“What kind of information?” Honey asked, still trying to wrestle the door from Fannie.
“If you let Ibby and me in, I’ll tell you,” Fannie said.
Honey opened the door just enough to let them in.
Honey Friedrichs hadn’t aged well. Her face was puffy and her nose red from too much alcohol, and her hair looked as if it hadn’t seen a comb in quite some time. Annabelle was sprawled on the couch with a blanket pulled up to her chest. She had a black eye and there were bruises on her neck.
“What are they doing here?” Annabelle shrieked.
“They want to talk to you,” her mother said.
“I don’t have anything to say. Tell them to leave!” Annabelle demanded, pointing to the door.
“If you don’t talk to them, they say they’re going down to the police station to give a statement,” Honey said.
“Well, let them.” Annabelle turned her head.
“Annabelle, I have reason to believe that T-Bone Trout wasn’t with you last night,” Fannie said in a surprisingly soothing voice. “Or any other night for that matter.”
“How would you know? He raped me, then beat me up and left me to die.” She glared at Fannie with such ferocity that Ibby thought she might leap up and tackle Fannie to the ground.
“No, he didn’t, Annabelle,” Fannie said calmly.
“Yes, he did!” she screamed.
Honey put her hand on Annabelle’s shoulder.
“Get off me!” She yanked her mother’s hand away.
“You’re lying,” Ibby said.
When Annabelle’s head swiveled around, her eyes were wild. “How dare you!” She pointed at Ibby. “Get out! Mama, send them away!”
“You weren’t with T-Bone last night. I was.”
“You slut!” Annabelle hissed.
“Call me what you want,” Ibby said. “But he wasn’t with you. He was with me, and Birdelia, the whole night. We have witnesses who can testify that it’s true.”
“I don’t care what you say. You’re just covering up for him. It’s my word against his.” Annabelle’s face tightened.
“Annabelle, do you know what they do to people who make false charges?” Fannie gave her a stern look.
“I don’t have to talk to them. Mama, make them leave. Why’d you let them in in the first place?” She pushed her mother away from the couch.
Fannie went on. “Let me tell you how it will go down if you don’t drop the charges. They’ll put you up on the witness stand—”
“So?” Annabelle interrupted.
“And they’ll hear about how you were having sex in the stables,” Ibby chimed in.
“What?” Honey’s head shot around.
“Don’t listen to her, Mama. She’s making it up.” Annabelle glared at Ibby.
“Then they’ll hear from several more eyewitnesses as to how you liked to tie your horse up down by the batture and have sex under the willow trees.” Ibby kept her eyes on Annabelle as she spoke.
“That’s not true! She’s lying.” Annabelle wagged her finger wildly at Ibby.
“Then several more witnesses will testify that Monday night wasn’t the first time you had been to the Ebony Lounge. They’ll testify that you’d been there on several occasions. And each time, you had sex with men in the backseat of your car, which you had a habit of parking right out front.”
“Annabelle!” Honey cried.
“Shut up, Mama.”
“I saw you get in your car that night,” Ibby said. “But it wasn’t with T-Bone, because T-Bone was standing right next to me, with Birdelia on the other side of him. We saw a man get into your car. So did Shorty. So did the bartender at the Ebony Lounge. So did the officer who was on duty that night, who was standing just outside the door to the Ebony Lounge, the same officer who happens to be standing just outside your door right now.”
Kennedy coughed into his hand.
Annabelle sat upright. Her mouth flew open.
“Then, if that’s not enough for you, the lawyers will start on Miss Honey here.” Ibby tilted her head. “They’ll say how the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. They’ll outline her affair with Mr. Jeffreys down the street.” Ibby was spitting out her words.
“Calm down.” Fannie grabbed Ibby’s arm.
She yanked it away. “They’ll show that’s why your father left your mother. They’ll go into the rest of your mother’s sexual exploits, just to prove that her daughter is just like she is.”
Honey Friedrichs put her hands on her hips. “Annabelle Friedrichs, you tell me the truth. That boy do this, or were you just whoring around again?” She bent over until her face was just a few inches from Annabelle’s. “Answer me, or I swear to God I’ll beat the living daylights out of you.”
“Annabelle,” Fannie said calmly, “all you have to do is drop the charges against T-Bone. Seems like a sweet deal to me. If I were you, I’d take it. Otherwise, we’ll see you in court.”
Annabelle was looking from her mother to Ibby, her mouth agape.
“Well?” Fannie tapped her foot. “I don’t have all day.”
“Okay,” Annabelle said quietly.
“What did you say?” Honey asked.