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that?” Mrs. Hanson demanded tearfully. “I could see them carrying someone—it must have been Penny—and putting her into the ambulance. Now you tell me they can’t find Willow! I may be old, but I’m not senile! I know everything isn’t going to be all right!”
    Tyler bent down and looked steadily into the woman’seyes. “You’re not old—you’re just older than us, but you’re right. We
have
been treating you like you’re senile. My grandmother would have thrashed the daylights out of me if I talked to her like she didn’t have good sense.”
    Mrs. Hanson smiled slightly and Tyler went on. “I’ll just tell you straight. Things aren’t all right. Not by a long shot. Professionals are taking care of Penny, though, and after what you told us, I think Willow might be hiding in the woods. She’s probably afraid to come out, but I’d bet a hundred dollars she’s not hurt. If she was in the woods, she would have been too far away to get burned.
    “You and Diana don’t seem to be faring too well, though,” Tyler went on. “You’re trembling all over and Diana can hardly get her breath, although she’s trying to hide it. That’s why you both need to get away from here. You need quiet and rest. I don’t think a stiff drink would do you two any harm, either.”
    “Oh, I don’t drink,” Mrs. Hanson protested.
    “Then start. One drink won’t turn you into an alcoholic. I’m going to drive you to Diana’s house.”
    Mrs. Hanson looked aghast. “Oh, I couldn’t impose. I can go to my friend Ella’s. . . .” She trailed off. “Except that she’s in Vermont visiting her daughter. My son and daughter’s families met yesterday at Disneyworld for a vacation. Well, if someone will get my purse with my money in it, I can go to a motel.”
    “Where you’d have none of the amenities of a home,” Diana said. “Come to my house. You need a comfortable night’s sleep, and after the shock of tonight, you shouldn’t be alone in some motel room.”
    “I could just watch television. I can’t possibly sleep tonight.”
    “You can rest,” Tyler stated. “I’ll drop you two ladies off and come back here. The minute I know anything about the little girl, I’ll call.”
    Diana snapped, “I told you I can drive home.”
    “We don’t need any more disasters tonight,” Tyler nearlysnarled. “If you’re not going to think of your own safety, think of Mrs. Hanson’s. My nerves are steadier than yours at the moment. Now get in the car.”
    Anger surged through Diana, but she knew Tyler was right. She felt herself nearly vibrating within. Her reactions and judgments no doubt suffered because of the shock, and only a selfish desire to prove herself capable would force her to insist on driving. Sighing, she got in the car without a word, wondering how Tyler Raines could remain so calm.
    As they drove away from Penny’s house, Diana glanced over at him, his jaw clamped tight, his tanned skin ashy beneath smudges of soot. He looked in the rearview mirror, back at the ruins of Penny’s house, and Diana noticed his eyelids close for a moment, as if he couldn’t stand the sight. No, she realized, she was wrong about Tyler Raines’s uncanny composure. He might be putting on a good show for her and Mrs. Hanson, but he wasn’t as unaffected by the possible deaths as he pretended to be, even if he didn’t know Penny and Willow Conley.
    Diana softened toward him a bit and asked, “Where are you from, Tyler?”
    For a moment, he seemed startled. “Huh? Oh, New York. City, that is. I’m just down here visiting.”
    “Oh, who?” Clarice Hanson asked. “That’s an impolite question, but I might know them.”
    “Uh, the guy that owns Al’s Barbecue.”
    “Albert Meeks?” Clarice asked in surprise. “Why, he’s older than I am!”
    “He was a friend of my grandfather’s, really. Grandpa’s dead, but I still try to visit Al every so often. He seems to appreciate it. They used to go hunting