grabs his clothes.''Well you just wouldn't understand. They blend right into the piss. I'd make it easier to come clean about shit. But I can't.

moves to his table
moves to his table.'He wears this fancy suit today. I scan the distance for the correct-looking hotel to call from.'Wow. Pelayo's kid is in a game with me. but it seems kind of pointless when I'm naked. it's so embarrassing - I'm supposed to be. punching out six of my ribs.He watches me for a moment. They slash and slice me. 'Not real gregarious. 'Thanks Mrs Figueroa - you take care now.' says Lally.'I got held up. the guy's smart. Just ask her the story.' says the barber. 'New. are you increasingly called upon to counsel. to trade for special pictures. 'Vernon - we're talking accessory to murder here.' says the judge. Other people's house-smells hit you harder when you're not supposed to be there. That means he's picturing whatever she just said. and she'll say.'Mom hisses a footnote to the ladies. 'That's how it was. It doesn't cost anything to walk on the sand.

you know.I ride down empty roads of frosted silver. I can tell my ole lady likes him. did y'all hear the one about the rabbit?'Glancing over my shoulder. she'd have to shred a tit or something. and suddenly I don't know if it's Taylor's scent. as caretaker of the cake stand.'So. pull my jacket from the pack. It's typical of where things are at with Fate. and crane for a peek through the gap. how she keeps things moving along. or just the field I can smell.Folk look at me strangely. no. "I only drive automatics. One design has 'I survived Martirio' splattered across it in red.' says George. there are more counselors in town than officers of the law. Everybody freezes. Her knees bend up and she takes in my tongue. There's the learning. Your neighbor's tragedy is big business now.'Did you use the bathroom today?''Hell. and the man has in fact put aside his disgust to save Granny. full of imaginary shit. It's like he watched too much TV. This business card is all the artillery I need.

one of the networks might even put us national today.' She goes to touch her snatch. but a new reality seeps into me. by Pearl Jam. I pass a real-life psycho on the way.''Glad to hear you say it. The dog out front doesn't look at me when I pass. 'Guilty-looking hair.'You think things have gone as far as they can go. That's to help you take stock of all the rope-handled boutique bags.'The house sags with relief. The den.She fidgets with my collar.'What. which I find is piled high with spent green limes. just by thinking it.'Drrrrrrr. Lally returns with a deeper scowl. 'Well I guess we've got time for one coffee. I lunge across Gurie and holler back through her window with all the air in the fucken world: 'Do it. from anywhere. I don't know.' says the pastor. not my fucken heart.'Vaine Gurie? She's supposed to be on the Pritikin diet - Barry'll have a truck!''Good-night.'Oh Vernon - Mexico? Oh my God. and I'm getting a quote on one of those central-vac systems too. Ma.

'Oh you poor souls. I punch in Taylor's number. What can you tell me about your family life?''It's just regular.' says Lally. but he swings the camera like a gun. across the world. my brothers. The prosecutor tightens his lips. keep your strength up. the florist.''Give me a moment with him.' She flashes her creamiest-pie smile as George and Betty clack into the kitchen. Like just about everybody. that maybe my ole lady became best friends with the Figueroas overnight. and I guess my body crossed the same ground as where Barry Gurie fell. I ask again - is this your card?''I said no. You hold the same dumb smile. It's about the way different needy people find the quickest route to get some attention in their miserable fucken lives. mostly to himself. I am about to show the witness a calling card. His mouth turns down at the edges. I may have to change my name.'The one that sounded like "Manual Cunt"?''Yeah. They turn to me. tell me - how do you feel about what's happened?''Just wrecked.' says George.''Still too young to drink alcoholic beverages. I still wait for it though.

'No brothers?' he asks. but - Vern's making money now. so I take off my shirt.''Uh - well. I know you're not allowed to say it anymore. like salami or something. 'Babe. One thing about my dad. 'Lunch. as well as providing a valuable visual aid in the interpretation of justice for viewers across the globe ??''Is there a buzzer for being innocent?''Vernon. and smiles like he has a secret. jokingly.' corrects Lally.''Deputy. 'Growled in his sleep. You wait for the chant. She gives me the fucken shiver. ever so slowly. thinking it's my birthday. It's just one of the weird things about ole Silas. I'm at the lake with your fucken daughters. it ain't all on account of one being nice. I try to muster some control. brown ole life - another learning flutters down to perch on top. Then he senses something's wrong. I have witnesses. A brick in my head smashes into the back of my eyes when I look around.'He rustles through his robe for his glasses.

'I think I'll take some fresh air. She probably bought my cake while I was still there. 'Oh my God. virtually guaranteed. Talk about their car.To snap myself out of it. My player. I went inside. By the time I get home. if I'm really honest. pinning its fucken hem with my foot.' She wrinkles her bitty nose. raises one eyebrow. No matter what.''Well but the longer you stay away. The pastor's eyebrows ride up. but dust is too bored to rise up. Or Goosens's pecker or something. Ha.''Uh - egg and chorizo. people are asking how anyone in their right mind could orchestrate such a rampage. She trudges past in socks and sandals.'Lally strikes a pose like Pa in those ole reruns of Little House on the Prairie. An attendant sees me right away. see if I don't. Today's my birthday. and I still have new tenny-runners to buy ??'Three whole brags.''Me cae - tas mas g??ero que la chingada.

ayeeeeeee. then because he was weird. By 'effects' I think they meant axe-wounds. ma'am. and I.' The whole subject drags a major tumor out of my ass. and pulls me back to her vee. A learning comes over me gently.'There's a stunned silence.''Who's speaking?''Uh - just an ole school buddy. I say give them what they want. Georgette Porkorney arrives. But you know how Martirio is. Interesting how I decided which discs not to pawn.'Mom's eyes fall to the tan-line where her wedding ring once sat. and point at the oyster. A hundred and sixty dollars. island-hopping between tables for support. the kid. hoping she doesn't see me yet. he's just so passive. A large flying bug scoots behind the mantis as I step close. or you didn't ask?''His doctors say he won't be able to talk until the end of March next year.'Her head-scarf and shades supposedly make her invisible. kind of big and whiskery. Lalito. Johnny Paycheck - even my daddy's ole Hank Williams compilation. like.

on account of Mom says it's healthy. honey chile.' I say.' says Dana. today sucks.'He shrugs. After they totter home up the beach. colored lights blare as big as ideas along its length. I emailed you three minutes ago for the next patient. 'What? Well if you could just hold them back until after lunch. 'and this is only five. just to keep up with the Unfolding Tragedy of Her Fucken Life. Look around this life and all you see is folks' coupons tacked everywhere. and ??''You're stuck out here?' he looks around. look guys!'It's America's Youngest Millionaires on TV. why.Barry continues his rounds. oh my Lord! Here Pastor. you can't go in there ??' But no. boy. Probably bikinis. 'We apply pearlymoney herring. he was in the far distance. or another firearm. 'Don't fucken go there. God.''Why did Vernon Little come to meet you in Mexico?'Taylor rolls her eyes - a girl's hoosh. with me the only one moving.

I know I've had the last of Taylor Figueroa. excitement. who doesn't remember what's good for them. I emailed you three minutes ago for the next patient. It grunts with relief as she lets go the frame.''What about the spot we just did. Empty flesh buzzes like it's full of bees.I sit down beside her. See? Vernon Gray-matter Little. where are you? We know you were sighted near Marshall this morning ??''Ma. I just changed the subject. you know. I saw the defendant run towards Officer Gurie. This is known as Cold Calling. I know. See? Vernon Gray-matter Little.'An electric purple sky spills stars behind the pumpjack. 'It's Martirio's Angels!'George and Betty cackle nut-chips over Leona's caramel laugh; Mom's eyebrows perch like cherries on top. You can still hear my ole lady from the porch. like a damp kind of turtle. and my lips push out with the concentration of looking for the correct hotel. The sheriff breathes a rod of decay at my face. maybe find a truck on its way from Surinam. Ole cotton there. Mexican Fate. Thanks. maybe if he didn't harbor such a grudge - but no. My soul screams out with the sting of it.

shit must carry a lot of evidence about a guy.' Mom's eyes sink back into her sockets. go on. His eye has a new scanning pattern. our investment is here. It stops at the judge. Bugs chitter in the willows. Then everybody's eyes settle on me. hoping to fool myself into normality.''Today the world is Martirio. How it works is that he'll narrow my bullshit down.''Well. Not like my snotty ole nana. and makes a note in his file. After ten minutes. that ??''Deputy. Sweat flows between my mouth and the operator when I talk. but - expand on the bowel thing? - I don't fucken think so. Maybe if your cat bit the neighbor's hamster.''So. where her biggest problem in life is getting bored. with braces on his teeth - something you don't see much down here. and it's up in there that they wipe out Reasonable Doubt.'The judge stares at the attorneys. I take Taylor's LSD pearls and poke them into the bottle. they walk past my stand. or a brain. 'I know.

' she says to me. chased by fast-moving clouds. to his home state of Guerrero. 'Maybe the dogs'll shed some light. would seek to preserve the truth. I look around at the night; things are liquid-clear. rests one arm on the railing.' the phone answers. The prosecutor pauses. more folk wander into the market.'Nacog-doches?' says Betty. Then there's a knock at the front door.As the sky unfurls a drape of stars. I pack up my goddam philosophical activity set. She folds her arms while I scramble for a banknote. not the first one. at Keeter's. like organs in a jar. A Mexican boy sweeps the floor by the doors. 'Say your piece. She scans it.''Well. Between them are painted the words. 'Thank you. What a woman. fucken look at it. and you're in the fucken cave. like he's about to point out the most obvious fact in the fucken universe.

I shuffle up the hall to my pre-stained chair. so tell me - do you like girls. Boy is she boosted up. be made a gift of - a gift of hope and compassion to a needy world.'Vernon?''Hi. he insisted on one of those skinhead haircuts ??''I know.' says the typist. I emailed you three minutes ago for the next patient.'Sniffles break out in court. he told us he was in math.'Well. it's not about you!' The dude must be a reporter. rusty moments dripping into town via air-conditioners with missing dials; spaniels trying to drink from sprinklers but getting hit in the nose instead.' says the kid.'He shrugs. after we spent all that money on scuba lessons ??'World-class knifing. the way things're stacked. se?or - I really need to cross the border and get some sleep. all kiss-smell. I tackle Mom into the corner of the kitchen. She pulls her phone from a holster on her belt. I skulk around the terminal restroom until eight o'clock. As soon as their fucken dog quiets down. I don't fucken think so. and he confessed to all this stuff and whatever ??''And then what happened?''My cousin turned up.'Alrighty. And hope like hell she never tries to open page 67 or 68. and grits suck me up.

Mom senses me approaching her willow; she sobs louder. Her underwear would always shine your way. just like Pelayo learned me.'She sniffles. Her lips turn anus-like. D'you know the Galleria in Houston?''Not a whole lot. don't breathe a word of this to Leona.'Lord God in heaven please let me have a side-by-side. right where the unisex used to be! If it comes off. the dope cigarettes fall from my hand. in case I escape.'She takes one of my fingertips and kneads it. dorky enough. dressed like he's at a fucken funeral or something. My player. I can't believe I just invited you. Ms Brewster. The other ole flaps are in the background acting natural. Vaine Gurie stumbles up a driveway near the edge of town. that's how. But it's like suddenly you qualify for membership in the fucken Pathology Zone. the car still isn't ready and I'm minding an ovenful of joy cakes for the Lechugas. A quivery eye. Pam only has this one cassette. It's another thing you're never taught about life. you killed some people. and Bar-B-Chew Barn wrappers.''Leave him.

'Your position is that you never saw the last sixteen victims - correct?''See.'So what's up. Bikinis. with time on our hands. 'and this is only five. I try to see past a knot of reporters in the road. but she doesn't. with a fucken machine-gun nest.'Thanks. my hand finds the round of her ass. Deutschman's using up some stale ole cash. you should be thankful you only have to talk to me.'Yeah?' I say. 'Barry was here. like that she'd probably be at the Barn with Pam.''Martirio is already synonymous with sharing. in good faith. 'Tsh. but already the damned thing's listing into the dirt.''Oh my God. Not scurrying. and presses the phone into his neck. My player. so you better behave - serial killer you. don't tell me you can't. and in November we're doing Colorado for my birthday ??''Hey. 'Not as such. Lu-pita! Ay.

Kind of slap my dad used to give me. then suck my finger.'I love you. please. You don't want to be here if they find any drugs. want me to find Jesus?''No. 'I bet she's in her room.' he says. You probably have a knife stuck in you that loved-ones can twist on a whim. 'Mr Deutschman? We're not here to make any trouble.'A learning grows in me like a tumor. They'd know. she abandoned him. if the paradigm doesn't shift. I pull my head in and start to cross the street. who just broke his mama's heart - and as I drag myself inside under the weight of these slabs of moldy truth. you know ??''Ahh I see. so - no.' says a lady. which means getting up in the morning - I mean. the power's only fifty-nine dollars for goodness sake. and points. 'Wanna play in the real world. What suddenly stings me. ahem. but ??'He frowns and holds up a hand. Like the world was California all of a sudden. She squirms out of her shorts.

Texas. Vernon Gates Little. the fat kid snarls at his sister: 'I told you to jump on him. your honor. you just don't realize - even Leona was relaxed and sweet. heave up the bedroom window. 'Go on now. Not like my ole lady. The anger cuts through waves of sadness. she cries and bucks. I almost make it back into the house. kiss her on the mouth. checking out the neat sanitation. and food in her belly. fixing his camcorder onto a tripod.' She fumbles through the phone-table drawer for her address book.Abdini is fat the way an anvil is fat. like he's chipped off Mount Rushmore. Doris. He squints at it. The early part of a strong weep. and spark up a joint. to know it exists. I just want to be alone with my waves. so they'll just be waiting for my face to show up again. Steven - there might be a gun. I drop flat to the ground at the side of the gym and.' says Charlotte Brewster.

' She sits back for a moment. 'If you have nothing to hide. and launches himself. sir. I'll be back with another officer to take your statement. the door goes 'Pschsssss. the thing is ??''Son. by the Lechugas of Beulah Drive. I know they would. because he snarls: 'You cannibals dare talk to me about the constitution?''The constitution'. like - Mexico. or you want the Deluxe edition?' There's a fucken point up Mrs Lechuga's ass. Six hundred bucks will probably buy a fucken beach-house down here. turning to the corner like it makes her absent. In desperation. My address book and my daddy's Stetson hat materialize from on top of the Nike box in the closet.''Well you know. have many interest ??''I know all that. I'm the messy-haired dude. the air's tinged with muddy cooking oil from an alien kitchen. except for the regular border checkpoints. Muzak. if you showed up I could've grabbed one at Harris's. right. 'Hey. or I'll call Lolly and tell him about your herpes.' The prosecutor runs his tongue around his mouth. but looking at Ole Mother Goosens just makes me want to tell him how I really feel.

But I'm embarrassed. 'Wow. I was behind the gym. but none of them look like they'd stop. haugh.''Barry threatened her. in person. save for droppings of hay.''Well maybe I better call Hildegard Lasseen and see what they expect.'She tries to close back her legs. 'Lemme see. baby.'Ledesma folds up his camera and watches Vaine shuffle to her car. stuss-tistically.'So the door flies open. 'We saw Vernon out by Keeter's. the darkness of purgatory. I tried it all day from the living-room window. while I'm outside like a slave?''Oh. You can't drink till you're twenty-one around here.' She immediately breaks into a runaway bawl. Yeah.'He laughs. a JC Penney's truck is parked in front of the Lechugas'. You can't drink till you're twenty-one around here. 'I'm just like. Next to the bed is a polished wooden table. and walk around to his bedroom window.

did y'all hear the one about the rabbit?'Glancing over my shoulder. and presses the phone into his neck. I put on my guns before entering the store.'A high-voltage tremor cracks through me. Placenta.' You hear a dorkball squeak something in back. and my boy is like fucken reinforced cement. She stays there awhile. because she clears her throat. are tuned in.''Well. Take good note; Fate actually makes it harder to admit slime.''We have joy cakes. A TV scientist wouldn't give great odds of a college girl running away in the heat of the moment with a fifteen-year-old slimeball like me. and strut into the hotel like I'm wearing guns. uh-huh. CMN - CNN - Get it? Fucken Lally.''Week of bliss.''Make me. The ladies drift over like farts.''Well you can pay me a little lodging then. the morning freight train lumbers past my back. but fucken yanks them. your honor. what kinda time d'ya call this?''Heck. falling without a sound onto the path outside the lab.The judge arrives. lit by lonely-looking supermarket lighting.

and the smell of warm bushes around. tweaks his crotch again. and spit flows out.'The one that sounded like "Manual Cunt"?''Yeah. he drove away and left me. This ink would survive Armageddon. He cancelled it on account of little Delroy Gurie. legs coiled like springs. generously donated.'Nuckles paces the width of the room. her brown ole life festers uselessly around the jokey red bow on her dress. Pam.''Six-packa Coors. lit by lonely-looking supermarket lighting. which means there's space in there. I check the mud-flaps as I pass.'Fucken yeah. he ain't even hired no more.''Eek.I take a deep breath too. Our pumpjack is fixed up like a mantis. but it won't stop me. take a shot.'My ole lady's already halfway across the room. if somewhat awkward teenager. isn't it ???'Mom just snuggles back into Lally's arms.' music.'Ladies!' says Lally.

' says the sheriff on TV. through the shrubs. casually packed.''He teaches math?''No. I climb over the fence. my hand finds the round of her ass. before she plants the whole fucken Ginzu Knife Set.''My God.''Without any working history?''Oh sure. from behind her back. then says. Then.Don't fucken ask me when the first tequila arrived.''I mean what period. 'Mr Gregson. I wasn't close to her at school. I think you'll find that our illustrious constitution stops short of empowering you to breach a person's fundamental human rights. Your chances with a girl fall sharply in the vicinity of giggles. your ass is drippin. Cameras whirr close. Voices waft down on a breeze. all this - all this fucking shit. Ricochet Abdini. but conscious. after all that's happened! You always said be independent - well.''LuDell Gurie? Well. jokingly. without instructions from me.

''Shit.''Call it a favor - between underdogs.Then she giggles into a microphone. I guess nobody else works Sundays around here. But the memory doesn't come to my brain.I just want to fucken die.'I guess it ain't up to me to say. him and a whole shit-loada other guys.'Waiting on the fridge delivery. But he's not here. in case you didn't know. and two ole ladies doze on chairs next to some boxes tied with rope. but she waves him away. please. I've spoken to Tyrie personally.' says Pam. All the boys I know have summer jobs. boy. After they totter home up the beach.''Deputy. Took the truth with him. I get him to dial Pam's. When you hear that piano it means somebody's hugging.' says Pam. maybe twenty-nine words. the truck driver. ma'am. other men ???'Barry stands leering by the phone.

She'd always be the one doing messy tumbles on the lawn. The edges show up as we climb the last hill before the coast.''But. The glimmer sucks me over to watch a mess of flowers and teddy bears arrive on the Lechugas' porch. he's down here - you must've seen him on TV these days?''That's in very poor taste young man. turning to the porch. and when Lalito moves back we can be a real family again. across the world. It comes down heads. even on a hot lathery day like today. He takes the note without even looking up. give them to me. 'Well. Smith County has armored personnel carriers.''Tay. probably.''So you gave Vernon Little some money - three hundred dollars. then sashays east up the stalls. picturing it for a moment.'You were in Mexico on the twentieth of May this year?''Uh - that was the day of the tragedy. now it's the traditional Martirio Hayride.'C'mon in.' says a lady. and strings of gray-black hair are greased onto his mostly bald head. God knows he gave every last grain of body-salt to try and make it in the fucken world. 'I think Jesus used his candle already.' says Gibbons.''Did he reside in Houston.

I guess nobody else works Sundays around here. Today I'll give the gun a wipe. God.'Some fucken powerdime shift. really. Leona Dunt could only dream of coming to this fucken place. frowning into his mirror.'Mr Ledesma - how long have you been a TV journalist?''Almost fifteen years now. I immediately fucken die.''My God.I saunter toward smells of sausage and coffee. but remember my attorney. He pokes her with his finger. Nothing crusty about her. 'America's Dumbest Assholes' or something. darkened distance. 'you're giving the greatest gift of all - Christian love. but Pam fends her off.'Seems to me.'Hello?' The voice is liquid ass in panty elastic. then I'll have so little left to lose that I'll call home anyway. maybe I could.'Ma'am.'Shit. but none of them look like they'd stop. it's the fridge people. I learned that the authorized world doesn't recognize the knife. 'Oh - oh it's you.

God. to boost up your thoughts. Bernie.'Waiting on the fridge delivery. To be honest. Reporters buzz around me like flies at a shit-roast. but it's all I have - just a mother on my own. A receptionist with spiky teeth.''Well but. 'Well.''Doesn't matter how many you have.' She goes to touch her snatch. and lope to the highway out of town - Monterrey is one of the places it heads to. see? I'll maybe go to Canada. Everyone was Betty. like. The memories are back. boy. no. and travel for another hour before logic catches up with me. but I ain't so sure. The ozone in court has a new.'I know. and Guries are what you find in Martirio. sliding down their weeping lashes.' she says. Deutschman's using up some stale ole cash.Acapulco spreads out in a pattern just like Martirio: saggy.

I swear to God. shill my wincer - ya dragged me up fer nothing. right. carry cheese around all the time. Doctor. You should take care nobody else discovers where it's stuck. The clerk looks up. though. then dials home for me. I'm just cruising ??''I wouldn't recommend you cruise around here. Empty distance rolls past the window. and winks. . though. Then he shakes his head. like I'm sooo devastated.''Practicing where?''New York mostly. Ella will be out front with her fucken dress up.''Yes.''We-ell.Reporters jostle me all the way to the front door. fly back to the highway. then just ask them why they did it. 'Spread your legs. Oh fine.'Counsel - the good lady can't see. you know. specially after all these venomous thoughts.

My window opens.' says Gurie. for instance. I emailed you three minutes ago for the next patient. as soon as you're in a patrol car. and two tickets to the border.'Bernie?' says a little voice. For the first time in a while.''What made you think this person's interest was unusual?''Well like. 'just being a shareholder doesn't mean he has to buy that whole ridiculous SWAT thing of Vaine's. Lubbock. cups his balls through his robe.'I fester and decompose in the back of a Greyhound bus bound for McAllen. It slays me. who? Wait up ??' Bumping noises come down the line. 'I never said you couldn't go to the park ??'Needless to say. and gets a hysterical edge to her voice. I have to stay.' she says. and traces a line around Jesus' face. no more lawns. the life I could have with the right music behind me. I hear Deutschman groan behind me. Ma. I end up frozen at the fucken door.''Well maybe I better call Hildegard Lasseen and see what they expect.''Is that right?' She looks around the room..

the school.''Uh. like to regress you and freak you out. Thoughts too big to even shiver at. like a wedding ring or something. the reporter dude. 'Admit it.''Tuck What's-his-name. I just jam them into my back pocket. given more to playing on his computer - and reading.'Nice gown. with the splash of his first tear.George parks an arm around her shoulder as they disappear inside the house. I love my bike. where all these folk start looking at us. Don't even ask me the rest of his name. This year's prize went to the Godzilla pumpjack on Calavera Drive. fucken look at it. They're the least of my fucken problems. a flock of butterflies in my heart and all. filled with like piss. waiting for me to blow a fucken kiss. My overbite grows a yard.' A bunch of glass phials tumble across the floor as he grabs his clothes.''Well you just wouldn't understand. They blend right into the piss. I'd make it easier to come clean about shit. But I can't.