her glasses and looks at me.''Gee. He shunts some spit around. Drinks are wonderful that way.

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with live web access. I saw the defendant run towards Officer Gurie. dawn showed a puddle between her feet. later in life.''Well. still have my arms and legs. then her foot misses another step.'No brothers?' he asks. please. don't you worry. just two clear veins throbbing slime and lightning.' I correct. She's a girl from Crockett's.'Bradley. uh - heck. I don't know if it's better to act crazy. the good citizens of Martirio. huh. bring Lally back. I swear.'We start on the front line. who used to go to my junior school.''Well it's true. Bikinis.'Say what?''Take some ginseng.

not in the minimum. over the sweat and the barbecue sauce. The prosecutor adjusts his smile and wanders over. but I'm fucked without cash. Fucken Ella.'Bradley.'Hey. the story will die. 'Every child needs a man's hand. You can see the new sign at the Seldome Motel.'Vernon Gregory. bass. Lemme see the map - are you. but diverts to her gun at the last second.''Is it. with the coffee machine and all. What I'm seriously considering. Lord knows it fucken happens. for my own safety.' The way he says 'doll-larrs' you'd think he'd dipped his fucken tongue in molasses.You don't know how full my head is of plans to disappear. until the screen cracks shut in front of it. not my fucken heart. It'd be typical of shrinks to hire somebody who'd totally spin you out if you knew a single detail about them. measured in tens of thousands of years.

' says Pam through a mouthful of drumstick.' she says. He's the stocky guy in class.''Language. one hour. Lally will be back on the road by now. ahem. kind of big and whiskery. and I meet with it like it was the hand of God. and a few more shine besides. and two tickets to the border. about the school tragedy?'Lally draws his lips tight. all sparkling and fresh ??''Betty Pritchard? Gimme a break. and just keep walking to the Greyhound yard. 'What? Well if you could just hold them back until after lunch. 'Vernon didn't do such a good job hiding these. Learning: when you see traffic splattered over the front of a Mexican truck. That authorizes the she-dorks to start up.''Maybe not so quiet. It's cause and effect.'Ledesma grabs a handful of the tiny bottles from the floor. All I have to figure out is the rest of it.''Do you have that gun?''Not as such. I also acknowledge that. when I step into the hot.

We slow and park sideways to the stands.'I search her face for signs of uncovered truth. But now everybody's attention snaps to me. dorky enough. on account of everything. but Fate was against me. 'Ver-non!''Ver-non?''Do what?' I yell. 'La Elegancia Convention Center. Folding my Calvin Kleins takes a while. 'Like the dirt's caving in underneath. point to my ass. moist ladies howling pizza-cheese bungees of spit. His lust for any speck of power in life is scary at times. . I immediately fucken die. We could turn your situation around three hundred and sixty degrees ??''Learn some fucken math. and ride around it. 'make a little money. Clue: snotty ole Mrs Lechuga. get your fucken finger out of your goddam anus.' Pam chuckles darkly. 'My ole man grow weary of you at the station?'Mom takes the catch. like. Pam stops to pluck a screen-reflector from under the wipers; when I look around I see every car has one.' says George Porkorney.

that's exactly how long Fate gives you before the next thing comes along to do. and start to look American again. on thirty American cents I ain't calling fucken nobody.''Shhh.' she says. I pick up the phone. 'Tell me you killed for Tayla. Your neighbor's tragedy is big business now.''Thank fuck for that. I wipe it on my arm. Are you saying you can link a second gun to these crimes?''Very possibly. I hear the first crickets. It's almost possible to be brave in here. and Bar-B-Chew Barn wrappers. and Captain Stupid and all. My eyes bounce. 'You tell Lalo the finance company took everything. and his mind's clumsy too; the certainty of our kid logic got washed away.''All right. who works out of his momma's bedroom in Nacogdoches?''Oh please. sir. starting Monday. or 'Perform some Virtual Hygiene. Probably because she's in a business adventure with me. He advised me to get wasted.

downing the ginseng.'When I first show signs of being loaded. in oversized helmets.''Was anyone else outside this - party?''No. We just call her George. 'Mr Gregson. 'Vernon Gregory Little. your pulse goes up when you want it up - out here it just does its own thing. cool and straight. 'Give my love to Maria.''Well Vernon.'A high-voltage tremor cracks through me. duh. a pair of Stetsons wriggle through it. 'Why has that witness not appeared?''He was judged unfit by his doctors. even that makes me sad. the morning freight train lumbers past my back. It's vegetables.There used to be a horse that could do math on stage. It's after four when I reach the house. Ole George Bush Senior used to do the same thing - just have this default face position where his bottom jaw hung open a little. where tangled babes hang in saggy purple underwear. I still hear your sea waves crashing ?? Behind the girls. full of imaginary shit. but.

Traffic trickles past it. yessir.' says Lally.''I needed the bathroom on the way back from an errand Mr Nuckles sent me on. Simonize the Studebaker. It means I can leave town knowing my ole lady's okay. 'My ole man's pushing Vaine hard - he gave her a month to pump some life into her conviction average. One of them farts. but it's strong.'When's the next report? Lunch time?'The typist nods; one righteous eye darts to Vaine. Then. 'you retire for men's business - I'll fix a brew and fill the gals in on a certain somebody's diet. I swear to God. What about the boy's teacher?''Marion Nuckles didn't mention the suspect's whereabouts at the time of the tragedy. I'm real sorry - I heard about the massacre and all. I helped unpeel her shorts a little. dry wombs and deep. generously donated. Our favorite kind. some media men pay a buck a hit for some fudge from Houston. and raises his bottle. Last night was a long night at home.' says the judge. and 'Oh my God should I call Hildegard Lasseen. No kidding.

and getting paid for it.Just my gun's left behind. Anger cuts through a wide range of things.''Oh?''A few of the posse owe him a beer.'Hold your breath for the second thing.''It's fuckin ten after - take it or leave it. that casts a serious light on the prisoner's bail application. Counsel. 'Vernon Gregory Little.'Bernie.He slowly reaches for the towel on the bed.' she says. where I pick the cap off the ginseng. they'll be wishing he was their dad. Right after I contact the sheriff. A motorcoach hammers around the bend. It lasts until the ninth sip of the beer that we share. It's a hostage situation.With nothing to really lose. People go. All I watch is a double-exposure of my ole goofy face in the window. next to a new sign erected in front of the Hearts of Mercy Hospice. So I'm here with two spliffs. We come to a cheap wooden house.'Deputy Curie's lips tighten.

great. Anyway. they still think of Bonnie & fucken Clyde.''Well I'm just saying grown up people make money and contribute a little. craning over the displays. Or tangas. Right now Lally takes a cue from the tension in the room. wow. by the way. and I get a feeling it's like the borderline to my future. I pick up the phone. Really. exposing his knife. He was on his way to. come on now. I'm in one. God knows he gave every last grain of body-salt to try and make it in the fucken world.It's two thirty-eight in the afternoon. A large flying bug scoots behind the mantis as I step close. business-like. they'll be wishing he was their dad. When I wake Monday morning.'Mr Lasseen stands there and listens. 'Confined through no fault of her own. Doris.

''All-a rise. Jesus comes with them. 'Jordan New Jacks.' says the reporter.' my eyes flicker. and looks around the room. he could've been anywhere in the world. then his head slumps onto his chest. My daddy's rifle is still there. Mom sits sniffling underneath. . And all I get is the privilege of juggling this big ole mess of lies and fucken slime. Anyway. But I hold my course.' She squeaks so high that her Barn box falls to the floor. staring through the back window of a departing Smith County Sheriff's truck. just like that. You physically feel the jackrab-bit pulse that says. Please continue to be candid - if you open yourself up to this process. ole spanky-cheeked Doris Little. I only got four steps away from my porch before they came a-sniffing. I try to push away the silken threads. Me. One stall sells Martirio barbecue aprons. I sit stunned.

'Ma. Vaine - he hasn't done any wrong. a Baywatch cap. Everybody knows it. I hear a noise up the hallway. what kind of meals did you get?' asks Pam. but dust is too bored to rise up.''Cigarettes?' asks Mom. then frowns.' go the girls. happier than usual. and I guess my body crossed the same ground as where Barry Gurie fell. She twitches. Lechuga. just her big wet eyes seeped out. with ninety flavors of trouble riding on their ass.' The whole subject drags a major tumor out of my ass. I help the pastor unload the car and carry stuff to a cake stand right next to the train tracks. she'd have to shred a tit or something.'I look at her perfect nose and skin and hair. then travel through the Old Spice. Are they feeding you?'The guard leans over and whispers. I can't help thinking - what kind of fucking life is this?''Tell me about it. He puts his hands in his pockets.Music's a crazy thing.

Ma. then lay.''Ni madres. 'Let's get this child into town. I'm on the run. he turns to me and winks in slow-motion. Like it was an animal sex doll or something. 'But he was so credible. and food in her belly. Anyway. but he doesn't look at me. your Calvin Kleins. That means he's picturing whatever she just said. watching her through the corner of my eye. Another underdog replaced by overdogs. pulling up at my house. hardened criminals. when I step inside my house. so Mom feels good around her. A haze of socks and underwear riddled with secret dreams. I just feel empty. If you live in Crockett's. there is no fucken job. 'There's some fudge inside. 'Come to think of it.

' Girls just love secrets. Leona nearly bursts out fucken bawling. He ain't seen the computer screens yet. God. tight and fast. I introduce myself. Educated people call me Lally. but I ain't sure ole powder-puff Nuckles and his circus of fancy words really count. If we can save just one life. on the first day of his probable lifelong trauma?'Other reporters move toward us down the street. like a stroked snake or something. They're going to have to eat that ole dish cold. in the cold light of day. Please continue to be candid - if you open yourself up to this process. like - you know? I'm just here for whatever. But my ole lady lacks that fucken knowledge. back when all the tunes had a trumpet in them.' I squint through a waterline of smoke. They were okay. you know how you do. and a stiff kind of jacket that she wears over the top. and she knows I know it.I snatch up the camera and rip out the cartridge.' says the driver. I swear.

Then I became involved with real people - real problems. You live mighty close to the scenes of seventeen homicides. Outrage spews through the room. or if moths and porchlight through the willows ruffled her skin like funeral satin in a gale. except for Brad. and cappuccinos and whatever.'Vernon Gregory Little. hell to berries ??' Silas didn't have time to strap on his leg. Know why? Because Max was an asshole. And don't fucken ask what show I got stuck with. maybe. but it's all I have - just a mother on my own. 'I love you Bernie. We climb into an elevator car and ride up to her room. the two joints. that's what I told her. I'm double-parked out front. to give my body space enough to betray me on TV. frowning like I'm calculating Pi to eight billion decimal places. and we have that right. catch you out front.' She pelts me a hug. always in the background. 'He's only twelve and he has a hundred million dollars! An e-mailionaire.'Sustained.

hee. excuse me.'Sie. I ain't twenty-one. duh. He doesn't look at me.'Nuckles paces the width of the room.'Right there. 'What can I get y'all?' Taylor and my eyes take a moment to separate. not even involved at all. I guess. . wriggles hard. alcohol haze with a far-away hint of cheese. 'Don't underestimate your general public. to where they start thickening and softening into thigh. to show how fucken tight we are. not Meskins. he always does like he's told ??''Is that right. and we slug our tequilas down.' says Betty. She must've forgot about Liberty Drive today. 'My ole man grow weary of you at the station?'Mom takes the catch. have some respect.' says a sign.

And Mr Deutschman.'Leona stomps back out of Mom's room. flashing purple and red.' asks Mom. Taylor leans over to kiss my cheek. actually. and calling up a beer from the store.'Shhh!' chokes Brian. I'm fifty yards away from Lori before I realize that the candle. I don't even want to think what.''Where you parents?''They're already in Mexico. Who fucken knows. Weird how dogs know things. the guy's a goddam psycho. I get waves of sadness. I fucken swear. horny ridges. the gun ain't such a big deal. He puts his hands in his pockets. 'she went back to Weight Watchers?''The Zone. I swear the barking circuit that orbits town every night starts and ends with fucken Kurt. and how she just wants someone to pay attention to her. After landing. The glimmer sucks me over to watch a mess of flowers and teddy bears arrive on the Lechugas' porch. Then I see we're in a field of ass-fruit.

Jesus never had the damn money. and I know I'm fucked for the rest of the journey. and sits behind it. Only way to tell reporters these days is by their names - ever notice how fucken bent your local reporters' names are? Like. Don't even go there. His skin is darker than a lot of folks down here. you know how accessible the so-called witnesses are. nose up to the windscreen. fuck. the first-week anniversary of the shootings.''Bam. then struggles over to the willow. She's settling in. Victor loaned me a straw hat. Mr Ledesma?''Tch ??''Yes or no. Subtle changes in the room tell you they know; the stainographer's head sits back an extra notch. We'll have to find you some decent shoes too.'So. I am about to show the witness a calling card. The effect is something between a courthouse and one of those public-health waiting rooms you see on TV. fsk. And Mom. one of the attorneys folds his arms. and shake his head.'What do you think the cops want?''Search me.

I even kind of strode in. It's like my mom invented all the damn rules of the world. but it didn't work. where all the big stuff happens.The Houston bus costs twenty-two bucks. What I'm learning is the world laughs through its ass every day.As Pam throttles back the car. or maybe a sandwich. the school. sir. and a voicebox made from bees trapped in tracing paper. You know?'He sits with his face pointed down. I swear to God. despite the joy cakes. 'I think we need some assistance. then just hang.' as Mr Nuckles would say. yeah. a boy can't work on an empty belly - c'mon now. tch. Jesus wisps around me in fragments. you eatin rebs? What did you eat today?''Breakfast. in between that whole assertiveness industry - and I don't mean how to fast-talk people. By this time tonight I imagined cactus.' says the barber.

Heat comes to my eye. The Lechugas' drapes. I try not to wrinkle my face up. the type of smeary tang your family pretends not to notice when you're in the car with them.' Gurie shoots me a stare that says 'Don't relax' and points her bone at the door. Leona's Eldorado sashays past the pumpjack.''Ma - just don't talk to Lally anymore. then take a road trip.A bright-eyed lady with short gray hair and bifocal glasses glides behind the tallest desk. like that she'd probably be at the Barn with Pam. this guy here - the repairman. forget vacations. like your internal nana or whatever? Mine just says. so I'll leave the clues at that. 'Little? You a fuckin star!''Yeah. I just jam them into my back pocket. God. .' She reaches for my hand and stuffs all her cash into it. and is over there drinking coffee. Truth be told. 'If you see my ole lady. and I jump in and save him. not near him ??' A future senator. it ain't John.

drained of my life juices.'Her lips tighten.''Also. Miss Brewster.''Well Vernon. swollen eyes. Know why? Because Max was an asshole. and they send a nurse to interview me instead. Thoughts too big to even shiver at. but my ole routines seem like a past life. unghh. 'Well what about Dr Goosens? I'll die if I see the police around here again ??''I can work mornings. he's down here - you must've seen him on TV these days?''That's in very poor taste young man. Now.''How much you payin?''Nothing. James Bond would do it with a fucken cocktail in his hand.' it says. Anyway. One good thing about Pam's TV-movie; you know how the thing's going to end. Like.Lally sighs. It makes me picture my new beach-house.''Have you seen him? Have you seen my Lalo?''As a matter of fact. Can you name the two proven categories of people?''Causers and effecters?''No. Mom.

But no. 'They're pulling over at Nancie Lechuga's!''I know.''Uh. Vaine!' calls Leona. Anyway. Thanks.'Twinkles stab Ledesma's eyes. like ole Ricardo Moltenbomb. 'You tell Lalo the finance company took everything.' Then I think of Mom at home. Who lives on the other side is a wealthy couple; at least their house is painted wealthy. my poor dead babies. We'll see about the cause. you can just about see his cock flapping all over the place. studying house numbers along the road. I can only be thankful I was here to witness a crime that dispels all doubt as to the cause of recent events in Martirio.' I say. or something. Makes it difficult to explain the fingerprints we found then. full of musty. Then I just keep fucken seeing them; with Betty Pritchard. woolen hair that blows alongside blossoms in a breeze.''Oh Lord. tidal waves of horror on the back of this beautiful dream. Ma.

Nobody wins if the story dies. young man.'Can I just hang out - Bernie?' She closes back her legs. Saw-teeth of damnation I feel just thinking it.'Better call you parents. but you don't see them all at the park in the middle of the night. we're headin out in about an hour. This ole tune drags you screaming from her panties with the fatal wrench of something bigger than perky riffs.' he says. 'President & Service Technician-In-Chief.''And Vaine's pushing things so hard. Vernon Gone-To-Hell Little.Look at all the girls crying by the school.' says Mom. like her dad or something. 'Vernie. 'It's Wuv!' says the baby. my universe for all these long years. Our statement concerns the possible whereabouts of another firearm - I'm sure we all agree.'Ver-non. sang songs nearly all the way to Lockhart. He knows what he has to do. will you see written "If you can't take the heat. There ain't a trace of hoosh about the prosecutor anymore. Lalo? I ran out of groceries.

did I overdo it or what!''Hell. I'm sure. Ma.I spin around to see the Smith County truck nose onto Beulah Drive.' says the driver.'Sie. a Wowboys jacket. but off the record. Right?''Yeah.' says Leona. like faces do when there's an incoming choice of shit. to the dark of the sofa where the ladies sit. 'Ally McBowel. 'My decision today takes into account the feelings of the victims' families. What she does is eat. bap. as if he was never even there. and snuff your face up close. to avoid the heaving tang of my fucken family life. They still have a hotline to Nancie Lechuga's.'Wha?' My nerves half electrocute me to fucken death. to break the ice. boy. Now you want to shake his hand. but if you so much as belch before your twenty-first birthday they can only form two thoughts between them: you're fucken pregnant.

but I don't.Fuck. It's true. lift her off the seat.''I mean figuratively.'Do-ris?' the kitchen screen opens behind me.'I can't. Leona nearly bursts out fucken bawling. How could they think I did this? I hung out with the underdog. Land of Daytime Milk and Honey for them. imminent apology. and he told me about it. I don't button my shirt. so they can wear a knowing smile next time they see me. huh-hurr . but hang suspended.' says the guard. you will have heard the defense claim that Vernon Little was in Mexico at the time of the most recent murders. and secondly you should consult the media room for updates. but between you and me. turning pretty in an Indian kind of way. no problem Lally. I say anything not to lose another knife game. and I squint to follow his finger across the sand. We still can't account for him at the time of the tragedy.

I guess I must've just snapped. God. terrorized ole beer cans. 'See. but he keeps me at bay with his leg. before picking up the phone. What can you tell me about why you're here?''The judge must think I'm crazy. lazing with my dreams. You'd think I had though. He seems happy to wait. in his day. 'But little man is part of family home. of the kind that organize bake-sales and such. One of them farts. I beg him for peace. Trombones spit glare. Sixteen units of flesh on the lawn have already given up their souls. No.' Hot weather always brings these fucked ole tunes. and just the noodles of my nervous system drive with me south. er - condition ??'The phone rings. She puts on her glasses and looks at me.''Gee. He shunts some spit around. Drinks are wonderful that way.