I grabbed my handbag and ran towards the door. Katherine and Pelina rushed forward and held me back. “Let me go!” I yelled.
“No, Ginny, stop! Let’s go sit down and talk this over,” Pelina said. “Ginny…now! Sit back down!”
Pelina and Katherine grabbed my arms and forced me back to my seat. I looked across the street. Sarge and the others had left.
“Look! They’re gone!” I shouted. “Those evil men will pay for what they did to my parents! They will die! They will! They will! I will kill them!”
I hid my face in my hands and wailed.
The waiter came over and told us to leave. Katherine became angry and yelled at him.
“Can’t you understand that we are just trying to help our friend?” She screamed, her face getting red.
“I will summon the police!” He bellowed.
“Go ahead!” Katherine shot back.
He promptly went out to the street and turned the hand crank on the police alarm box. It’s loud ring echoed in all directions. Several police whistles sounded, growing louder as the officers ran towards the alarm.
We ran from the restaurant just in time to see sarge and his companions running in the opposite direction. They had not left after all but were standing back in a corner or alley somewhere, undoubtedly conducting business.
Three policemen came and started chasing sarge and his accomplices. Sarge tripped and fell face down on the sidewalk, dropping the carrying case. It slid beyond his reach. Flynt grabbed it and ran. He, Gus and Josh got away, but they caught sarge and handcuffed him.
The waiter seemed content that we were out of his restaurant. He returned to his work. Sarge was hauled off to jail.
Nellie Belle
We returned to the hotel and discussed the day’s turn of events. I decided that we needed to visit the police headquarters and find out what was going to happen with sarge.
The police chief would not provide us with very much information that was worthwhile. We left with the impression that he would be held for interrogation and then probably released.
We had dinner at another outstanding restaurant on Monmouth Street. Mr. Wrampelmeier told me after our meal that the sarge was able to evade the police by arriving early in the pre-dawn hours. He made a delivery at a foundry on the outskirts of Newport where he left the freight wagon. Mr. Wrampelmeier suspected that the sarge was paid some big cash for the stolen goods somewhere near the foundry; or at the foundry grounds. The foundry was near the river, so the stolen goods could easily have been smuggled across to Cincinnati. It would have been partitioned there, making the loot untraceable.
Back at our hotel room I was not feeling well. It seemed like all my efforts to get justice done was a waste of time. I laid in my bed staring at the ceiling, wondering what I could possibly do now to obtain justice. It seemed like the only way to stop these men was to fight them myself. I still had a loaded gun in my handbag.
As twilight approached Pelina suggested that we go to the tavern that we had visited last night. I really wasn’t feeling up to it, but a few drinks might be just what I needed to feel better and forget my troubles.
We dressed elegantly for a night out on the town, then departed the hotel and headed up Monmouth Street. The restaurants, taverns, and gaming halls were becoming crowded early. We passed the magic glow of many street lamps as we made our way to the tavern.
We sat at the same table as last night and ordered a bottle of fine Catawba wine, brewed in the area. I sipped at the wine, enjoying its natural rich aroma and flavor.
Pelina and Katherine were out on the dance floor almost at once, having a wonderful time. I continued to sip my wine, watching the dancers out on the floor.
One of the women dancers looked very familiar. I was sure that she was someone I knew, but at first, I could not quite recognize her. I stared at her for a long time. She was very attractive and a good dancer; indubitably enjoying herself in the midst of many men, laughing and dancing with many different partners, lifting her dress and showing off her petticoats.
It suddenly occurred to me that this woman was Nellie Belle, my Uncle’s wife! What was she doing here? I began to wonder if she really was Nellie Belle, or just someone who was a close resemblance.
There was a break in the music and Pelina and Katherine sat down. They had to refuse the advances of many drunken men.
The woman that I had pegged as Nellie Belle came directly towards our table with a troop of men. I decided to find out if she was indeed Nellie Belle.
“Nellie Belle!” I shouted over the loud noise of the crowd. “Nellie Belle, is that you?”
She immediately wheeled around and faced me. She recognized me right away and looked very surprised.
“Ginny! Lands sake, girl, what are you doing here!”
“That’s funny, Nellie Belle, I was just about to ask you the same question,” I replied, feeling uncomfortable with the presence of my Uncle’s wife in a tavern almost a hundred miles from home. She looked young and stunningly beautiful in her elegant French bustle dress.
She laughed. “Well, I asked you first…”
“I am here to get the man who murdered my parents,” I said matter-of-factly.
“So, you know who this person is?” She asked with a bewildered look written on her face.
“Yes, I do, and he’s here in Newport…”
Nellie Belle pulled up a chair and sat down next to me.
“Who is this man?”
“His men call him sarge. We have chased him and his friends here all the way from Louisville. They are all a bunch of rotten apples, profiting from stolen goods from the Civil War.”
“Did you report them to the police?”
“Yes. But the police have done nothing,” I replied.
“So, are you sure these men are the murderers?”
“Yes, absolutely. I overheard them talking about killing my folks in their hotel room in Louisville.”
I took a long gulp of wine. Nellie Belle was silent, as though she were searching for words.
“So, what are you doing here, Nellie Belle?”
She let out another long laugh. “I got to go somewhere, Ginny. Your Uncle done kicked me out and is filing for a divorce. He’s running out of money and in bad debt. I had to get away. He got real mean and was threatening to shoot me…”
I did not know what to make of this. I knew that Nellie Belle tended to sway the truth at every turn to her own advantage. But I also knew that she and my Uncle were not getting along since just before the time I had left home.
“So, I guess that’s it then, Nellie Belle,” I said. “You and my Uncle are through.”
“Well, it’s like I said, Ginny. He kicked me out for good. He’s not the same man as before. That marriage is over.”
“I see. So now you are out looking for another relationship?”
“Yes, Ginny. I am only twenty-three. The men all still find me irresistible, so I will play them for all they’re worth. I can pull them in by the ear.”
I raised my eyebrows. Of course, at this point I was thinking that this is exactly what she did with my Uncle.
“How long have you been in Newport?” Katherine asked politely.
“Almost two weeks now. I’m starting to get bored here, though. I may hop on a riverboat and head to St. Louis in a few days, then go to visit my folks in Memphis.”
“You are from Memphis?” Katherine inquired.
“Yes. I grew up near there on a farm. My pappy grows tobacco and other crops. They just barely make ends meet with eight children including myself.”
Katherine continued her questions. “How are you traveling, by boat or railroad?”
“We’re taking a riverboat, of course. The train is cramped and hot this time of year. The riverboats are the most entertaining way to go; great food, dancing, games, shows. Everything a woman like me could ask for. The railroads don’t hold a candle to going first class on the riverboats.”
“You said “w
e’re taking a riverboat.”” I said with a hint of scrutiny in my tone. “Who are you going with?”
“I’m going with my new boyfriend,” she responded with an almost poisonous smirk.
“Oh…and who is he?” I asked.
“I met him here on Wednesday night.”
“Wednesday night?” Pelina said as she poured another glass of wine. “We were here then, but we left early.”
“Really? I got here a little late, about ten. We must have just missed each other then.”
“So, Nellie Belle, tell us about your new boyfriend, we’re just dying to hear about him,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“He’s a soldier, stationed here at the army barracks. He got lots of money, too. He was buying rounds of drinks for everybody and he gave me some jewelry, see my new gold bracelet? He said that he’s going to be rich from a certain business deal that is going down today. Don’t know much about that. I’m supposed to meet him here tonight though and he’s going to give me more money for our trip.”
“What is his name?” I inquired.
She looked away with a smirk on her face. I forced a smile as I looked straight into her eyes. “Nellie Belle, you didn’t answer my question. What is his name?”
“His name is Flynt. He’s going to take me to St. Louis on Saturday morning.”
“Why are you glaring at me, Ginny?” Nellie Belle quipped, appearing somewhat agitated. “Oh, Ginny, you look so serious. We should be having fun and merriment, you need to lighten up, girl!”
“Does this Flynt have wavy brown hair and a scar on his right temple?” I asked dryly.
“Why, yes he does! He said that he got that scar in the final battle of the Civil War. It sounds as though you know him.”
“Yes, I do. He’s a criminal, a real scoundrel.”
Nellie Belle’s face reddened. “How do you know that?”
“We followed him up here from Louisville. He’s a card sharp and…”
Nellie Belle cut me short. “Oh, that’s not so bad, Ginny. Sometimes you have to accept people as they are. All the soldiers that fought in the Civil War are gamblers, heavy drinkers, and gun slingers…but Flynt has a certain charm and wit about him that I like. He treats me good.”
“Listen to me, Nellie Belle, you are making a big mistake. I know Flynt and I know how he got that money…”
Nellie Belle let out another boisterous laugh. “Ginny, you don’t know the first thing about men…I’ve been with scores of them and I know how to handle them. I’ve been around, honey, and I don’t need advice from a little Miss prim and proper like you.”
“I’m tired of you always treating me like a little girl, Nellie Belle. I find your behavior and demeanor to be very immature. If you don’t want to listen to me then when the roof falls in I’m not going to say I told you so.”
“You are becoming very pushy there, girl…”
I grimaced and gave her a mean look. “Well, you’re one to talk, Nellie Belle, after pushing me out of my own house!”
I could sense that she was becoming angry. “Ginny, I have always treated you with the utmost respect. I pushed you out so that you could become independent and to make your own decisions. I see how little you have grown up.”
“You pushed me out of my own home and off the farm so that you could have it for yourself!”
Nellie Belle rolled her eyes and looked away. “You are way too serious for me…I’m here to have a good time…Nice seeing you Ginny.”
Nellie Belle got up suddenly and went prancing back out to the dance floor. She was laughing and having a great time swinging around and showing off her colorful petticoats.
“What are we going to do, Ginny?” Pelina asked with a worried expression.
I thought for a moment. “We could wait here and see what happens, like we did at the tavern in Louisville the night when we were chased down Market Street.”
“If you want we will stay awhile. I don’t think that Flynt ever did get a good look at us, even when we were at the tavern in Louisville,” Pelina replied.
“Yeah. I don’t think he’s going to recognize us,” Katherine added. “But just in case…” She reached into her handbag. “Here are some Chinese hand fans.”
We continued to slowly sip our wine. I had learned on the riverboat to drink in moderation. I could not afford public drunkenness tonight.
Flynt
At around 11:30, Flynt walked into the barroom. He was dressed in a nice tailored black dress-coat with vest, gold watch, and long trousers. He looked like a refined gentleman.
He did not even notice us sitting at the table. Nellie Belle saw that he and arrived and immediately went and grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out to the dance floor.
They danced for a long time and then they had several drinks. They stood over by the bar and talked, laughing and chugging down one drink after another.
Nellie Belle suddenly pointed at us and giggled as she said something. Flynt looked at us. We held the Chinese fans up in front of our faces. He stared at us with a very stern look.
“Do you think we should get out of here?” Katherine said, nervously glancing at me.
“Wait!” I implored. “We do not wish to cause a stir.”
Flynt and Nellie Belle walked towards our table. She held onto his arm.
“Girls!” She proclaimed. “Here is the man I’ve been tellin’ you about. This is Flynt. So, what do you all think?”
We nodded and forced an uncomfortable smile.
“Aint he just the best lookin’ gentleman you ever did see, girls?”
“Yes, Nellie Belle, you sure know how to pick ‘em,” I replied.
Flynt stared at me. “You seem familiar,” he said. “In fact, I think that I’ve seen all of you girls somewhere before.”
There was a short pause in the conversation.
“They’re all from around Louisville,” Nellie Belle replied with a laugh.
My knees were shaking. I took a long sip of wine and looked away from Flynt. I was afraid to say anything, Flynt continued to scrutinize us with an icy glare.
“I know that I’ve seen you girls somewhere, not that long ago. Say, aren’t you those three girls that was… uh”
“Oh, Flynt, how would you know these girls? They do not know you, either! They’re only seventeen!” Nellie Belle laughed and grabbed onto his arm again, pulling him away from our table, as though she were keeping him from us. She whispered something in his ear; then he nodded and smiled.
They left the barroom very drunk and happy, headed for a nearby hotel.
We finished our wine and were about to leave when we heard several gunshots from the street.
Most of the patrons in the tavern continued what they were doing as though nothing had happened. Pelina, Katherine and I ran outside to see what the commotion was. Several policemen were pushing their way through the crowd, blowing their whistles.
Flynt lay in the street, crying out in agony as blood rushed from his chest. Nellie Belle knelt at his side, screaming for help.
Sarge laid in a pool of blood about four feet away, moaning with a bullet in his gut.
The police looked at the wounded men. “Go get Doc Fletcher, hurry!” One of the policemen commanded.
Doc Fletcher was summoned from his home. When he arrived, he declared Flynt as dead. Nellie Belle became hysterical, wailing over his lifeless body. I went over to comfort her, and she cried in my arms. Doc attended to sarge’s wounds, dressing them with bandages from his medical kit. A hospital team arrived in a transport wagon. They placed sarge on a stretcher and hauled him off to the nearby hospital. Another wagon arrived from the coroner’s office, and they carted off Flynt’s body to the mortuary.
I walked Nellie Belle back to her hotel room. Pelina and Katherine returned to the Frontier Inn. I spent the night comforting Nellie Belle. She was distraught for hours into the night. I really felt bad for her.
I was awakened in the morning by loud pounding at the door. I got up an
d was about to open it, but then I decided that it would be best to keep it locked.
“Who’s there?” I shouted.
There was some hesitation as though someone was thinking about what to say. “Front desk,” a man’s raspy voice rang out. “You need to settle your tab now or leave immediately!”
“Nellie Belle,” I exclaimed. “Do you owe money for the room?”
Nellie Belle rolled over in bed and mumbled “open it.”
I opened the door. Gus and Josh burst into the room.
“What do you think you’re doing!” I screamed, then Gus belted me with his fist on the side of the head.
“Where’s the money?” Gus demanded.
Nellie Belle bolted to her feet in alarm. “What money?” Gus slapped her across the face.
“Leave her alone!” I demanded. My challenge was met with another blow to the cheek.
“You know what money, you ratbags!” He pushed Nellie Belle back onto the bed. I watched in horror as they ransacked the room. Then they yanked Nellie Belle off the bed and tore open the mattress and pillows.
When they did not find the money, they grabbed Nellie Belle and slapped her again and again.
“Stop it!” I yelled.
Josh slapped me so hard that I fell to the floor. I screamed out in anguish.
“There’s no money here, Josh. It’s probably back in Flynt’s room.”
Gus yanked Nellie Belle’s hair back. “Tell us where the room is or we’re going to kill both of you right now. Where is it?”
Gus brandished a revolver and held it to her head. Do you got a key for Flynt’s room? Huh? Where was he staying?”
“Please! I don’t know. Please don’t kill me!” Nellie Belle pleaded.
“On, no? Josh, search her handbag.”
Josh dumped the contents of Nellie Belle’s handbag out onto the floor. Her makeup, combs and brushes scattered in all directions. Josh found six dollars in her wallet and he took it. But there was no room key.
Gus looked very angry. His face turned red. He ordered us to our feet and told us to get dressed. We were still in our night gowns.
“Gus, look, they’re both bleeding bad.” Josh said. “We can’t leave here with ‘em lookin’ like that.”
Kentucky Sky Page 8
