The police arrived in record time, which was both shocking and suspicious. In a town like Nantucket, where the biggest crimes were usually someone's yacht blocking another yacht, the arrival of two uniformed officers at a rental house full of furious twenty-something women was probably the most exciting thing to happen all week.

Leighton, Whitney, Bela, and Kimberly stood in their driveway, waiting as two officers—Officer Daniels and Officer Greene—stepped out of the patrol car, eyeing the disaster zone that was their pool and boat.

Officer Daniels, a middle-aged man with the energy of someone who really didn't want to be here, pulled out a notepad. "Alright, which one of you called it in?"

Kimberly, standing with her arms crossed, spoke immediately. "That would be me. And before you ask, yes, I take this very seriously."

Whitney muttered under her breath, "Clearly more than they do."

Officer Greene, a woman in her late thirties with a no-nonsense attitude, looked toward the pool. Her expression did not change. "So, let me get this straight… you're reporting that your pool has been… tampered with?"

Leighton scoffed. "Tampered with? The pool has been defiled. It is unusable. It is a health violation."

Bela, still disgusted, pointed dramatically. "Someone pooped in it!"

Officer Daniels looked toward the murky yellow-brown biohazard that used to be their relaxing vacation pool and sighed. "Huh. That's… something."

Kimberly threw her hands up. "Oh, great, that's reassuring. 'That's something'? That's all you have to say?"

Whitney pointed toward the shattered remains of their rental boat. "Oh, and, uh, don't forget the boat that's been violently destroyed."

Officer Greene rubbed her temple. "Alright, one thing at a time. Let's go through the facts. When was the last time you all saw the pool normal?"

Leighton exhaled. "Last night. Before we left for the Winbury estate. It was perfect. Crystal clear. An oasis."

Officer Daniels nodded, scribbling something down. "And when you returned?"

Bela made a grand, tragic gesture. "It was a crime scene."

Whitney tilted her head. "A very disgusting crime scene."

Officer Greene ignored that and continued. "And the boat?"

Kimberly nodded toward the pile of ruins that used to be a functioning vessel. "That was also intact when we left."

Officer Daniels sighed. "Alright. Any idea who might have done this?"

All four girls, simultaneously, said:

"Thomas."

There was a pause.

Officer Daniels glanced up. "Thomas… Winbury?"

Leighton crossed her arms. "Yes. Him. The most emotionally unstable man in the state of Massachusetts."

Officer Greene raised an eyebrow. "And what exactly makes you think he did it?"

Whitney scoffed. "Are you serious? He has been raging ever since we stepped foot on this island."

Kimberly nodded aggressively. "He literally hates us. And we just exposed him online."

Bela gestured toward the boat. "You really think some random person decided to come destroy our property? Who else would have the motive?"

Officer Daniels sighed. "Do you have any proof?"

Silence.

The girls exchanged quick, knowing looks.

Leighton, still calm, said, "I mean… do we physically have a video of Thomas Winbury committing acts of nautical violence? No."

Whitney grumbled. "But we all know it's him."

Officer Greene sighed, tapping her notepad. "Well, unfortunately, knowing isn't proof."

Kimberly's jaw dropped. "Wait. Are you saying we don't have a case?"

Officer Daniels rubbed his forehead, clearly exhausted by the level of intensity in this conversation. "Look, technically, no actual crime has been committed here."

Leighton snapped her head up. "I'm sorry, what?"

Bela gasped dramatically. "No crime? NO CRIME?"

Whitney pointed to the pool of horrors. "THAT is not a crime? That is biological warfare."

Kimberly looked offended. "And the boat?! That's not a crime?"

Officer Greene shrugged. "It's property damage, sure. But unless you have video evidence of someone actually committing the act, there's not much we can do."

The girls stared at her, appalled.

Leighton, finally losing her patience, scoffed. "Oh, I see what's happening here."

Whitney narrowed her eyes. "Oh. Ohhhh."

Bela threw her hands up. "You guys are on his side, aren't you?"

Kimberly pointed at them accusingly. "Oh my god, this is rich person privilege at work!"

Officer Daniels sighed deeply, the way a father of four children would. "Look, I'm not saying that. I'm just saying we don't have enough evidence to pin this on anyone."

Officer Greene nodded. "And without any real leads, there's no investigation to open."

Leighton crossed her arms, fuming. "So let me get this straight. A man—a fully grown, deranged man—wrecks our property, defiles our pool, and because we don't have a hidden security camera filming him, we're just supposed to… what? Accept this?"

Officer Daniels, not making eye contact, muttered, "That's… kind of how it works."

Kimberly stared in pure betrayal. "Wow. You guys are useless."

Whitney nodded aggressively. "Like, fully useless."

Bela gestured to the wreckage. "So this man gets to terrorize us, and we just have to live with it?"

Officer Greene gave a thin smile. "Well, you could press charges if you had proof."

Leighton narrowed her eyes. "Oh, don't worry. We'll get proof."

The officers exchanged uncomfortable glances before stepping back toward their car.

Officer Daniels sighed. "Well… good luck with that."

As the patrol car pulled away, silence settled among the girls.

Kimberly finally broke it, shaking her head. "I cannot believe this."

Whitney exhaled dramatically. "I can. Of course they're protecting him."

Bela crossed her arms. "Oh, we are so screwed."

Leighton, calm but dangerously determined, turned to them with a new kind of fire in her eyes.

"No," she said. "He is."