He observed the youngster ride his bike to the end of the block where the street dead-ended. Then, after looking around carefully, the man slowly drove his car over to where the boy stood staring at something on the ground. He parked a few yards away and watched as the boy wiped tears off his face.
The man rolled down his window.
“Excuse me,” he said. “You’re Ryan Erwin, aren’t you?”
The boy stood up straight and stared wide-eyed at the man, his expression guarded. He blinked furiously, obviously not wanting the man to know he’d been crying.
“Yeah, I’m Ryan.”
The man smiled. “I’m Bill Martin. I live on the next block. You’ve seen me before, right?”
Ryan frowned, his forehead wrinkled in thought. “I . . . I don’t know . . .”
“Sure you have. I own the big black Lab.”
The boy’s expression brightened. “Oh yeah. I know that dog. You own it?”
The man nodded. “That’s Sadie. She recently had puppies, and one of them is missing. I wonder if you’ve seen it?” The man reached over to the passenger seat and grabbed a photo. “Here’s a picture of Waggles. He got out this morning. I’d sure hate for him to get run over. He’s just a little thing.” He held the picture out.
Ryan nudged the kickstand on his bike down and approached the car.
“He’s cute, isn’t he?” the man said, his smile pasted firmly in place. “My kids are heartbroken.” He pulled the photo a little closer to him. “You have a dog, don’t you?”
The boy nodded. “Yeah, a golden retriever.”
“What’s his name?”
“We named him Ollie, after Laurel and Hardy. My dad . . .” Ryan took a deep breath. “My dad thinks they’re funny.”
“I like that name.”
The boy came up even nearer to the car.
“Ryan, do you think you could do me a favor and help me look for my puppy? I’d hate to go home and tell my kids something happened to him.”
The boy studied the man’s face once again, then stared down at the photo of the small black Lab puppy. Finally, he nodded. “My teacher told me not to talk to strangers, but I guess since I know you, it would be all right.”
“I’m glad you know about stranger danger. It’s very important to be careful.” The man’s smile widened. “Why don’t you leave your bike here? We’ll look for Waggles, and after we find him, I’ll bring you right back.”
“Sure,” Ryan said. He glanced back once at his new blue racing bike as he ran around the car and got into the passenger seat.
An hour later, Ryan’s father found the bike.
But Ryan was gone.