wouldn't have kept it up. Except as some kind of nasty game. Which was pretty twisted, too, when she thought about it.

No, it had to be someone else. She couldn't remember the names of everyone she'd met at the hunt. She'd have to ask Sally. Or maybe she'd even get the chance to ask her secret admirer himself. She had to stay home all day tomorrow for the painters; if he called, she'd be ready with as many questions as it took to find out who he was.

She stretched and pulled herself up out of the soft cushions of the couch, feeling relaxed and peaceful for the first time since she'd heard about Diana. Having a secret admirer was the perfect cure for jangled nerves.

So was a shower. Checking to make sure the door was locked, Jenny went upstairs, stripped, and stood under the warm needles of water, humming and smiling to herself. By the time she got out, the sky was finally darkening. She left the lights off in her room while she toweled off and dressed, still feeling funny about not having curtains or shades, even though no Peeping Tom in his right mind would pick this house to spy on.

Wrapped in a short white terry cloth robe, Jenny trotted downstairs to check out what was on television. Their reception wasn't very good because the antenna was still lying on its side up on the roof like some broken pieces of an erector set, but maybe she'd get lucky and find a station that didn't look like it was in the middle of a desert sandstorm.

She was still turning the dial when the phone rang. Twice in one day, maybe, she thought hopefully.

"Hi, Jenny." A tired-sounding Sally.

"Hi." Jenny wasn't really disappointed. Sitting in front of a grainy-screened television wasn't an exciting way to spend an evening, and waiting for the secret admirer to call again would be like waiting for water to boil.

A sigh came over the telephone. "I just got back from the hospital," Sally reported. "A few of us went, but, they wouldn't let us see her."

Jenny curled up on the couch next to Peaches. "I take it there hasn't been any change."

"No, nothing." Sally sighed again. "I thought Brad was going to punch a hole in the wall." She laughed a little. "Better the wall than your head, I guess. Did he call and apologize to you for the way he acted at the diner?"

"Uh, no. Why, did he say he was going to?"

"Not exactly. We told him he ought to," Sally said. "He came on like a real Neanderthal. You must think he's nuts."

"The thought did cross my mind," Jenny admitted. "But I guess he was just really upset."

"And feeling guilty, I'll bet," Sally added. "Diana breaks up with him and he's thinking terrible things about her, and then boom -- something terrible happens to her."

"That's what I figured," Jenny said. "I'm just glad Dean managed to calm him down."