“And not shutting up when you were told gave him the right to use his fists on you, Ms. McCoy?”

She powered up. “What happens between a husband and wife is nobody’s business but theirs. We shouldn’t have broken things, and we’ll pay for them. I’ll clean the place up myself.”

“Ms. McCoy, they have counseling programs back in Newark,” Zack began, “and shelters for women who need them. I can make some calls, get you some information.”

Her eyes might have been swollen, but they could still flash fury. “I don’t need any information. You can’t keep Joe locked up if I don’t press charges, and I won’t.”

“You’re wrong there. I can keep him locked up for disturbing the peace. And the property owners can press charges.”

“You’ll just make it worse.” Tears began to fall. She took the paper cup Ripley offered her and gulped at the water. “Don’t you see? You’ll just make it worse. He’s a good man. Joe’s a good man, he’s just got a short fuse is all. I said we’d pay. I’ll write you a check. We don’t want any trouble. I’m the one who made him mad. I threw things at him, too. You’re going to have to lock me up along with him. What’s the point?”

What was the point? Zack thought later. He hadn’t been able to reach her, and he wasn’t egotistical enough to think he was the first to try. He couldn’t help when help was rejected. The McCoys were caught in a cycle that was bound to end badly.

And all he could do was remove the cycle from his island.

It took half the day to straighten out the mess. A check for two thousand satisfied the rental company. A cleaning crew was already in place by the time the McCoys had packed up. Zack waited, saying nothing as Joe McCoy loaded suitcases and coolers into the back of a late-model Grand Cherokee.

The couple got in from opposite sides. Diane wore big sunglasses to hide the damage. They both ignored Zack as he got into the cruiser and followed them to the ferry.

He stayed there, watching, until the Jeep and the people inside it were no more than a dot on their way to the mainland.

He hadn’t expected that Nell would have waited for him, and decided it was just as well. He was too depressed and far too angry to talk to her. Instead he sat in the kitchen with Lucy, nursed a beer. He was considering indulging in a second when Ripley came in.