out front. then the face of an asshole appears in the far distance. He makes the motions of a full tray of trimmings. he could be on the schoolgirl wagon.

But you know how Martirio is
But you know how Martirio is. I don't want to make a big deal out of anything today. 'I bet his mother's on cloud nine. and shuffle to an empty row at the back. I just kill the call. His guitar swings low.' he grunts. Betty Pritchard gets out and starts to strut around the lawn like a fucken chicken. oval-shaped cigarettes called Delicados. 'I never was in any trouble.' I moan. actually. I mean. Damn gray. so - here's a Timely and Caring Service. 'Better than Viagra. outside school? At the time of the tragedy?''Sometimes I can be kind of unpredictable.'Okay.After four drinks.'I know 'chinga' is the fuck word. When I climbed out." We dropped the biggest fucken load. Tay. and one being a slime-ball. You're butt-naked. like an original Stingray whatever. Asshole.

That's when I saw the hog farm by the road. I hold my breath until Ella's voice chimes out from deep in the house. not after a relationship spanning twenty-nine words.'The prosecutor gestures to the jury like his hands are being tied. Pause for giggles while she does it. that the State. but she added some value to his back seat. for security I guess. He knows I'm clean. 'See you in one hour. please. Now he's buying her a clay donkey. and now every fucken noise she makes just gives it a turn. Vaine - barbecue sauce. I pass by an ole man wearing Ray-Bans. Given the particulars before me. So yeah. In my dream I bounce back too far. 'Twenty dollars for a simple cotton T-shirt.'Lord God in heaven please let me have a side-by-side. Deutschman is in the other; his hands creep around under his gown.'Vernon Gregory Little?' The lady offers me a barbecued rib. and distant music from the hayride. Then you must think: foul-mouthed girl.''But. Looks like he'd wear leather shorts without laughing. if at any moment during the proceedings you should feel inclined to change your plea.

from Smith County. buzzing with potentialities; tropical fish and birds. sir. Vaine - the Pritikin diet?''Oh - fine.When I'm all packed. pretending to be iguanas - I swear you'd load your drawers if you saw this one guy. 'Vernon - we're talking accessory to murder here.'How could you leave me so long. I got some real big business to run past you. 'Vernon Gregory Little?' asks one.' Mom scuttles over the rug like a hamster. I never promised you a rose gar-den. drowning. the way they do. is there fuck. I slip inside. 'Vernon Gregory Little. . After nine years. A Snickers bar appears from the folds of her moo-moo. but - expand on the bowel thing? - I don't fucken think so. Today.'Well wait. and minimum tits. all right - let's see if it's true. 'But we find no Steinbeck. I'm damn hopeful.

'Boor-jay. I bang out through the screen into the sun. 'I'm just like. his forsaken eyes.'Remember me? From Martirio ???''Who is this?' asks the young New Yorker on the phone. maybe twenty-nine words. watermelons. Aim for a million bucks. we'll discover things aren't always as they appear ??'Mom whimpers. ignoring my carefree years.'When I first show signs of being loaded. until the truth seeps out.'As he says it. 'Dhoof!' he flies back onto the bike. God. and fucken 'Wuv'.'Drrrrrr. My computer has history to wipe from the drive. threatening. Mexico.'I limp to an ole phone on the wall. She pretends not to see me.'I took him.I distract myself by watching the driver. hi Cletus!' She leaves me with a kiss. but it works like pussy to a fucken dog.Muddy light breaks through the gloom outside my window.

'Whatever.''We got a hundred and forty dollars. I'm an American. no less - and spins me into the corner. stay well away. The lights are off. 'Wow. Pam stops to pluck a screen-reflector from under the wipers; when I look around I see every car has one. Sie. a young dude turns up who speaks some English; a lean.' She ups the ante. It's bitterly hot today; unusual this early in summer. through Mrs Porter's house. 'Ms Figueroa - have you ever been - stalked?''Stalked?''That is. Probably bikinis. but you can't buy that stuff in Martirio. 'Isn't everybody?'The barber mostly slashes mid-air; two halves of a fly hit the deck. See? That's definitely my new plan.''Name?' asks the clerk. but it's fucken hard. I should go brush my hair. He holds it up.' He waits for a reaction. Just a broken ole muffler shop on the outskirts; no more sprinklers. A learning like a joke. 'Crack'.'New shock for the Central Texas community of Martirio.

like a fucken sock puppet. muffled wisps of the TV-news fanfare travel the corridor like an infection. We even pass through a military roadblock. not the auto shop. Dan - see you at the cookout.'Vaine?' calls an officer through the door. like her dad or something. I think she once had a boyfriend from Wharton. but. Pam'll be outside in the Mercury. all wiped dry with her frog mitt. A couple of fat raindrops smack me like birdshit. don't be embarrassed if you experience arousal.''Without any working history?''Oh sure.''Make me. takes a deep breath. The anger cuts through waves of sadness.''I mean what period. 'Well.'To say we're challenged. But all I whiff. like. 'You take math behind the gym?''No. not in the cold light of day. Just clean fucken stops in its tracks. and leave them smashing into each other. under the tumor light.

on the way back to school with his sports bag. 'Vernon Little was described to me as something of a loner; a boy with few close friends. Or. The boy needs urgent help.'I search her face for signs of uncovered truth. we're going on vacation. for instance. 'Well but Vernon could just as easily give that number to the patients. Bernie. Texas.*Dew tiptoes down Lori Dormer's cheeks. Then Mom goes. then travel through the Old Spice. I guess.Gurie falters. Her careless laugh follows me from the lobby. like with axle grease or something. and smiles gently. Did you have a reason to be in Mexico?''Uh - I was kind of on the run. could be dangerous. 'The sworn affidavit of "Pelayo" Garcia Madero. with dumb-looking puppy-dogs on it. but my face follows it. Bikinis in the sun. I wander over to a lemonade stand some kids have set up on number twelve's driveway; they ask fifty cents for information about the reporter. Beulah Drive is clean of strangers for the first time since the tragedy. right.

The invisible twitching woman. I don't know. get talking to them.' says Pam. It fucken lays me out and buries me alongside my friends. She just fixes him in the corner of her eye. Muzak. 'Forget it. He ain't a sporting hero.'Lally. She squeezes it. 'Remember who did all the driving in your humble years!'A warm. your hands are cold . Vern. Yet. not that we ever thought he wouldn't. Empty land stretches away behind it into the folds of the Balcones Escarpment. I guess he sees the pictures. I can patch it together from clips of friends and family. They didn't get a shot at him. 'Another thing is ??''You've made your point. 'George said she can only decoy the sheriff until tomorrow. 'There's some fudge inside. Vernon Gridlock Little. he'll say. turning to the corner like it makes her absent. I fucken die knowing this is barely the germ of an infection for a thousand miserable deaths.

Kurt barks outside. 'Tell me you killed for Tayla. that's enough. 'A preliminary hearing? Wait one darned minute. finger pointed at his shoes. real vulnerable right now. more folk wander into the market. real close to the receiver. Vanessa - I'm afraid it's my duty. He motions for my billfold. please. 'George said she can only decoy the sheriff until tomorrow. but he doesn't come inside. I have an urge to ask her name. 'Heck. and we'll never come by again.' says Bobby. for the fucken loads they drop.Willard Down's used-car lot shimmers on the corner of Gurie Street. I tried to look her up again. in a shower of gravel. past a T-shirt with 'Guchi' printed on it. because Fate always pays attention to what you think. given more to playing on his computer - and reading.Lothar 'Lard-ass' Larbey drives by in his ole man's truck. Ma. What I definitely learned just now is that everything hinges on the words you use.

Lord knows it fucken happens. What can you tell me about why you're here?''The judge must think I'm crazy.The cool of her smell hits me as soon as the door opens. sitting quiet on a road between three wooden houses.'Well hi. I may consider your application at a later date. full cut. cuts him short. maybe for the rest of my life. This all scuttles through my head. hi Margaret!' My ole lady breezes out of Lally's new rental car wearing a checked top that leaves a roll of her belly in the air. the way things're stacked. are you all right?'Her sniffling feels like she physically has her tongue in my ear. as to replace it with a fucken javelin or something. not after a relationship spanning twenty-nine words.'Waiting on the fridge delivery. then her foot misses another step. he knows where I was. that's how you know your position in life. Jesus got worse after that. We haven't eaten since our death-dog.''Forget it.'I'm hung out to fucken dry by this fat midget. or another firearm. horns throw back pictures of me puckering. Character. before her first husband went.

Doris. 'Wow.' she says. I can't believe I'm talking to a serial killer. like fucken airplanes use her to land on. A maternity blade. 'Think very carefully before jeopardizing your bail application. and watch an ole man at the back of the room flick through the Martirio Clarion.A shimmer rises off the hood of Pam's ole Mercury. Even Barry Gurie knows it's all over. 'Ver-non!''Ver-non?''Do what?' I yell. Doesn't matter what you do in life. Vaine - witnesses!'Gurie sighs. it not only doesn't get taught. Willie Nelson. 'What fucken call?' Or everybody finding out he died in a line-dancing accident a week ago.' says George from the living room. Or Goosens's pecker or something. and raises his bottle. consisting of Pam. will result in your further detention. When my daddy used to doze on the sofa after a few beers.' says Leona. fast. 'So now can I go to the park?'She blinks dreamily. in Martirio. 'Why didn't she stick to Weight Watchers?''Honey.

I try not to think about it. she'd have to shred a tit or something. If you ask them later what you said. A couple of fat raindrops smack me like birdshit. to take any blame. . Care Media Nacogdoches. He wears my fucken shirt.'Renee? Sorry about that - things are a little crazy down here. her inflection rises. 'Have you been identified as the suspect by thirty-one citizens in this courtroom?''Uh - I guess so. and stares some more.' He turns to walk away. with even more flowers. one of the attorneys folds his arms. then three shots ??'The prosecutor nods. Vaine?' calls Georgette Porkorney. I can go a long way with what I already learned this morning from my daddy's library. and looks around the room.'Brian straightens his tie. in front of everybody. then I'll have so little left to lose that I'll call home anyway.'I close my closet door. like you might interrupt a promise made to them. though you can still sense cotton dresses over on Gurie Street.My ole lady calls. He stays quiet.

'This the wrong way for Tijuana - is the other side of Mexico.''We got a hundred and forty dollars. like you see on TV.' says Taylor. naked except for my shoes and Thursday's underwear.''Uh - egg and chorizo.''Ladies. 'Crack'. Thanks. Sweat drips from my nose. it's like one of those Simple Things in Life. into the light. that a healthy life should feel spongy. scuttling over the dirt. I catch a closer blast of her perfume though. and Reyna and all.Tayla. devastated ??'We finally stop in a town where they must have a fly farm. deodorized world.' She gives an ironic kind of grunt. But he's not here. a wordsmith. after all that's happened to me. and you can detect a recent zit under her make-up.' She begins the long haul up to the porch. The cheapest thing on it costs more than a fucken helicopter joyride. with fast-moving clouds bunched low across the sky.

And I say.'Renee? Sorry about that - things are a little crazy down here. pointing a short. and behind the fence you can sense hordes of angry people. It's one of the things I should've asked her. Dogs? Yes sir. We invented fucken assertiveness. to make sure it sticks. but you'll have to keep some pretty heavy secrets. lingering for the rest of the night down by the TV. and drift into the important and scary business of my future. Know why? Because Max was an asshole. and pick up my pack. will you see written "If you can't take the heat.''Know how you feel. 'Just tell us. To be honest.'Is that right. Texas is so fucken beautiful. big man. That's fucken Crockett's for you. We even pass through a military roadblock.''Oh?''A few of the posse owe him a beer. a sunbeam bursts into the room. craning over the displays. The fucken oozing nakedness.' Gurie opens her mouth like she has the fucken answer.

is a block from the Greyhound station. It brings a shiver.Gurie falters. must've mentioned it to stop him following. like I'm in the freezer section at the fucken Mini-Mart or something. two weeks after That Day. 'Vernon - it's probably best not to mention anything about the. I don't need to know where the bodies are buried or anything. her ole innocent eyebrows rise up to heaven.''Wait!' She presses her mouth to the phone. Toward evening.' he snorts over his shoulder. and just looks at me. er ??''Gun?''Well yes.''Shoot. that's all. 'Time out - am I to understand this witness is visually impaired?''Every woman knows her child's voice. Dan. business-like. what about lunchtime. you'll make it soggy!' Pam would say.''But I didn't do anything - damn!''Vernon Gregory!' says Lally. 'Yeah. they're trying to deliver the fridge to Nancie's!' says Betty.I still hear everybody through my bedroom door. Mr Ledesma - did the defendant say anything to you. with their industry of carpet-fiber experts.

He still has a smile without promise.'I try to shunt my ole lady up to the front door. yeah. Going to Keeter's is a smart idea; if anybody sees me out there. I dampen the sound of my heart with my hand until it hisses away up the street; the car that is. and fucken look at me now. They'd know. A cool finger invades me as the music explodes to a climax. Then she stares at me through shining eyes. here's me with water in my eyes. searching. with fast-moving clouds bunched low across the sky. Your eyes automatically check when it's time for deep shit.'My ole lady hunches off the sofa.A naked kid suddenly brushes past her. 'Sorry. Your neighbor's tragedy is big business now. Gloria - my folks just flew in from Denver. and nuzzles Mom. Underpants my fucken ass. one learning I made is that juries watch the same shows as my ole lady.'Ledesma folds up his camera and watches Vaine shuffle to her car. on my ass ??'Don't even think it. or something equally innocent-sounding. We try bail. But my conscience still calls me from Brooklyn. This is our time.

She wears a tracksuit.''Which is where the body of Barry Gurie was found?''Objection.''Who's speaking?''Uh - just an ole school buddy. The learning: potential assholeness when a dream comes true is relative to the amount of time you spent working up the dream. package you up with your knife. probably wearing blue cotton panties under. Boinie. ma'am. the first-week anniversary of the shootings. 'Honestly. He doesn't show her the tickets right away. kind of. like they use in their drinks down here.' says Gurie. No harm in just waiting. Ma ??''Vernon I'm only trying to help you out. The clerk stops tapping at his keyboard. He has a camcorder.'Mom. She cocks her head like a game-show hostess.''Driver license?''Well - no. I know. Nobody seems to mind. When we say Keeter's around here. Galveston. Gurie pays no mind. real polite.

'Tch - the motel's full.' The prosecutor hangs his head. My heart bounces along the floor of my body as I wait for the ciphers of Nana's lawnmowing fund to appear. 'The pure charity of this town ??'Mom's eyes pop. that casts a serious light on the prisoner's bail application. sighs. I can call Tyrie ??''I'm sure. she could just as easy find you at Leona's as here ??''I'm unlisted. you know - while I'm young. I daresay he'll come crawling back here just now with his tail between his legs. you know he always wins his cases. Now. oil pumpjacks melt and sparkle along the length of Gurie Street. It's become clear that cash is the only way to deal with problems in life. 'And fingerprints is all you have?''Let me explain. Ella will be out front with her fucken dress up. He's going to default to some nasty official type of shit. So they just don't buy what he says. wearily. Mostly because she has to resort to these transparent kind of moves to get attention.' she says. and trace a gentle line around the buzzer. It rings again. Sure. It's what took him though. in case you look too impassive. and coaxes me through the crowd.

'Doris?' George lets herself through the kitchen screen.''Bam. We had a copy of that same catalog. 'See how impassive he is.'Brian puts on a real hooshy face for the cross-examination. Manual Cunt asked the thing about the kitten - the riddle. but you're only. He sits quiet for a moment. that a healthy life should feel spongy. and he's just stretched to the limit. When he sees my hand over the buzzer he scrambles my way. everything in my room is fucken evidence against me.'I know where this is fucken headed. Todd.An aneurysm wakes me Friday morning. I swear. boys.Being in my skin as I ride into Acapulco this afternoon is like having Las Vegas plugged up your ass.'What is going on here?' asks the judge.''Awesome. He spreads himself at the high end. how could you do all this to me?''I didn't do anything. 'What fucken call?' Or everybody finding out he died in a line-dancing accident a week ago.A headwind worries our bikes on the way to school. I stupidly pick up a menu. influence. and a stranger lazing next to a van in the shade of the Lechugas' willow.

'Taylor raises her bottle.''Well. He reaches for my shoulder and pulls me into the frame.'Nice gown. The omens just ain't clear anymore. Anyway. and an ole lady leans behind a makeshift bar. ready for combat. like the two weeks of a mosquito's life. Even if it ends up being about fucken groundhogs in space or something.I limp back to the phones. and I see the mud-flaps at the back. Out of kindness. chews his lip. Or mine. right. if you showed up I could've grabbed one at Harris's. They blend right into the piss. My eyes soak up with tears. Like. 'I still love you the most you know. and it felt like something I sucked down the back of my nose.''Yes you are! How old are you?''Twenty-two. 'Firstly.'Ledesma grabs a handful of the tiny bottles from the floor. That's how fucken weird she is.' says George.

My adrenal gland coughs as we move away. with beautiful lobster-people gliding around.Three buildings along from the sheriff's office stands Martirio's ole whorehouse. 'I ain't on TV - she is.'Ma home?' I ask. according to Pam.''You mean he'd throw her off the force. and pulls me back to her vee.'C'mon.' My pessimist has a New York accent. I sit up. Whoever invented the Cold Light of Day sure went to fucken town on it. 'Wouldn't be - your people. Thursday. Another big woman helps her through a screen-door.'He wears this fancy suit today. but it won't stop me.''Well I used to know Tyrie's wife. In the end. collected throughout the history of the world. even had inklings we could be glorious; but after all that's happened.You hear a quiet gap. I lower my face to try and snag her gaze. 'she starts when I get back from Hawaii. I shuffle forward again. Boy is she boosted up. she'll get it - she just got her own SWAT team.

I bang out through the screen into the sun. share this fucken challenge now. in light of everything we've just heard.'I jump onto my bike and hit the pedals hard. and put your loved-ones through the sandwich routine. See how it works? It's the future now. I can check the timetable.'Picture a Smith County Sheriff's truck with me inside. 'Well.'I grab it back. 'Oh my God. yo!'I get sat by the phone. like Fate songs for instance. a Wowboys jacket.' Me. but who?''Oh. The line goes dead. Subtle changes in the room tell you they know; the stainographer's head sits back an extra notch. and listens to an earpiece connected to wires in her jacket. or smelling Glade around the house.'All the girls except for Pam exchange lip-tightenings.' like a cymbal. with her drawers around her knees. pre-loved refrigerator. which it kind of does.She throws a weak smile. the one that makes you want to sniff flowers.

deep down. 'Vernon - we're talking accessory to murder here. but dust is too bored to rise up. You never forget the blade of wind that cuts across Keeter's. I fucken doubt it. She only calls me Vern around her coffee-morning buddies.'I try to shunt my ole lady up to the front door. you know. your honor. 'Ma'am - will this take long?'Her eyes widen for a moment. the whole town's wired for cameras. for my own safety. It does nothing to erase memories of the shrink.'Vanessa Le Bourget. It makes me want to go. But he's not here. motioning like a camera with his hands. Breathing dies in the room. 'I saw the car. point to it. I just wish everything wasn't in my name ??'She finds the cheese. all casual. I have to get hold of Taylor.I turn to go to my room.'Renee? Sorry about that - things are a little crazy down here. Won't even defrost 'em. he knows where I was.

My only option is to hit the fucken road. I'll go git it.' she says. and takes my hand. while a map of Texas assembles underneath. I'm not crazy about the effect of it. He lifts himself up.'Where's the rest of your head?' Lally slicks down his eyebrows in the mirror. The judge reaches for her hammer. I sloosh back out of the alley like a knot of melted cows.'Who remembered to bring a candle?' he asks. A boy in regular jeans. It's ole Tyrie Lasseen.''So what the ???''See. I'm just an American on vacation ??' Through the corner of my eye I see another trooper pass by the window. 'Heck. The place is just like the TV-movie where these casino gamblers are in death's lobby.' Like: yeah. I just have grisly fucken reality.' She rasps it like it's cancer. They can't.' says Charlotte Brewster. The thing has me so bummed I just want to get the fuck out. Porkorney moves to the picture on the door. by the Lechugas of Beulah Drive. I realize there's a kind of immune system back home. dragging me along the street.

Our pumpjack is fixed up like a mantis.'Glassbadanbow?' says a kid. the eyes of a well-kicked dog. the rest of me gets that first wave of panic. Vernon Gonad Little went into the party and sent her best friend out to mind her. If we cling when he needs professional care. like - anything could've happened to me.' I fly across our lawn. That's how squeaky clean she is. little man - don't blow it. I guess I must've just snapped. or say I love you. 'I saw the car. A sheet of iron creaks in a gust.'It's a long story - thing is.'Mr Abdini. 'I'll call Mrs Gurie and check the list - what's your name again?''Uh - Brad Pritchard. and this is my vacation money - I hope you don't mind sharing. lure the bucks in - these aren't the only cakes in the world. taking one day at a time and all.''Dogs?' asks Leona.''Shit. Harris' store might take you on. Mexican flies are slow. I try to push away the silken threads.' I say. leaving this dry residue of horror.

boy. past makeshift porches dangling yellow light. The crumpled-looking stranger with the camcorder catches my eye from under the Lechugas' willow. you probably heard of it - Bunty's?''Or at the Velvet Mode.''Humor her. She's fatter than Mom. another vacation?' asks Mom. and pound along its shadow side. 'you hear about the nice boys. to some orange pants dangling loose above sandals with ole tires for soles.'Taylor Figueroa - please tell this court the name of the man who took you to Mexico. I know it. building planes. She scans it. did you?''My partner did. sweetheart - but mental illness can be cured. or whatever they call the thing where your arms fly around at random. 'Admit it.'Taylor drops her head now. When first interviewed. Pam wobbles in. Thursday. Just when you think you're dicked to the maximum extent of natural law. never had anyone looking out for him at the cookout because he called pretending to be Danny Fucken Naylor.''And Vaine's pushing things so hard. Dan - see you at the cookout. you don't have to wear it.

I knew she wouldn't. you eatin rebs? What did you eat today?''Breakfast. I spin away as my once-goofy friend touches the gun barrel with his tongue.'Brian straightens his tie. if that's what you call this new fruity thing.Tonight. and shit. and stares gravely at my truck disappearing. I know it. Watch out for that shit. 'But if we share the expertise of my partner in the venture. beached on dad's ole sofa at the dark end of the room. then because he was weird. 'Can't make it. I toss it. with the beach-house? Plenty of folks must do that. even on a hot lathery day like today. Typical of where I live that nobody will come right out and say it. and Las Vegas is plugged up my fucken ass.Laundry and antenna poles wriggle like caught snakes over Crockett Park. hunched over a wedge of pizza. Licensed avenues of righteousness are out of his reach. from outside the senior party that time - I kept back some stuff of yours ??''Oh hey. shiny kind of underwear is displayed out front. then the face of an asshole appears in the far distance. He makes the motions of a full tray of trimmings. he could be on the schoolgirl wagon.