Nowhere to Hide

False Arrest

Fear surges through every fiber of Abby's being. She continues to lay scrunched up underneath the seat. Please don't let them find me, oh, please don't let them see me, Abby silently begs. Her body trembles, her hands shake, her stomach churns with fury. She nervously arranges the toys in front of her, hoping the small trinkets will obstruct the officer's view.

"I have to help her." Turning, Thelma scans the van but doesn't see a thing. "I thought she was back there." She watches a group of officers' heading towards her car. She then notices a larger group off to the side. She gulps at the intimidating site. "It's probably a good thing she's not."

The cop taps on the window. Thelma nervously rolls it down and asks, "Can... Can I help you?"

"I need to do a quick search of your van." He nods to his partner. With his gun in hand, the second rookie steps inside.

Abby holds her breath as freshly polished shoes tromp towards the back. An urgency hits her. She tries to push the thought aside. Pain surges across her lower abdomen, nearly bringing her to tears. She bites her lower lip, trying to keep from crying out. I hope they finish soon.

"May I ask why you're heading towards Missouri?" The first officer questions.

"I work at the hospital." She glances at her watch and then at him. "I'm going to be late if you guys don't make this quick."

The officer steps out of the van. He turns towards Thelma and says, "I'm sorry for the inconvenience, ma'am." He starts to close the door when he realizes he hadn't checked under the seats. "Hold on a second." He flashes a light around. Seeing something suspicious, he looks at his coworker and then at her.

"We need for you to step out of the vehicle nice and slow," the first officer instructs, reaching for his gun.

"I don't understand."

The cop slings the door open. Cocking his gun, the cop says, "I won't tell you again."

"Alright, alright." Thelma's body trembles when she slides out of the van.

The cop spins her around and pats her down.

"Can... Can I ask what this is about?"

"Don't play innocent with me."

"I'm... I'm not. I have no idea what's going on."

Cuffing her, he leads her towards their car.

Abby continues to lie motionless under the seat, debating on what she should do. She didn't want her dear friend to go to jail because she stowed away, but she doesn't want to be sent to prison on a false accusation either. She's mulling over the options in her mind when a puzzling thought hits her. If I'm the one they're after, why didn't they haul me away too? Maybe they didn't see me, and they're arresting Thelma for something else. What could it possibly be? An old movie they watched comes to mind. She snickers at the thought. I can't see Thelma and Ned ever doing that.

The driver's door opens, a lanky officer climbs into the van. What are they up to now?

The officer starts the car and throws it in gear. They're not taking it to the impound, are they? She pictures herself trying to escape.

She then imagines a hungry St. Bernard nipping her heels. She shakes the gruesome scene from her head. I have to stop binge-watching horror films.

The vehicle moves a few feet and stops. Turning off the van, the driver hops out.

Abby sighs with relief. He must've just moved it out of the way. Oh, that's not good, not good at all.

"What did I do?" Thelma asks as they escort her to the cruiser. She turns to find her vehicle moving. "Hey, wait, where is he taking my van?"

The officer looks back. "He's pulling it to the side of the road."

Thelma pulls away. "He's pulling it to the side? Why, what's going on?"

"Do you care to explain this?" The officer holds up a bag of off-white powder.

"That's the baby's formula. I keep some in the van in case my daughter needs an extra bottle when we're out. I have a few diapers and a change of clothes in there too."

The officer shakes his head. He and the others have laughed at some of their zany excuses, but this is the craziest by far. "Baby formula, huh?" He glances at the bag. "Well, I'm going field test it just in case."

She smiles. "Go right ahead."

Grabbing a kit from his trunk, the officer takes a pinch of powder and puts it in a tube. "Here we go." He waits for her reaction.

Thelma rolls her eyes. "Just do it so I can go."

He secures the lid and gives it a few shakes. "The judge will go easier on you if you come clean."

"You don't give up, do you?"

He holds the test kit up to the sunlight to find the color hasn't changed. "It must be a faulty test."

"Or maybe it's the baby's formula like I said."

Giving her a stern look, he tries again. Like the first time, nothing happens. "I don't understand." He checks the expiration dates on the packages. "That's not it." The officer scratches his head.

"I told you it wasn't drugs."

His commanding officer steps up beside them. "Is there a problem, officer?"

"I thought this was drugs, so I did two tests, and they both came out negative."

The second officer eyes the small bag. Shaking his head, he snatches the bag out of his coworker's hand and sniffs. "This is baby formula, you moron."

"Are you sure, sir?"

"I have four kids; I know what formula smells like." He hands the bag to Thelma. "I'm so sorry for your inconvenience, ma'am." The officer turns towards the rookie. He puts his hands on his hips, leans in, and says, "As for you, rookie...

Thelma rushes to the van. Jumping inside, she starts the vehicle. She glances in the rear-view mirror to find the officer giving the rookie the business.

She chuckles. "I almost feel sorry for the young schmuck." The humor behind it all suddenly hits her. "Wait until I tell the girls that I was almost thrown in jail for having baby formula in the car." She laughs.