So Charlie does all that.
"Delaney Hammond, you are under arrest," Charlie says, while Joshua puts on cuffs and Terry makes sure the chauffeur isn't going to interfere. "You have the right to remain silent..." The Miranda rights just pour out, like they're all one word; Charlie doesn't really think about them. He doesn't even skip the part about how this ridiculously rich person could be provided a public defender if he cannot afford one.
In fact, while he is being arrested, he almost seems to continue not knowing. A look of appalled disbelief settles on his face and shows no signs of leaving; he offers no physical resistance and doesn't even laugh at the notion of his being unable to afford something.
"Don't leave town," he tells Theo, and he gets behind his wheel and follows Josh and Terry out of the tiny airport.
When they reach the station, he calls Bella. "Got him in," he tells her.
"Thanks for letting me know," she says, and she tells Alice. [They got him. He's at the station in handcuffs right now.]
Meanwhile, Mr. Hammond has recovered enough awareness to settle into a cold fury, and Theo... Theo has driven back to the house alone.
Not very long after that, one of the family cars pulls up at the police station and Judith Erskine Hammond steps out, dressed as formally and impeccably as ever.
"It's me," she agrees. "Should I apologize for the mortal sin of not being your lawyer?"
"Be reasonable, Judith," he says. "I'm sure you want this nonsense over with as much as I do."
"Yes," she muses, with an odd note in her voice. "I think that's true."
"What now?" he grumbles.
"Have I ever told you how much I hate it when you tell me to be reasonable?"
"Now is not the time, Judith."
"On the contrary," says Judith, "I think the time is exactly right."
There is a pause; a rustle, a clink; a shocked intake of breath; a roar.
Judith Erskine sweeps out of the short corridor with too-bright eyes and no rings on her left hand.
"Nope," Charlie says. "Can put you on the phone with my daughter and see if she tells you." He pushes his landline phone across his desk. Bella's cell (old number kept, attached to new phone) and their house landline are both on the speed dial, clearly labeled.
[You know, there's probably enough in the notebooks to get her for neglect or failure to report or something. I don't think anyone's going to arrest her without your say-so, but if you feel like it...]
Tentatively, he pats her on the back.
He called her. She asked if he was all right, if he'd heard the news, if he was going to come home. She sounded somewhere between triumphant and distraught.
He did, in fact, come home.
And then... this happened.
Also, she is no longer wearing her wedding and engagement rings. Alice can't help thinking that is a really good sign.
"Oh, ick," she says with a tremulous smile, "look what I did to your shirt."
"It'll wash," he assures her. "Seriously though, what's up with you?"
She looks down at her unadorned left hand and sniffles again.
"I'm afraid I've been a terrible mother," she says.
"...Yeah, kinda," says Alice. "But hey, you're nowhere near as bad as Dad, so good for you?"
Judith snorts despite herself. "I don't know where you got that sense of humour," she says. "It certainly wasn't from your father."
After a moment's silence, his mother sighs and twists her hands in her lap. "I never knew he was going to be like that," she says helplessly. "And once I found out... it sounds so inadequate, but I didn't know what to do about him."
"And now somebody else did it for ya and you're cutting the bastard loose?" Alice fills in.
She bursts into fresh tears and nods repeatedly.
He hesitates for a moment, and then hugs her.
Charlie hears of this, and he lets Bella know, and he takes advantage of the period while the check is being... checked... to go talk to Judith about maybe socking her away somewhere for a few days.
Bella tells Alice. [So, stay laired, or where people can see you at school, or where no one can see if you wish to prowl the world invisibly,] she admonishes.
[Charlie's going to go warn your mom - and Hilary and Theo, but mostly your mom - while they wait for your dad's check to clear. I assume it will clear. Which is really something. I don't expect even the ridiculously rich to keep ten million dollars liquid all at once.]
Charlie nods. "Hullo, Hilary. Don't know if Mrs. Hammond had told you, but Mr. Hammond's in lockup. He's written a check for bail; I'm here to ask Mrs. Hammond to accept protective custody for a few days while he's out and about in case he turns on her. Laney's off..." He gestures. "Somewhere. Bella assures me he's safe there, and she's a smart girl. But Mrs. Hammond's presumably still here." He pauses. "Might not be too wise for you to be here either. Or that driver fellow, what's his name."
"Yes please, and -" He shrugs. "Not orthodox for protective custody, but my house has a guest room." He's going to rely on Bella to have her priorities straight and do that... thing... that will let her play invalid for the requisite days remaining. She can at least acknowledge having some of the casts off, enough to be able to walk around.
Judith also grabs a muffin on her way out. Hilary takes the remaining two for herself, and spends the next half hour or so dithering over her belongings before she finally gets out the door with one medium-sized suitcase and a backpack containing all her cookbooks and a few things from the kitchen.
"Thanks for letting me know, Dad," Bella says. [Hilary's going to stay at my house while your dad is bailed out,] she informs Alice. [I get to play still-have-a-broken-arm-and-a-limp.]
"We've got... some things," Bella says. "Anything that comes in a can we are reasonably likely to have around, which includes beans and tuna but also sweetened condensed milk and peaches. And there's other stuff in the cupboards and the fridge. Freezer's mostly full of fish."
"Seems to involve a lot of setup and then a lot of sitting and getting bit by mosquitoes," Bella says. "Sure, sometimes you get fish out of it, but you can also buy fish, with more variety and in forms you don't have to chop the heads off of, and save six hours you could spend doing anything."