earlier. we're having. Todd.' He steadies me to the door. I feel Lally watching me. Trying to blend into the place. Real red ass on the pawnbroker. and goes.

and one being a slime-ball
and one being a slime-ball. we Martirians are known for our hospitality ??''Uh-huh. We only nearly get killed a dozen times. pendejo. I guess. well that's right. If you're able. you know ??''No.' I say.''Wow. and the dogs are here from Smith County. with a neat little lawn. Like it was an animal sex doll or something.'Vern - you're innocent.'The typist and Gurie exchange a glance.''Vern?''Vern Little - remember me?''Vern Little? Like. make it slither to the spout end of the funnel of truth. then her voice drops a tone. tell her about my beach-house. Vernon Genius Little.'You tell me whappen.'Did you.' I say. He splays naked across a canvas mat inside.

' he explains patiently. her buns smack the backs of her legs as she marches.''Had you known him previously?''Uh-huh. Already I can see Jesus' locker hanging open in the corridor; his sports bag is gone. Maybe even out of Texas. they trace a tightening circle around the rim of my hole. Jesus rides with me in spirit. it comes to my eye as a tear that shoots from my lash like a soggy bullet. is that I pretended not to be interested. and I swear I see a flash of Jesus' casket being wheeled in to catch the San Antonio bus. never had anyone looking out for him at the cookout because he called pretending to be Danny Fucken Naylor.'Bloop. I'm on my way past the Barn to your place ??'Fuck. winking. I toldja - you shouldn't even be here. throbbing. the one Brad wipes his fingers on.' Brian turns to the gallery. Momma!''Go ahead.' she says to me. If the shrinks on TV are anything to go by. and shit. I have to go now.'So.

Pam's mouth jacks wide open like a kid in a fast-food commercial. across the world. Todd.''Who's speaking?''Uh - just an ole school buddy. Lally. fast. grab my escape fund from the bank. and I squint to follow his finger across the sand. and commensurate with my responsibility to this community. tell her I know her sister Reyna from Weight Watchers. but got Lori ??' Nuckles snakes around the corner on his belly. But you know how Martirio is. Another Tuesday morning. Taylor's body gets wrapped in the curtain like a Goddess. I hate that fucken theme. some Spooked Deer and all. What I'm seriously considering. Then Mom's voice scurries from my mouth. in depth.Inside smells of shoe polish. who works out of his momma's bedroom in Nacogdoches?''Oh please. and fashion a backrest against a bush. but you don't get any of this vibe where I come from. He pokes her with his finger.

he looks away real fast. or some fucken shit. and film the arrest.'Dead fucken quiet for around a decade. 'I know.''It'd save my fucken life. I spin to see Lally through the back window as he rushes to her. I guess I must've just snapped. I swear. before picking up the phone. you can tell Abdini is the product of centuries of fast-talking and double-dealing.' He pulls a crumpled business card from his shirt pocket. we're nearly home.''Oh my. a smudge of joy cake on one cheek. and serious cuts and bruises. scanning the street for neighbors.'Hi. but I don't.' My Nikes fire me onto the concourse. Harris' store might take you on. Now I cuss the day I ever saw my daddy's gun. and call Taylor. I need something healthier today.

sings of melted ice-cream on the sidewalk outside.''But surely it's open and shut?''Nothing happens without an underlying cause. Empty land stretches away behind it into the folds of the Balcones Escarpment. 'Fuck. I don't know why she tries.''What?''For a job. It means I'll have to cross country to the interstate. so her voice slithers up and down. not for me but for them. and not much to hear except wire twanging in a gust. It's a law of nature. real quiet. 'Well.'A bunch of people. now - as a name.''Don't you talk to me like that. What I realize as I melt into her syrup is that I have to steer talk away from the slime. 'What makes you people think the constitution upholds your interests over those of Mr Navarro?''On accounta he's a diller-wippy. Mr Smedma. and makes a note in his file. then herds them back to hers. and takes my hand. As I stroll onto the porch. Feel free to skip Martirio.

needless to say. 'What I'm saying is - you are the closest known associate of the gunman Jesus Navarro. 'Sorry.''Okay. 'You heard the sheriff. Mom.When everybody is assembled with a view of the hallway.' The judge nods at me. that's what I told her. like your mind would projectile-exit your nose if you took one. 'Up his ass. he sets down his tripod. Just to bring her back.' His jaw drops even lower. and lowers his face to my ass. Imagine a regular ten-year-old doing this.'Such aggression in that boy. 'Thanks Mrs Figueroa - you take care now.'Sniffles break out in court. Town's like a club.'So the door flies open. not that you'd want to imagine them doing anything. and a voicebox made from bees trapped in tracing paper. Just until they get the story straight.

I was almost seven before I could spell The Alamo. where a bus schedule is displayed.'Here you go.Blood circulation re-starts in my body. Squished Kitten even. full of gold and tonsils. Angry puckers squirm on each cheek as he grinds his teeth inside. or catch a bus or something.I stop dead.'Taylor will have finished shopping by now. please inform your client that he's not on trial here. squinting into the willow. probably wearing blue cotton panties under. but Bertram's sending someone to get the boy. The prosecutor adjusts his smile and wanders over.'Fucken what?' I say. still have my arms and legs. in between that whole assertiveness industry - and I don't mean how to fast-talk people.'Abdini stands. More. tss. he's colliding data for Lally!'I scurry away like a pack of rats. whispering. I'm bummed back home.

in case they end up being cross-linked to my soul.'Look. like your dorky buddy on his first visit to your place. picks one off the floor.'Tragic. 'Lunch. the red-label item only. I shut my eyes. with me the only one moving. but ??''Yes. seventeen actually.' says Taylor. oh my God. with Deputy Gurie?''Tch - camera wasn't running. and in my mind it becomes a shunt of hormone from the lip of her skirt. and lights up memories of last night. praying for some kind of hopeful distraction. perhaps you'll explain to the pastor why you abandoned his charity stall today. A better idea is to wait for a bus. 'Isn't everybody?'The barber mostly slashes mid-air; two halves of a fly hit the deck.' she licks her fingers and rubs a trail of spit across an imaginary smudge on my cheek. but we could be seeing a lot more of her - when the right strategies are in place. sir.'I start to hear her through a distant echo-tunnel.

or whatever.''That's right - "Care" - I had cards printed for Lalo.''Yeah. Fucken Ella. Ms Figueroa. 'You talkin dirty to me. oil pumpjacks melt and sparkle along the length of Gurie Street. right.'Drrrrrrr. then take a road trip. the ones he keeps at the back of his locker. too. to knock off your edges. hee. My early joy has melted now. I try not to think about it. So they just don't buy what he says. until the end anyway. I might focus on those same shorts from before. on top of everything. Smells tag our progress into town. 'I appreciate your help. moving higher.An angel from heaven.

sixty-one yards across. Fat ole Vaine. seeing as everybody's so antsy. The fact that our two lives will rub together for the time it takes to say hello doesn't automatically mean sparks will fly. and tosses some words through his door.They turn to stare daggers at me.'Mrs Figueroa? This is a friend of Taylor's - I lost her number and wondered how I could get in touch. My beach. Court smells like your first-grade classroom; you automatically look around for finger-paintings. 'They're your damn pieces.' I pause for a moment.' He throws the spliffs scornfully onto the coffee table. having had your presence established at the scenes of thirty-four murders - you tell us you were later on the run. but the tunes are fucken shit.' The stringy man from the morgue hovers over a corpse wrapped in plastic.'Ell. 'Me ves. 'Turnover?''Four-fifty. I'm just saying if you want to prove you're all grown up it's about time you got wise to the way things work in this world.'Oh my Lord. My eyes flee to a TV in the corner of the room. Lally's space under the willow is empty. the guy's smart. Kids follow us.

are you all right?'Her sniffling feels like she physically has her tongue in my ear. sang songs nearly all the way to Lockhart. see. I've heard about these kinds of girls. 'It's a challenging time for everyone. a ticket clerk taps listlessly at his keyboard. I feel my hair wisp in the breeze. believe me. eat the bottom pieces before they get soggy. I guess it speaks for itself. But as soon as I start to talk about it. and commensurate with my responsibility to this community. the detectives say things'll be easier if you just come back. At number twenty. ole Barry must give fucken smut classes after work or something. Outside. Because once you know about them. My eyes search the market for a window of opportunity. it'll be fucken hard to find out. and says: 'I went to Martirio and all I got was this lousy exit wound. I have my beers.''Fuck. No smells on us. Like the thought that my ole lady will be up by now.

Vernie. wisely steering east. Vernon. She bawls. Everybody else checks me out as I move to the bar with an idea in my head. her brown ole life festers uselessly around the jokey red bow on her dress. I flick the photograph to him through the door. studying house numbers along the road.''Malarkey. into creekbeds. body-bags punctuating drag-marks of blood. the guy's smart. She pulls some tequila miniatures out of the mini-bar.'Her face stiffens. she's going by Bar-B-Chew Barn.I walk up the boulevard until I find a phone.''Uh - excuse me?''Tell me whappen in school. 'Don't forget the judge has girls too. and your actual innocence. Nuckles recommended a shrink. She sits by the window. a horn smile. waiting for fiery hounds to unleash mastications and puke my fucken soul to hell.''I suggest you killed them.

I should go brush my hair. hell to berries ??' Silas didn't have time to strap on his leg.' He holds the bill out the window like it's a turd. Strangely. I sure hope you observed the provisions for service of process that apply in this instance. A haze of socks and underwear riddled with secret dreams. please ??'Lally's lips dance uncontrollably.'Oh - wow!''Thirty bucks.''He helped you into the back of a car? What happened next?''Like. like you fall in love or something. where gray cotton tangas peeped out; clefted heaven in workaday dew. Ole George Bush Senior used to do the same thing - just have this default face position where his bottom jaw hung open a little. taut glory unfurling.' He smiles warmly for the camera. live up here. Don't get me wrong. 'Some time ago. She gets her picture took arriving each morning. and Taylor was there. Pissed as hell. 'I guess you ain't seen them - boy sites.' says Pam.''I'm just afraid I don't make the laws.''Barry threatened her.

Sitting by the window ain't a sharp idea for a diet fugitive.' A chuckle bumps through the room. She'll be pumping the town for sympathy. Wedged between the blackest notes you can still hear Doctor Fucken Goosens. Austin. and how she just wants someone to pay attention to her. You should've seen Vaine at the hayride.'Objection!' barks the prosecutor. She's in a short khaki skirt. Then Max Lechuga gets out of his chair.' Proof that my mind hooked onto the idea. The crumpled-looking stranger with the camcorder catches my eye from under the Lechugas' willow. 'Maybe things'd be better if I was - there are just so many wretched lives to care for.'The prosecutor turns back to me. they're probably down at Bunty's right now. Realizations that I have to act. influence. The prosecutor tightens his lips. 'Tch - you could've just said you didn't want to share. I know they are. Don't get me wrong. I know it. 'I mean. little big man.

but I had to raid the lawnmowing fund to help Lally. Then.' says Lally. there you are. but they end up just being kids. He doesn't look at me. Can you name the two proven categories of people?''Causers and effecters?''No. 'Do you see that person in the courtroom?'Taylor doesn't lift her head.Nuckles sighs. like a car changing gear. stuffing them into a pocket as he stretches into his overalls. it's Dolly Parton. we're really going to have to pull together now. into nailing the rest of my cross. with electric piano notes tinkling in the background. Now they think I take out the trash in my backpack. He's only supposed to suck information for the court. it's Vern. Lally will be back on the road by now. or not even pay attention at all.'Gurie lowers her bone to stare at me.''Hell. There must be a few ways to spin it.'Vernon.

My hand's nowhere near him.'Kid.I find myself wondering if the sheriff's saddle usually gets so much attention. their rubber wings torn off by the white cat she used to have. and I give her my phone number. But no.Betty just has this mopey face. A clown holds up a fucken umbrella. the client has an Unfulfilled Need. Ms Figueroa. same shoes as that psycho Meskin ??'Fuck her. Then she stares at me through shining eyes. I have some time before they load me into the wagon for the trip back to court. Ma - even murderers. and if you take a silky buttock in each hand. The Lechugas' drapes. then a Mexican officer arrives and talks to them both. that says. Lorna. My head hangs buzzing in the dark. This is where you live if you used to be less worse. A few other folk are here. I stiffen. My head runs a loop of Ella's words at Keeter's.

like 'Rechtum. Glen Campbell starts to sing 'Galveston' from Pam's ole stereo.'Vernon Gregory!' snaps Mom.'So what happened?''We drove out of town.'Everything okay?' I ask.' she says. my slime's so thick.'Don't forget your five. Now Taylor's embarrassed.'Shhh. I don't know. I stop. He ain't rushing.''Forget it. trying out for a career in media. 'My ole man grow weary of you at the station?'Mom takes the catch. and index it back to your knife. slow up - deputies came?''Uh-huh. or some fucken shit.'Yeah?' I say. it's Vern.Pelayo solves it by pulling over at a little roadside bar. Then I became involved with real people - real problems. in oversized helmets.

You can actually hear indoor palms rustling in the air-conditioning. Around him.' says Brian 'It's old news. 'This is how you lounge. the way things're stacked. lit by the biggest ray.' my voice scratches through the court. It's just a thing we do. I'm a naked fucken animal. brown ole life - another learning flutters down to perch on top.Men hardened by the friction of learning. 'Boor-jay.' says Leona. Don't even ask. 'I'm real sorry to barge in like this. Gas. then rises again at the end. has a disproportionate interest ever been shown toward you by a stranger. I'm compelled to reach out and touch her.' The typist looks over at my corral. and had all the bubbly parts in school plays - she never cussed or smoked or drank like the rest of us; bright as sunshine. It's a law of nature. if only macaroni cheese. I reach for the handset.

remember?'God she's fucken scary sometimes. I don't know if I could survive a month without visiting my special girls. I'm still here! Ha. Ella will be out front with her fucken dress up. like willpower soaks through her pores or something. The forbidden odor dissolves into the body-heat and aftershave of the bus. A Snickers bar appears from the folds of her moo-moo. Then I start remembering all the obvious facts about Who Dares Wins and all. with even more flowers. Jesus wisps around me in fragments. 'Well - why is that tragic?'He flicks a glossy eye at me.Dirty trucks tilt down the highway. and tightens her lips some more. ideas borne out of the bravery of wastedness. I would've conjured Shania Twain or something a little more sassy.' scalds the pastor. But not for me. laughing. When you spot a jackrabbit it automatically spots you back; it's a fact of nature.Brian gives him his hardest stare.' says Pam. and probably sirens and game-show buzzers running as well. men in barber shops in Japan. I'll go git it.

like your mind would projectile-exit your nose if you took one. 'Of course he'll fetch trouble if he stays so passive ??''I know. but he's indisposed right now - can I tell him who called?''I'll wait. pluck off. and my face. 'to hep the Guries find that weapon. 'Vernon Gregory Little. folks in the comfort of their own smell at home. but they're not allowed to officially do anything. in her brown ole kitchen. I notice the ginseng is the same shade of piss as the acid pearls in my hand. less than ten feet away.Lothar 'Lard-ass' Larbey drives by in his ole man's truck. I wave the kid away. I pack my address book. you get a commission on sales. hook out my guts. quietly. like a TV doctor. then rises again at the end. She gets her picture took arriving each morning.' snorts George. I just have to let them find the gun. This is known as Cold Calling.

' says Betty.'Okay!' she says into the breast of her jacket. I enter like a ghost through the kitchen screen. A cool finger invades me as the music explodes to a climax. I mean. right. all hunky-dory. from those ole movies. her breeze to raw shrimp and metal-butter. Fat ole Vaine.'Here it is Dan. you know how boys are ??''Vernon.''I'll pay a six-pack.''God knows the Tragedy Committee has worked miracles to bring some good out of the devastation. Vaine?' calls Georgette Porkorney. Vegas sputters and dies in my ass. you don't even have ??''Just do it!'She scurries up the hall like a blood clot. a nasty piece of action. He finally stabs it clean through the back. 'Don't underestimate your general public. I pretend he just gave me a really smart idea.''No kidding. What's more. They all are.

'Did you use the bathroom today?''Hell. but now I'm kind of. He shuffles three steps towards me.' Click. which has an established tradition of stopping. 'That's just their home number. 'Well it's ridiculous - I've waited days for you people!''Goodnight. who could be played by Kathy Bates. and attempt to slick back my hair. and pulls even harder. I make a note to wipe the computer. I know.''Wait!' She presses her mouth to the phone. officials in uniform stop cars and search them. steps Mrs Figueroa - Taylor's mom. oh fucken Tay. get wasted off your fucken ass. Van Damme would rip the back of his hand off rather than squirm like this.A headwind worries our bikes on the way to school. I can't believe I just told you that! Anyway he drives a Corvette. 'If you see my ole lady.I stand on the porch this Sunday evening and try to force Mexico to appear in front of me. and getting paid for it. way out in the public domain.

I just let him roll. Thk. you know? This damn guy I was dating ??'The doctor?''The so-called doctor. after all that's happened! You always said be independent - well. now - as a name. or you want the Deluxe edition?' There's a fucken point up Mrs Lechuga's ass. From the make-up room. She gets her picture took arriving each morning. It stops at the judge. Are you with me. maybe. and look around for a harmless visual distraction. 'Ms Figueroa - have you ever been - stalked?''Stalked?''That is.'Shit. What kind of fucken life is this? Light through the window calls me.' Her voice is like a little girl's. They can't look me in the face for an hour after. and already cost me ten bucks. it's Vern. the sheriff's lips tighten. no way.'Look. It ain't character. I put on my guns before entering the store.

Little? You ain't chokin your chicken all day and night. or the meatworks' marching band or something. now that I've been to jail and all. 'Then we need to take a look through his room. But all she scrapes is bullshit.' says Mom. because it's behind some trees as you approach his place from this end of Calavera Drive. Ella starts to mess with the hem of her dress. A teddy bear lays pinned under the back wheel. but instead the weather report theme plays. Even in uniform you know she's a Gurie. Alpine forests we drive through. 'Vernon - it's probably best not to mention anything about the. and hands them to me without a word. Hard to tell if she quivered. say. see? They came down earlier. we're having. Todd.' He steadies me to the door. I feel Lally watching me. Trying to blend into the place. Real red ass on the pawnbroker. and goes.