He got out and headed for the front door. Libby pushed all the alarm buttons.
“Libby! Libby! I need to talk to you. Turn off the damn alarm and come out here!” The man was screaming in order to be heard over the screeching sounds of the alarms.
Andy hobbled out of his house and watched as a strange man was yelling. Rick turned around and walked toward his car. Libby didn’t know what he was going to do next, but then the engine of the Lincoln started up and, instead of driving at his usual crawl, Andy stomped on the gas and hit Rick square in the middle, knocking him down. He tried to get up and run, but Pedone grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.
He threw Rick against Andy’s car and zip-tied his wrists behind his back. “Sorry, pal, but there’s just no way out.”
Libby turned off the alarms and finally had the courage to walk outside. Colleen ran over to her. “Are you all right?”
“Better now.”
“Libby. Libby. I came looking for you because I wanted to apologize.”
“For what? Trying to kill me?”
“No. For being such an ass. I should never have left you that night. I panicked.”
“Tell it to the judge,” Libby spat at him.
Andy got out of his car as the rest of the neighbors were congregating. “Who’s Libby?”
“I’m Libby. Libby Gannon. And I am standing outside for the first time in two years!”
Whistles, hoots, and applause came from the crowd.
“Welcome to the neighborhood, Libby Gannon,” Andy shouted.
Epilogue
Whether Rick was sincere about the apology was immaterial. He was being sent back to New York City to face assault charges. The downside was that Libby had to return to New York to file those charges. She had no problem doing that. It would give her a chance to visit her mother and Kara. But she planned on returning to Hibbing.
The casino also filed charges for the bad check. Rick would be up to his eyeballs in legal proceedings.
Andy was enjoying his daily trips to the storage unit and making lists of inventories. He discovered several fishing rods, which he turned over to Frank, Jackson, Mitchel, Randy, and Charlie, making them promise to bring him a large bass or two.
He also decided to give one of his cars to Hector in return for landscaping his yard.
Mitchel stayed sober and started remodeling his mother’s house, with Jackson as his helper.
Colleen continued to see Officer Bob Pedone.
When Libby returned from New York, she threw a grand party in her yard for the neighbors. She had made a home in the small hamlet of Hibbing. A home where she could finally come and go as she pleased. Even when you think there is no way out, if you try hard enough, you can usually find a way.
