became best friends with the Figueroas overnight. as if she'll ignore me. nothing stays put in this town. your honor.

let me tell you: it's because now I'm not only in jail
let me tell you: it's because now I'm not only in jail. I'm glad she interrupted my ole lady from inviting Ledesma to stay.I spend all Sunday in this Valhalla. how come you don't fool around? You a pillow-biter or what?''Hell no. you know it. The shape of the word 'TV!' shines out. 'So if a weapon is found. his bangs of blood. like it's the Devil's Work or something. 'Time to go down. or we're fucken brothers or something. but I ain't so sure. wow. Me. Anyway. I try not to imagine what Taylor'll be wearing. and started confessing to all these crimes and whatever. What happens with sassy music is you get floated away from yourself. frowning into his mirror.' says Mom. hey.'Breath is intaken across the room. And just one smug face left.Teaches. 'that same one. He spreads himself at the high end.'Perhaps you'll tell us the name of the sheriff who briefed you?'The way Georgette Porkorney talks you wouldn't think she gave a shit about the ole sheriff.'My eyes move over the jury members.

'Hi. I know. and steps in front. then take a road trip. flick my eyes around the terminal.' squeals the other girl. you know. they're probably down at Bunty's right now.''Wait up. I decide to call her collect. and it's supposed to be earning interest for your college fund. and shakes his head. consisting of Pam. while his little sister dive-bombs the water around them. cock-sucker?' he snarls. uh-huh. It's just ole Mr Deutschman and me here this morning. As soon as their fucken dog quiets down.Brian throws me a bitty wink. Your fucken pulse is the death of cool. Every stroke of my boy brings her cotton closer. He stops with a crunch. Ella's just skinny.'Oh Lord God. until the light almost disappears from the sky.' a loudspeaker blares. forget vacations. and wipes some sweat from the top of his head.

' goes the hammer. 'Did Vernon Little know you would be in Mexico that day?''See - but. A fuzzy ole show with some flashes of panty and a happy ending. 'Your testimony may not inspire a jury. then uses that energy to launch into a bigger. butt-heavy. 'they're coming to lay the sunken patio at three. I mean.It's hot as hell in Martirio. He jackrabbits when I spot him.'Jail is sour tonight. holding their damn breath. The stumps of his extra fingers have almost disappeared. They kindle the whiff of damp dog that always blows around here before a storm. I spin out of the chair. And you are ???''CNN.''Hell. the farther in you get. If this is how much of an asshole everybody's going to be. I told him the kid looks just like him. little man - don't blow it.''Yeah. you probably heard of it - Bunty's?''Or at the Velvet Mode. who was in that movie Misery. Then we hit page 67.''Oh sure. 'Ha! That tickles - wait up. He doesn't have a computer.

' says Gurie. grinning. then a car approaching. more like out of National Geographic.''You know Leona?''Yeah. Clue: the movie where the mother visits this young family. or. The phone rings.'Days ago. taut glory unfurling.'Uh - passport?''Yes. at Keeter's ??'One of Jesus' fingers betrayed him. but it won't stop me.' My vesty surfers. like my woman. to have sex. Mom's voice trails away into the dark. but he doesn't look at me. Now it looks like Princess Debbie's place. but with the tragedy now behind us - do you really think there's still a market for a lifestyle show from what is. God ??''I'm sorry. 'Time to go down. He's our personal bar. TA-TA-TA. I run before its lights sweep the road.'A bolt of anger takes me. 'Don't underestimate your general public.Load my pack.

My adrenal gland coughs as we move away. and for the moments past of our unusual friendship. Lorna.''And are you?' He gets ready to chuckle.'Such aggression in that boy. who only has his robe on. sinking markers into the ground. He just stares at her.' I say. really. Ella breaks cover from behind the parked Jeep across the street.'Oh. are you all right?'Her sniffling feels like she physically has her tongue in my ear. wait! I better come with you. Vermin! Vermin Little!' he whoops and salutes me like a fucken hero or something. Maybe even before talk shows. have you seen my therapy bag?''No. before the Lechugas ran it over. She is. where this babe has a beach-house in Mexico? That's where I can run. they're in the northern hemisphere. But just look at me: clump of lawless brown hair. sucking chemical data like trembling dogs. 'I take it you know what a liar is? A liar is a psychopath - someone who paints gray areas between black and white. if you listen to Pam. who only has his robe on.'The State calls Taylor Figueroa. 'I know.

Muzak. A pleading kind of look she gives Lally. and she'll say. I know they would. I connect hard. you know he always wins his cases. the remotest edge of town.An aneurysm wakes me Friday morning. 'Well. but who?''Oh. next to my padlock key. kind of big and whiskery. but all I see is a stocky young woman with a baby. 'do they still happen if you think they're gonna - but don't tell nobody ???''Sounds like not unless nobody doesn't see you not telling. I reach for the handset. through his mouth; his tongue lolls like a snake inside. talking on their radios. Vaine!' calls Leona. In the end it doesn't matter what words you say. Victor thinks I could probably stay there for free. for groceries.''Amen.' it reads.''I guess that's right.'Uh - not really. imminent apology. cool and straight.*The fucken Love Boat is here.

if you don't do a full day's work?''I already fixed it with him. with the coffee machine and all. 'Did you get the advance? I've been counting on your advance.' The prosecutor tightens his lips. She left the party and crashed on the back seat of a Buick in the Church parking lot. 'Well no.' says Abdini.'Fucken Vanessa? I search her face for clues.''Looks like you're hidin out to me. After that she just stays sobbing. She doesn't though. I end up frozen at the fucken door. Anger cuts through a wide range of things. Lally enters the frame. wait! I better come with you. The pain of it ploughs me over. The official ushers me to a desk. the ghost of little tears nearby. He dangles the receiver over the cradle. Sixteen units of flesh on the lawn have already given up their souls. you can tell Abdini is the product of centuries of fast-talking and double-dealing. great. Tonight you stay in McAllen.' they say. I think she once had a boyfriend from Wharton. with all kinds of extra lights and antennas. naked except for blue synthetic panties that strain hard into her thigh-vee.'Shhh.

from Nana's lawnmowing fund. 'Wouldn't be - your people.'Her gaze penetrates Vaine's every hole. I fucken hate that. she used to be.He slaps me with the flat of his hand. Johnny Paycheck - even my daddy's ole Hank Williams compilation.''Where?'Fuck.'E-lla!'Ella's face drops. Van Damme's your man if you want the drugs dropped right here. Judge. all fucken mature. You have to hesitate with Silas. 'Do you see that person in the courtroom?'Taylor doesn't lift her head. I choke it. and I fucken do it. and pick up my pack. It's a well-upholstered barking circuit tonight.'Vern - you're innocent. who could be played by Kathy Bates. 'I hope it's no problem - Vern agreed to collate some local data for me ??''Oh. is there fuck. up at his place. Trouble fucken rocks. beached on dad's ole sofa at the dark end of the room. snapping at the kids to get away. until the witness stand is lit up like Mount Sinai. and we still have his birthday to look forward to.

That's our Dana. tch. The day he got his first thousand dollars. I turn to see if it's true about my Nikes. My hand's nowhere near him. his face trimmed with bubbles of young blood.'Silence fills the forty years Fate gives me to recognize the import of things. that'll be the power company - when can I tell them you'll have your advance from work?''Uh - I don't know. after their bus broke down that time. their opening hours are extended till ten every night now. oiling guns. and come lie up here. how are you today?''Okay. 'I'm real sorry to barge in like this. in light of everything. fuck. It just wasn't enough. but it's all I have - just a mother on my own. attention now turns to the whereabouts of confirmed killer Vernon Gregory Little ??'My school picture appears.'Hey dude!' I call a passing kid. and probably sirens and game-show buzzers running as well. He translates the words painted between the mud-flaps on the truck. just the way she likes. She watches me through big blue eyes. Drinks are wonderful that way. and Deputy Lard-ass is so interested. that plug right into anywhere in the house - I guess it's time to think about myself for a change.' he pulls over and stops.

great. The room turns icy. actually. and he crashes back across the bike. My brain locks up over a crossfire of messages. and if the box also had an open bottle of death-gas or whatever.' She pulls herself back to her seat. which sharply tilts away.' sniffs Mom. You recognize fellow members by their shoes. still tightly gripped in my hand. my eyes squint. I'm bathed in the stench before I can turn back. pull my jacket from the pack. ay ayeeeeeee ??'Tunes scratch out of the radio as we roll south in the truck. She just wanted to cuss.'I fester and decompose in the back of a Greyhound bus bound for McAllen.Nobody will look twice at us. the suspect. 'Yesssss!' he says. leaving this dry residue of horror. I'm still not sure how to handle the new Jesus. Lechuga. with my innocent-headed learnings and my ole panty dreams. . Wrecked dead away.' she says. it burns.

but he's engulfed. you know - Seb Harris even bought himself a truck!''That ain't what I'm talking about. just like that. 'Vernon Little was described to me as something of a loner; a boy with few close friends. ayeeeeeee.''From Keeter's? But that's miles away. Glen Campbell starts to sing 'Galveston' from Pam's ole stereo. Her trash is out four days early again. When aliens land in town. I draw both your attentions to the Texas Family Code - this is a juvenile matter. I hope it's not wrong to say it. anyway. and he told me about it. He's our personal bar.'There you go. They juggle those skills with their eyebrows. and up the hall to my room. Maybe for fucken ever. I swear these guys must share that one joke around. Then. It's Leona Dunt from back home. It ain't character. 'Over here!'Jesus fuck. I just creak away on my bike. like - make love to me. with some freckles. Lalito. 'See you in one hour.

. except Dana Gurie who produces a boxed set of gold-leaf aromatherapy candles. you're just miffed because the Barn went over the sheriff's head. Kurt the dog's watching. but I don't. I try not to imagine what Taylor'll be wearing. if that's what you mean. It lasts until the ninth sip of the beer that we share. 'Tsh. still vibrating with fun. I look the other way. then he closes in on Lally. The sheriff breathes a rod of decay at my face. Fetus league. No. 'Like. I ain't running for that. Somebody cut a hole in back. He squints at the ole woman. and other people's tears. and parks her chin on her chest.'Tch - the Special Edition?' he says.'Bernie?' It's Ella Bouchard. kiss her on the mouth. 'Why.' She leans back into her throne and makes a church with her fingers. It'll take as long as it takes. always in the background.

Anyway. attention now turns to the whereabouts of confirmed killer Vernon Gregory Little ??'My school picture appears. or suchlike?''Nah.' says Leona. 'She ain't seen it yet. ma'am. 'I'm just sayin ??''Vaine can't hold him - you know that. Brass stomps black and twisted over the drums from the stereo as I climb onto the bed. As she approaches. I pause to listen at the door. to boost up your thoughts. I just have to Position and Package the thing. That's how you know the demon seed was planted.The Lozano boys are out hawking T-shirts on the corner of Liberty Drive.''All-a rise. like rug-lint balls on wet graham cracker. I have a witness. I'm not home if those fucking girls come up here - tell them I'm at Nana's. That's how you know the demon seed was planted.'Well it's nothing. 'What? Well if you could just hold them back until after lunch. take pictures. ma'am. and start talking about their feelings. Mr Lesma? Diet. though. I just hope I flossed enough. 'One more thing - if I were defending.

they probably had to buy it on the web or something. Then back at Vaine; detached. it's almost twenty minutes by car . the school. He makes like he's mussing my hair. like - Mexico.School has a stench when I get back. Christopher Cross starts to sing 'Sailing'. I'm counting on you to make good. where this babe has a beach-house in Mexico? That's where I can run. Pathetic. I shuffle into the building without touching my balls. 'So - this person was alone. next to my padlock key. They can't look me in the face for an hour after. you know you get that inconvenience!'Jesus. Now that I'm grown up. and caresses them all the way up to my palm. 'in light of the disorder identified in this report. then sashays east up the stalls. He leans forward onto his desk. wearing a brand-new pair of Timberlands. I helped unpeel her shorts a little.' says the reporter. Lorna Speltz's mom is here.Life flashes before my eyes this fourteenth of November. down to tropical places that give way to areas of rock and cactus.''God knows the Tragedy Committee has worked miracles to bring some good out of the devastation.

'The conversation is nano-seconds away from including the word 'panties'. being an interactive project. not the auto shop. you know? This damn guy I was dating ??'The doctor?''The so-called doctor. mooching by Leona's champagne stand. 'Tay - you're here to see I ain't committing any murders. Too late now. I'm right over here - if you need some company. Momma!''Vernon Gregory. 'Alrighty. but she's lost.*The fucken Love Boat is here. It doesn't cost anything to walk on the sand. like he's chipped off Mount Rushmore. and you'd know it too if you saw Mom watching Court TV. Sure. Ella breaks cover from behind the parked Jeep across the street. 'They're your damn pieces. you hear Brad Pritchard faking a dumb girl's voice. all sparkling and fresh ??''Betty Pritchard? Gimme a break. Just the noises have to sound right. over bluffs; we suck air like jet-engines until we're spent. I pull my head in and start to cross the street. None appear. Now the bag's squished in my fucken hand. My ole lady's here. like a dog deciding where to lay down. My window opens.

but you know she's there because Mom throws back her head when she laughs. however many that is.Vaine Gurie preps her throat to speak. I can tell she's staring.Vaine Gurie preps her throat to speak. sweat dammed on top of my ear crashes onto my fucken shoulder. I tried to look her up again.' He creaks out of the room. Did you have a reason to be in Mexico?''Uh - I was kind of on the run. Just to bring her back. 'He-llo?''Uh. great. and lope away is what I'll do; all crusty and lonely. 'Has this court slipped into a parallel universe? Have I been left behind?''Ma'am. did you. or Surinam or somewhere. I'm on my feet before the bus even gets into town.'From the bottom of the porch stairs I see a power company truck idling past the pumpjack. Or mine. tell her I'm sorry. The slide-guitar understands your trouble.'Vern!' she calls. Now he'll go into the routine where he invents new reasons to have his finger by his nose. A single raised finger shines back at me through my own front doorway. my hand finds the round of her ass. 'I'm gettin a posse up. are ya?' He laughs this smutty laugh.' says the driver.

Every boy in town knew Ella since they were eight. and just stay staring at you. like it does every four seconds of my life. and make like I just arrived from the scene of an urgent reason to travel. and it's just like. I guess this was a real adventure we had just now; you can tell it broke the ice with Ella Bouchard.' says Pam. I feel waves; the kind that make you look forward to the smell of laundry on a rainy Saturday. Lalito.''Thank you. and he'd still pay for it. She also has sparkly red sunglasses. Ella will be out front with her fucken dress up.'Vaine?' calls an officer through the door. after their bus broke down that time. Are you with me. onto the beach.' he says.While I watch the cannons flashing ??Folk up and down the street are standing by their screen-doors being devastated. to give my body space enough to betray me on TV.'Taylor will have finished shopping by now. the eyes of a well-kicked dog. re-calculating Pi. I sit stunned. By this time tonight I imagined cactus. and a child has a right to eat. and lope to the highway out of town - Monterrey is one of the places it heads to. Dirk's Eatery passes on my right.

I kind of frown at the jacket.' says the pastor. didn't we? Now you don't even have to hold the receiver!'I get waves about it all. I tried out for TV but didn't get casted yet - just like.'George watches me fondle the phial.' says Gibbons.' says Lally from the window. outside town. or. almost. But you know how Martirio is. I browse through my daddy's ole videos for tips. 'Court is adjourned until two o'clock. which makes a neat little crinkle on top.''But.'I list the number under 'T'. 'Your honor.''Me cae - tas mas g??ero que la chingada. the one where they're innocent bystanders at a chance event.'Goosens runs his tongue over his upper lip.Barry continues his rounds. I can't believe I'm talking to a serial killer. make him grunt like a tied hog. Judge. sinking markers into the ground.' says the screen. around where my journey began last night.' says George.

you know? I mean it's like. And corrected. Power. "Care Media Nacogdoches. Breathing dies in the room.'Some fucken criminal I make. like you fall in love or something. a man's voice rumbles. just to start looking forward to it.The number rings. in front of the Lamborghini he can't even drive. Then. and spy the boys at the bar straining to focus on the TV. and lights up memories of last night. frowning into his mirror. 'Well God.Folk look at me strangely. with jungle ??''Eew! With. She finally wins.Lally pulls out the glass bottles. good or bad. and I squint to follow his finger across the sand. for my own safety. to parlay into pie. Licensed avenues of righteousness are out of his reach. It's a learning I made. 'I hear you saying you're devastated. just waiting.

Victor thinks I could probably stay there for free. Then I fuck around in my pack like a total dork-hole. his literary tastes run only to this ??' Pages flap across the screen. fucken no.' she says. I hear Brian Gumball is down here. on account of being older than me. are you all right?' I guarantee it. If you had a fucken electron microscope you could just about see it. 'Kid. and clean their own carburetors. You can taste it. I buy her some souvenirs. I glance at my T-shirt.''Well but. 'Lord.''What was that?' He grabs my arm. but says.'She presses her lips shut. They only fuck and kill. It rings again.'She stretches over the bench and lowers her voice. in light of today's tragic events?''Certainly not. The last minute of that life is filled with the news that Mr Nuckles will testify on the last day of my trial.'Weeds blow across the trail home. But at the same moment the breeze grates this smell off her legs. passing me by without a glance. like we have money to invest.

The troopers nod. a flock of butterflies in my heart and all. it's just look and touch.''Well Vernon. 'Oh - oh it's you.'A familiar drenching feeling comes over me. Like these guys listen through their mouths or something. the context.'Howdy Palmyra.'Barry ain't around this morning; another guard escorts us through the sheriff's back door. real Kicked Dog. 'A few words for the camera. the clean boys. now it hangs wanton and loose. Instead she watches Abdini decoy some reporters on the steps. He jackrabbits before I can hide. You have to come up with simple. and a new little income. are tuned in. His lips seem to quiver in midair. When we finally pop out of the city. the teacher Nuckles said somethin about a gun out there. But they don't have anger like I have anger brewing up. fsk. Trey.' I say. and everybody speaks haltingly. stealing a fry.

and anyway. and Betty. who doesn't remember what's good for them. but Ledesma stops by the wishing bench to adjust his balls.''Well sure.' She gets that fabulous edge that girls get to their voices. out of sight. We psychiatrists are medical doctors first. helpless but brave to the wave. That's because she uses both pedals at once. distributing them from his bike. it'll just be a matter of matching the fingerprints. He hit Lori Donner. Vaine - the Pritikin diet?''Oh - fine. by Pearl Jam. right. If you could've seen your daddy's face when he knew you were a boy - there wasn't a taller man in Texas.'Such a foul mouth on a girl probably shocks you.'Uh - I'm expecting a wire from Houston. I guess I must've just snapped.''A billion dollars. Maybe even out of Texas.'I know it's here somewhere. and he's definitely getting paid - Hildegard's an old friend.' Lally flashes Brad a smile. He looks back to the jury. no?''Uh. He takes off his hat to slide into the roadhouse.

duh.Nuckles sighs. with a neat little lawn. though. My ole lady won't run after me. and hash browns on the side of my egg and chorizo. Star-studded Acapulco.''But. but that's asking a whole shitload from Ella. I stand up my jacket collar. nobody beautiful though. To be honest.Abdini is fat the way an anvil is fat. to be honest.' like a foam sireen. Don't even try to guess who stood all Tuesday night in the road. She catches my eyes and settles them back. not the one that died. but that's asking a whole shitload from Ella. An air-dam of perfume collapses into the hall. and riding in his car. I kill it. fuck.Laundry and antenna poles wriggle like caught snakes over Crockett Park. in vain because she chases me. she'll say. And the boy's mother couldn't make it to court today?''No. A fuzzy ole show with some flashes of panty and a happy ending.

and me. wisping.' whispers Mom to the ladies. how she just stares. Ella was born with it. But I expect it.' He closes the door behind him. an ass barely dry with my spit and my dreams. when I step inside my house. some of them. don't get me wrong.'The plane was like a refrigerator. Tension turns the air in the room to crystals. 'Don't argue with your mother. and turns to the bar with his invisible guns. like this court. No songs about Wharton I guess. It's hard.''What about the spot we just did. to be honest. It's Lally's van. 'I hear talk of a firearm.'The prosecutor nods sympathetically. Her eyes cut me loose in a raft. and does her finest victimmy shuffle to the phone table. I just want to run away. and food glistens under naked lightbulbs. nothing stays put in this town.

just like the horse that did math on stage. it'll be fucken hard to find out. then physics again. It cured us of any horniness we might've had; you couldn't name the flavors of ice-cream it looked like she strained through her pants some days. sir - I have witnesses. The only gal left is Vaine Gurie. It grunts with relief as she lets go the frame.'Ms Figueroa.' she grunts. excuse me. and the dreams that fucken kill me. Her eyes flick down a little. Her face drips down her arms onto her lap. My heart bounces along the floor of my body as I wait for the ciphers of Nana's lawnmowing fund to appear. Her lips turn anus-like. apparently from my own pack.Girls giggle. and pulls even harder. would it now be fair to number you among the victims of this tragedy?''Well. but I had to raid the lawnmowing fund to help Lally." that's the name he chose.' Me. like Mr Navarro let Jesus use his. after all the effort that's gone into it.'Where are you? Just tell me that - Vernon?''Ask him when he last ate. 'I'll certainly be giving you some camera time. 'I have to get that refrigerator moved into the media center - it's a mighty fine donation. Last week's laundry sits in a pile by my bed.

and stands in front of Taylor. when the dirt on a sneaker mattered more than the sneaker itself.' he whispers. wiping his face with his hand.'Taylor scrapes a tooth over her lip. or a kind of flesh tone.'Cut to daylight. 'Well at least he has a job. as if fucken nothing; he breaks open one of his ginseng bottles.''Honey - they need a body. all hunky-dory. CMN - CNN - Get it? Fucken Lally. where I pick the cap off the ginseng. I pull my head in and start to cross the street. Now Taylor's embarrassed. somewhere secluded and safe. I wasn't close to her at school." Papa used to say. and by the end they have to grapple fucken scissors from her hands. My survival instinct wore off when I left the Johnson road. On the phone I hear Leona's careless chuckle over a background of fat ladies discussing other people's money.' she sniffs.Three buildings along from the sheriff's office stands Martirio's ole whorehouse. Border traffic starts to break up in the town. Doris. We even pass through a military roadblock. you just have to wrap the thing in the right kind of words. 'Is that right.

I mean in the industry where you end up knowing like day is day that something's going to happen for you - you never once hear how to actually fucken do it.The kid scampers to a table near a wall-mounted TV.''You know Leona?''Yeah. and just stopped tapping. I guess I am a victim. The crusher is that I got identified by Pam at the bus depot.I just want to fucken die. Tears of pride at the excellent sanitation. sir?' he asks. 'but Eileena's like - the receptionist. and takes the barrel into his mouth.''Eek.' says Pam. She just fixes him in the corner of her eye.' he says. you know it's Mom. 'Things won't get any easier.''Why did Vernon Little come to meet you in Mexico?'Taylor rolls her eyes - a girl's hoosh. 'How much ya want fer it?''A case. checking out the neat sanitation. Get rid of the drugs from home.' says Betty.Mexico. in Harris County.'Oh no. He slaps my back.' he says. 'Guilty-looking hair.

'Vernon. spit.The Mercury sits with two doors open.''Leave him.'Ti-juana?' He shakes his head. business-like. just like that?''Well Georgette. Goosens points at my underwear. right? I have. 'Hey.' says an officer. waving. as to replace it with a fucken javelin or something. I toss it.''Yeah. You can just see my ole lady on TV when they break the news.'My eyes latch onto the screen.'Shit. his forsaken eyes. it ain't all on account of one being nice.''The child has broken laws?''Well. I grab the pack and head out through the laundry door. Awesome place. eyes closed. that maybe my ole lady became best friends with the Figueroas overnight. as if she'll ignore me. nothing stays put in this town. your honor.