In the end, Annie could afford being all embarrassed and red-faced about the whole examination. It was because the doctor had concluded, after Annie had endured all the discomfort, that the little girl had not been raped.
It was a relief. It also meant that her second nightmare, her ordeal of the examination, became her primary torment. At least she was too feverish to worry too much about it.
It turned out that Mother had been at the hospital the whole time. She had just gone downstairs for coffee when Annie woke up. When Big Sis reported the examination results to her, Annie half-expected Mother to make a fuss about it. She would not put it past Mother to insist on witnessing the examination, probably with cameras and videos if she were allowed to.
Mother, however, remained dead-serious silent. Maybe Annie should not think too badly of Mother.
Big Sis and Mother were there with her when the police came to interview Annie in her hospital room. The room was darker now with the sky outside growing cloudy.
Detective Larioza was a tired middle-aged woman whose black hair was lined with strings of white. She sat close to Annie's bed with a notepad and a pen in her hands. The other person, Detective Gomez, was a short, stocky man, much younger than his partner was. He leaned against the wall with a notepad of his own.
Annie described her evening as best as she could to the detectives. She mentioned Connie and Sabine, spelling out their full names when prompted. She also listed each and everyone she met, those that she could recall. There had been so many people and it had been a boring party.
"Do you remember the license plate of the cab you took?" Detective Larioza asked.
"No," Anne replied, "I don't think I even saw it, sorry."
Detective Larioza leaned closer and studied Annie's face as she asked the next question, "Did you take any alcohol last night?"
Big Sis covered her mouth with her hand. Mother stared at the detective.
Annie's jaw had dropped. "No!" she denied firmly.
"Ms Billings, there were traces of alcohol in your blood test," Detective Larioza informed her.
That could not be possible! Annie looked to her family members. They seemed equally shocked at the revelation.
"Based on what you've told me, I think you've been consuming alcohol during the fund-raiser," Detective Larioza deduced.
"But, that's not possible," Annie interjected, "I didn't drink any!"
"Perhaps you consumed it unknowingly?" the detective suggested. She read her notepad. "You said you've been given drinks by your friends. The alcohol have been in those."
"My friends?" Annie considered the theory for a moment. "They couldn't have done that. Besides, they drank some too."
"It's just a possibility." The older woman leaned back in her seat. "It could be any one of these people." She ran a finger along a list on her notepad.
"Will you find whoever robbed me?" Annie asked, desperate to get away from the uncomfortable subject. She had drunk alcohol? That intoxicating substance that inhibited a person's judgment? Could her friends have given it to her?
"We will." Detective Larioza gave a weary smile. "Let the police handle it. You should rest."
***
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