She leaned back in her chair and adjusted her shawl over her
ample bosom. Mr. Ford glanced at it appreciatively even though she was an old,
old woman. He was a man made for appreciating women. No matter how old. It was clear as the nose on her face. A nose
so large that she was known as Big Nosed Kate to most. In the old days. The
days he wanted to hear about.
Ford took a pipe out of his pocket. He absent-mindedly started to fill it with tobacco and lit it. I reckon he didn't think a little smoke would bother me. The ash tray full of butts must have been a clue.
“So Mr. Ford do we have a deal. I am willing to talk about
those days and give you the true story. Not the one I have seen in the picture
show. Where they make that Bastard Earp a Saint. He was far from that. Very far
from that. What’s in it for me?”
“I can arrange a stipend for you Mrs. Cummings. Either a
lump sum or a smaller monthly payment. It depends.”
“On what?”
“On what you have to tell.”
“Oh I have a lot to tell. You will get your money’s worth.
Nobody was ever cheated by Big Nose Kate. You always got your monies worth. So
before we palaver I need to see the
color of your money.”
“What do you expect Ma’am? That I put the money on your
table? That seems sort of…I don’t know…crass.”
“Put it on the nightstand honey. It’s traditional. I told
you. I’m a whore. I was Doc’s whore. Ringo’s. The Earp’s. More swinging dicks
than I can count. I ain’t bashful. Show me how much you are putting there and I
will tell you some of what you want to know.”
Ford stood up and reached into the front pocket of his tweed
jacket. He took out a billfold and removed a $100 bill. He folded it and handed
it to young McLemore who was hiding in the background trying to be quiet as a
mouse so he would not miss anything. “Put it on the Lady’s nightstand Lad and
leave us. I think Mrs. Cummings would like some privacy.”
“Call me Kate. All the boys did. At least the ones that paid
me. Where do you want me to start?”
“In the beginning if
you would.”
