Not a day passed in Tombstone where the streets were empty and without compelling charm. There was always someone with a new cure-all tonic, the latest Parisian fashion, or just some trouble to spread. And for Suzette, it was always fun to see. The settlement had the busyness of a city while still retaining a homely small town nature; if you exclude the constant shooting deaths.
A woman selling metal plated photographs trudged by with a chorus of clangs. Rambunctious children hollered and chased each other as they passed and weaved through Suzette. Amused by the children’s whimsy, amongst all the other novelties, Suzette let out a short chuckle. With a full wallet and so many sights to see, she had a hard time deciding what to do. Should she go grab a drink? Gamble again? Go window shopping? Or maybe catch some entertainment at the local theater?
“Oh, Suzeeeette!~”
Her focus was rudely shattered by the charmingly annoying voice of Curly Bill echoing from down the main street. The whole town had practically stopped and turned their attention towards the flamboyant cowboy, who was casually swaggering his way over. Even from that distance, Suzette could still make out his pearly white smile and vivid red shirt. At that point the town had veered back to see what in the world Curly Bill was after, only to find that it was her. Suzette shook her head and let out a short scoff as she made her way to meet him in the middle.
“That’s one way to greet someone, I suppose.”
“And good morning to you too!” Curly Bill jovially replied, “To what great honor do I find you in the middle of?”
“Nothing yet, I must admit. It’s almost as if there’s too much to do here.”
“When you’ve been here long, you’ll run out of those kinds of thoughts soon enough.” Curly Bill confessed, having remembered the boredom of yesterday. Looking back to Suzette though, he rubbed his chin and continued, “Then again, it does feel like there’s always something new when you least expect it.”
“I think I know what you mean, handsome.” Suzette winked.
“Allow me then, to show you the best and brightest amenities of Tombstone.” Curly Bill proposed as he performed a brief curtsy and kissed her hand.
“I guess if you’re so inclined. How can I possibly say no?” Suzette playfully smirked while rolling her eyes. Silently, Curly Bill inched his arm forward all the while smiling about it. Without much need for convincing, Suzette wound her hands around his arm gently as she allowed him to lead her to whatever destination he had in mind.
“You sure do like this place, don’t ‘cha?” Suzette laughed as they approached The Oriental.
“What can get better than sittin’ around a table with good company and a game of cards?” Curly Bill asked as he ushered Suzette through the door.
“Hey there, Gingersnap!” Billy called from one of the faro tables. Surrounding him were Johnny Ringo, Indian Charlie, and Ike.
“Hey there, sweet talker.” Suzette finger-waved back as she and Curly Bill meandered towards the table.
“Yeah, sorry about that, I was just tryin’ to blow off some steam, is all.” Billy confessed, rubbing his neck with a touch of shame.
“Oh, no hard feelings. Considering I almost got my ass booted in jail as well, it was probably just my bad luck you were smellin’.”
Billy’s shoulders relaxed and his face softened. Even his fellow Cowboys patted him on the back for what seemed to be something very difficult for him to admit. The Cowboys’ initial rigidity had stemmed from knowing that they messed up from yesterday. However, seeing Suzette take their actions in stride lifted the weight and tension out of the room.
“Now that we got that out of the way,” Curly Bill slapped his hands on the table, “Let me introduce you to everyone. You’ve already met Billy and his brother Ike.”
“Good to see you again, Miss.” Ike cheekily replied.
“That’s Indian Charlie over there, with the catfish whiskers.”
“Ay patrón,” Indian Charlie clicked his tongue, “come on now.”
“And lastly, that’s my second in command, Johnny Ringo.”
“Howdy, Miss.” Johnny tipped his hat.
Curly Bill pulled a chair out and motioned Suzette to take a seat, before taking his spot next to her. Johnny Tyler nervously monitored the faro table as the two new players placed their bets along with everyone else. Johnny Tyler flipped the top of the deck and revealed a house winning card. The group groaned from the loss, but their gambling addiction pushed them back towards the dealer. Curly Bill placed multiple stacks of chips, turning to Suzette and giving her a wink. “I’m feeling pretty lucky today.”
“Funny, I’m feeling the same.” Suzette agreed, matching his bet on a different card.
“Aw, hell. Why’d you go and bring her along if all you two were gonna do is act like a pair of star-crossed lovers?” Billy moaned, slapping his forehead, “Couldn't you just do that back at her hotel room, or something?”
Curly Bill sharpened his eyes towards Billy and at the same time, Suzette looked over the table. Before Curly Bill could respond, Suzette’s voice cut in, “We would, but then I couldn’t call you on your dead bet, then.”
Billy shot up in shock from his lazy posture, Johnny Tyler nervously adding, “It’s true, sir. You’ve been on a dead bet for three turns now. I-I would’ve called you on it, but I didn’t wanna interrupt the conver-”
“Shut the hell up, Johnny Tyler! I’ll skin ya quicker than a jack rabbit!” With the last of his money handed to Suzette and his comrades laughing at his expense, Billy slumped back down to his chair. When he glanced back at Suzette, she pointed a finger gun in the air and blew out the “smoke” with a wink. Although he was still sour, Billy cracked half a chuckle, admitting his defeat.
The next round of faro started with Curly Bill and Billy watching intently. After placing her bet, Suzette caught movement at the edge of her eye. It was Ike, deep in a trance, writing on an imaginary chalkboard.
“Tryin’ to crack the code there, Ike?” Suzette asked, engrossed in his calculation.
“Mmhm,” Ike nodded, “I’m doin’ the math in my head, and I think I’ve figured out what the next winning card is gonna be.”
Billy groaned, “Aw, no, Ike! You ain’t no math teacher. Don’t go losin’ all your money!”
“I don’t know, I think he’s got better odds than you, Mr. Deadbet.” Suzette chimed in, “But that is a hefty wager, you sure you wanna place that, Professor Ike?”
“You can make fun, Miss. But you’ll eat that crow when I win enough to share with you and everybody around this table!” Ike confidently answered as he shoved all of his chips to his magic number. All of the other bets were soon placed and all eyes stared down Johnny Tyler to flip the next pair of cards.
“Off by one draw?!” Suzette gasped as the rest of The Cowboys partook in Ike’s misery.
“Goddamn pimp!” Ike shakily spat through his teeth, slamming his fists on the faro table. In a moment of clarity, however, Ike glanced over and saw Suzette’s concern for him. Not wanting to make a bigger fool out of himself in front of his lady fair, Ike wiped off his sweaty face and asked, “So what do you do, Miss?”
“Oh, I’m a bit of a thief, and sometimes just a collector.” Suzette shrugged, awaiting her next turn.
Curly Bill’s gaze turned to her in confusion. Indian Charlie, who was equally puzzled, jumped in, “A collector? You mean like one of those private museums or somethin’?”
Before Suzette could even answer, Billy interrupted, “No way! It’s probably just some broken music box with a couple of foggy stones in it.”
“Billy! Behave yourself with our lovely guest!” Ike scolded as he lightly slapped his brother on the shoulder.
“Put your tongue back in your mouth, Ike.” Billy mumbled, dusting his shoulder off.
“No, no, Ike. Your brother’s right, it’s just a tiny thing of mementos. You boys wouldn’t be interested anyways.”
Suzette’s sly remark threw both Billy and everyone else off course. The idea of some beholden pirate treasure locked away in a secret location, danced around in The Cowboy’s minds. Ike wanted to wholeheartedly believe in Suzette’s fantastical double speak, but was unwilling to accept the possibility of never seeing such a treasure. In order to cope with his disposition, he merely cleared his throat and replied, “Ah, good one, Miss.”
Indian Charlie was perplexed by the woman who had charmed his boss. While aimlessly placing another bet on the table, he observed Suzette and asked, “Putting the jokes aside, how long have you been in the, “business,” chica?”
“I started when I was… 15, I think. So that would make it about 12 years now.”
Curly Bill perked up, “You’ll fit right in then! Aside from old timer Ike here, we all started gettin’ into trouble pretty young.”
“You?” Indian Charlie tsked, “You didn’t start rustling until you were 22!”
Curly Bill brayed, “Just ‘cause I wasn’t born with dirt on my face and nursin’ on cigarettes like you Oliver Twist types, don’t mean I didn’t get into trouble. I was a scrappy young lad, just so you know.”
Indian Charlie scoffed, waving away Curly Bill’s tall tales, earning a soft giggle from Suzette. And yet, hearing her laugh, fizzled Curly Bill’s heart and he couldn’t help but steal a glance. Johnny Ringo, who had been watching the whole ordeal, took note of Curly Bill’s captivation.
He wondered what exactly was his boss’s intentions with this mysterious woman. She’s very beautiful and the two of them were flirting as if it was just a fling. On the other hand, she made herself out to be dangerous with the gun fight yesterday, so maybe, Curly Bill was scouting her out. And yet, that smile he gave her just then, Johnny pondered to himself, seemed like something more.
Johnny Ringo wasn’t the only one deep in thought about Curly Bill and Suzette. Indian Charlie continued to postulate about the strawberry blonde, what was her angle, exactly? Thoughtlessly, he placed the last of his chips, without rhyme or reason.
“Mr. Cruz? I hate to tell you, but you’ve just lost the last of your chips, sir.”
“¡Pinche cabrón!” Indian Charlie hissed, pushing himself away from the table and pulling out from the game.
“Man, Johnny Tyler, you’re running a regular slaughter house here!” Curly Bill blurted in jest, “Can’t ya go a little easier on us?”
“Sorry, Mr. Brocius. It’s all the luck of the draw.” Johnny Tyler shrugged. He earned no favors from The Cowboys as they groaned and grumbled under their breath. “Anyways, it’s near the end of this deck,” Johnny Tyler sighed, exhausted from his company, “Would anyone wanna take a gander at the last three cards?”
Curly Bill, Suzette, and Johnny Ringo all look to each other starved for the big win.
“Alright, I’m in,” Curly Bill conceded, flinging his chips at the dealer’s deck, “I call Ace of Hearts, Queen of Clubs, and King of Diamonds.”
Suzette placed her chips alongside Curly Bill’s, “I guess I’m in too. I’ll go with King of Diamonds, Queen of Clubs, and Ace of Hearts.”
Johnny shook his head, “Now I have to go all in, thanks to you two. King of Diamonds, Ace of Hearts, Queen of Clubs.”
Johnny Tyler dabbed the sweat from his brow, then drew the first card: King of Diamonds.
“Bullshit.” Curly Bill grumbled under his breath.
Suzette patted him on the shoulder as she teased, “Better luck next time, honey.”
The next card to be drawn: Ace of Hearts.
“SON OF A BITCH!” Suzette slammed her fist onto the table, startling Johnny Tyler into blocking his face with anticipation. Silence washed over the faro table. Even the rowdy cowboys were caught off guard by their guest’s explosive energy. Returning from her outburst, Suzette’s eyes zipped around the table as she coughed, “Ahem, sorry. I was more invested than I thought.”
Moments later, the stillness was broken by Johnny Ringo chuckling, “Guess that means I win.”
The third card flipped, as Ringo predicted: Queen of Clubs.
Pushing a large mound of cash towards the victor’s corner, Johnny Tyler nods, “Hell of a win, Mr. Ringo. Congratulations.”
Johnny Ringo had a smile bigger than the stuffed wildcat that watched over them. No sooner that he could taste victory, however, that he felt the peckish stares of the vultures he called friends drilling into him.
With a hefty sigh, Ringo simply answered, “Don’t worry, I’ll share with the rest of ya.”
