Queen and bandit, p.7
Queen and Bandit, page 7
They spoke at the same time.
“Do you know the words to-- oh...”
“We’re-- what?”
Evelyn shook her head. “No, you go ahead.”
Gracie pointed through the windscreen. “We’re almost to Las Vegas. It’s right up ahead.”
Evelyn looked, but all she could see were the sharp-edged hills that had been on the horizon for ages. They had just taken a turn to head... east? North? She’d lost all sense of direction even though they’d been driving in a straight line for the past few hours. She leaned closer to the window and angled her head up to the sky, trying to use the sun to figure out which way they were going.
“How long do you figure until we’re back in a proper town?”
“We’re about ten miles out,” Gracie said.
The sun came out from behind a cloud and seemed to shine a spotlight on the town, finally revealing it to Evelyn’s searching eyes. The buildings popped out against the landscape and she could see it easily.
“Well, what do you know,” she said. “I’ve actually never been.”
“Really? I thought you Hollywood types spent every weekend here.”
Evelyn shrugged. “Maybe the real Hollywood types. I’m usually too exhausted on the weekend to do anything but curl up on the couch with a good book.”
Gracie said, “Can I quote you on that in the profile?”
“Sure. But be sure to say I only do it naked, or wearing only a robe. Something sexy and glamorous. We have to titillate the masses.”
Gracie smiled. “Fine.”
Their first stop was a gas station to top off the tank. Evelyn went inside to get snacks, water, and to use the ladies’ room. She was proud of herself for not complaining about needing to pee during the drive, but she was aware that they’d just finished what would probably be the shortest leg of their journey, and it had almost been an issue. She had to hope Gracie was equally affected by bladder size and wouldn’t make her beg for every pit stop.
When she finished in the restroom, she checked the newsstand next to the cash register for copies of the Mercury. She didn’t think it was circulated much outside of Los Angeles, but one could never be too careful. While she was scanning, she became aware of the clerk staring at her. She’d put up her collar and was still wearing her sunglasses. It wasn’t much of a disguise, but she didn’t think she was well-known enough to need one in a place like this.
“Hot day, isn’t it?” she said.
“Been hotter.”
“Mm, I’m sure that’s true.”
She gathered some snacks and soda pops and took them to the counter, paying for them as she tried to keep her face turned away from the boy ringing her up.
“You come through here a lot?” he finally asked.
“No, can’t say I do. First trip.”
He furrowed his brow and counted out her change. “I could’ve sworn I’ve seen you somewhere before.”
“It’s probably just my hair,” she said. “Everyone wants to be Lynn Bari, but no one has the face to pull it off like she does.”
“Heck, ma’am, I think you do a fine job.”
Evelyn grinned and waved the compliment out of the air. “Don’t be fresh, young man!”
She took her purchases out to the car while he was still blushing.
Gracie was leaning against the back end of the car, arms crossed over her chest, legs stretched out in front of her and crossed at the ankles. She was still wearing her sunglasses and her hair had fallen loose over one side of her face. She looked up and Evelyn fanned her face in an exaggerated show of arousal. It was just a show to cover up the reporter really did look extremely sexy posed that way.
“Do you prefer root beer or orange?”
“Root beer,” Gracie said.
“I had a feeling you’d say that.” She handed over the bottle as she passed around to the other side of the car.
Gracie placed the bottle under a metal hook on the side of the pumps, swiping down with her other hand to knock the cap off. It clattered to the pavement and Gracie put the bottle to her lips and tilted her head back. Evelyn stopped with her hand on the door, unable to stop herself from staring. Sweat on Gracie’s face, her throat working as she swallowed, her eyes closed as she enjoyed the cold soda. When she stopped to take a breath, she pressed her wrist to her lips and turned to see Evelyn staring at her.
“What?”
“Little thirsty?” Evelyn hoped any flush in her cheeks could be attributed to the sun.
“It’s a hot day.”
All Evelyn could come up with was, “Been hotter.”
The pump clicked. Gracie removed the nozzle and went inside to pay. Evelyn got into the car and exhaled sharply, patting her cheeks and forehead with a napkin.
“Goodness, girl. You act like you’ve never seen a handsome man before. Woman. A handsome...” She closed her eyes and shook her head. Goodness, it was like that picture she’d seen in the funny pages. Two faces in profile or a vase? An old spinster or a bunny? It was easy to see one, then the other, and then your eyes panicked and tried to see both at once.
Gracie got back into the car. She’d bought another root beer and let it on the seat between them. Her lips were tight, her eyes cold.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. All set?”
“Sure.”
Gracie pulled away from the pumps and got them back on the road. “I think we should find somewhere here in town to have lunch, then continue on to Grand Junction. Holler if you see anywhere that looks good.”
“Lunch? I’m still full from breakfast.”
“Breakfast was four hours ago.”
Evelyn blinked. “Surely not.” Her watch confirmed the truth, and she looked out the window at the town as if it had just exploded up around them. “How has it been four hours?”
“Lots of unchanging scenery,” Gracie said. “It’s hypnotic. That’s why it can be dangerous for one person to do the bulk of the driving.”
Evelyn flinched. “I’m willing to give it a shot--”
Gracie waved her off. “No, it’s fine. I’m just...” She sighed heavily and pressed her back against the seat, arms rigid in front of her. “If you’re really not hungry, we can push on. Check the map and see how many towns are between here and Grand Junction. We can stop in one of those and have a late lunch, gain some ground at the same time.”
Evelyn unfolded the map and found Vegas, then trailed it north along the pen mark Gracie had made to show their route.
“Bunkerville is about, um, eighty miles north of here. Then St. George about one hundred and twenty.”
“We’ll aim for St. George, I think.”
“Fine by me.” She refolded the map and put it back in the glove compartment. They were passing the Flamingo, the hotel casino that Bugsy Segal was gambling so much on.
“They say this place is going to be a boomtown soon. Big casinos like that all over the place. That’s when this will really turn into a playground, I bet.”
“Uh-huh.”
Evelyn glared at her. “Did I do something wrong?”
“What? No.”
“Why’re you so pissy, then?”
Gracie sighed and relaxed her arms a bit. “I’m sorry. I’m not angry at you. It’s that...” She hooked her thumb to indicate the road behind them. “The hick at the gas station. When I went in to pay for the gas, he asked if we were traveling together.”
Evelyn whistled. “Boy, if that’s all it takes to get you into a snit...”
“He... suggested...” She shook her head. “Look, forget it. It doesn’t matter what exactly he said. Just know that he was lewd, and offensive, and it took all the restraint I have to keep from bouncing his head off the counter.”
“Gosh, Mr. Grace. You would commit that kind of violence just to protect my honor?”
Gracie shifted uncomfortably. “I didn’t like the way he implied you were property, that’s all.” Her cheeks had become deep red. “We can just move on, okay? He’s not worth the time. And I apologize if you thought I was annoyed with you.”
Evelyn said, “Well, we’ve got a few hundred miles ahead of us. Give me some time and I’ll definitely rub you the wrong way at some point.”
Gracie tried to stifle a laugh, but it broke free. “I have faith in you.”
Evelyn rolled down the window to let the cool wind rush inside. She didn’t care too much about whatever comment the gas station clerk had made about her. Men had certainly said worse things behind her back. Hell, they’d definitely said worse things to her face. The only thing she was taking away from the situation was that Gracie had been so offended for her. She’d been willing to stand up for Evelyn’s honor, and that wasn’t something she was accustomed to. And considering the bridges that might be currently burning in Los Angeles, it was kind of nice having someone in her corner.
***
They cut the corner off the top of Arizona on their way to St. George. Evelyn kept track of their path on the map, or watched the scenery pass by outside the window. There still wasn’t much evidence of life around them but they started picking up clear radio stations which remained static-free for long enough to hear a few songs. Gracie looked over in the middle of a Dinah Shore song and saw that Evelyn had fallen asleep, her head lolling forward and swaying with the motion of the car. She turned the radio down so the music and eventual static wouldn’t disturb her.
Evelyn had soothed her irritation at the gas station clerk, but there was still a tiny spark of rage simmering at the back of her mind. She couldn’t forget his smirk when he nodded out the window.
“That your beauty?”
Gracie thought he was talking about the car. “Sure is.”
“Wouldn’t mind taking her for a spin sometime,” the clerk said. “If you’re willin’ to let another fella have a crack at her.”
“I, uh, I don’t think we’ll be in town long enough for that.”
“I don’t need long, man.” He was still staring out the window. Gracie slowly realized he was watching Evelyn, not the car. “Twenty minutes in the back. Maybe just ten, if she’s a wild cat.”
Gracie’s ears burned red. “How much?”
“Oh, does she have an hourly rate?” He laughed at his own joke.
“For the gas, shit bird.”
The clerk snapped back to his job and told her the total for the groceries and the gas. Gracie dropped the money on the counter. She gathered her things, stepped back, and hooked her foot on the edge of the wire tower displaying their selection of chips. She pulled and the whole thing collapsed with a clattering crash.
“What the hell, man!”
Gracie had fled. She was grateful the son of a bitch hadn’t chased her out of the store, but regretted she hadn’t done more damage. She wasn’t typically the ‘defending a woman’s honor’ type of lady but, after hearing Evelyn’s account of men in Hollywood the day before, she couldn’t bear to watch it play out in real time right in front of her. The clerk was just lucky he didn’t have to clean up the chips while also nursing a broken nose.
“I checked.”
Gracie looked over at Evelyn, who shifted in her seat and let her head fall back. Her eyes were still closed. “Sorry, what?”
Evelyn murmured quietly. Her head rolled toward her shoulder. “I already checked,” Evelyn said again, louder this time. “It’s okay. It’s fine.”
“Okay,” Gracie said, holding back a smile as she faced the road again.
They were almost to St. George when Evelyn woke up. She straightened in her seat and folded her arms over her head, touching the roof. She extended her legs to press against the far end of the footwell and stretched as best she could while still sitting down. She tried to be subtle about wiping her mouth to rid her lips of any drooling she might have done while asleep.
“Where are we?”
“Just about five minutes from town,” Gracie said. “Hungry yet?”
“Half-starved,” Evelyn said. “I’m in the mood for a cheeseburger, maybe.”
It was almost five o’clock, and Gracie was about ready to eat whatever food was served at the first restaurant they passed. Fortunately for Evelyn’s cravings, the first sign she saw was for a place called Gertrude’s Burgers and Shakes. Her stomach growled as she parked, and she looked around to make a note of how full the lot seemed.
“Do you think this place is safe for you to go in and eat?” she asked.
Evelyn said, “Do you mean do I think I’ll be recognized? I don’t know. I never really know. Sometimes I can go a whole week in Los Angeles without anyone paying any attention to me.”
“Wow, a whole week?” Gracie muttered under her breath, still scanning for potential spotters.
Evelyn glared at the back of her head. “What about you? Does your little newspaper get out this far? I kind of doubt the story has made much of a splash outside of its circulation area.”
Gracie shook her head. “No, it’s pretty much just the greater LA area.”
“Then we should be fine.” She opened the door and got out. “C’mon, I need to eat.”
They both took advantage of the bathroom, grateful there were multiple stalls. Afterward, when they were seated in a booth and had made their orders, Gracie took out the map and unfolded it on the table between them.
“We can make it to Grand Junction by ten or eleven o’clock tonight if we push it a little,” she said. “We’ll find a place to spend the night there and head back out in the morning.”
“What if we can’t find anywhere with vacancies?”
Gracie shrugged. “You can sleep in the backseat and I’ll stretch out behind the wheel.”
“Oof. No fun for you. Fingers crossed we’ll find a place, then.” She opened her menu. “Doesn’t seem fair to you, though. Spend all day driving and then sleep in the driver’s seat.”
“Well, the backseat is only wide enough for one person even if we wanted to share.”
Evelyn said, “Oo, sounds cozy.”
Gracie made a point to ignore that comment, since she had no idea how to respond to it. A waitress came over to take their order, so Gracie put away the map.
“Since we’re stationary,” she said, “maybe we can lay a little groundwork for the profile. Tell me about where you came from.”
She saw something pass across Evelyn’s face, but it was gone too quickly for her to identify it. Evelyn swept her hands across the table as if clearing away crumbs, then linked her fingers and lifted her chin to look across the table.
“Chicago.”
“Wow, that was a lot of preparation for an answer I could’ve guessed.”
Evelyn’s lips quirked slightly, whether a flinch or a smile, again Gracie couldn’t guess. “Okay. I’m actually from a suburb west of Chicago called Cicero. It’s a wretched little town that was basically owned by the mob for a long time. When I was seven, Al Capone and his goons killed my father while he was volunteering at a polling place.”
Gracie flinched. “Holy cats. Al Capone?”
“Yeah.” Evelyn picked up her water and took a sip. “Well, I don’t know if Capone actually pulled the trigger or if it was one of his goons. Probably the second one. But it was madness, so I wouldn’t be surprised either way. Daddy wasn’t particularly political, but he wanted to make sure the election was fair. The mob, for some reason, didn’t agree. So they basically terrorized the entire town to make sure things went their way.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Well,” Evelyn said softly. “I was young. I didn’t really understand what was going on. Mama kept me inside until everything quieted down.”
They were quiet for a moment, during which their food was delivered by the waitress.
“Can I include that in the profile?”
“Add whatever you think is interesting,” Evelyn said, salting her fries.
Gracie said, “Father killed by mobsters trying to steal an election seems pretty interesting.”
“I guess.”
“So what happened after that?”
“I don’t know. Things kept going like normal-ish, I guess. I was seven. I didn’t really know much beyond what my mother told me. One day Daddy was there, and the next day he wasn’t. We moved out of our apartment because we couldn’t afford it anymore and we moved to a smaller one on the ground floor. We had this big picture window in the living room that looked out on the front of the building. I used to sit there for hours watching people walk by. I made up conversations for them, and I mimicked the way they walked. When Mama would get home from work, I would tell her about everything I’d seen that day. She was my first audience.”
“That’s sweet.”
“Yeah, I guess.” Evelyn picked up the top bun of her burger and examined the contents underneath, then picked it up and took a big bite.
They ate in silence for a few minutes. Gracie watched the other customers, while Evelyn seemed more focused on everything happening outside the window.
“So that’s where your love of acting began?” Gracie asked when they were both halfway through their meal.
“In a way. The real love came a little while later. My school had some dumb little play every year, and I figured I’d try out for it. I wanted to be Wendy Darling, but my teacher thought I was good enough to be Peter Pan. She wanted me to be the star of the play. I didn’t understand why Wendy couldn’t be the star, just because the play was named after the boy. I still don’t get that, honestly. Wendy is more interesting, by far.”
Gracie smiled. “I have to agree.”
Evelyn looked hard at Gracie, narrowing her eyes. “You know, you kind of remind me of Peter Pan. They usually have girls play him, because of the whole ‘never grown up’ thing. So it’s usually very fit young women with their hair cut short pretending to be boys.”
“Keep your voice down,” Gracie said, looking around to see if anyone might have overheard.
“Sorry.” She also looked for anyone who might have taken notice. Then, before the moment could become awkward, she shifted the conversation. “You know, I noticed something on the map. We’re not that far from the Grand Canyon.”
