The next day, Cal watches for Tommy’s counterattack but sees only normal activity. He texts Lena; she reads it but doesn’t reply. He spends most of the night watching Mart’s property, reflecting that his relationship with Lena may be permanently damaged.

On Saturday morning, Cal visits Mart in his sheep shed, where Mart is treating ewes for scald. Mart reports recent developments: a car fire, spray-painted walls, a woman forced into a ditch by a tractor, and various social conflicts over the factory issue. Cal worries this is the wrong kind of trouble, that the townsfolk are just becoming angrier at one another, but Mart says people need momentum to overcome their ingrained deference to Tommy. Mart reveals his real concern: the retaliation lacks Tommy’s usual scale. He expected Tommy to use official channels to devastate Mart himself, and Tommy’s restraint is troubling.

Mart tells Cal the rumors regarding the love triangle between him, Lena, and Rachel are becoming more dangerous. He recounts talk that a jealous Lena poisoned Rachel with antifreeze after Rachel visited her house to discuss the supposed affair with Cal. Cal notes Lena has an alibi, but Mart explains how Tommy could fabricate witnesses and evidence to circumvent it, including claims that Rachel returned to Lena’s later or that Lena went to meet Rachel elsewhere. Lena could easily be arrested. Mart admits he knew Tommy might trace the leak regarding the land scheme back to Lena but says warning the townland mattered more. He promises they will protect Lena because she is Cal’s “woman.” Cal, sensing a shift in his own standing within the community, agrees to go to the pub with Mart.

At her house, Lena has been going through the motions of her daily life, waiting for Tommy’s move. When Breege, a friendly Guard who previously interviewed her, arrives, Lena fears something has happened to Cal. Breege says she is there because people are worried Lena might harm herself. She explains that if she believes Lena is at serious risk of self-harm, she may have to take her “somewhere […] safe.” Lena recognizes Tommy’s ultimatum, delivered through Breege: be seen as mentally unsound or as a murderer. She calmly denies being suicidal and dismisses the rumor about Cal. Breege eventually accepts Lena’s explanation but leaves her card and says she will check in again. Lena knows this is only a temporary reprieve.

Cal and Mart arrive at Seán Óg’s pub, which has an uneasy atmosphere. They join Senan, P.J., and Francie at a table. Mart announces Tommy’s plan to have Lena arrested for Rachel’s murder. Cal proposes publicly accusing Tommy of killing Rachel, arguing this will give others the courage to come to them with information and give them leverage to force Tommy to back down. The others are hesitant, wanting to take a more “subtle-like” approach. Mart, however, is “bored of being subtle” (335), and loudly announces to the entire pub that Tommy murdered Rachel and is framing Lena. Bernard McHugh, a plant manager and Tommy loyalist, confronts Mart and defends Tommy, claiming the land-grab is just a rumor. He says Tommy personally assured him no compulsory purchases are planned and argues the factory will revitalize the dying town. P.J., Senan, and Francie find their voices and join Mart in denouncing Tommy. Mouth McHugh, Bernard’s brother, insults Cal and Lena. Cal punches him, triggering a brawl that engulfs the whole pub.

The barman and his helper throw Cal and several others out into the street, and the fight dissipates. Cal’s friends are “exhilarated” by their open defiance. On the drive home, Mart claims he started the confrontation to force people out of indecision. He grows serious and confesses his fear of becoming an old man out of touch with change. He tells Cal that he believes their fight is ultimately futile: Economic forces will eventually take the land, if not through Tommy then through other investors waiting for the aging farmers to retire or die. The fields, walls, and hedgerows will be cleared for industrial agriculture. Mart’s true goal is not to win but to fight hard enough that people will know they resisted and will retain some spirit for whatever comes next.

On Sunday, a sore Cal makes himself visible in his front yard, washing his car and waiting for potential informants. He reflects on his attachment to Ardnakelty; he considers the town his “last love” and no longer thinks of leaving, even though his relationship to the place is complicated.

Trey arrives with Kate, her friend and football teammate. They tell Cal that they investigated at their friend’s party the previous night, questioning party attendees to determine who was near the river when Rachel died. They learned that Zoe Greaney and her friends, who were in a derelict house near the old bridge, saw Tommy Moynihan walking toward the bridge around 9:30 that night, hours before the search for Rachel began. Cal recognizes this as crucial evidence, breaking Tommy’s alibi of being home all evening, but explains they cannot take it to the Guards because the girls would recant and Tommy would deny it. Instead, he plans to use it to confront Eugene, who he believes is close to breaking. Trey and Kate volunteer to stake out the Moynihan house to watch for when Eugene is alone. Cal reluctantly agrees.

As Cal cooks lunch, Trey confronts Cal about the rumors surrounding Lena and her emotional withdrawal. She criticizes both him and Lena for their handling of the situation. Cal, feeling “at the end of his rope,” insists he is doing everything he can (363).

Trey and Kate watch the Moynihan house all day, but Eugene does not leave alone. Cal stays up all night waiting for possible visitors, but no one comes. He texts Lena that he loves her but gets no reply.

At her house, Lena sleeps on the sofa with a loaded shotgun under it, having taken it from the gun safe where it sat unused for six years. When her dogs alert her late at night, she hears someone walk up the drive, thump her front door once, and leave. She goes to the door and finds a bottle of antifreeze and a half-filled bowl on her doorstep. She understands the bowl is a threat against her dogs, and the bottle is a suggestion that she kill herself. She pours the antifreeze from the bowl down the sink and throws the bowl away, leaving the bottle on the step.