Sara Morgan looked up at Anne. “Who was it? How did she—Was she shot or—or what?”

“I don’t know,” Anne said. “I’m sure they won’t release any details for a while.”

“And there was this dog,” Wendy went on. “Like a wild dog. And he growled at us, and Dennis said maybe the dog killed the lady—”

“A dog?” her mother said. “What kind of a dog? Was it foaming at the mouth? Did you touch it?”

“No! It ran away.”

“It could have had rabies! Are you sure you didn’t touch it?”

“I didn’t touch it!” Wendy insisted.

Sara Morgan raked a handful of blonde mane back from her face and looked at Anne. “What’s going to happen? Will the police come?”

“I don’t know,” Anne said. “Dennis Farman’s father is a deputy. He said I could take Wendy and Tommy home. Maybe the sheriff’s office will call later. He didn’t say.”

“This is just awful. We moved here to get away from crime. And smog and traffic. I never think twice about letting Wendy walk home from school. Do you think the dog could have killed the woman?”

“That doesn’t seem very likely,” Anne said.

Sara Morgan turned to her daughter again. “If you touched that dog—”

“I didn’t touch the dog!” Wendy insisted, irritated.

“Should I take her to see someone?” she asked Anne. “My husband’s uncle’s ex-wife’s sister is a therapist in Beverly Hills.”

“Whatever you think is best.”

“I don’t know what to think,” she admitted. “There’s no chapter for this in the parenting manual.”

“No,” Anne said. “It’s not in the How to Be a Kid manual either.”

“No. God, I’ve never seen a dead person myself. When I have to go to funerals, I won’t look in the casket. The whole idea creeps me out.”

“I should get Tommy home,” Anne said. “I wasn’t able to reach his mother by phone.”

“I can call Peter at his office,” Sara offered. “He’s our dentist. He and my husband golf together.”

“If you don’t mind.”

“Not at all. And thank you for bringing Wendy home.”

Anne got back in her car and looked into the backseat where Tommy sat looking at his hands in his lap.

“Do you think your mom will be home by now, Tommy?”

He consulted his wristwatch. “Yes.”

“She’ll be worried about you.”

“I’m supposed to have a piano lesson,” he said looking worried. “Maybe we should go there instead.”

“I think your piano teacher will forgive your absence when he hears what you’ve been through.”

The boy said nothing.

“Do you want to talk about what happened?” Anne asked as they drove.

“No, thank you.”