The Chili Queen (20 page)

On the way back to The Chili Queen, Ned talked through his plan with Emma, chuckling that in trying to protect himself, John had given the two of them the perfect opportunity to leave Nalgitas with the money. He and John would give Emma their cash at the station the next morning. Emma would get on the train to Jasper, just as John had ordered. But instead of waiting in Nalgitas for her to return, Ned would ride to Jasper and join her, just as soon as he could get away from John. Since the train did not go directly to Jasper but first turned north to What Cheer, Ned might even get to Jasper in time to meet the train. John wouldn’t expect Emma to return until the following day and it would take another day for him to follow her as far as Jasper, so they would have two days’ start on him, and they probably wouldn’t even need it. John would assume they had taken the train farther west. He’d never suspect they had gone on horseback to Colorado. “You pack only what you can carry on the train, since it isn’t likely Addie would be in a mood to send along your trunk,” Ned told her.

“Will you tell Addie?” Emma asked, as they turned into The Chili Queen, slowing their steps so as to finish their conversation before they reached the door.

“Later. When it’s done. Before I leave,” Ned replied. He didn’t want Addie spoiling things. Besides, he had a presentiment that Addie already knew about his feelings for Emma.

Addie was not in the kitchen when Ned and Emma went inside, and for that, Ned was grateful. The two hookers were in the parlor, and Ned could hear laughter, then Addie’s loud voice. Emma seemed preoccupied, but that was to be expected. After all, she was about to rob her brother, then marry Ned Partner. It was almost too much for any woman. She told Ned she must get her things together and went into the bedroom and closed the door. Ned had to pack, too. He started for the barn but ran into Welcome.

“You got my money?” She grinned.

“Tomorrow,” he told her sharply. “We’ll get it at the station, and I will damn soon give you your amount.”

“Don’t be so biggity-acting,” Welcome told him. “I earned it as much as you, which is to say not at all.”

“Without me, there wouldn’t be any money.”

Welcome dismissed him with a wave. “You sound like a white man preaching.” She passed him and went on into the house.

Ned continued to the barn and unlocked the door to the little room where he slept. He would have to decide what to take with him—Addie wasn’t likely to ship his trunk, either—but that wouldn’t be a problem. Even after four years at The Chili Queen, he didn’t have much. He opened his trunk and took out a photograph of his family and studied it. Once he and Emma were settled, he’d write his sister Alice, tell her where he was, maybe invite her to Colorado. He smiled at that. After more than twenty years on his own, he would have a family again. By zam, he might even have his own family! Until he’d met Emma, Ned never had thought about such a thing. He wondered if Emma was a bearing woman. She had said she was more than thirty-five this good year, and that ought to be young enough. His mother had had children—pupped, as his father put it—into her forties and maybe longer; he hadn’t stayed around to find out. It would be nice to have a son, maybe two. But if Emma couldn’t, well, then, it didn’t matter.

Ned rolled his clothes and the picture inside two blankets, then secured the roll with straps so that he could tie it behind his saddle. He filled his saddlebags with the other things he wanted to take, leaving room for provisions. When he had returned the rest of his belongings to the trunk, Ned reached behind a board and drew out a leather bag, loosened the draw-strings, and dumped the money onto his bunk. He added the cash from the bank job in Jasper. Then he counted it, first making five piles of $1,000 each, another of $750. He stuffed the remaining money—almost $500—into his pocket. He placed the $5,750 in the bag and returned it to the hiding place.

By the time Ned had finished his preparations, the sun had gone down, and he was hungry. He went to The Chili Queen, where Welcome had left a pan of tamales and two plates, and he sat in the dark and ate quite hearty. He wondered if he should take a plate of food to Emma. Then he saw the empty whiskey bottle on the floor. Maybe she had decided to have a shot for supper instead. The door to the bedroom was closed, and while he was tempted to knock, Ned didn’t want to awaken Emma. They had a difficult day ahead, and she might already be in her bedclothes. The idea made Ned smile. He rolled a cigarette and smoked it, listening to the sounds coming from the front of the house. A woman shrieked, then laughed, and there was a loud guffaw. He thought he heard Addie’s voice and the click of glasses. Addie ought to buy a piano and hire a professor. Ned would tell her so. Then he realized he would not see her in the morning, might not ever see her again. Ned wondered if he’d miss the easy life he had had at The Chili Queen, but he knew he wouldn’t—not when he was going to live in Colorado with Emma.

He rolled another cigarette and went to the window to look out at the night. The stars were bright, and there was a half-moon. That was good, since the next night, he and Emma would be riding until late. He saw something move near the shack where Welcome lived and narrowed his eyes to make out what it was—probably a dog, maybe a coyote. Then he saw Welcome emerge from the shadows and start down the road into town, moving quickly, taking long strides. Where was she going in such a hurry? Ned wondered. But he forgot about Welcome as he himself stepped outside. He breathed in the air, which was scented with sage, tossed the cigarette into the dirt, and made his way to the barn. Ned Partner felt tip-top.

When he got up the next morning, he still felt good, especially for one who hadn’t slept much and dreamed dreadful solemn dreams when he did. He blamed the Minders and hoped that Emma had slept better.

Ned went into The Chili Queen, sorry when he got there to find that Addie was up, too, and waiting for him. More likely, she hadn’t yet gone to bed, since she was bedecked with fine feathers and gewgaws. Welcome was at the stove fixing a breakfast of eggs and mutton ribs.

“Welcome says you don’t have the money yet,” Addie complained. She looked a little blue.

“Oh, it’s coming,” Ned told her. “Emma’s brother said he’d give it to us at the depot. Emma’s going to take it to Jasper. We told him we had to sign the papers there.”

Welcome set a plate in front of Addie, who shoved it over to Ned and leaned forward, her pillowy bosom resting on the table. “Are you going with her?” Addie asked.

Ned shook his head as he reached for the plate.

“You trust her to take that money all by herself?” Addie asked.

Ned glanced toward the bedroom, but the door was closed. “Her brother won’t let me. I trust her. I’ll ride out and meet her in Jasper and bring back our share. Why, if something goes wrong, I’ll pay you myself.”

Addie sniffed, then signaled for Welcome to bring her another plate. “I stayed up till I don’t know how late, then went to bed sober. I guess I got an appetite after all.” Then she turned to Ned. “That man’s going to hand over his money just like that?”

The door to the bedroom opened then, and Emma stepped out, wearing her traveling costume. She looked as if she had not slept much, either. She must have been listening on the other side of the door, because she said, “Ned will have to show his own money. Do you remember that I wrote John that Ned would put up half?” she asked. “Well, John wants proof. Ned says he has the amount hidden away.”

Ned was sorry Emma had brought that up, and he glanced at Addie, who frowned and stared into the cup of coffee in front of her. Suddenly, she brightened. “I believe I would like to see that, too,” she said and turned to Welcome. “Wouldn’t you like to see it?”

Welcome glanced at Addie, then at Emma. Instead of replying, she asked Emma if she wanted breakfast. Emma shook her head no. “What would we be doing at the station ’cept interfere?” Welcome asked Addie.

“I guess we’ll see about that, as well,” Addie replied. “Yes, we’ll see what we see.”

Ned felt uneasy. This was his main chance, and Addie getting mixed up in it threatened to spoil it. So he told her straight out to stay away. Emma, too, protested, saying Addie and Welcome would make John suspicious. Besides, Emma added, John might remember Addie, since he’d seen her when Emma had boarded the train in Kansas. John was good at remembering faces, she said. Even Welcome remarked that Addie might jeopardize the black woman’s $250.

But Addie waved her hand, dismissing the objections and saying the three of them did not rule her. She had a right to go to the train station if she wanted to. Besides, she would dress herself as plain as Emma, and even last night’s customers wouldn’t recognize her. No matter what Ned and Emma and Welcome said, Addie was adamant. So Ned did the only thing he could think of: He made Addie part of the plan. Actually, it was Emma’s idea. They would tell John that Addie ran the boardinghouse where they stayed and had overheard them talk about taking five thousand dollars to the station. She insisted on going along—no matter that they said they didn’t want her to—to make sure they weren’t robbed. They’d say she was a little crazy and were afraid she would talk if they didn’t humor her.

Addie went into the bedroom then, calling for Welcome to bring her a pitcher of hot water. Welcome took in the teakettle and filled the bowl, shutting the door as she left. Addie was in the bedroom so long that Ned had to bang on the door and threaten to leave without her. At that, Addie emerged, looking every bit as plain as Emma. She wore a two-piece dress of drab cotton that was cut big in front and made her look dumpy. A sunbonnet covered her brassy hair, and she carried a purse as ugly as a picnic hamper. Addie had been right: A customer from last night wouldn’t have given her a second look. Ned himself would pass her on the street without recognizing her.

John was waiting on the bench outside the depot when Ned, carrying Emma’s heavy portmanteau, and the three women arrived. John stood up and looked from Ned and Emma to Addie and Welcome, and it was clear he was not pleased. “Who are they?” he inquired.

“Good morning, John,” Emma said. “I hope your headache has abated.”

“Enough,” he said.

“John’s headaches leave him sore-headed the next day. He can take little else but brandy and sugar. Have you eaten?”

“I ate bread and honey and sucked eggs.” John waved his hand, dismissing the talk of his health. “Will you make me ask you a second time who these women are?”

Emma said meekly, “This is Mrs. French, who runs the boardinghouse where we stay, and her hired woman, Welcome.”

Addie regarded John coyly—she couldn’t help it; that was her nature, Ned knew—while Welcome beamed. Ned noticed she had put on a clean apron.

Ned started to explain about Addie and Welcome, but Emma raised a hand. She drew John aside and spoke to him earnestly. When she was finished, John scowled at the two women, but Emma said something about how it wouldn’t make any difference. So after giving Addie and Welcome a harsh look, John all but ignored them.

“I brought the money,” Ned told him, speaking in a low voice, although the four of them were the only ones on the platform. He drew out the bag he had removed that morning from the hiding place. At the same time, John took a wallet from his coat pocket and handed it to Ned. Both men turned aside to count each other’s money, while Emma looked nervously from one to the other.

“It is there,” John said.

“Did you think I would cheat my wife’s own brother?” Ned asked. His own nervousness had disappeared, as it always did once he began a job. “What kind of man steals from his own kin?”

John didn’t reply. He took his wallet from Ned and handed it to Emma, along with Ned’s money bag. Emma started to put them into her purse, but Addie, watching her closely, frowned. She started to say something, then shut her mouth, but she couldn’t stay quiet. “I do not mean to interfere, but you are asking to get robbed, carrying money like that in a purse,” she told Emma. “There’s all kinds of pickpockets that ride the cars. I myself had twenty dollars stole from me on this very train. You must wrap it up safe and tie it to yourself.”

“What?” Emma asked.

Addie took a large black silk handkerchief from her pocket and handed it to Emma, who removed the money and folded it inside the scarf. The result was sloppy, and Addie took the money from her and wrapped the scarf around it, tying the corners into tight knots. Then she removed a long silk scarf from around her neck and told Emma to raise her arms. “I’ll fasten this package of skinplasters to your person,” she said. Addie pulled up the bottom of her own shirtwaist and placed the money next to her stomach to show what she meant. She motioned for Emma to put up her arms again so that she could tie the bundle to her corset. As she placed the money against Emma’s stomach, Addie caught Ned watching and cleared her throat. “She is a lady, even if she is your ‘wife,’” Addie said, and Ned felt embarrassed. John must have, too, for both men glanced away.

Addie tied the bundle of money in place with the second scarf, but the silk was slippery, and she was not satisfied. So she went through her reticule and took out a carpetbag purse made like an envelope. She emptied out her own coins and a handkerchief, then put the bundle inside and fastened the lock. She tied the rough purse to Emma, winding the long scarf around Emma’s body twice and fastening it into such a tight knot that Emma would have to slit the silk with a knife to remove the purse. Emma was safe from pickpockets, all right. But that hadn’t been Addie’s only purpose in fastening the money to Emma. Ned was sorely sure that Addie wanted Emma to have an uncomfortable trip; the rough purse surely would bruise Emma’s ribs. But Ned did not believe that Emma would mind. She had been through so much already that a little chafing wouldn’t bother her. Thinking about what she and Ned were going to do with the money was enough to ease the discomfort.