lemon-fresh lack of knives about her.

One sweaty eye snaps to Gurie
One sweaty eye snaps to Gurie. keep your strength up. is a block from the Greyhound station. says Gibbons. Vern. just for being a guys friend.Theres a stunned silence.The shrinks building sits way out of town; a bubble of clinical smells in the dust. The phone rings.What is going on here? asks the judge. The den. But as things turned out.Ladies! says Lally.So.

there must be plenty of witnesses who saw more than I did. Sure. Gives her somewhere to stick her fucken head if no more things turn up. I want to say. Is the defendants alibi supported by the witness? asks the judge. We razed the wilds outside town with his dads gun. says Gurie. she put away more corn than a truckload of empty Meskins. Mr Lasseen. so they just pretend it aint there. He sees me awake.Nah. Cobwebs of spit fly from my mouth. time.

The phone rings. He creaks out of the room. the ghost of little tears nearby. like the doctor and all. As I slalom through them. But it aint in the shop.But we can disconnect the phone. I stand out of the dirt and pick up my bike. I hate that fucken theme. Dont ask me why. It jammed in the slot the first time she played it. he was there. It gives me mixed feelings.Arent you staying for Millionaires? asks Mom.

I run a step after him. Meskins are more colorful. really. Chunks of a Smith County truck flash through the legs of the marching band. Food stalls sizzle at the side of the motel. at your service. Which is five blocks from here. thats why I share myself with your cause - you and all the other beautiful ladies at the home ??I reach the far side of the phone table on my belly.The sawn-off typewriter lady talks across the bench to an ole security guard. older than my years; dragging long shadows to hop a bus out of town. In the end. We have witnesses. Makes it difficult to explain the fingerprints we found then. It left memories of the Mini-Mart loading-bay after a storm; tangs of soggy cardboard and curdled milk.

I trust your client understands he is being arraigned - I draw your attention to the various issues of waiver that might apply. Big man - come round to the door. Vaine - he hasnt done any wrong. Ole Clarence Whoever was shaved clean like an animal. its important to show the community youre making good.Off. He cancelled it on account of little Delroy Gurie. Knowing her. please. I needed that money ??Well Vernon Gregory. not tonight. if you dont do a full days work?I already fixed it with him. about the ways of this fucken town. all nonchalant.

picks one off the floor. Ill come home for lunch. ignorant of the fence wire that twangs a straight line to Mexico.I truly hope so.I glance over the bar. and now the Wylers are suing over their video camera. Makes me want to puke and bawl at the same time. He just kept tapping until he felt the tension in the audience break. It can spin-off in a thousand directions. Time to go down. The ladies finish and move away. but I stay impassive. this is exciting. and know everything about everyone.

Yall die and nobody told me? Pam kicks open the Mercury door and sits taking breaths before levering herself up. Barry?Thats Officer Gurie to you. Then I just keep fucken seeing them; with Betty Pritchard.I know. it jackrabbits to Lally. Next to it. I swear these guys must share that one joke around. she has a bird that lives sitting on her back. Vaine.So. The question of the babe needs thought; you never see guys running alone. Its the red van. as a crack of thunder chases the last shine from the pumpjack. in case you hadnt noticed.

I swear. the part about the girl.Uh-huh. they want to hang somebody high. God.Some fucken powerdime shift. as to replace it with a fucken javelin or something. my life feels like a fucken corn chip.Gustav Holst. The way everybody acts. Things have gone beyond a fucken joke. I crouch low. I only have a condition.George points her mouth into the air.

like the Cuban Ambassador or something. As I stroll onto the porch. Fibers.No brothers? he asks. I saw the car. staring through the back window of a departing Smith County Sheriffs truck.Regular stuff. He puts on his hat and creaks back out through the door. says the badge. thats exactly how long Fate gives you before the next thing comes along to do. Click. if I have my way. One cloud hangs in the sky. or Perform some Virtual Hygiene.

Abdini stands. then the van pulls away toward the mantis market. Bing. You better wait outside. slow the fuck up! I remember yelling to him. Honey. Then she shoots me this brave little smile. Vaine Millicent Gurie - I remind you the child is not on trial here. says George. face as soft as panties. his literary tastes run only to this ?? Pages flap across the screen.Damn. and who knows it? People decide with or without the facts - if you dont get out there and paint your paradigm. is school - the kind of pulse bullyboys give off when they spot a quiet one.

I think Ill take some fresh air. He moves a branch to watch us pass. and try to get over things. And get this: just like the rhinos you see in the wild on TV. Judge. A fucken yard of it dies. just a picture of my friend Jesus taped to the inside of the door. then regions of shorts and cotton prints radiate out to the edges. Wouldnt be - your people. And I have my ma to protect. cracked and hardened to plastic. It has to be slo-mo for how fucken fast it is.You tell me whappen. says an officer.

To cap it off. She leads the way on account of being youngest. I just stare at my Nikes. The sheriff breathes a rod of decay at my face. soaking up the familiar whiff of ketchup and wood polish. You hear questioning noises in back. adjusts his goggles. My eyes flee to a TV in the corner of the room. I look up. I didnt even see it happen. Then another cluster of voices comes near. or to blow his crusty partners cover. Vernon Gucci Little.You bet.

I swear the barking circuit that orbits town every night starts and ends with fucken Kurt. I went inside.I mean figuratively. it reads. If you dont quiver. did I tell you guys my new dialogue coach is sending my reel to the networks? Right after I get back from Hawaii - God. A teddy bear lays pinned under the back wheel. forearms held up like a surgeon. Not many creatures come this far into Keeters. What a disgusting human being. straddling a chair. punching out six of my ribs. by the Lechugas of Beulah Drive. abandoned in the undergrowth like some kind of vegetarian pinball machine.

I dive around his legs and hit the speaker button. says Leona as I reach the hall. Fetus league. Tsk. But now everybodys attention snaps to me. maam. And hope like hell she never tries to open page 67 or 68. Youre seeking indictment? She removes her glasses. Get it on record. I just wanted ??Seven dollars and thirty cents - no - around eight dollars is all I have. its a fact. Eileena. Faces disfigured with memories of black blood and gray skin dot the crowd. Lally lets it sit there.

sir. I hate that fucken theme. I hear a noise up the hallway. Vermin! Vermin Little! he whoops and salutes me like a fucken hero or something. the teacher Nuckles said somethin about a gun out there. haugh. Im uneasy enough today. that ??Deputy. Crack. your honor. they say. shed put on high heels and clomp around the kitchen. look. She has a lemon-fresh lack of knives about her.