“Unless you can whip up a threat by this afternoon, I’m not sure how much good could come of it,” Marina said. “What do I need to do? What’s going to happen? I’m sorry for all the questions, but I’ve never done this before.”

“Most decent people haven’t,” Luke said. “First, I need to see Avery.”

“But the sheriff—” Marina started.

“Don’t worry about him,” Luke said. “The sheriff is legally bound to let me see my client. I’ll talk to her and prepare her for her appearance in front of the judge. She’ll plead not guilty and we’ll ask for bail. Given that it’s a first offense, I would normally say it wouldn’t be high, but in this situation, he might push the envelope. You be prepared to post bail and we’ll have Avery out by this evening.”

Marina let out a breath of relief. “Really?”

“I can’t imagine him denying bail,” he said. “Even given the circumstances. There’s simply no grounds. Your daughter is not a threat to anyone but Chastity and she’s hardly a flight risk. He will probably issue a restraining order for her to stay away from Chastity, though.”

“How is she supposed to do that when Harold has that thing living in Avery’s house?” Halcyon asked.

“Unfortunately, that’s where your husband comes into the equation,” Luke said. “If he kicks Avery out of the house, then she can’t return there, and it doesn’t sound like he’s interested in being a good parent at the moment. Avery lives on campus, right?”

“Yes, but she still has a room full of things at Harold’s house,” Marina said. “It’s not like she left for college expecting her entire life to explode back in Last Chance.”

“Of course not,” Luke said. “But to prevent Chastity from inciting any more violence, it might be a good idea to get Avery’s things out of the house.”

“Unbelievable,” Marina said. “It’s bad enough I find myself homeless at forty-eight, but now Avery is homeless at eighteen. None of this is right.”

“She can live here,” Halcyon said. “You’ve only got one bedroom at the cabin. I have the spare room and plenty of storage for Avery’s stuff. Not like she’s going to be here much anyway, but she’ll have a safe place for her things and won’t have to worry about coming to visit and seeing things that put her in the red. At least, not in the place she’s calling home.”

“I think that’s a really good idea,” Luke said. “Unless you have any more questions for me, I’m going to try to negotiate something with the DA first. Then I’ll head up to the sheriff’s department and get Avery ready. I need you to document everything you can about the LeDoux and Avery’s history with Chastity. It would also help if I knew which players were beholden to Preston.”

Marina gave him a grateful look. “I don’t know how to thank you, much less repay you.”

He shook his head. “I wouldn’t take payment for this. Besides, I’ve owed Adelaide a favor for a long time.”