Malachi stared at the black hole in Bear’s face. He’d never seen anything like it before.

  Bear reached for his eye. He pushed it back into the socket with ease. “You got money for two rooms? If you do, for how long? Blackenfield is a town that takes money and pisses it away. When your money is gone, then what?” he asked.

  “We’ll be working before that happens,” Malachi said.

  “You will, huh?” Bear placed the gun back in his waist. “Doing what? I see you got you a guitar there. Can you do anything with it besides carry it? What about your girlfriend? Can she sing? Can she dance, or is she your money ticket?”

  “She’s my sister!” Malachi snapped as he took a step forward. He stopped when he saw Bear’s hand reaching for his waist. “We’ll find whatever work we can to pay our way,” he said.

  “You’re young boy. You don’t wait until the rabbit decides to jump into the trap. The rabbit won’t take the bait unless it smells something worth the effort. You have to make sure you got enough lettuce to lure it out of its hole,” Bear said.

  “What does that have to do with jobs?” Malachi asked. He was becoming angry.

  “You can work here for your room and board, and save your money,” Bear said.

  “Work here? For you?”

  “Why not? You’re new in town, and you don’t bring any other baggage that could be considered trouble, so I can trust you,” Bear said.

  “You don’t even know us,” Rose Ann said.

  Bear reached up and began scratching his mangy beard. “Nope, I don’t, but I think I can trust you two. I have a nose for these things, and until my nose gets cut off, I’ll go with it. So, what do you say?”

  “Do we get the best in the house for rooms?” Malachi asked.

  “Yep. The Queen has nothing but the best,” Bear said.

  “Well, how come the sign is hanging off its hinges?” Rose Ann asked.

  “I’m working on that right now,” Bear said.

  “And why does the place look like it hasn’t seen any paint in years?” Rose Ann asked.

  “I can’t find the right color,” Bear said.

  Rose Ann looked at Bear. “You can’t find white?” she asked.

  “You ask a lot of questions, girl. I can find white, but it’s difficult to find someone to paint the place,” Bear answered.

  “Um-hmm,” Rose Ann said. “A man like you owning a place like this and you can’t find any one to paint?”

  “This your sister, huh?” Bear asked, as he gave Malachi an irritating stare.

  Malachi shrugged. “What chores do we have to do?” Malachi asked, as he stared at Bear. “We ain’t going to be nobody slaves.”

  “Boy, this is ain’t no damn plantation. Those days are gone...not all the way, but some. What’s your name?” Bear asked.

  “I’m Malachi and her name is Rose Ann.”

  “All right. Let me show you around. Cotton! Get your ragged ass over here and watch the shop. I got to show my new workers their surroundings,” Bear said.

  A man with an obvious shorter leg than the other appeared out of a side room. He was wiping his hand on a soiled rag. He came up to Malachi and Malachi could smell a wretched scent of alcohol emanating off him.

  “Didn’t I tell you about drinking that hooch and coming to work, man? Damn! I told you you can’t be smelling like that around the customers,” Bear said, as Cotton limped around the counter. “I told you to change that dirty shirt, too. Let’s go kids.”

  Malachi and Rose Ann followed Bear up the stairs. When they reached the top landing and began passing closed doors, Malachi could hear the sounds of moaning and a few sounds of pleasurable shrieking. He glanced at Rose Ann, and her expression made him want to laugh. She was clutching the collar of her coat and her eyes were searching the floor. If she’d been a little lighter, he might’ve seen her knuckles begin to turn white.

  “After I show you two youngins your rooms, I want to show you my other properties,” Bear said, as he led them several more feet down the paint faded hallway.

  He stopped in front of a door with two locks on it. “This is it.”

  Malachi and Rose Ann stood to the side as Bear reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a ring of keys. He fumbled with them for a few seconds until he found the right one.

  “The room on your right is the adjoining room. I knew you might want to be close to your girl—“

  “Sister,” Rose Ann snapped.

  “Uh-huh,” Bear said quickly while rolling his eyes upward. “Welcome to the hotel Queen!” He pushed open the door.

  Malachi and Rose Ann’s mouths fell. They stared into a room that was empty.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?” Bear asked. He walked into the room and spun around.

  “Bear, ain’t nothing here,” Malachi said. He walked into the middle of the room, and raised his arms as he turned around in a circle.

  “Right. Now you use your imagination to fill it with things. See, I got a plan,” Bear began. He stopped. “Come on in and close the door, girl.” He watched Rose Ann walk in and close the door. “Okay, this it. I plan to give this baby my attention. I want to name it Queen. That way it’d give it some class. I mean right now I’m just starting out, but in three or four years I want to have this baby up and running like a well oiled engine.” He slammed a big fist into the palm of his hand. “Yep, that’s how I picture it. But to do this I need people I can trust. People who ain’t involve with other people. Whatta think, huh? The way I see it, this town will one day be big, and I want to have my hand in its pocket when it does. You and your—“

  “Sister,” Rose Ann interrupted.

  “Uh-huh. Can come in with me as well paid workers I can trust,” Bear said.

  “I thought it was already called the “Queen.” You have a thing with trusting people, huh, Bear?” Malachi asked.

  Bear pointed to his glass eye. “Wouldn’t you?” he asked.

  Malachi nodded.

  “All right, then. Put your things in here, and I’ll show you around some more,” Bear said.

  Rose Ann and Malachi dropped their things in the middle of the empty floor.

  “Good,” Bear said. “Let’s go.” Bear turned to go back out the door when Malachi grabbed his big arm.

  “The keys, Bear,” Malachi said.

  “Oh... Oh... Yeah,” Bear said. He removed two keys from the ring, and handed them to Malachi. “I was going to give them to you.”

  “Uh-huh,” Rose Ann said.

  “You two are quick. How old are you, Malachi? Twenty? Twenty-three?”

  “No. I’m seventeen.”

  “No shit! You a big bone young Negro. How old is your...sister?”

  “She’s young,” Malachi replied with apprehension.

  “Hmm. Don’t want to tell, huh? Don’t worry about me. You better worry about them fools out there. You keep her close to you. They’re animals out there. That’s why I keep this next to me at all times,” Bear said. He patted the .38 revolver in his waist for emphasize. “You never know where or how these fools might come at you. Come on, let’s go see my other future prospect.”

  Bear headed for the door with Rose Ann and Malachi behind him.

  As Malachi followed the large, gruff looking Bear, he had to admit that he didn’t feel the least slighted by the man. There was something interesting about Bear. Malachi thought the man was just trying to find someone he could trust without dropping his guard.

  Bear led them down the stairs and out a back door. They went to a cellar door in the back of the hotel. Bear stomped down on the door twice, then waited a second or two, and then gave the door three more quick stomps. He quickly stepped away from the cellar doors.

  It would only be a matter of seconds before the cellar doors open, and two men carrying double-barrel shotguns emerged.

  “How’s business?” Bear asked.

  “It’s good, boss. You know how Saturday night is. A lot of moonshine and bitches with big tits keep the party jumping,” the man to the left of Bear said.

  “Watch your mouth, Tully. We have a young girl present,” Bear said.

  Tully, wearing his customary black business suit that was a size smaller than his actual size, glanced at Rose Ann.

  “Sam, Tully, this is Malachi and Rose Ann. They gonna be working with us,” Bear said.

  Malachi looked at Sam. The man’s neck was as big as a tree trunk. His glistening baldhead gave him an even more intimidating appearance. But at least his suit fitted him.

  “Any trouble, Sam?” Bear asked. He scratched his ragged beard as he glanced around.

  “Nothing, boss,” Sam said.

  “What about the Brown brothers? Anything I ought to know?” Bear asked.

  “Ain’t heard from them,” Tully said.

  “Some things unheard of are a good thing...Maybe. Let’s go down, kids, and see my future unfolding,” Bear said. He led the way down the stairs.

  The lights and smoke was suffocating. The smell of unwashed bodies, and bodies with too much perfume assaulted Malachi’s and Rose Ann sense of smell. Malachi looked around and saw men wearing large lapel colorful suits standing next to men still wearing their overalls from the field. Women were dazzling in their sequined shimmering dresses and high heels. The place was very big for a cellar.

  “This is my joint. On the right you see four poker tables. To the left you’d see my craps and roulette tables. On the stage up there is Sally. She sings here every Friday and Saturday night,” Bear said as they slowly walked further into the gambling den. “I make my own moonshine. That’s two dollars a jar. The stuff is so powerful that if a person gets too close to a fire while drinking it, they better get ready to roll their ass on the ground, because that baby is going to light their ass on fire.”

  “What do you want from us?” Malachi asked.

  The noise was loud. Bear had to shout to be heard. He was walking between Malachi and Rose Ann. He put his arm around Malachi’s shoulder. “I need you to be my eyes and ears around here. You’d sweep, mop, clean the tables, and keep the mason jars filled with moonshine,” Bear began. “Ain’t nobody going to think you doing anything wrong. You keep you ears open for me, that’s what I want from you.”

  “What about my sister? She ain’t going to be working around no drunken men,” Malachi said.

  “Right. She’d straighten out the rooms when customers leave. You know. Change the sheets. Give them clean towels. Things like that,” Bear answered.

  “No funny stuff,” Malachi said.

  “No funny stuff,” Bear repeated.

  “Sally sings very nice,” Rose Ann said.

  “Yeah. She’s a good girl. So, what do you say, Malachi?” Bear asked.

  “I got to talk to my sister. Rose, come on.”

  “Take her over to the bathroom area. It smells a little, but it’s quiet and you can hear yourself think,” Bear said. “I’m going to make my rounds. Just look around. You’ll find me or hear me when you finish.”

  Pulling Rose Ann along, Malachi found a spot by the bathroom. He wrinkled his nose at the smell of urine, but he had to admit, it was a little quieter.

  “What do you think, Rose Ann?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. We could use the money, but how long would we have to be here, Malachi? The place isn’t all that great.”

  “This ain’t jail. We can leave whenever we want,” Malachi said.

  “I know, but—“

  “We’ll be fine, Rose. I’m going to tell Bear we’ll take his job.”

  Malachi and Rose Ann walked back to where they’ll left Bear. He was nowhere to be found.

  “There he is,” Rose Ann said, as she pointed across the floor at Bear.

  Malachi looked on stage, and saw Bear playing a drum set. His large arms and big head were bouncing with the music. Malachi was amazed at how Bear beat the drums with such force and inner ease. His rhythm was on time and consistent as he stayed with the band. Malachi took Rose Ann by the elbow and they got closer to the stage.

  They were small tables arranged around the stage. Malachi tried not to block any ones view as he and Rose Ann tried to find an area in which to watch the show. Everyone was clapping and laughing as Sally sang a song about women not being appreciated until they went upside their man’s head with a two-by-four, then they were loved. The song made Malachi smile. He noticed that Sally was wearing a cream- colored flapper short dress with beads at the ends. And whenever she turned her back to the audience to shake her voluptuous butt, the beads would shake uncontrollably, making the audience laugh. Her shiny black bobbed hair fit her face perfectly.

  “She really has them worked up,” Rose Ann shouted so that Malachi could hear her.

  “Yeah, she does,” Malachi said.

  Sally’s voice was a sultry, baritone. Malachi found himself really staring at her. She was a full figured woman with large breasts. Her caramel skin made her look pretty.

  “I ain’t got me a man at home, I got me a little boy who can’t work my neeeeeddddsssss. Heeeee wants to play in the sandddddbox, and I need to have him play in my box,” Sally sang. “He says he loooovvvveeevessss me, but ain’t been no loving going on laaaatttteeeelllyyyly...I’m all woman...All woman...indeed whoooo has her neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeds!”

  Sally held the note so long Malachi thought her breasts were swelling up to give her more oxygen to continue. He watched as Sally stomped her feet again and again as the note continued to hold.

  “She better stop, she’s going to kill herself,” Rose Ann said with concern.

  Malachi began shaking his head in disbelief. The woman finally ended her note and tossed the microphone onto the stage. Bear struck the drums like a madman until the last note ended, then he tossed the drumsticks in the air as he leaped out of his seat with his arms over his head, grinning.

  The audience went wild with approval of their performance.

  Sally took a lady gracious bow and walked to the edge of the stage. A man in a black tuxedo helped her off the stage. As she walked pass the audience, people were touching her and giving her accolades. The man in the tuxedo walked her toward the back. He opened a door, and they disappeared.

  Malachi’s back exploded with pain. When he turned around, he saw Bear laughing hysterically with an arm around Rose Ann’s shoulder.

  “That bitch can sing!” Bear shouted. “Ain’t too many women I know in this lifetime can sing the blues the way Sally can. Whew! That woman keeps this joint packed. Come on. I’m going to introduce you kids to her.”

  Bear dragged, and pulled Malachi and Rose Ann through the thick crowd of people. When they reached the door, Malachi watched Bear take out a key and open it. He pushed them inside, and slammed the door closed.

  Bear took the lead. “I pay that woman ten dollars a week, and she triples my money every night,” he began, as they walked down the short hallway with dull lighting. “I run a fun business. I like to make my customers happy when they’re here. Not like the Brown brothers. Those lugs don’t care about the people, only the money that’s coming in. Here’s Sally little hole in the wall.”

  Bear knocked on the heavy wooden door.

  “Who the hell is it?” Sally asked through the door.

  “Your goddamn boss,” Bear shouted.

  “Well come back later, I’m having a drink,” Sally said.

  “Open this damn door!” Bear snapped.

  “Come back later, goddamn it!” Sally shouted.

  “This bitch is crazy,” Bear said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring of keys. He fumbles with the one he wanted. A shiny brass one. He stuck it in the keyhole and turned it clockwise. “Ain’t nobody gonna tell me when to come back in my joint.”

  When the door open, Malachi heard Rose Ann gasped and quickly looked over at her as she put her hands over her eyes. He gave his attention to the room and his eyes fell on a naked Sally sitting at a small table with a jar of moonshine on it. She was wearing a pair of black underwear and black sheer stocking with black garters. Malachi’s eyes immediately fell on her big, brown breasts. The nipples on her breasts were large. He smiled.

  “Boy, put your goddamn eyes back in that pretty face of yours. I know you done seen tits before. They might be big, but they like any other two you done seen,” Sally said. “You pay me to sing, you cheap bastard, so don’t be barging in my motherfucking room in the future. Throw me my robe so that young girl can open her eyes before she bumps into something and hurt herself.”

  Bear ran over to a chair in the corner where Sally’s robe lay. He grabbed it and walked quickly back to her.

  Malachi watched Sally stand up. To him, she didn’t seem embarrass at all about being naked. Sally looked Bear up and down from head to toe before slowly reaching for her robe. Malachi couldn’t believe he was watching a naked woman so beautifully well rounded. When Sally turned her back to him, he could see how big, and sexy her butt stood out.

  After tying her robe closed, Sally turned back around. “Okay, honey, old Sally is decent,” she said.

  Rose Ann slowly removed her hand from her face. She gave a sheepish smile at all of them.

  Sally smiled back at her. “Who are your friends, Bear?” Sally asked. She reached for the glass of moonshine, and gulped down its remaining contents.

  Bear stood there standing at Sally.

  Bear, Malachi noticed, had also been transfixed on Sally’s breasts. He didn’t hear the question.

  “Motherfucker, if you stop lusting at the sight of my tits, you would’ve heard my goddamn question!” Sally snapped.

  Bear came out of his reverie with a shake of his head.

  “Hi. I’m Malachi, and that’s my sister Rose Ann,” Malachi said.

  “Oh, so you can speak. I thought I might have to go get my smelling salt for you... Malachi,” Sally said. She slightly pushed Bear out of the way as she seductively walked toward Malachi with her chest purposely pushed out in front of her. “What else do you do?”

  Malachi took a step back as she neared him.

  “Don’t worry, baby. Sally don’t bite...unless she wants to, and then there’s nothing but pleasure after that,” Sally said.

  “Sally, come on now. He’s young,” Bear said, as he came up behind her. “I wanted you to meet them. They’d be working here.”

 

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