At the two-hour mark, Ford debated rousing her just in case she actually did have a concussion. Before he could decide, he saw the unmarked car pull into her drive. So he waited, watched Wilson and Urick get out, go in. Come out, get back into the car and pull across into his driveway.

“Mr. Sawyer.”

“Getting to be a habit, isn’t it?”

“Miss McGowan’s here?”

“Yeah. Banged up, worn out and sleeping. Where’s Hennessy?”

“He’s in a cell. Do you want a list of the charges against him?”

“No, as long as there’s enough to keep him in a cell.”

“We’d like to speak to Ms. McGowan, go over her statement.”

“She’s sleeping,” Ford repeated, and rose. “And she’s had more than enough for one day. More than enough period. If Hennessy had been in a cell where he belonged, he wouldn’t have had a chance to try to kill her.”

“If we’d had any evidence, we’d have put him in a cell before this.”

“So what?” Ford shot back. “Better late than never?”

“Ford.” Cilla pushed open the screen. “It’s all right.”

“Hell it is.”

“Well, you’re right. It’s not. But I’ll talk to the detectives. Let’s get it done.” She opened the door wider. “Would you wait in the living room a minute?” she asked Wilson and Urick.

After they passed, she let the screen door close behind her, and laid her hands on Ford’s shoulders. “No one’s ever shielded me.” She kissed him. “In my whole life, no one ever stood between me and something unpleasant. It’s an amazing feeling. It’s amazing to know I don’t even have to ask if you’ll stay with me while I do this. You can leave your silver armor in the shop. You don’t need it.”

She took his hand, and walked inside with him to get it done.

Part Three. FINISH TRIM

TWENTY-ONE

How are you feeling?” Wilson asked when she sat on the sofa with Ford, with the dog between them.

"Oddly enough, lucky.”

“Have you been checked out by a doctor?”

“No, it’s bumps and bruises.”

“It would be helpful to have a doctor’s report, and photographs of your injuries.”

“I don’t have a local doctor yet. And I’m not-”

“I’ve got one,” Ford interrupted. "I’ll make a call.”

“We interviewed Hennessy,” Urick told them. “Took a first pass at him. He doesn’t deny ramming your truck or forcing you off the road. He claims you were harassing his wife.”

“I went to see her this morning. I forgot,” she said to Ford. “It wasn’t top of my mind after all this. I went to see him, actually, but she said he wasn’t home. We had a conversation, out on her porch. Then I left. I didn’t harass her, or anyone. And if he thinks having a conversation with his wife justifies running me into a ditch, he really is crazy.”

“What time did you speak with Mrs. Hennessy?”

“I don’t know. Around nine. I left and did a number of errands. Four or five stops, I guess, between Front Royal and Morrow Village. I saw his van coming from the direction of my farm as I was heading toward it. He saw me, and a minute later he was behind me, coming up fast. He rammed me. I don’t know how many times now. Three or four, at least. I know I was all over the road. I went into a skid, thought I was going to flip. I went into the ditch. I guess the seat belt and air bag kept it from being any worse.”

“You got out of the truck,” Wilson prompted.

“That’s right. Supremely pissed. I started yelling at him, he yelled at me. And he shoved me. He shoved me again, and knocked me back into the gate of the truck. He said, ‘I see you in there.’ And he raised his fist. That’s when I kicked him.”

“What do you think he meant by that? ‘I see you in there’?”

“My grandmother. He meant he saw my grandmother. And I’d say if he had to hurt me to get to her, that’s what he’d do. He attacked my friend, vandalized my property, and now he’s attacked me.”

“He hasn’t copped to any of the incidents before this afternoon,” Wilson told her. “He denies the rest.”

“Do you believe him?”

“No, but it’s hard to understand why a man who confesses to vehicular assault, reckless endangerment, assault with intent refuses to admit to trespass and vandalism. The fact is, Ms. McGowan, he seemed righteous about what happened today. Not remorseful or afraid of the consequences. If his wife hadn’t gotten a lawyer in there when she did, we might’ve gotten more.”

“What happens now?”

“Arraignment, bail hearing. Given his age, his length of time in the community, I’d expect his lawyer to request he be released on his own recognizance. And given the nature of the offense, his proximity to you, I expect the DA will ask for him to be held without bail. I can’t say which way it’ll go, or if it’ll land somewhere between.”

“His wife swears he didn’t leave the house last night.” Urick picked up the notebook in his lap. “That they left the park right after they saw you, and he stayed in all night. We did, however, pull out of her that he often spends time in their son’s room, locks himself in, sleeps in there. So he could’ve left the house without her knowing about it. We’ll push there, I promise you.”

Cilla had barely settled herself down after the police left when her father arrived, with Patty and Angie. Even as the anger and emotion level rose toward what she thought might be the unbearable, Ford’s mother sailed in carrying a large Tupperware container and a bouquet of flowers.

“Don’t you get up, you poor thing. I brought you some of my chicken soup.”

“Oh, Penny, that’s so thoughtful!” Patty sprang up to take the flowers. “I never thought of food, or flowers. I never thought-”

“Of course you didn’t. How could you, with so much on your mind? Cilla, I’m going to heat you up a bowl right now. My chicken soup’s good for anything. Colds, flu, bumps, bruises, lovers’ spats and rainy days. Ford, find Patty a vase for the flowers. Nothing cheers you up like a bunch of sunflowers.”

Clutching them, Patty burst into tears.

“Oh now, now.” Penny cradled the Tupperware in one arm, Patty in the other. “Come on with me, sweetie. You come on with me. We’ll make ourselves useful, and you’ll feel better.”

“Did you see her poor face?” Patty sobbed as Penny led her away.

“She’s just so upset.” Angie sat beside Cilla, took her hand.

“I know. It’s okay.”

“It’s not.” Gavin turned from staring out the front windows. “None of it is. I should have confronted Hennessy years ago, had this out with him. Instead, I just stayed out of his way. I looked away from it because it was uncomfortable. It was unpleasant. And because he left Patty and Angie alone. He didn’t leave you alone, and still, I stayed out of his way.”

“Confronting him wouldn’t have changed anything.”

“It would make me feel like less of a failure as your father.”

“You’re not-”

“Angie,” Gavin said, interrupting Cilla, “would you go help your mother and Mrs. Sawyer?”

“All right.”

“Ford? Would you mind?”

With a nod, Ford slipped out behind Angie.

Cilla sat, her stomach twisting with a new kind of tension. “I know you’re upset. We’re all upset,” she began.

“I let her have you. I let Dilly have you, and I walked away.”

Cilla looked into his face and asked the single question she’d never dared ask him. “Why?”

“I told myself you were better off. I even believed it. I told myself you were where you belonged, and being there, being with your mother, allowed you to do what made you happy. Gave you advantages. I wasn’t happy there, and whatever turned between your mother and me brought out the very worst in both of us when we dealt with each other. When we dealt with each other about you. I felt… free when I came back here.”