Wrecker heads back to the cemetery first thing in the morning. He returns the ladder and hose, feeling bad about the water bill of whoever owns the hose he borrows at night. Back at home, he goes to school; because of the COVID pandemic, his classes are online.

Suzanne leaves to take Wrecker’s mother, Carole, to yet another plastic surgery—this one to reshape her chin to look like that of actor Reece Witherspoon. Meanwhile, Wrecker returns to the cemetery and finds the grave where the black-haired girl was. It belongs to Manuel Cabeza, who died in 1921.

At the docks, Wrecker sees the purple go-fast. He considers going home to get the cash that Silver Mustache gave him. He would like to return it because he does not want to be involved in any way with these suspicious men, whom he suspects of being smugglers. However, he decides that returning the money might make the men worried that he is planning to tell people about them.

That night, Suzanne urges him to go see his mother. Wrecker agrees to go after he puts up Suzanne’s flyers. Suzanne is part of activist group Friends of Blue Waters, which is trying to stop large cruise ships from returning to Key West once pandemic lockdowns ease. The large ships stir up sediment in the harbor, ruining the habitat for wildlife. It is easier for Wrecker to put up the flyers, as Suzanne has used a wheelchair ever since a drunk professional athlete swerved onto the sidewalk and hit her. The athlete used his influence to avoid jail, but the insurance settlement allowed Suzanne to buy a house in Key West.

Wrecker visits his mother, Carole. When she makes a misinformed critical remark about the ship scavengers of bygone days, Wrecker is quick to correct her. She tries to make Wrecker feel guilty about his lack of interest in her side of the family, but it is clear that she knows very little about her ancestry. Finally, Carole dismissively calls Suzanne an “agitator” (31). She asks what kind of fish Wrecker has brought her, and he tells her yellowtail.

After his visit, Wrecker goes to the library and researches Manuel Cabeza. Cabeza, a man of Spanish descent, was born in Key West and served in World War I. He fell in love with a woman named Angela and moved in with her. This angered racists on the island, because Angela was rumored to have multiracial heritage. One night, the Klan abducted Cabeza. On an isolated part of the island, they whipped him and then covered him with hot tar and feathers. They ordered him to leave Key West, but instead he tracked down one of the Klan members and shot him. On Christmas Day, the Klan retaliated by dragging Cabeza behind a car and then lynching him. No one was prosecuted for this crime.

Wrecker heads back to the cemetery. He does not end up going in, as there is a line of black cars that looks like a funeral in progress. He spends the rest of the evening out on his boat, fishing.

Wrecker goes to Mr. Riley’s house to collect his weekly payment. The elderly Mr. Riley has fallen and needs Wrecker’s help to get up, so he invites Wrecker in for the first time. When Wrecker sees a picture of Sarah, Mr. Riley explains that she came to Key West from Ireland to marry a man who ultimately betrayed her. She threw herself off a boat and drowned. Mr. Riley has stayed in Key West ever since, to be near her grave. They talk a bit about Wrecker’s family’s history in Key West, including his Bahamian ancestry through his father’s father.

Next, Wrecker goes to see the area where Cabeza was hanged. He thinks about what a dangerous time his Black great-great-grandfather lived in. He realizes that, had his Black grandfather married his white grandmother or his biracial father married his white mother in those earlier times, they might well have faced serious violence as a result.

On his way home, he runs into Willi, a classmate. Wrecker finds her very attractive, and he is interested to hear that she and her boyfriend, Clay, have broken up. Clay told her Wrecker was borrowing Clay’s uncle’s ladder to sneak into the cemetery at night, but Wrecker pretends not to know what she is talking about. She makes a point of asking whether he still has her phone number before zipping away on her skateboard.

That night, Wrecker stops at a rally for the Friends of Blue Waters. He stuffs the money that Silver Mustache gave him into their collection jar and then heads to the cemetery.

In the cemetery, he does not see anyone at Cabeza’s grave. He goes to Sarah’s grave and cleans it off with his T-shirt, since he no longer feels comfortable using Clay’s uncle’s hose. Unexpectedly, Silver Mustache approaches him; he makes it clear that he already knows that Wrecker is in the cemetery every night.

Wrecker asks the man’s name, but Silver Mustache tells Wrecker that, officially, they do not know each other. He offers Wrecker $50 a week to keep watch over a new crypt that he claims belongs to his good friend who died of COVID. He shows Wrecker the site, explaining that a stonemason will be coming in the morning to put the dead man’s name on it. Wrecker is to keep the crypt clean and to call him if anyone tries to vandalize it. Wrecker tries to refuse, but the man will not take no for an answer.

Roger has tested positive for COVID. Neither he nor Carole have been vaccinated. Roger believes in a false conspiracy theory that the vaccine contains a microchip tracking device. Suzanne asks Wrecker how much he donated to the Friends of Blue Waters fundraiser, and he lies that it was only $20. He wishes he had never accepted money from Silver Mustache and worries that he about getting more deeply involved. He texts Willi to ask who else Clay’s uncle might have told about Wrecker’s visits to the cemetery. She agrees meet him at his boat and discuss.

The next day, Wrecker checks in on his mother and Roger. His mother comes out onto the second-floor deck and Wrecker stays on the sidewalk below, not wanting to expose himself to COVID. He asks her why, with a COVID patient in the house, she is still not wearing a mask, and she makes an excuse about letting her chin surgery “breathe” (64). Carole tells him that his father, who now goes by the name “Austin Breakwater,” has a song on Spotify. It is called “Tequilaville Sunset,” and is a second-rate rip-off of a well-known Jimmy Buffet song.

Wrecker takes Willi out on his boat. Willi tells him that Clay’s uncle used to play in a band with Wrecker’s father, which is how he knows who Wrecker is. She does not know whether he told anyone else about Wrecker’s graveyard visits. She tells Wrecker that she is coming with him to the cemetery later on. He resists—if they are caught they will end up in jail. She convinces him by promising to bring a ladder.