Sixteen

On a crisp autumn morning, Cal tries to return to his quiet routines: walking, coaxing rooks, and fixing the desk he and Trey have been restoring. Trey arrives, and Cal, aware she expects difficult news, delays by sharing work and food.

Cal raises Trey’s hidden gender and carefully checks whether she’s concealing abuse; she isn’t. He learns her short hair came from past lice and that school mostly leaves her alone after she fought a bully. Conversation touches briefly on Cal’s grown daughter and his divorce.

As the light fades, Cal begins his prepared explanation. Claiming information from Donie, he tells Trey that Brendan planned to rent out his mountain hideout as illicit storage, approached Dublin drug dealers, and—after they deemed him a liability for their own operations—was ordered to leave town. Cal says Brendan likely went to Scotland with his own money and stayed silent to protect Trey.

Trey seizes on the hope that Brendan is alive. Cal advises her to keep her head down and wait. When the desk work is nearly done, Cal ends their arrangement, insisting the “case is closed” and rejecting Trey’s offer to return. Devastated, Trey spits at his feet and leaves.

Alone, Cal moves the desk out of sight and broods. He mentally addresses Donna, insisting he can walk away. He recalls Alyssa’s mugging, his relentless push to catch the attacker, and how Donna believed he chose being a cop over being a father, a rift that led to their split. Cal, burdened by confusion and guilt, later tells Mart he has sent Trey away and declines dinner, retreating to solitude.