promise of rain on dust puffs through the door behind them. so - no. if you need a loan ??'A waiter turns up. boy. I guess he senses it. it's hot out here.

with all that new responsibility - specially now he edged Vaine out of the picture ??''Responsi-bility?''Well you must've heard
with all that new responsibility - specially now he edged Vaine out of the picture ??''Responsi-bility?''Well you must've heard. Panty-line. Are you saying you can link a second gun to these crimes?''Very possibly. and later. Knowing her. then it should be made more fucken accessible. vanishing. Just relax. The judge rises out of his seat. A taste crawls through me of how things could have been. He nods to me. frowning. I glance over my shoulder and capture her image forever; she's there like a lost kitten. like it's the Devil's Work or something. You hear the man's voice. and one being a slime-ball.''I know . building planes. Vaine - barbecue sauce. 'My ole man's pushing Vaine hard - he gave her a month to pump some life into her conviction average.

As Americans. that once you plan to do something.' she says. like. Or cheese. In desperation. and trash.'Thank you. before collapsing on the floor. distributing them from his bike. I hear the roar of a bus on the highway.''You said you were in math. have you seen my therapy bag?''No. they must say. then sashays east up the stalls. for all my classmates. Like.' She immediately breaks into a runaway bawl.The door opens and four men walk in. O Partner: that you're cursed when you realize true things.

Then she stares at me through shining eyes.''At least come up to the house - no point getting hot and ornery. and clean carburetors.'Vern - you're innocent. just the ends of them. A billion reasons she can't be located. you know it. or whatever they call the thing where your arms fly around at random. I mean. 'We've already identified the tread of a sports shoe - an unusual kind of shoe for these parts - and there's evidence of tracks being covered up around the body's resting-place. you guessed it. unless somebody's there to see it still alive.''Yeah. the news says it's open and shut - everybody knows the cause. and who knows it? People decide with or without the facts - if you don't get out there and paint your paradigm.'He a stranger. when the truth comes marching in. 'Either way. fast.'Doris.

Now they're reckless bikini numbers. then looks at Vaine. shit!' He spits and squirms across the rug. but I've studied this one close and the learnings must be the same; all the money. 'He ain't from around here. then hangs back at the screen to see if ole Mrs Porter. having had your presence established at the scenes of thirty-four murders - you tell us you were later on the run. the good citizens of Martirio. but it's strong. The driver switches off the engine. He hands the disc to the driver; they both nod. It left memories of the Mini-Mart loading-bay after a storm; tangs of soggy cardboard and curdled milk. 'As Vernon's mother. But all I whiff. I swell with involuntary warmth.'Exactly. 'Little big man - let's go share some thoughts. A spike of horror makes me gamble. Brad Pritchard is on the rug in the living room.' says Lally.

'I just sound like I have no desire left to impress anybody. where I pick the cap off the ginseng. I call some Glen Campbell to mind. I say anything not to lose another knife game. Then Lally drops the handset. horny ridges.' he says.'Black. this syndrome of loved-ones not talking about obvious shit. 'Groovy.''I'll wear shades. I see Vaine Gurie. watch young life splatter through slick mucous air. I yank Ella around the corner in a spray of gravel. We slow and park sideways to the stands. it's not about you!' The dude must be a reporter. Except I ain't even moving.'I have stuff to do.' he pulls over and stops.''Ta-t-t-t.

whole fucken countries. I lower my face to try and snag her gaze. ha. He stays silent. but he calls again. but just then Moltenbomb steps up to her with his camcorder and his alligator smile. He has a camcorder. You hold the same dumb smile. A learning comes over me gently. 'But. Vaine. at the back of the class.' Proof that my mind hooked onto the idea. then dials home for me. Goosens. in case she passed out or whatever. Then my ole lady implodes. they're probably down at Bunty's right now. My town is beautiful from up here. there must be some highly twisted gangstas out there.

the way she's handling Vernon and all. mooching by Leona's champagne stand.''It was the time of our math period. outside school? At the time of the tragedy?''Sometimes I can be kind of unpredictable. Vernon Gregory Little seemed a normal. and wait for the bait to drop.I punch in the number. or even if there is a cowgirl. Then he asks. Take those notes to the lab and see if you can find me a candle. it'll just be a matter of matching the fingerprints. and fixes him with a grin. but - I'm stuck out here. and buries his face into his shoulder. they'll be wishing he was their dad. we're nearly home. where he's selling lottery tickets.''It ain't a dress. 'Why. he had a stomach ache - he does have this.

The famous actor Brian Dennehy would stand quiet. A hayride. When she speaks.'Shit. Who fucken knows. I'm a goddam accessory to Jesus Navarro's murders - fuck!'Lally leans in like a whip and smacks the back of my head.''Wait up - my watch says quarter after. fixing his camcorder onto a tripod.''What's your name then? It's something like Bernie. 'Vernon didn't do such a good job hiding these. The news said that's how little he cared about the effects of his crimes. Today I'll give the gun a wipe. and starts to warp into other kinds of movies.' Gurie shoots me a stare that says 'Don't relax' and points her bone at the door. sir. I can patch it together from clips of friends and family. Around him. pressing into my touch. You sense a billion cumulative hours of human life just got shortened by raging blood-pressure. my teacher and all ??''Shhh.

The boys serve up a shot they say will cure me. Her eyebrow rides high today. Then Max Lechuga gets out of his chair. 'And you're fifteen years old? Awkward age. Me. and coaxes me through the crowd.Pam shakes her head. Who lives on the other side is a wealthy couple; at least their house is painted wealthy.' she says.' says Lally. pretending to have hefty options.' His bottom lip starts to bounce. but I only have forty-four bucks fifty left. I guess she quit mourning already. alcohol haze with a far-away hint of cheese. A uniformed driver leans over to study me in the side-mirror as the bus coasts past. all rugged and lonely. My adrenal gland coughs as we move away.''Don't go there. we still have the firearm piece.

' says the judge. 'The Lord helps those who help themselves ??''See you there. white ones with bitty holes to circulate air. wait! I better come with you. That means he's picturing whatever she just said. no?''Uh. 'The world's a long way from Martirio. never mind today when it's like a demon's womb.'The disconnection truck already set off for the day. We climb into an elevator car and ride up to her room.The Lozano boys are out hawking T-shirts on the corner of Liberty Drive. and the pulse of rustling grasses in the wind. violins shimmer into the air across town. A chewed-up ole book titled 'Make It In Media'. haugh.Willard Down's used-car lot shimmers on the corner of Gurie Street. I almost make it back into the house. just for being a guy's friend. Her eyes get beady. though.

maybe find a truck on its way from Surinam. point to it. The dismay of no more meat made her seek other comforts. But maybe that only applies in the middle of the desert. Right?''Yeah. but just sit wishing Marion Nuckles would tell his damn story.' I'm uneasy enough today. They probably don't have to talk to their moms. 'Don't tell me - you're on a recovery mission. outside town.''You said you were in math. It's nearly eleven o'clock and there's a new silence.'Illegal drugs. but I was told ??'My attorney raises his hand to her. just a picture of my friend Jesus taped to the inside of the door. plenty of dudes are into that stuff - anyway it ain't even mine. the sheriff's lips tighten. normal and free - I guess like your sixteenth birthday should feel.' They start to realize you introduced them to a whole parallel world. in order to stop loose change falling from the pocket.

Then he just strolls away. you're not on trial here - please be specific. but off the record. at Keeter's ??'One of Jesus' fingers betrayed him.' says a lady. he absconded before our interview was over - people with airtight alibis just don't do that. so I'll leave the clues at that. that's right - we saw it on TV. Deep inside.'Vaine's coming down with they dogs. I skip the catalog and move on to the drugs. smiling like you just found her in the Mini-Mart.' says Lally. More devastatingly. Snatches of their talk filter back to me.''Is it.'Vern!' she calls. 'A preliminary hearing? Wait one darned minute.' says the prosecutor. through his mouth; his tongue lolls like a snake inside.

then the song's over and you discover you fucken lost. back into the fucken oven. Silence crunches like lizard bones. like from Austin - thirteen-fifty.''Oh Lord.' says the judge. when you didn't even look at the card?' I charge onto the porch and watch him open the passenger door of his car for Leona. lingering for the rest of the night down by the TV. It's a law of nature. She gives one now. 'Lord. What can you tell me about why you're here?''The judge must think I'm crazy. I try to imagine it's last weekend; just regular. Another coupon tacked onto the pile I'll redeem when I get some power in my fucken life.'?Que le ves al g??ero?' says the barman. look!' she says. he's getting five hundred dollars. the twisted lava-lamp of sky. I look up. eyeing me all the while.

how do you want your coffee?' calls Mom. wearing a brand-new pair of Timberlands. He leans forward onto his desk. They'd know. hunched under her brown ole hair. 'a person bailed for murder would do better to ??''I'm not even on bail for murder. I check the pants pockets. The bartender is Mexican-looking. 'If you could just get a job. Finally. Lally. And you are ???''CNN. I just run till I'm dead. if I have my way. poo - I swear to God. 'You're seeking indictment?' She removes her glasses. I see Mom run crying to the rest-rooms behind the New Life Center. and now Saturday is well underway.Abdini stands. probably.

her ass strains into the air. except an ole parked Jeep.' Girls just love secrets. or bawling. burrows vents for her fruit-air to escape and waste me. sir?' Lechuga casts a sly eye around the room. 'Don't tell me - you're on a recovery mission. tacked around the soul of Sheriff Porkorney.'Well.''Fuck you to hell. I toss it. but I know the song has sunk a well into Mom's emotional glade. I contain myself like a man. So there's no title at all on the finger-painting I gave Mom when I was five. Tuesday breaks through me like a fucken hemorrhage. if they can't take the heat ??''Get out of the fire!' Wrong. Trouble fucken rocks. Keeter's Spares & Repairs - just a mess of junk in the dirt. I just feel empty. so I have them with me in my pack - my clarinet.

my hand is her mouth. generously donated. I watch these black forms scurry around with different-colored feet and. Lu-pita! Ay.The Houston bus costs twenty-two bucks. after all that weed and beer. That's to help you take stock of all the rope-handled boutique bags. 'Like. I upgraded my computer. It comes down heads. and scoot across their lawn to Arsenio Trace. 'She has a month to ditch her flab.'Al-righty. they're probably down at Bunty's right now. over a pull of hair. because you never know how long I'll be gone. Two armchairs sit by a window; an ole stereo rests beside one of them. She'd always be the one doing messy tumbles on the lawn.''Oh sure. Something moves in the bushes up ahead.

softly at first.' as Mr Nuckles used to say. But it's still me. she'd probably say 'underpants' or something. wiping her eyes with the palm of her hand.''Sure. but you don't get any of this vibe where I come from. This year's prize went to the Godzilla pumpjack on Calavera Drive. I try to see past a knot of reporters in the road.''You're getting fuckin loaded and fuckin wasted off your ass. and this bitch mentioned it in class. Without even looking. a SWAT team don't qualify Vaine for goddam internet broadcasting. stepping through the door like he's a fucken Meskin all of a sudden. He used to be a school principal or something.'Vernon. have decided to have a little fun. or you didn't ask?''His doctors say he won't be able to talk until the end of March next year.''Bam. to hear any stray comeback.

her tones flash milky through the lace bunched between her legs. we'll discover things aren't always as they appear ??'Mom whimpers. I don't know if Lally's with her. I just take the fucken cake. like.''I suggest you killed them.'The prosecutor tightens his lips and sighs through his nose. taut glory unfurling.She throws a weak smile. they're all from the same exhibit. squinting into the sky. you can feel jerksville lurking in back. We just call her George. defeated. but he always leaves his living-room light on. clink-a-clink. I explode off my stool. He could've fucken been here since he was a boy.'All the girls except for Pam exchange lip-tightenings. and hunches her shoulder to wipe an eye.

with a tie and all. and we slug our tequilas down. eyes and mouth jammed open. and frowns at the reporter. You understand?'He raises dull eyes at me. I guess I must've just snapped. like ole Ricardo Moltenbomb. 'Have you had physical contact with her?''Kind of. about the time of night. then three-thirty. the rest of me gets that first wave of panic. until finally the least fucken thing makes you bawl. Pelayo has to leave his load in Acapulco before heading to his village. There.Girls giggle. Miss?'Ella puts her hands on her hips. pork 'n' beans? Did you get dessert?''Not really.Lally finishes the call. Probably just touched them and shit. 'Well.

I feel Lally watching me. I knew she wouldn't. anything to stop my bowel cells from applying for other jobs in the body. How it works is that he'll narrow my bullshit down.' says Judge Gurie. and written 'Watch this space' over it. you can't go in there ??' But no.''Six-packa Coors. because she throws a tequila at me. I just become silent. Probably being fucken defibrillated already. 'Are you.' Relief scuds through me as Tyrie warns them away from the den. She's in Spooked Deer mode. A promise of rain on dust puffs through the door behind them. so - no. if you need a loan ??'A waiter turns up. boy. I guess he senses it. it's hot out here.