Vinny looked down at his watch. He knew without a doubt that by six AM, maybe even five-thirty, his e-mails would be circling the country and being delivered at cyberspeed. The news would be carrying the story live. He wished he had someone he could make a bet with. If the vigilantes were in town, according to the dual headline, the scum would be behind bars within hours. Guaranteed.

Vinny started up his truck and backed away from the loading dock. He had a job to do, and he’d just gone beyond the call of duty. Maybe he’d treat himself to some waffles with fresh fruit after he dropped off his last load of papers.

Nikki walked into the kitchen to see the Sisters all gathered around the table drinking coffee. She stifled a yawn as she looked down at the plate of warm sticky buns in the center of the table. She sniffed: cinnamon. She loved the smell of cinnamon. “I ache all over,” she said as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

Kathryn groaned as she massaged her neck. “Tell me about it. I cannot believe I slept straight through for twelve hours.”

Nikki looked at the clock on the stove and winced. She, too, had slept twelve hours. Panic gripped her. “Where…?”

“Our…uh…guests are…resting,” Myra said. “Mr. Snowden’s people helped that along. They’re in the alcove, all trussed up like Christmas turkeys. Since time wasn’t an issue, we decided to allow you and Kathryn the sleep you needed. We have plenty of time, so enjoy your coffee. Then we’ll get down to work.”

Nikki felt herself relax as she brought the coffee cup to her lips. “When are they going to wake up?”

“Any minute now,” Annie said cheerfully. “I think we have a generous window of time to do what we came here to do.”

Myra’s cell phone rang. The Sisters froze in place as they watched and listened.

“I’ll tell them, Charles,” Myra said and then hung up.

“Our ‘generous window of time’ just disappeared,” she told them briskly. “We need our guests awake right now.” She looked over at the clock Nikki had just looked at. “It’s seven o’clock. Every news channel is running with a tale of the vigilantes, and they’re saying they have their quarry cornered at the Watergate.”

The Sisters were on their feet and running to the alcove.

“Where are those backpacks? Did anyone check the contents?” Isabelle shouted.

“I did, dear,” Annie answered. “Some getaway cash, ten thousand, to be precise. Papers, memory sticks, and two passports. We couldn’t access the memory sticks, they’re password protected. Charles is checking the names on the passports. How much time do we have, Myra?” she asked.

Myra just shook her head, her gaze going to the two huge boxes sitting in the foyer, the kind of boxes that washing machines come in.