The next morning, Lena decides to speak with Mrs. Duggan and learn what she and Rachel discussed the night Rachel died. Mrs. Duggan explains that Rachel came distraught about Tommy’s plan and seeking leverage against him. Mrs. Duggan told her the only way to stop Tommy was “a death on his hands”—someone “young and innocent” whose loss would galvanize the community (405). She directed Rachel to where Noreen kept antifreeze, rope, bleach, and writing materials. Mrs. Duggan didn’t think Rachel would actually follow through.

Cal is awakened by Bobby, who is being shunned for not joining the protest at the Moynihans’. Bobby has come to tell him that the story of Lena’s alibi is now circulating, and everyone knows the rumor that she killed Rachel was “bollocks.” However, everyone is also convinced that Bobby is “one of Tommy’s men” (409), turning him into a social outcast. Cal agrees to vouch for Bobby, and Bobby suggests that he wait on Lena’s doorstep until she agrees to talk to him.

Later, Cal hears a terrible cry from Mart’s direction. He runs and finds Mart’s tractor overturned with Mart pinned underneath—conscious but paralyzed, the tractor preventing him from bleeding out. Cal calls an ambulance, and Mart explains the accident was deliberate: someone dug a hole in the tractor’s path. Cal realizes Tommy carried a spade, not a gun, when Trey saw him leaving his house. Mart makes Cal promise to use his death to stop Tommy. Cal fetches whiskey and a duvet from Mart’s house, gives Mart whiskey, and covers him. Mart gives final instructions: P.J. takes Kojak; Ruairi inherits the farm. He is pleased Bobby has rejoined them. Mart loses consciousness and dies, with Cal and Kojak beside him.

An ambulance arrives without lights or sirens. Townspeople watch from a distance as P.J. uses his tractor to lift Mart’s tractor, and the paramedics take the body. Cal photographs the deliberately dug hole and pile of dirt before obscuring the evidence. He tells Senan and P.J. to gather at his house with Francie, and texts Bobby to join them.

When the men arrive, Senan and Francie object to Bobby’s presence, but Cal argues that excluding him serves Tommy’s divide-and-conquer strategy. P.J. defends Bobby, and they reluctantly agree.

Cal relays Mart’s final words: the hole was dug intentionally. Led by Senan, the men plan to abduct and murder Tommy that night, but Cal explains the risks of alarms, forensics, and witnesses. The men, however, have deep ties to Mart and feel a duty to seek revenge. They ask Cal to devise a more workable plan.

Cal tells them there is no safe way to kill Tommy without going to prison. Instead, he presents the mounting evidence placing Tommy at the site of Mart’s and Rachel’s death: Witnesses saw Tommy at the bridge when Rachel died, and Trey and Kate saw Tommy go to Mart’s land with a spade. Taking this to the Guards is risky given Tommy’s influence, and even if Tommy is removed, the land scheme could proceed without him. Cal proposes using the evidence to blackmail Tommy into dismantling the scheme himself. The men are appalled at letting Tommy escape justice, but Cal argues it’s the only way to honor Mart’s wish that his death not be wasted. Swayed by this, they agree.

Cal, Senan, P.J., Francie, and Bobby walk to Tommy Moynihan’s house. Tommy opens the door, offering condolences and trying to postpone the meeting, but they insist. Cal tells Tommy the tractor accident was caused by a deliberately dug hole, bluffing that they have video of Tommy going to Mart’s field with a spade. Tommy calls the bluff and threatens a slander lawsuit. Eugene enters. Ignoring his father, he addresses Cal about Rachel, telling him that the day before Rachel died, he revealed the land scheme to her. She was devastated, and they arranged to meet at the bridge. Tommy found out, forbade Eugene from going, took his phone, and left for the bridge himself around nine. He returned two hours later, claiming he’d just been for a walk. When Eugene couldn’t get in touch with Rachel, he got worried, but Tommy prevented anyone from calling the Guards. Tommy interrupts with his version of the story: He found Rachel’s suicide note and destroyed it to spare Eugene.

Eugene calls this a lie, saying that after Cal’s visit, Tommy confessed that he killed Rachel because she would talk, and that Mart needed stopping. Tommy hits Eugene. Cal intervenes. Tommy threatens Cal but realizes he’s cornered. Eugene states he will testify in court.

Tommy tries to buy them off; they refuse. Cal states their terms: Tommy must use his influence to shut down the land development, or they will go to the Guards. Tommy capitulates but demands guarantees. They tell him he must take their word. Outside, Eugene tells Cal he’s leaving for Dublin, then adds a final detail: His father was not agitated when he returned from the river that night, but acted “totally fucking normal” (459).

The next morning, Cal drives to Lena’s. Con McHugh stops him to offer condolences and says the townland is making peace—there will be no trouble at Mart’s wake.

Cal waits on Lena’s doorstep. When she emerges, he tells her Tommy has been dealt with. Lena reveals the truth she learned from Mrs. Duggan: Rachel killed herself deliberately to stop Tommy, after Mrs. Duggan gave her the idea and the means. Lena told Eugene the day before, letting him choose between pursuing Mrs. Duggan or honoring Rachel’s intent. She will tell Rachel’s parents but otherwise plans to keep quiet.

Cal is angry that she kept this from him. She says he would have given it to Mart to use, and that after Tommy’s threats, she had closed herself off from the townland. They acknowledge that their relationship to both the townland and each other has changed, but Lena still invites Cal inside.

Later, Cal, P.J., and Senan work on Mart’s farm. Senan brings Ruairi, who inherited the property, to begin discussing how to look after the property and Mart’s sheep.

At home, Cal tells Trey the truth about Rachel, asserting that Tommy is “nothing” in town now. He also tells her that he and Lena have made up. Trey reveals that she and Kate are dating, and Cal agrees Trey can start her apprenticeship next year instead of finishing school. That evening, Lena, Trey, and Kate gather for dinner. They make tacos together, and Lena coaxes Kojak to eat. Trey discovers it’s snowing heavily for the first time in years. They watch from the doorstep, then go back in for dinner as snow falls on Ardnakelty.