Page 88 of Big Island Sunrise
“Can I help you look?”
She looked at him, paused, and nodded sharply before continuing on.
They walked a few more blocks and had nearly reached the ocean before Tenn suggested that they turn down an unpaved side street.
“I don’t imagine he would have gone all the way down to the cliffs, at least not without turning right back around. He might’ve gone down one of the quieter streets. This one has about a dozen dogs tied up outside a couple properties. He might’ve followed the smell.”
“Worth a shot.” They walked in silence the length of the long block, nearly a mile to the next road. When they reached it, they walked back up, another half mile towards town before turning onto the next quiet street and walking in the direction of the Kealoha place.
She kept waiting for Tenn to make conversation, but he didn’t.
It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. He seemed content just to walk beside her through the quiet morning sunshine. He didn’t try to take her hand – that is, not until they reached a mess of fallen branches.
The storm had torn long limbs from the albizia trees that towered over this stretch of road. There was no going around them, so Tenn clambered over and then extended a hand to Lani. She took it, and he helped her over the mess of the leafy branches.
He released her as soon as she was past it, and her hand ached to take his again.
She denied the urge and walked faster.
In the distance, she heard a whining howl. It sounded like Dio, or at least like some big, young dog. There were plenty of those in the neighborhood, many of them permanently chained in front of their owners houses, so she tried not to get her hopes up.
All the same, her steps quickened to a jog as they approached the source of the noise. Tenn kept pace easily, his long legs eating up the distance as quickly as she could jog.
The sound was coming from a house with dogs chained out front, but neither one of those dogs was making much noise. One flattened its ears against its head and skulked towards its doghouse while the other, not much more than a puppy, whined in greeting and wiggled his whole body as he strained at the end of his chain.
The miserable yelping whine continued from behind the battered wooden house.
Lani took a hesitant step onto the property, following it. The dogs were chained strategically to prevent anyone from crossing the front lawn, but the young one on the right did nothing more than nose her legs in a bid for attention. She patted his head distractedly as she walked towards the side of the house.
Tenn paused at the property line and looked like he might argue, but he kept quiet. She cupped her hands around her mouth and called, “Dio?”
The puppy-like crying intensified to excited whines and yelps, and then she was certain. She turned back to Tenn.
“That’s him.”
He nodded and walked forward to join her. Standing between her and the porch, he called out, “Aloha! Anybody home?”
When there was no answer, they walked around the side of the house.
Dio was just around back, in a huge metal cage that people used to catch wild pigs. The trap door had shut behind him.
He whined and scrabbled at the bars, tail whipping in excitement. She put her hand against the cage, and he licked her fingers.
“Do you know how to open these?” she asked Tenn.
“Let me see.” He knelt to examine the trap door, and just then a shout came from the back of the house. An older man walked out carrying a hunting rifle.
“This is private property!” he shouted.
“This is our dog,” she told him, eying the gun.
“If it’s on my property, it’s my dog,” he growled.
“Then we’ll get him off your property.” Lani’s heart was racing wildly, but she kept her voice level. “Would you please open the cage?”
The man spat over the porch railing, a yellow glob of phlegm that landed near her feet.
“What kind of idiots let their dogs run wild? Do you know a lady two streets down was killed by dogs just last month? Not to mention the damage they do to livestock. I ought to have shot him the minute the trap closed.”
