Eighteen months later, Abe goes to visit Mary who had been in the care of a doctor investigating the illness in vain hope of finding a cure. As Abe cleans wounds caused by her restraining shackles, Mary grabs his hand, scratching his skin, infecting him (much to his horror), and forcing him to kill her. Knowing he is himself incurable, Abe requests that a message be sent to John Wilkinson, as earlier he had discovered that Wilkinson was actually John Wilkes Booth who had a plot to kidnap Lincoln in response to the end of the war and the Union the victor. The message gives Booth the information to know exactly where Lincoln would be the following night at the theater, thus leading to his assassination (purposely arranged by Lincoln to prevent another outbreak) at Booth's hands.