When government moves, it sometimes moves in overkill. Not only did a police officer go to the church, but two deputies arrived on my doorstep 45 minutes after I called. They were responding to both my summons as well as information from the office speaking to the group at church.

At this time, Mike was still at the church attempting to convince the law that he didn’t need to be locked up in the psych ward, and the men who arrived at the house came to take a report from me. I told them about the family situation- they had heard about some of it- and gave them reasons why I felt Mike might want to kill himself, the biggest being that Ashley was destined to be transferred out of state for treatment. The deputies said it appeared as if the situation was well in hand and bid goodbye to me, and I assumed they’d left. Unbeknownst to me, they parked their squad car at the end of our road to await Mike’s return.

Mike called me on his cellphone soon after. He was understandably angry with me when he finally left the church. Ashley was with him in his car, he said, and we would make arrangements to get the van later. Why, he demanded to know, was Ashley driving anyway?

I described our morning and her reaction to his whispered goodbye, and how Ash had become convinced that he meant to do himself harm. Mike replied that he had absolutely no plans to kill himself. Having the police show up at church had been humiliating, and had I called the law on him? I said yes but with hesitation, explaining how I’ve watched him become more and more depressed. His actions lately just haven’t made any sense. Mike said not to worry, he was on his way home. I could tell that my excuses didn't satisfy him at all.

It felt as if I'd just hung up the telephone when there was another call from him. I answered, and he was screaming about being unable to trust me, demanding to know why two sheriff deputies were waiting at the end of the street. I explained how they’d been here earlier in response to my call, but I thought they’d left. True, I'd walked into the house before they actually left the driveway, but I had no reason to think they'd hang around. No, he shouted, the squad car was down the street from the house, and I could tell he thought I’d tricked him. He said that when he saw the deputies he’d driven past, and they pulled out behind him. Mike and Ashley were going to get something to eat, and when his car turned into a nearby fast food restaurant, they finally drove away. Now, he said icily, he’d be home later- he had some errands to run. Talk about my bad luck.