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"You haven't let me finish," Abigail protests.
"Then make it quick," Cruz presses.
"I know where that man is. Does that sound better?"
"It depends on whether you can prove what you're saying is true."
"I can, though not right now. Listen, this is a colossal mistake. We dared to do something stupid, got ourselves into a serious mess without intending to," Abigail spills.
Sergeant Cruz Ortega falls silent as she thinks. The woman spoke in the plural. It's them.
"Alright, I'm listening. You have two minutes to summarize the situation, and don't lie to me."
"Last night, I went to that bar and met another woman. Both of us were fed up with certain things, and we decided we needed some excitement in our lives."
The sergeant can't believe what she's hearing.
"We decided to steal a car. All we wanted was to take it for a spin, nothing more. Then we'd park it nicely somewhere, and the owner would have it back."
"And you stumbled upon a surprise in the trunk, right?" the sergeant decides to intervene, given the circumstances she needs to ask questions.
"Exactly. We didn't realize until the end, when we had decided to leave the car."
"Let's say, hypothetically, I believe you. Why haven't you handed Mikel over? If you claim it was all bad luck, why didn't you call the police earlier?"
"Because he threatened us," Abigail responds, explaining to the sergeant the literal words Mikel used.
The sergeant is developing serious reasons to believe the woman on the phone is telling the truth. Despite the convoluted car theft story, it answers the nagging question in the sergeant's mind. Why would she use her credit card if she intended to kidnap someone? It makes no sense. However, it does if they were just aiming to pull off a prank they were confident they wouldn't get caught doing. Another point supporting the validity of their story is Mikel's death threats and attempted bribery, typical behavior for criminals of his kind.
"Why not tell me your name so I can address you properly?" Cruz Ortega insists now that her caller seems more confident.
"I don't want my name on any records," Abigail responds firmly.
"What do you mean?"
"I want to negotiate. I'll hand over Mikel, and in return, our names won't appear in any databases."
"You want us to drop the charges against you," the sergeant says, raising her eyebrows, surprised by her audacity.
"Exactly."
"That's not so simple. You just admitted to stealing the car, and on top of that, when you found the stowaway in the trunk and decided not to turn him in, you committed illegal detention."
"We didn't kidnap him," protests Abigail indignantly.
"But you're holding him against his will, which, for all intents and purposes, is the same thing. Listen carefully; it's only a matter of time before I find out who you are. One of you paid at La Tapia bar with a credit card."
Abigail's breath catches, and she looks at Gretel, whose complexion has paled at least four shades.
"I assume it was you, right? I'm sure it was," the sergeant affirms without letting her answer. "In every criminal duo, there's always a leader. In this case, it's you. And, as I said, it's only a matter of time before I find out your name, your address, and every last detail about you. I'll arrest both of you, charging you with theft, illegal detention, and obstruction in an ongoing criminal investigation."
"You can't do that," Gretel intervenes, scared, participating in the conversation for the first time.
"Of course, I can."
Sergeant Cruz Ortega falls silent, letting her last words resonate and have an impact on the two women. She wants to play her own card. If they truly have Mikel, they can set up an operation to lure his father, who is the real target. What the sergeant doesn't expect is Abigail's response.
"Alright, if there's no way to get rid of the charges, we'll release Mikel in some deserted spot right now and get rid of any evidence linking us. In that case, when they catch up with us, they can only accuse us of theft. Since neither of us has a criminal record, it'll just result in a fine I can easily pay," Abigail says, almost breathless, under Gretel's astonished gaze, who clasps her hands as if praying for Abigail's words to be possible.
