only sound the dripping of moisture from the tree branches. Karyn called again and walked all around the yard. Nothing answered.
She went back inside and into the bedroom, where Roy sat on the edge of the bed pulling on a pair of denim pants.
'Lady's not here,' she said. 'We forgot to let her in last night. Now I can't find her. She doesn't answer.' Karen sensed the rising pitch of her voice, but she did not try to control it. Concern for the dog was an acceptable outlet for the other tangled emotions that she was not ready to examine.
'I'll go take a look,' Roy replied. He went outside, whistling and calling for the little dog. He made several forays into the woods, calling louder, and came back with his jeans wet from the damp brush.
'She's probably off exploring somewhere,' he said without conviction.
'Roy, do you think something's happened to her?'
'What could happen? We've been here over a week. Lady knows her way around by now. She'll come home when she gets hungry.'
Karyn caught the irritability just beneath his words. She said, 'I guess we might as well eat breakfast.'
She had lost all enthusiasm for the omelet. While she cooked it, Karyn left the front door open. From time to time each of them would look over that way.
Afterward Roy went to work editing his manuscripts. Karyn sat in a chair by the window with a book open on her lap. She tried to read, but the printed words would not register on her mind. When it was almost noon she could sit still no longer.
'Roy, I think we should go out and look for her. She may be hurt and can't get back to us.'
Roy looked over at her, and Karyn could see that he was not as unconcerned as he acted. 'All right,' he said.
The sun was out now, high and pale, but warm enough to dry off the forest. Roy and Karyn walked the trails that interlaced the surrounding woods. Some were so dim and overgrown that they were hardly there. Others showed signs of recent use.
Roy went in one direction, Karyn in another. She concentrated on looking down as she walked, scanning the ground along both sides of each trail. She saw nothing.
When Roy came upon her suddenly walking from the opposite direction, she started and gave a little squeal of surprise.
He reached out and grasped her arm gently. 'No luck?'
She shook her head.
'Roy, let's try going into town.'
'What for?'
'Maybe Lady got confused and went that way. Maybe somebody saw her. It wouldn't hurt to ask. It's better than sitting in that house and waiting to hear her bark, or see her come running home.' Karyn turned away so Roy would not see the sudden tears. 'Damn, how stupid it is to let a little animal become such a part of your life.
Roy put his arms around Karyn and held her for a moment.
They did not talk during the short drive. There was no sign of the dog in the roadway or in the brush alongside.
Once they were in the village Roy pulled over to the side and turned to Karyn while the engine idled. 'What now?'
Karyn looked up and down the deserted street, confused. 'How… how about that sheriff or whatever he is, Anton Gadak? Maybe he would know if anybody has seen Lady.'
The words were barely out of her mouth when the broad figure of Anton Gadak appeared up the street, angling across the blacktop toward their car. Roy shut off the engine and got out on the driver's side. Karyn came around and stood beside him.
Gakak put two fingers to the brim of his Stetson. 'Afternoon, folks. Haven't seen you for a few days. Everything all right?'
'Everything's fine,' Roy began automatically, then corrected himself. 'No, the truth is we've got a problem.'
'Problem?' Gadak waited politely.
When Roy hesitated, Karyn spoke up. 'It's our little dog. We left her out last night, and this morning she's missing.' Even as she spoke, Karyn thought how trivial it must sound.
'Sorry to hear that.'
'We wondered if she might have found her way to town somehow.'
'If she did, I ain't heard about it,' Gadak said. 'Folks in Drago don't keep pets much, so they'd most likely notice your dog if she came in this way. I'll ask around, and keep an eye out myself.'
'Thanks,' Roy said. 'We'd appreciate it.'
'No trouble.'
As the big man was about to turn away, Karyn stopped him. 'Mr Gadak, are there any large animals around here that might have… harmed her?'
'Large animals?' Gadak repeated.
'Last night, and on other nights, I've heard something in the woods. A howling.'
Gadak pulled at his lower lip and looked down at Karyn. His eyes were shaded by the hat brim. 'A howling, you say. Coyote, maybe. Sure, could have been a coyote. Been a few of them seen hereabouts. They'll carry off a small animal now and again. How big was this dog of yours?'
'About so high,' Roy said, flattening his hand at about knee level.
'Kinda big for a coyote to take on,' Gadak said, 'but maybe it was hungry.'
'It was not a coyote,' Karyn said firmly.
The big man turned his shadowed eyes back to her. 'Eh, what's that?'
'The thing I heard howling in the woods. It was no coyote.'
'Come on, Karyn,' Roy said. 'How can you be sure?'
She turned on her husband. 'You heard it. You heard the howling last night. Did that sound like a coyote to you?'
Roy's eyes shifted uneasily. 'How would I know? I'm a city boy. The only coyotes I ever hear are on
'All right,' Karyn persisted, 'but that howling last night, that didn't sound like any coyote on television — or any other place.'
'Maybe an owl,' Roy offered.
'Could be,' Gadak remarked, scratching his chin. 'The woods has a lot of peculiar sounds at night. 'Specially for folks from the city. You'll get used to it.'
'I doubt it,' Karyn said quietly. She walked around the car and got in.
Anton Gadak spoke to Roy in a confidential tone, but the words came clearly to Karyn through the open window. 'I'll ask around about your dog, Mr. Beatty, but I want to be honest with you. I think it's gone for good. Take my word for it, that was a coyote your missus heard. They can tear up a small animal in a hurry when they get hold of one.'
Roy got in and turned the car back toward their house. Karyn kept her eyes straight ahead, but she could see Roy glancing over at her.
Without looking at him, she said in a firm voice, 'It was no coyote.'
Chapter Six
That night Roy did not even try to make love to Karyn. He stayed up long after she went to bed, working, he said. When he finally came silently into the bedroom he was careful not to wake her and immediately went to sleep.
The night after that Karyn wore her nightgown to bed. It broke a years-long habit of sleeping in the nude. Roy
