KnockOut

woman’s low, gravelly voice, Glenda’s voice. Ethan put his hand up, waved Larch back, and moved quietly toward the kitchen.
    Glenda yelled, “Stop trying to creep up on me, Sheriff. I know you’re out there; you made more noise than a herd of elephants.”
    Joanna called out, “Ethan, stay back. She’s got a gun.”
    “Yeah, right, lady, and if you try anything, I’ll blow your head off. I don’t need you.”
    Joanna said, “You’re going to shoot me anyway, aren’t you?”
    “Well, now, let me just say I’m doing things like I’m supposed to. You’re not enough to stop me anyway. Sheriff, you stay out of here, you hear me?”
    “Yeah, I hear you.” Ethan heard the low murmur of their voices, but he couldn’t make out the words. Then he heard Autumn’s voice, clear and loud. “I don’t want to go back with you—I won’t go back! And I don’t touch my mama—”
    He heard Glenda scream, “You shut up, you hear me? Shut up!”
    Joanna yelled, “Big Louie!”
    Big Louie bounded past Ethan, barking wildly, lost traction, and careened into the kitchen doorway, and bounded straight toward her, his nails a mad tattoo on the kitchen tiles. He heard Glenda yell, heard a gunshot, obscenely loud in the small kitchen. Ethan raced into the kitchen after him.
    He saw Joanna hit Glenda in the jaw with a hard right jab. Glenda’s head snapped back with the force of the blow. Big Louie was barking his head off, his jaws locked around Glenda’s leg. She rolled her head, trying to get clear again. Autumn grabbed a pot and swung it hard at Glenda’s back, and got her good.
    It was all Joanna needed. She hit her again, hard, in the temple. He watched Glenda’s eyes roll back in her head, watched her hit the center island and slide to the kitchen floor. He eased his Beretta back onto his belt. “Big Louie, that’s enough, lad. You did good.”
    He picked up Glenda’s gun and stared at Joanna standing over his only female deputy, rubbing her knuckles.
    She looked up, and he couldn’t believe it. She was grinning like a loon. “I hope that was hard enough to snap her out of it. Thanks, Big Louie, you’re a prince.” She went down on her knees and hugged the big Lab against her. He licked her face, then turned his head to take a couple of licks at Autumn’s face.
    He hadn’t been needed, but his dog had been a nice addition.
    He said, “Usually Big Louie hides under my bed at the first hint of trouble. But he didn’t this time.” Ethan scratched Big Louie’s head.
    Glenda moaned. Ethan went down on his knees beside her, checked her pupils. Her eyes opened. “Ethan? What happened? Oh, goodness, my head hurts.”
    “It’ll be okay now, Glenda, just hang in there. Larch, get Glenda to Dr. Spitz’s house as soon as the others arrive. Don’t leave her, okay?”
    “Jeff’s gonna freak,” Larch said.
    “Yeah, he will, but she’ll be okay.”
    “She’s going to have a big shiner. Jeff’s not going to like that. They’ve only been married six months.”
    “I’ll talk to him. Go, Larch. Glenda, you take nice light breaths and stay awake, okay?”
    Glenda nodded and moaned.
    Joanna said, “Glenda, I’m sorry I hit you so hard, but I had to. I had to break you free of Blessed.”
    “I don’t know,” Glenda whispered, her hands pressed against her head. “I can’t remember.” Larch nodded as he pulled Glenda up against his shoulder and walked her out of the kitchen.
    Ethan hugged Autumn against him. “Did you see Blessed? Do you know where he is?”
    Joanna said, “No, Sheriff. But when Glenda came into the kitchen through the back door, I knew Blessed had gotten to her—her walk was different, and she had this look, scared me to death. That sounds stupid but—”
    “No, it doesn’t. Autumn, if your mom leaves anything out, you just pipe up, okay?”
    Autumn pressed even closer, nodded against his waist.
    Joanna said, “She had her gun already against her side, but the thing is, like Ox, she didn’t want to hurt Autumn, and that meant I could act.”
    Ethan said with a calm he wasn’t close to feeling, “She could have shot you between the eyes in an instant.”
    “But she didn’t,” Joanna said, giving a sideways look at Autumn.
    Autumn pulled away a bit. She smiled up at him. “Mama slammed her twice, Ethan, right in the head. Did you see her? She was awe-some.” She sent her mother a beaming smile.
    Ethan heard his deputies outside, and relaxed. He picked her up and