CHAPTER FOURTEEN

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Lindsay spotted the young girls in the soda shop. She and Neha walked into the shop, allowing the girls to see both of them. The plan was for Neha to be seen walking in with Lindsay, so the girls would realize that she was with Lona’s mother.

The twins were with two boys about Lona’s age. Chumani and Chapa had been smiling. When they saw Neha the smiles disappeared from their faces and in their place formed expressions of guilt. It was the guilt of young girls who were enjoying themselves at a soda shop mere days after their best friend had been kidnapped.

Neha ordered drinks for herself and Lindsay and made eye contact with Chumani and Chapa. She then pointed them out. Lindsey looked their way and smiled. She began walking toward them with Neha. From the expressions on their faces, Lindsay knew her approach was making them feel awkward.

The twins did not look as Lindsay imagined. Chumani and Chapa were rather short, thin and plain. The truth be told, they looked even younger than they were.

“Hello, Chumani and Chapa,” Neha said. “I wanted to introduce you to Lona’s cousin. This is Rani. Rani is going to be staying with me for a while . . . you know . . . to help out.”

Chumani and Chapa looked at each other in awkward silence. It was actually one of the boys who spoke first, “We’re really sorry to hear about Lona. Ms. Littlebird. Have you heard anything, yet?”

“No,” Neha replied. “Rani flew in from Wyoming to help me. This is a very difficult time for me, as you can imagine.”

“I can imagine,” Chumani said. “Hi, Rani. Welcome to Wolf Point.”

“Thank you,” Lindsay said. “Aunt Neha said you were friends of Lona’s?”

“Yes. My sister and I were her best friends.”

“We’re gonna go play some video games,” said the boy who spoke to Lindsay first. “Care to join us?”

“No, thank you,” Lindsay said. “I need to leave in a few minutes. I was hoping to hang out with Chumani and Chapa for a minute since Lona told me so much about them.”

“Suit yourself. Nice meeting you,” the boy said. He and the other boy left Lindsay with Chapa and Chumani.

“Rani, if it’s ok with you, I’m going to walk into the mall and pick up a few things,” Neha said.

“That’s fine, Aunt Neha,” Lindsay said. “I’ll just chat with Chumani and Chapa for a bit.”

Neha smiled and left.

“Lona told you about us?” Chapa asked. “Good things I hope.”

“Oh yes, of course,” Lindsay said. “She told me many stories, you know, girl talk. I especially like the one where Chapa got revenge on Billy Lone Wolf for cheating on Lona with that white girl from Billings.”

“She told you about that?” Chapa said. A smile involuntarily formed on her face.

Lindsay chuckled, “Stealing his jock strap out of his gym bag, then putting cayenne pepper into it and getting it back without him knowing—that was brilliant.”

Chumani snickered, “Billy is a starting guard on our basketball team. He started complaining to the coach about itching . . . down there . . . in the middle of the first quarter. They had to take him out. He spent the rest of the game soaking in the whirlpool.”

“Oh my god,” Lindsay laughed, “that’s hysterical.”

“I can’t believe she told you about that,” Chapa said, laughing. “It was supposed to be a secret.”

Lindsay spent the next fifteen minutes talking with Chapa and Chumani.  She kept the conversation light, choosing to talk about school, boys, things to do in Wolf Point. She skillfully wove in little juicy bits of gossip that Lona had shared with her mother and had been shared with her from Neha on the ride to the mall.

It seemed to be working. The twins seemed at ease with Lindsay almost immediately. When Chumani mentioned Lona again as part of one of her stories, Lindsay decided to us it as an opportunity, “So, just out of curiosity, since I’m going to be in town for a while, I need a little distraction, you know? What is there to do for fun around here? Do you guys ever . . . I don’t know . . . drink a few beers?”

Both girls seemed to freeze in place at the mention of beer, “Lona never drank beer,” Chumani said. “We didn’t know her cousin did.”

“Oh, I know Lona never drank,” Lindsay said. It had been Neha who told her that Lona had mentioned smelling beer on the breath of the twins on rare occasion. “I don’t drink much, just a little now and then.  With Lona being kidnapped, it’s been such a stressful time.”

“What makes you think we can help you get beer?” Chumani asked, somewhat suspiciously.

Lindsay looked around, as if checking to see if anyone was listening, “Lona told me that she thought your uncle . . . an Uncle Takoda, may have gotten you some beer from time to time.  She also said that sometimes your Uncle Takoda sells weed to the kids in school.”

“No, that’s uncle’s friend, Hank Rattling Thunder,” Chapa said.

“Rattling Thunder is creepy and scary,” Chumani said. “You don’t want any part of him.”

“And we don’t get our beer from Uncle Takoda,” Chapa said. “Lona was wrong.”

“Chapa!” Chumani snapped. “You know we aren’t supposed to talk about Uncle Takoda or his friends.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry,” Chapa replied.

“I’m sorry I asked,” Lindsay offered. “I was just hoping to meet some friends while I was here that were, you know . . . cool with a beer every now and then.”

Chumani looked around the room to see if anyone was listening in. Satisfied, she turned to Chapa.

“Maybe we could invite Rani over on Saturday night when we see Rose,” Chumani said. 

“No, not a good time,” Chapa replied. “Rattling Thunder will be there.”

“He’s going to be at your house?” Lindsay repeated.

“Yes,” Chapa said. “Uncle Takoda plays poker with Rattling Thunder at our house one Saturday night each month—and that’s this Saturday.”

“Poker game?” Lindsay asked.

“Yes, it’s a high stakes game for some of the rich Sioux and Lakota on the res,” Chumani said. “They hold the game at our house, but HRT and his daughter, Rose, are the actual hosts.”

“His daughter plays, too?”

Chapa nodded, “She is in charge of HRT’s gambling business. Rose Rattling Thunder is often the best player at the game.”

“She is with him a lot, then.” Lindsay asked, “HRT and Rose?”

“They are inseparable,” Chapa said. “It’s a shame, too, because Rose is quite nice when she is not around him.”

“How do you know that?” Lindsay asked.

“The players take a break in the game when it’s time to chip up,” Chumani said. “While the dealer is organizing the chips, the men smoke cigars on the front porch. Rose always meets us out back. We have a little hiding place back there. She brings us cigarettes and beer.”

Chapa giggled, “It’s our little secret. We drink a beer, smoke and listen to a little music. We have a little girl talk, too. It’s only for an hour until the game starts again. But it’s fun.”

“Maybe Rani would like to join us,” Chumani said.

Chapa’s eyes lit up, “That would be great. Rani, would you like to come?”

“That sounds awesome,” Lindsay said. “I need to get away from Aunt Neha for a bit. It’s depressing at our house. I would love that.”

“I’ll text the address to you,” Chumani replied.  “Give me your cell number.”

“Certainly,” Lindsay said, giving her the cell number. Two minutes later her phone beeped. She looked at the display. “Got it, thanks. What time?”

“The game starts at seven-thirty and they usually take their break around ten o’clock or so,” Chapa responded.

“Sounds great,” Lindsay said.

“Just be careful to avoid the men, ok?” Chumani said.

“Why is that?”

“HRT, he’s . . . evil,” Chapa whispered.

“He is evil,” Chumani agreed. “Frankly, Uncle Takoda looks mean, too, but he’s our uncle. He won’t harm us. Rattling Thunder, though . . . he looks like . . .”

“Like what?” Lindsay asked.

“Just never allow yourself to be alone with him,” she said.

Lindsay shook her head, “I know what you mean.  Well, I think I should be going. I’ll see you Saturday.”

“That sounds awesome,” Chapa said. Chumani nodded and smiled in agreement.

“We should probably be going, too,” Chumani said.

“It was certainly nice meeting both of you,” Lindsay offered.

“We liked meeting you, too,” Chapa agreed.