The radio in my car crackled to life first.
"Driver of vehicle plate Golf-Eight-Four-Seven-One, pull over immediately. Cease all aggressive driving. Continued behavior of this nature constitutes a violation of traffic law, and you will be charged with reckless endangerment."
Hope surged through me. I grabbed the radio.
"Officer, I have a critically ill passenger in my vehicle. I cannot stop. The car ahead of me is my wife. She's in a dispute with me and is deliberately blocking my lane."
The radio went silent. The officer switched over to negotiate with Gretchen and Cecil.
Then Gretchen's window rolled down. She reached out and angled the side mirror back, adjusting it with deliberate precision until she was certain I could see her reflection from behind.
She raised her middle finger.
Her voice message landed a second later.
"You actually called the cops, Clarence? You've got some nerve."
"When Cecil made a mistake, you didn't call the police then, did you? No, you chose to slap him instead."
"You think calling the cops is going to help? I'll break every law on the books before I let you pass!"