They had kept a deal since getting tossed out, first from the white man’s house and then the upscale hotel. They had been leaving their graffiti tag in the same spot every night. On their wall. The one they called their Wailing Wall. If one of them drew in a tiny nirliq on the east side of the Boyle Street building, that meant they would meet at The Hope. If either of them added eyes to their goose tag, it meant that they were booked. One eye meant overnight, two eyes a two-nighter. It had been their ritual for the last three years. They lived their lives without cellphones. They checked the Wailing Wall in the morning at ten and again at four in the afternoon. They had a system.

Bunny stopped walking and lifted her head high. She thought she could hear her mama calling her to the other side of the river. Some of their people said that the bad spirits came out at night and talked across the sky. But this was not a bad spirit. This was her mama. Fuck walking across on that blue bridge. Bunny turned her frozen toes down the bank of the North Saskatchewan and headed across. She was so sure she could hear her mama whispering to her.

She was sure it was her mama’s voice. She was sure of it.

“Bunny! Atii!”

“I’m coming, Mama!”

Riita nodded her head. Kivgalo had issued the signal. Calling out to Bunny meant that the fire was ready.

“Hey soldier, new in town?”

Billy glanced over to the blonde woman sitting at the bus stop. How did she know?

Smacking her pink bubble gum between her violently red lips, she smiled at him. “It’s your hair, baby. Buzz cut. You soldier boys still have the shortest, worst hair in town. I used to take care of a lot of your type.”

Billy walked toward her and took note of her spiked white stilettoes. One contained a black sock. The other a white one. Her grease-streaked hair was topped with a crown of artificial roses, looping around her hoop earrings and tied at the back of her head. Perhaps that was a Hooker Halo? He didn’t know for sure.

“Well, ma’am, I’m not new in town, but I am looking for a woman.”

“You came to the right place, soldier. I am here to serve. Just like you!”

“No, ma’am. Not you and not that. I’m looking for the young woman who wore a hoodie like this one.” Billy pulled the picture from the large pocket in his green khaki shorts. “Do you know someone who wore this?”

“Hey, my name is Polly. Shouldn’t we get to know each other a bit more before I answer any of your questions?”