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crowd moved back, too, sucking in a collective breath. Rhodes figured they were having a great day. Nothing like a good chain-saw fight to break the monotony.
    He thought of the cartoon again. He had a feeling he wouldn’t be nearly as bloodless as the cartoon character had been if he was split in half, and he wouldn’t go back together quite so easily, either.
    Thorpe raised the saw into the air, and Rhodes thought maybe he was going to give up. Thorpe fooled him, however. He rushed forward.

    Rhodes made a clumsy move backward and turned his ankle. He fell to the ground and looked up to see the saw swinging down at him. He rolled away, but the saw took a little of his shirt and scraped some skin off his back before hitting the ground and throwing chunks of dirt into the air all around.
    Thorpe lost his balance and almost lost his grip on the saw, but he managed to keep his feet as Rhodes rolled over again and grabbed the bumper of Ruth’s county car to pull himself up.
    He heard Ruth yell for Thorpe to freeze, but he held up his hand. He didn’t want anybody to get killed, not even Thorpe, not if it could be prevented.
    The crowd had moved a good distance away now. Rhodes didn’t blame them. When there’s a man with a chain saw and a deputy with a pistol, the sensible thing to do is get away.
    â€œListen, Thorpe,” Rhodes said. “You’re already in enough trouble as it is. Put down the saw and don’t make things any worse.”
    â€œI’ve assaulted an officer,” Thorpe said. “How could it get any worse?”
    â€œYou could kill me.”
    â€œI might have to do that unless you’ll let me leave.”
    â€œLeave?”
    â€œLet me go after Brant. He’s the one I want. After I take care of him, I’ll let you arrest me. I’m not gonna hurt anybody else.”
    â€œYou’re not going to hurt him, either.”
    â€œI am, by God. I’ll take care of him one piece at a time. You can’t stop me.”
    Ruth had assumed the shooting stance, feet spread slightly, both hands gripping her pistol. If Rhodes nodded, she’d shoot.
Most likely she’d wound Thorpe, but there was always the chance that she might kill him, and then they’d have a dead body on their hands. Or she might miss and hit one of the bystanders. That would lead to no end of report writing. Thorpe wasn’t worth it, although for the moment, Rhodes didn’t see any other way to handle him.
    â€œEverybody leave,” Rhodes said. “Right now. Get back in your homes and stay there until this is over.”
    He heard a lot of grumbling, but people began to move away, except for one man. Alton Brant was back, walking calmly through the crowd with a long-handled shovel. Rhodes thought he knew what Brant had in mind, and he decided not to discourage him.
    â€œWhat’s all this about, anyway, Mr. Thorpe?” Rhodes said. “Why are you after Brant?”
    â€œI like that mister . Nice and polite. But it doesn’t change the fact that what this is about is my business. Now you and your deputy just back off, and we’ll call it quits.”
    Rhodes’s skin was stinging a little where the saw had scraped him. He wondered if Thorpe really believed he’d back off.
    â€œYou know I can’t do that. I have to enforce the laws, and you’ve broken about ten of them.”
    â€œI’m gonna break me a few more before I’m done here.”
    By that time Brant was directly behind Thorpe and not more than ten feet away. The noise of the saw was more than loud enough to cover his approach as long as Thorpe was concentrating on Rhodes.
    â€œYou can’t just cut somebody into pieces and then walk away,” Rhodes said.

    Thorpe grinned. “I don’t give a damn what happens after I cut him up. You can lock me in your hoosegow and throw away the key for all I care.”
    â€œYou wouldn’t like it there,”