CHAPTER THREE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY FOUR – DODGING THE LAW

Hours into the journey, Jasmine was startled awake by the bus lurching to a stop. "What's going on?" she asked, rubbing sleep from her eyes. Mildred peered out the window. "Looks like a checkpoint of some kind." Jasmine's heart dropped. She watched in growing panic as uniformed officers boarded the bus. "Ladies and gentlemen," one officer announced, "we're conducting a routine search. Please have your identification ready." Jasmine's hands trembled as she fumbled in her bag, realizing with horror that she'd left her fake ID in the motel room. "Problem?" Mildred whispered. Jasmine nodded, unable to speak. To her surprise, Mildred winked. "Follow my lead, dear." As the officer approached their row, Mildred burst into dramatic sobs. "Oh, officer!" she wailed. "It's terrible! My granddaughter here, she's had such a fright!" The officer looked alarmed. "Ma'am, is everything alright?" Mildred grabbed Jasmine's hand. "Tell the nice man what happened, sweetie." Jasmine, catching o