“He pushed us to the center. He blocked the door. He was there, and then he wasn’t. Where’s DEAN!” There was a new wail, and it wasn’t a siren.
It was the cry of J.J. Tucker as she searched for her husband.
They all began to fan out. Tag supported Shelly; Shelly cried. Where was Old Man Barton? Was he in the store when the twister hit? There were people milling about. It felt like chaos.
Deputies, E.M.S., power company vans, all of them began to trickle in.
But the question remained: Where was Dean Tucker?
Libby arrived downtown. Her house was okay, she said, but their big tree had been torn up by the roots and blocked her drive.
She’d driven her Jeep around it and pressed ahead. She said power lines were littering M-50.
Goldie called Viv and Libby. She said the hotel was okay. They had room for anyone who was displaced.
It was a constant checking in and touching base. More emergency vehicles were downtown than people, it seemed to Siena.
The weather was calm now, even pleasant. Within an hour, it was a gorgeous sunny day. But all of it seemed grotesque. A sick feeling was in Siena’s stomach. J.J. had to be stopped from picking up dangerous debris with her bare hands.
Soon the sound of chainsaws slicing through limbs replaced sirens.
Everyone was trying to help, assess, and process.
The body of Ned Barton was discovered 500 yards away from his store.
He was the first casualty reported.
But the question remained. Where was Dean?
Siena pitched in. She missed a call from Cole. She called him back.
She was okay, and he was too. He wondered if she could manage on her own.
Cole and Keith were fighting to keep two boats docked at their place from sinking. They’d nearly been swamped when the wind caused a major swell at the marina.
She was fine, yes, it was okay. Shaken but okay.
But the question remained, where was Dean Tucker?
And then the question was answered with a sound worse than sirens or the roar of a tornado or a chainsaw.
“No!”
J.J. had her answer. The sound of her scream was the sound that stayed with Siena.
They found Dean Tucker.
The tornado had plucked him up and taken him away.
The body of Dean Tucker was found one hour after the tornado hit. One mile away, by a farmer.
The aunts were there, surrounding J.J., but Siena knew there wasn’t one thing any of them could really do to help her.
Siena looked up to the sky.
It was impossibly blue.
ChapterTwenty-Six
