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to catch up. "I was just looking at the palm trees. Have you ever seen any like them before?" |
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"Palm trees, my ass . . . And speaking of which"she pointed at her derriere"this is the body you're supposed to be keeping an eye on, remember?" |
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After dumping the bags in the room, they had an early dinner by the pool and then Kyna drove into town. |
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Downtown Calgary turned out to be a confusion of Western-wear shops and international banks. As a result, the streets teemed with men wearing pin-striped suits and ten-gallon hats, and secretaries in sequined dresses with rawhide trim and reptile-skin boots. In the local restaurant row, neonlighted Chinese take-out joints clashed with rustic hamburger cafes where they served a side of beef on a bun that made the Big Mac look like a finger sandwich. |
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By the time Kyna found a parking spot near the fairgrounds, the sun was on its way to bed and the temperature was in the teens. Cyrus checked to make sure the 9mm was loaded and snug inside the shoulder holster before donning the brown leather jacket he'd unpacked. |
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"What do you think?" he asked, flipping the coat collar up. "Spenser or Hawk?" |
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Kyna slipped into a fur-trimmed doeskin jacket with the ever-present briefcase clutched in her right hand. "Mickey Rooney?" |
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"Aw, please. No short jokes." |
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Kyna locked the car. "Come on, Kareem." |
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She led him through a mostly residential neighborhood, passing a few gas stations and mom-and-pop groceries before crossing the street and entering the Calgary Fairgrounds. |
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"Not very busy," Cyrus remarked. "Everyone must be eating dinner." |
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Because of the hour, only the main gate remained open. After forking over twelve dollars to a semicomatose attendant, they walked past several large exhibition buildings, the giant rodeo stadium where the city held its annual stampede, and across a bridge over an anemic gray river. On the other side |
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