“I’m going to pick you up now,” she said.

Ella gave a faint nod. “Please don’t leave Buddy behind.” “I won’t.”

Natalie lifted her gently. The child weighed far less than she should have. Ella laid her head on Natalie’s shoulder, still staring down the street over the officer’s arm. “Is that Daddy?” she asked as an SUV rounded the corner. “No, sweetheart.”

A moment later, Ella went limp. Buddy slipped from her hands toward the rain-slick porch.

Natalie caught the stuffed puppy with one hand and tightened her other arm around the child.

“Unconscious minor,” she said into her radio.