Joan Hess - Arly Hanks 03 by Much Ado in Maggody Read Free Book Online

including one of Ruby Bee's. "What about freedom of speech?" she demanded.
    "You have to do your duty," Mrs. Jim Bob said, tapping me on the shoulder in case I didn't know to whom she was speaking. "This is a clear case of assault and battery, not to mention outrageous behavior on the streets of Maggody."
    "And a sin against all of mankind," Brother Verber rumbled piously. "The Bible says that woman should obey man, and -- "
    "Calm down, Johnna Mae," I said, ignoring everybody. "You can't bash people on the head, no matter how justified it seems to you. Why don't you let me have the sign and go on home and cool off?"
    Brandon Bernswallow got Oliver steadied, then he came over to peer down his nose at me. "There has been a criminal act, and we intend to press charges. This woman, in front of witnesses, attacked Mr. Oliver with the intent of causing him bodily injury. I demand that you arrest her."
    Sherman Oliver looked uncomfortable as all eyes turned on him. "Well, now, I wouldn't say there was any bodily injury, Brandon. She whacked me with a piece of cardboard, not a two-by-four. If she'll promise to stop this childish nonsense and stay home, I think we can forget about this."
    "Okay, Johnna Mae?" I said.
    "No, it is not okay. I am not some worthless person who can be demoted like I was trash or hadn't spent eleven years working at this bank. Mr. Oliver and this fellow think they can cheat me, but I ain't going to roll over and play dead just because they say so."
    "Right on," came a low voice from the crowd.
    One would like to think one's mother was not a seasoned agitator, but one would find oneself in error. I glared over my shoulder, then turned back to give Johnna Mae a grim look. "I understand your frustration, but you cannot cause a riot on the street or attack someone simply because you're unhappy with your position. Mr. Oliver is entitled to file charges against you. Now, he's said he'll forget this if you'll promise to stop protesting."
    "I won't stop," Johnna Mae said as her eyes filled with tears. "I got to do what I got to do."
    "Please," I hissed at her.
    "No, Arly. There's no reason for me to go home and watch my children eat beans and corn bread until the money runs out. I have plenty of free time on my hands now that he" -- she scowled at Bernswallow -- "has relieved me of my duties. I might as well be here as lying on the sofa in front of the television, especially since they'll cut off the electricity before too long. I'm going to be right here every day from nine until five, just like it was a regular job. If he doesn't like it, he can lump it."
    Bernswallow clearly didn't like it. After a hushed conversation, he announced that Mr. Oliver would press charges once he'd had an aspirin and a few minutes to rest. He then took the branch manager's arm and led him into the bank. I pulled Johnna Mae aside and told her that she would have to come back to the police department so that I could do the necessary paperwork.
    The crowd drifted away, leaving Ruby Bee and Estelle in one corner of the metaphorical wrasslin' ring, and Mrs. Jim Bob and Brother Verber in the other. Mrs. Jim Bob leapt into the lull. "I must say that I am sorely disappointed in you, Rubella Belinda Hanks. I never once thought you were one of those women's libbers who burn their bras and mock the church and turn into lesbians if they're not careful."
    "Nobody's a women's libber, Barbara Buchanon Buchanon, and you know it. You can stand there and spout all those pious things about a woman staying at home, but Johnna Mae has to work."
    "Well, it's not right for her to boss men around," Mrs. Jim Bob said, bristling at the very idea.
    "That's right," Brother Verber added. "Women weren't created in order to run the world and tell men what to do. Adam came first, not Eve. She was put in the Garden to be a helper, to bear children and fix supper."
    Estelle put her hands on her hips. "And we all know what God made man out of, don't we? Dirt. That's