Harry needed Trent to goad me into throwing a punch or grabbing a shirt collar.

One assault charge would hand Harry grounds for an emergency legal stay, which would freeze my title and hold off the bank foreclosure.

“Harry told Trent to pick physical fights with me,” I said.

“He needed an active legal dispute on the record before Labor Day,” Nora said.

I glanced up at the wall clock over the archway.

It said ten forty-five in the morning.

“We’ve got to see the official map filing at the survey office,” I said.