.

Eileen was moving quickly. If no one else showed up, she would have to tackle Franny before he could get to Marcus. She whipped out her fake security badge and swept past the gate, but she couldn’t get to the lift in time. She was frantically checking for the stairs when the door to another lift opened. She pushed her way forward, getting a lashing of remarks as to her rudeness. “Sah-ree, sah-ree, sah-ree,” she kept saying in her favorite Brooklyn accent.

One stiff-necked gent looked over at another and mouthed the word “American.”

Earlier, Avery had given Eileen the number of the floor on which Marcus was being held. He was in the room being guarded by a constable, who was sitting outside. When the elevator doors opened, Eileen rushed through the crowd and spotted Franny within a few feet of Marcus’s room. How is he going to get past the guard at the door? she wondered. But then she realized the cop was there to keep Marcus from getting out. There was no reason to try to keep people from going in, unless it was his unhinged wife.

“Franny O’Rourke?” The constable stood. “We’ve been expecting you.”

“What all?” Franny said with total surprise. He turned to run, but over a half dozen men in various uniforms surrounded him.

“Yer coming with us.” The mix of London law enforcement officers cuffed him and marched him to the bank of lifts, where an empty car waited.

And thus a Sisterhood operation, one that began with putting three doctors who preyed upon rich widows out of commission, brought about the arrest of one of the most notorious criminals in the UK.

Marcus watched in horror from his bed. He couldn’t tell if he was awake or having another nightmare. Or was this simply one continuous nightmare? The appearance of Nurse Ratched confirmed it for him. It was one terrifying moment after another.

Eileen pinged Avery. “All clear.”

“Roger that,” was the reply.

Marcus strained to hear what people were saying in the hallway. The buzz in his head subsided. He wasn’t dreaming.

“Sorry about the commotion, Dr. Marcus. Evidently, you’re not allowed certain visitors.” The cranky nurse snickered and walked out of the room.