Wrong Turn

Ginny should have known not to trust her GPS. She'd forgotten to take the "avoid tolls" option off of her commute to Katie's baby shower. Why did upper Illinois have to be toll capital of the world?

She didn't mind the backroads so much, it was the rough neighborhoods that spooked her. Ginny stared down at the engine. She didn't know why she lifted the hood when her old rust bucket rattled to a stop. She didn't know anything about cars. Maybe she'd miss the shower. 

She could only hope. At least she had the perfect excuse, as long as she wasn't robbed and murdered. 

She was surprised the pink gifts piled high on her car didn't get her a ticket or at least pulled over. Perhaps that was the one good thing about all the back roads. Cops were more interested in illicit activities than a lost Minnie Mouse shower attendee. 

Woop-woop!

Ginny dropped her head. She relaxed too soon. 

Ginny stood and turned to face the officer as he got out of his car. She plastered the most innocent smile she could conjure on her face. "Hello!" 

The officer raised an eyebrow, ignoring her greeting to take in the spectacle of her car. "Are you all right, ma'am?" 

A nervous laugh escaped her throat as she answered. "Well, not exactly. My car broke down."

"All right, let's see what we have." He strolled to her car, one hand on the handle of his gun, eyes scanning the area. The closer he got the taller he seemed. "Where you headed?" 

Ginny gestured to the mountain of pink. "Baby shower. One guess what it is." 

The cop cracked a smile with perfect teeth. He leaned into her old rust bucket and looked around. "Looks like you ran out of coolant. Your engine overheated. You can wait for it to cool down; could take an hour or so. Or I could give you and your pink mountain a lift."

"I'll wait." 

He glanced over at her. "You sure, ma'am? It's not the nicest neighborhood."

"I'm sure." Ginny couldn't stop the blush from her cheeks. 

The officer eyed her. "Let me see some I.D." 

Ginny's mouth opened. "You want my..?" He stared at her, stone-faced. "You're serious." He gave a curt nod. Ginny snapped her mouth shut and walked around to the other side of her car. "I'm getting my purse. Don't shoot me." She'd heard of cases where someone reached for identification and a nervous cop opened fire. She'd also heard of cases where someone reached for something and opened fire on the cop. 

He gestured with the hand that wasn't on his weapon. "Thanks for letting me know."

She didn't stop frowning as she jerked her purse out of the car and slammed the door shut. Would he have demanded her ID if she'd accepted the ride? The officer didn't take his eyes off her as she fished around for her wallet. "Here." She handed the whole thing to him. 

"I only need your driver's license."

"It's a bear to get out of the sleeve." 

He raised his brow at her again and walked back to his car. "Don't go anywhere."

Was he smiling? Ginny crossed her arms and tapped her toe. She glanced at her car and rolled her eyes. He slid into his seat and gazed at the small computer on his console. 

Ginny leaned against her car and gazed up at the pink gifts. Perhaps she had gone a little overboard. 

"All right, Mrs. Ganaway," the officer said as he approached. He handed her wallet back to her. "It was a bear to get out."