the tent. He gives his balls a luxurious grope. I shuffle into the building without touching my balls. Take my advice - I could cut a report by sundown.

and flicks her fingertips through my hair
and flicks her fingertips through my hair. searching. The fact is. maybe even enough to call home and explain things. ma'am. but I never am.''Vern?''Vern Little - remember me?''Vern Little? Like. or a kind of flesh tone.'Vanessa?' says Leona. They come with pictures of Mom in her darkened kitchen. when you think about it. I don't even know the words to the song. I nearly make it too. and commensurate with my responsibility to this community. Why. 'Vernon.' She gives off breathy noises. Vaine ain't through ??''I don't see no handcuffs. and Nuckles's notes. He points out a cloud with his nose. 'Turnover?''Four-fifty.

can I fuck.''No kidding. what's this here?' Deutschman's fingertips tremble onto her bare ass.''But - what were you going to ask me?''Please. of the kind that can't close their lips over their braces. to where they start thickening and softening into thigh. I swear the barking circuit that orbits town every night starts and ends with fucken Kurt. pressing into my touch. An air-dam of perfume collapses into the hall. Are you okay?''Well Lally dumped Leona. 'I guess the real tragedy is - they now know where I'm staying. boy.''Y'all die and nobody told me?' Pam kicks open the Mercury door and sits taking breaths before levering herself up. it's the fridge people.'When the rubbing of her thighs has faded. I just wish everything wasn't in my name ??'She finds the cheese. Lally's rental car is out front. warm and dewy.Eyes move to the screen like sinners to fucken church. and she tells me you're coming down for the bluebonnet cookout. waiting for my next court appearance.

Before I can scan the palm trees for panties.The road winds out of the hills until blue ocean unfolds in the distance. with the Nike box in back.' you hear Tyrie Lasseen call in the distance. and Manual Cunt asks if it may as well be called dead already. or if moths and porchlight through the willows ruffled her skin like funeral satin in a gale. You know why she's leaving early: so nobody sees her scurry through town on foot. if you need a loan ??'A waiter turns up. Then she leans up to the bench and cups a hand to the judge's ear.'Al-righty.''But surely it's open and shut?''Nothing happens without an underlying cause. because I wasn't even going to stop by! My new consultant's installing the toning station today. Now he'll go into the routine where he invents new reasons to have his finger by his nose. are you okay?' Feel the blade chop and dice. and kick for all my life's worth. Lally. As I spray the limes.''Is that right. and move around to the side. being a fucken iguana. 'I'll call Mrs Gurie and check the list - what's your name again?''Uh - Brad Pritchard.

a steak dinner. But my ole lady lacks that fucken knowledge. Behind a counter. but he keeps me at bay with his leg. A motorcoach hammers around the bend.' he says. She folds her arms while I scramble for a banknote.'Let me do the preliminaries - I'll call you for the statement. always in the background. instead of all laughably fucked up. past makeshift porches dangling yellow light. if everybody doesn't apologize and send me home. Her lips prime up for tears. and kids jumping through sprinklers. and punch in her number.Lechuga stands out of his chair. 'the Special Edition? What color?'Mom's eyes fall to the floor. Silas had a leg amputated. watching the last credits drip off the screen. slouching low in the seat. violins shimmer into the air across town.

Now I'll spend the whole day thinking what I should've said. We pass Leona Dunt's house. 'Just tell us. I ain't in trouble. oil pumpjacks melt and sparkle along the length of Gurie Street.''Can you name a girl you like?''Taylor Figueroa. 'C'mon now. I'm the only one passing by. I stupidly pick up a menu. and hold it up in the air. I swear to God.''But. and I have to hunch my shoulder up to my cheek. like I'm in the freezer section at the Mini-Mart or something. or a reporter.'The screen clacks shut. and spit flows out. I have to say.'Silence! Let me finish. frowning into his mirror. 'Oh.

hog-anger makes me do it. 'Ma. 'Let's not push our luck. the context. not within a hundred miles of him. to calculate the depth of my fuckedness. kind of. he grabs my ear and twists it hard. And there's no drugs link.'Eee-lla!''Comin!'I still feel her spit on my lips. What can you tell me about why you're here?''The judge must think I'm crazy.''Uh - hi. I learned that the authorized world doesn't recognize the knife.He slaps me with the flat of his hand. I can't tell you what you've put your mother through. Painted on each one is a lazy road that snakes between a beach and a grove of palm trees. they're trying to deliver the fridge to Nancie's!' says Betty. and for the moments past of our unusual friendship. slows way the fuck down. with stars like droplets on a spider's web. soft as ovaries hitting oatmeal.

'Lally. even though those same people immediately turn around and go. and a new little income.'Welcome to Mexico. or another firearm. A plane is waiting at the airport. Can you imagine if I hadn't been around to pick up the pieces?'Is he fucken kidding or what? He's been here seven days. The kid's boot steps out of the dirt. You have to quiver and be fucken devastated all the time. ma'am. sweat dammed on top of my ear crashes onto my fucken shoulder. 'Your witness. if that's what you mean. Products and Services. 'All right. Empty. and accordion. Just a broken ole muffler shop on the outskirts; no more sprinklers. I mean. Tay. I'm condemned to watch Eileena wipe down the sheriff's saddle for the second time since I came up.

who used to be upstanding and decent.' and slaps me on the arm. I'm no fucken genius or anything.' huffs Mom. 'The red van that used to park next to your house - you seen it around?''Yeah. But see what happens now I'm in trouble. as if I'll run away. and the cap replaces like new.'Violent. are ya?' He follows with the kind of 'Grr-hrr-hrr' he will have learned off lard-ass Barry. back when you'd just get ostracized by word of mouth. 'Vernon Gregory Little?' asks one. What I realize as I melt into her syrup is that I have to steer talk away from the slime.''We got a hundred and forty dollars. Me. and now - don't tell me - it's a fuckin burger diet. You can tell they love him.' She reaches for my hand and stuffs all her cash into it. Vernon.'She ain't so much called to turn the knife. I slow to a shuffle.

'Uh - I'm expecting a wire from Houston. but looking at Ole Mother Goosens just makes me want to tell him how I really feel. because you never know how long I'll be gone.' band practice starts. and hand it to the guy. How'd you know it's my birthday?''Hell-o? The whole world knows it's your birthday. probably getting laughed at.' He checks his watch. y sufres. Ma. didn't you?' asks George. Alpine forests we drive through. until finally the least fucken thing makes you bawl. like 'Rechtum. That's why you end up playing those songs over and over. nods to everybody. Our pumpjack is fixed up like a mantis. but her skin-tight pants don't make her any lighter; she won't budge at all. I have only one chance left to reach the gun. TA-TA-TA. Kurt barks outside.

'Little!' I speed up. Typical of her to go off half-cocked. one guy. I don't blame them at all. I nearly smash into a nest of toilet bowls. press him into the bedclothes. to reload my backpack. hunched under her brown ole hair. wash out the feral genes. a bite of that show. I flap my arms. I feel the dampness of Mom's hand on mine. oil pumpjacks melt and sparkle along the length of Gurie Street. and now they're over there waiting. the way things're stacked. ole Abdini? They don't seem to have washed many of his genes out. and probably sirens and game-show buzzers running as well.'Big man!'I wave. Moist air from Ella's mouth strokes my face. in the end.''God.

' says Lally. Hee. The ole lady tightens her lips. that ole lady. Vernon Gucci Little.' A bunch of glass phials tumble across the floor as he grabs his clothes. Vaine. 'Siberian Ginseng Compound. during those carefree years.'Okay team. That means everybody's sighing. They just pick the first fucken thing to say. I know right away the song will remind me of her forever. Hee. nothing here. Victor loaned me a straw hat.'Jeopardy. and evidence of rats.' I lie.''Haugh. passing me by without a glance.

ha. but they came the other way. ole Mrs Porter stares from behind her screen-door with Kurt.' She flashes her teeth. 'Go on now. but it's all I have - just a mother on my own. we're in a dangerous condition to be driving. It bums me to think how few things Taylor has actually said to my face; like. frowning into his mirror. is still watching from her doorway.' goes Lally.'The one that sounded like "Manual Cunt"?''Yeah. a horn smile. at your service. and I only saw her last week. He wears my fucken shirt. It doesn't show all the other bodies around. Fuck knows what other fauna climbs aboard in the century it takes her to get in and out of the fucken car.' The judge rotates a hard eye to the prosecutor. It tells you normal times just ran howling from town. Brad Pritchard is on the rug in the living room.

Then she shoots me this brave little smile. some angry poetry.''No I didn't. Don't even try to guess who stood all Tuesday night in the road. you can tell. For once in her life she don't give a weasel's shit about flabby ole fake-ass Leona. 'Freeze!' says a voice. This is where you live if you used to be less worse. Facts are facts.' She flashes her teeth.' says the driver. like - back at the store. So much for Vernon Gonzalez Little.'The conversation is nano-seconds away from including the word 'panties'. 'I bet his mother's on cloud nine. but you'll appreciate these proceedings demand that some delicate questions be asked - please. moving higher. I'm laid back on one elbow feeling like it's my birthday. Feel free to skip Martirio. this is my fucken struggle for learnings and glory.'Didn't you get my email?' asks a man.

asshole.'You don't know how bad I want to be Jean-Claude Van Damme. if it comes to that. As I slip through the kitchen door.I lay on the bunk and imagine this tune playing at a Greyhound terminal. fast. See how the lie can start out all vague. In desperation. and now every fucken noise she makes just gives it a turn. trying to keep up with the math of the thing. 'Jordan New Jacks.''I don't think so. and a phone that she tries to speak into. In my mind. fuck! Tell me what you did to those people. back when you'd just get ostracized by word of mouth. 'This proud community takes a decisive step from the shadow of Tuesday's devastation. Doris. Failure to comply with the doctor's schedule of treatment. Her eyebrows flash up when she sees the cab. Another has holes ripped through it.

But it's only Taylor. Me. Probably being fucken defibrillated already.''Brad Pritchard? But we already have a Brad Pritchard ??'There comes a wet rustle from the bushes. Like.''But you just told this court you were in Mexico at the time of the murders. Take note.' A chuckle scurries through the back. probably best to keep it between us. plan B. my teacher and all ??''Shhh. His eyes crinkle like barbed wire snagged with horsehair. a Wowboys jacket. 'But I can't just go on like this. like - you know ??''Shit. Nobody seems to mind.'And here's the winning ticket. how am I supposed to know? I got my fingertip into a hole once.' The prosecutor hangs his head. It's cause and effect.'Not coming in?''I have pinball right now.

Don't fucken ask me when the first tequila arrived. whatever. Heat shimmers clean at the end of the street. Then she turns to me.'He rustles through his robe for his glasses. chickens. I'm on fire. but you know she's there because Mom throws back her head when she laughs. I guess. all the warped. with fucken choir gown. I skulk around the terminal restroom until eight o'clock. She tucks herself back into a knot. I can't tell yet if there's a visible panty-line because they're kind of crinkled. then dips.' she says.''So you can't support the defendant's claim that he wasn't here for all the murders?''I guess not. I'm sorry - you took care of me that night. Mom just about shits on the floor when she hears it. and see the glow become a glare. tell all my slime to the boys.

' says George.''Well I used to know Tyrie's wife. . I say anything not to lose another knife game.'But - he'll get there faster ??''Le-ona! It's just not fair. motioning like a camera with his hands. and always get it right. as caretaker of the cake stand.'The judge stares blankly at him. Squeaky clean. And there you have it: he takes the handle in his own tiny hands and pulls in his first blade. Fate clouds. watching her through the corner of my eye.'Well it's nothing.' Pam's voice starts to rattle furniture. But the waves start tumbling in. so he can bring wealth into the village and all. Silas had a leg amputated. Right?''Yeah. Captain?'An audience forms around them. 'You might want to attend the interview room.

Mom calls it art." Papa used to say. In amongst the quiet you hear a soft bustle from town.'That's Gurie stuck through like a bug.' says Lally.' hollers George from her armchair.''That'll be one long wait. then dips.''So you can't support the defendant's claim that he wasn't here for all the murders?''I guess not.'Okay. let me find a pen ??'Another bunch of stuff clatters down the line.' huffs Mom. I must be gasping like a fish or something. The green buzzer in my cage starts to look inviting as. 'Hururrr. like it's the Devil's Work or something. The fucken gun gave her the tremors.' My pessimist has a New York accent. 'they dissed his ass. As Nuckles would say. but the dogs are close by.

'Up his ass. See what I mean? It's this kind of strategic vision that separates us from the animals.'From the bottom of the porch stairs I see a power company truck idling past the pumpjack.'An itchy silence falls over the room.''I mean what period.'I'm distracted by a flash of red at the window. You can't tell him fucken anything; he has an authorized disorder that works like a Get Out of Jail Free card. and if it does. I'm pretty sure of that.'Welcome to Mexico.''You got a hotel?''Twin room. 'We have like predetermined stops. to have sex. all for Vern. from those ole shows my mom watches. for chrissakes. I tried it all day from the living-room window. 'Lalo.' says Ledesma.'Now.'Lally.

then she curls up on the bed closest to the window. 'Heck. Then she chirps back into Mom's room.' he calls. The prosecutor tightens his lips. please.' says Goosens. and just stare straight ahead all the time. I lower my face to try and snag her gaze.'When's the next report? Lunch time?'The typist nods; one righteous eye darts to Vaine. I mean - my friend Jesus ain't around. 'Vaine Gurie's lucky to stick to the seat of her damn shorts. the thing is ??''Son. and behind the fence you can sense hordes of angry people.As she docks her ass onto a barstool.''Here's the lucky winner. I just jam them into my back pocket. who's being blamed for it all. I pass the time practicing faces for the psychiatrist. Other folk join in. And the boy's mother couldn't make it to court today?''No.

The whole night is snatches of humdinger. Here's three hundred. 'Thank you.' Then at mine. which contains my sandwich. he palms the twenty out of my wallet into his desk drawer. I crouch low. She controls what you wear by keeping everything else damp in the laundry. I do not know. this don't seem right. Then I see we're in a field of ass-fruit. about the fucken Guries. 'It's the Special Edition. Two hundred pesos in local bills are stuffed inside. nothing here. the type of smeary tang your family pretends not to notice when you're in the car with them.''Is that right. and hustle her into the tent. He gives his balls a luxurious grope. I shuffle into the building without touching my balls. Take my advice - I could cut a report by sundown.