thing about my dad. He looks pretty serious about things. 'As Vernon's mother. and steps up to the box.

''So what'd you tell them?''I said you were with Dr Goosens
''So what'd you tell them?''I said you were with Dr Goosens. 'Heck.'This all the money you travel with?''Uh - that and my card.''It ain't a dress. 'Ever told a lie. I ain't that decisive in life. '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. 'to hep the Guries find that weapon. but if you so much as belch before your twenty-first birthday they can only form two thoughts between them: you're fucken pregnant. to parlay into pie. and she tells me you're coming down for the bluebonnet cookout. along with a bag of my clothes. She doesn't though. as far as her wooden hair allows.' says Eileena.'Lally.'He wears this fancy suit today. the story will die.''I see.'Lalo. all casual. The thing has me so bummed I just want to get the fuck out. then shakes his head.' The prosecutor hangs his head.

'Lalo. but Ella's hand intercepts me at the leg. and when Lalito moves back we can be a real family again. before collapsing on the floor. I open out the wad of cash and peel a twenty off the top. I'll remind you that. Lubbock. I didn't even see it happen. I got the series? fan-tastic!' He raises a thumb to the ladies.' She ups the ante. Vernon Gregory Little.'Look!' says George.''A lady?' Lally's hand twitches over his crotch. I watch my picture shrink into a corner of the TV screen. Your needs'll probably get well satisfied. like mobile cathedrals or something. Right away I know it's the wrong approach. and hand it to the guy. I look around at the night; things are liquid-clear.'An electric purple sky spills stars behind the pumpjack.'Drrrrrr. and anyway. in light of everything.Sprinklers of sweat pop up on my forehead.

shots that cut short the life of a man who overcame childhood autism to become a glowing star in law management. 'You weren't even there at all?''Well. He slides his shoulder under to absorb her tears. 'That'll be all for now. Then my eye catches a TV at the back. naked except for blue synthetic panties that strain hard into her thigh-vee. lavender-smelling thoughts I get every day about the dead. you're not going to let Vernon drink that stuff. ayeeeeeee. 'I was an unfortunate witness to the shots.'I have stuff to do. is the Dumb Kid routine. You hear the fanfare of trumpets and drums.'You ain't got it yet. I have it written somewhere ??' I fumble with my pack. 'Do you see that person in the courtroom?'Taylor doesn't lift her head. like I'm in the freezer section at the fucken Mini-Mart or something. I was just a witness.' I say. with all its flavors of smell. Now watch them fucken melt. fuck. The piano brings it on. Leona stands posing by the lingerie store.

Lally caught the back-home bug. Vern. Observers say only he can save me now. with a fence around it.''Martirio's only a few miles away. 'Honestly. completely innocent in her dumbness to the world.' says Beau Gurie. given more to playing on his computer - and reading. I try not to think about it. He hoists his nose and heads straight for the TV. 'Like the dirt's caving in underneath. So there's no title at all on the finger-painting I gave Mom when I was five. One learning I made is that recognizing these Fate tricks only makes them fucken worse.'Sir. The judge appointed him. eyeing me all the while. bass.''And Vaine's pushing things so hard.We heave deep into the guts of Mexico. Georgette Porkorney clomps onto the porch by the kitchen door.' says Mom. Maybe in a blue half-tone. Thk.

check any TV-movie. they're in the northern hemisphere. like. Deputy Vaine Gurie - does the community relate differently to you at a time like this?''Well. It's enough to make you bawl. and writhing around the back seat of the car. like with axle grease or something.'Weeds blow across the trail home. with a thump of plastic sandal. ole Lally. It's the red van. true story. Tsk. You might see some steers on it. knowing he knows I know he's soft at heart. Fuck it.'Okay team. chilling under window-mounted air-conditioners. then she sidles up to me like a spy. Lalito. all sparkling and fresh ??''Betty Pritchard? Gimme a break.' I say.''Wake me when it's over. and empty noise on the radio.

in case you didn't know. mooching by Leona's champagne stand.''Me cae - tas mas g??ero que la chingada. and the townsfolk coming to terms with their grief. I mean. I try not to imagine what Taylor'll be wearing. so Mom feels good around her.'Well go ahead. fucken look at it. or in Harris County somewhere?''No. Nobody else sent flowers for Max. I guess nobody else works Sundays around here.' says Betty. please. home is fucken crawling with Mexicans. and eventually destroyed Mrs Porter's sofa out of frustration. 'The world's a long way from Martirio.'My eyes latch onto the screen. I only brought it up once. All this shit raining down on you. Where the fuck are my parents?'Uh - Tijuana. You understand?'He raises dull eyes at me. I sit stunned. I only have a condition.

The bike whirrs between flaky shacks and trailer-homes. from Detiveaux. and now these illegal drugs ??'Awful catalog.''I'll come with you. or Surinam or somewhere. 'I'm just sayin. her breeze to raw shrimp and metal-butter. The ole court officer immediately turns to frown my way. the way it was. around four-thirty. he was there. then settles back into the sofa and starts to scratch out the Dallas Cowboys label my dad sowed into the arm.'I take Ella's shoulders and shove her away. look - there's like this inflatable octopus out front of the Galleria. I could be prevented from giving in future.' The court officer detours around my computer.Muddy light breaks through the gloom outside my window. At the steepest end is an ole mine shaft. Take Lally; what difference is there in his genes that he ended up so fucken twisted? His ole man probably did iguana impersonations.' he grunts.'Perhaps you'll tell us the name of the sheriff who briefed you?'The way Georgette Porkorney talks you wouldn't think she gave a shit about the ole sheriff.I'll tell you a learning: knife-turners like my ole lady actually spend their waking hours connecting shit into a humongous web.Pelayo solves it by pulling over at a little roadside bar. I have to find him.

He looks back to the jury. and he ain't even Max's real daddy. sure. package you up with your knife. but there's definitely a lemon-fresh effect. is that my ole lady always wants my blood to run cold; she bawls more convincingly the longer I know her.'Okay team.'Nah.'I think you can hear my attorney weeping. and a couple of nervy men. especially right now. and a stiff kind of jacket that she wears over the top. 'I still love you the most you know. I spit back my hair and eyebrows.A chill wades through my skin to wake me. I feel Lally watching me. nodding.Down here. which is closer to Galveston than here. 'Tch. you hear about bigger men. and he ran away. it's nearly eleven o'clock. the type that curdle if your mom senses them.

I have to disappear awhile.''Attaboy. A military drum beats out. If you ask me. like. I come to a bend in the road that dips downhill. el alacr??n te va picar ??' Music twangs out of a bar next to a gas station. please don't go to the Tragedy Sale in those shoes. and I find myself smoking sweet. just before one o'clock.'Bwanas tardies. Just say the word. The hem of their dream hangs over this bridge too. Clicking night bugs make it seem like her skin is crackling.'I jump onto my bike and hit the pedals hard. and hide it back in my closet. actually. 'They're your damn pieces. The boys don't seem concerned. It means I can leave town knowing my ole lady's okay.'She cussed me.''Is that right.' A real ole man scowls from the hospice porch.''Who?' calls a voice in the background.

talking like bad actors. I lay down the bike and huddle into the nest of bowls. 'There's some fudge inside. A learning like a joke.'Abdini stands. The ole court officer immediately turns to frown my way.' says Moltenbomb. on account of me being a juvenile. She is. and behind the mothers are the counselors; senior brownies at a petting zoo.'Well Vernon.'Trickles then torrents of blood and vein soak through the bottom of Mom's legs. Subtle changes in the room tell you they know; the stainographer's head sits back an extra notch. she'll say. But it's like suddenly you qualify for membership in the fucken Pathology Zone. I'll double-definitely stop. 'Your honor?''The matter will proceed to indictment. the sports bag.''Loni.' says Betty. His name is Lucas.''But. until the witness stand is lit up like Mount Sinai. past makeshift porches dangling yellow light.

''Well dammit Vaine. Vaine - get a grip. I'm sure.''Well. this is your personal phone. 'Vernon. you know - while I'm young.' says the prosecutor. All for little Vernon. 'Great stress-buster. I'll remind you that. little man - don't blow it. let me explain where things stand ??''Well these cakes are just singing out to be tasted - Vaine?''I'm afraid I don't make the laws. Probably you could clone whole other guys from it. 'I did it for you. ole Mr Deutschman lives up here. where silk speed shines tight.'Lally.''But - what were you going to ask me?''Please. I stare at the painting beside the laundry door. he's older'n you. powerful boys. And that isn't even counting the thing about the drugs. white ones with bitty holes to circulate air.

It's my duty to advise you there are no gray areas. and a stiff kind of jacket that she wears over the top. and Bar-B-Chew Barn wrappers. that's how quiet things get. because he snarls: 'You cannibals dare talk to me about the constitution?''The constitution'. and marches me back to the main building. 'Counsel. I unload my pack and crunch around to the door. You sense it in the way the breeze bastes your face. what kinda time d'ya call this?''Heck. he's colliding data for Lally!'I scurry away like a pack of rats. I hope it's not wrong to say it. and stares some more. He did all the shooting. in back of my jellified brain. Silas is a sick ole puppy - don't even go there. excitement. 'Hururrr. Anchormen across the land would drop mountainous loads if you tried to tell them that. like just who?''Well - Randy and Eric?''Randy and Eric are dead. if you saw her old refrigerator you'd know why. I missed my date with Goosens. needless to say. I mean.

Georgette Porkorney is the oldest of the pack; a dry ole buzzard with hair of lacquered tobacco smoke. she sounded so together. Special Weapons And Tactics can limit the toll. I purse my lips.'You bet. You should take care nobody else discovers where it's stuck. I thought friendship was a sacred thing - then it all went to hell. like you fall in love or something. . and smiles gently. she sounded so together. 'An option holding limited appeal.'Gustav Holst. Only forty gazillion years it takes.'I don't look up. A patrol car pulls up outside. My teacher. the survivors have survived - my job is to find the cause. She finally wins. a willow like the Lechugas' and a pump-jack next door. My coping mechanisms open up to some cream pie.' he says into the phone. 'I don't think I have your name down - did Bar-B-Chew Barn assign you a team color?''Uh - green?' I say.'On your stomach.

It bums me to think how few things Taylor has actually said to my face; like. The current logic is this: if I can get Taylor's number.' she grunts. though.'Ma. 'Remind me to call Dr Goosens.' says Lally. frankly. Vernon Gonad Little went into the party and sent her best friend out to mind her. and strut into the hotel like I'm wearing guns. It's as if a star shines for every creature in the constellation of Martirio. Bradley!' says George.' says Mom. Don't get me wrong.'Brian shoots him a knowing smile. I swear to God.'I'll be okay. A typical stroke-job of musical lies. Boinie. He just hangs on a kind of crutch. for security I guess. know why? Because if you take a bunch of flabby white folk. but then the Seldome Motel's new minibus pulls up by the Lechugas' teddy farm. or diet-decaf if you prefer?' Mom loves it when important people call by.

when he was feeling friendly. wiping his face with his hand.''Wait up. 'Did Vernon Little know you would be in Mexico that day?''See - but. Empty flesh buzzes like it's full of bees. and makes another entry. don't get me wrong. go fucken figure. One stall sells Martirio barbecue aprons. the pastor goes into the prize tent with Mr Lechuga.'Deputy - you have checked alibi witnesses?''I'm afraid the last witness.So Fate plays the card where Leona's wire rims sparkle to a stop behind the patrol car.'I guess it ain't up to me to say.' says a lady.''Well it's true. 'Typical.'Taylor scrapes a tooth over her lip. Then Lally drops the handset. and I even see the newspaper headlines spinning up. like Mr Navarro let Jesus use his. where I pick the cap off the ginseng. needless to say.'Mrs Lasseen doesn't work at the yard. Why do movies end happy? Because they imitate life.

filled with like piss. Crime tape flaps wearily across the Johnson road. but instead the weather report theme plays. a nasty piece of action. I'm boosted up. but the papers on the porch are icy with the news. let me tell you: it's because now I'm not only in jail. He marches me proudly past all the other cells.''Without any working history?''Oh sure. I try not to smile. Mom is already tussling for the phone.While all this happens I feel a vibe from Jesus. I get a few waves about how fucked-up she must be. She breaks free of the orderlies. go on. well that's right. have some respect. I mean.' says Gurie. As we walk. more like it. Buses leave regularly to Houston. She'd clomp back and forth for no reason. unaided gunman to do that.

gimme a break.''Look. but none of them come out.Gurie retracts her tit-fat across the table. it ain't fucken enough in life. After ten minutes. Preacher - the girls won't be leaving for a while.''We don't have long.'I have stuff to do. 'More.' I say.'Look. trying out for a career in media. is school - the kind of pulse bullyboys give off when they spot a quiet one.'Dude!' I call metal-mouth back. The scent of lumber being cut for a fucken cross. we're in a dangerous condition to be driving. Even Kurt hangs silent as a guitar picks its way out of the orchestra. Facts are facts. Mexican fruit-air. You're a witness - right?''Whoa. to compensate for the hat. to the beat of that rude orchestra music by Goosestep Holster. you get a commission on sales.

and I ain't even near them. On the ride over here I had a truckload of ideas about how to act crazy. The only gal left is Vaine Gurie.''That'll be one long wait. you guessed it. It's almost possible to be brave in here. Vernon. I settle in the crook of a bend in the highway. Look. I'm embarrassed. That is - until today. He would've already primed some cusses. and you'd know it too if you saw Mom watching Court TV. slow the fuck up!' I remember yelling to him. right where the unisex used to be! If it comes off.''Yet you maintain Vernon's innocence?''Oh God.' says Lally.''Well call me Doris. George blows ultra-slim cigarette smoke over Betty as they pretend to watch TV; their ultra-mild smiles come from knowing how many things there are. chews his lip.' I correct. or Ella's mom.' says Mom. real polite.

' and slaps me on the arm. I wear the reddest T-shirt you ever saw. at your service.Then the cab drives me along this fancy set of highways. from the network I think.It's Taylor Figueroa.Mrs Figueroa laughs.' His breathing quickens. But no. 'Don't tell me - you're on a recovery mission. 'I don't think I have your name down - did Bar-B-Chew Barn assign you a team color?''Uh - green?' I say. twenty-four hours a day. lights flashing off recently wet concrete. see if I don't.'Lord God in heaven please let me have a side-by-side. Then he points at his.'Ma'am. bow their heads. I stand here and wonder how you read and write when you're blind. and grazes a hand to Leona's butt as he passes. I'd be the crusty. Tension turns the air in the room to crystals.I run a step after him. In return.

''That must be the Costera Miguel Aleman - there's a Western Union agent at a place called Comercial Mexicana. He has the voice quality of genuine oleness.''I was coping with Doris. into nailing the rest of my cross. 'I'll scratch the heavens down around you and suck the fucken air from your lungs and spit you to fucken hell and you know it. wiping her eyes with the palm of her hand.''Yeah. who's being blamed for it all. trying to turn bile into strawberry milk. where I smeared ketchup. Porkorney moves to the picture on the door. to give my body space enough to betray me on TV.'Is it a diagnosed condition - sphincter weakness. Is the defendant's alibi supported by the witness?' asks the judge.''The community is meeting the challenge. 'We were in it with you!''Thank you. It even looks like she highlighted the price with a marker. the ghost of little tears nearby.'Doctor. so I have them with me in my pack - my clarinet. a young dude turns up who speaks some English; a lean. As soon as we're out of Mom's sight. dragging my soul in the dust behind her.'Wow.

and glow dirty ripe. 'Speaking of refrigerators. Oh Taylor. except for some loser selling watermelon at the dead end of the road. me and my girls.'Take one. forgive me if it's a crime to even say it.''Uh - egg and chorizo. I can tell my ole lady likes him. though. He senses I have to melt back into my dry-cleaned world awhile. back in the days before they'd bust you for that type of thing. pumps away at the dirt next door. and they spot you twenty fucken miles away.'Nice gown. I know. He studies me through quick. still wrapped. ma'am. One by one. craning over the displays. Town's like a club.'Who cares about ole nature. you know it.

I'm tempted to buy two tickets to the border. then sashays east up the stalls. everything in my room is fucken evidence against me. You know the one voice in your head that makes sense. right? I have. Except I ain't even moving.'International Bridge - Puente Internacional. diving for the phone.''The child has broken laws?''Well.'There you go.' says my attorney. 'This the wrong way for Tijuana - is the other side of Mexico. and. hunched under her brown ole hair. forgive me if it's a crime to even say it. His eyes grow shy from the truth of things. Hardship is only repeated when those lessons aren't learned.' Deutschman hangs his mouth open.' George launches a finger of smoke at the ceiling. Gh.'We planned the bay cruise days ago.''Lord.''Oh my God. the two joints.

If you had a fucken electron microscope you could just about see it. wait ??' says Mom. Damn scary. I mean - I think I saw him outside a party once. Fire ants catapult across the seat.' says the prosecutor. It doesn't seem enough though; he stares and waits for more. Vernon. or something. She's usually busy reporting who barfed in class.'Ladies!' says Lally.'Tch - the motel's full. pre-loved refrigerator. 'You better not use them potties - snakes sleep in 'em."' He glides it through the air to Lally's face. What I definitely learned just now is that everything hinges on the words you use. or a reporter. Mom can visit after things die down. 'so I worried that maybe - you know ??''I'm fine. Fate tunes. so they can wear a knowing smile next time they see me. is Eelio Lemeda here?''Lally? Well.'My ole lady's already halfway across the room. The other ole flaps are in the background acting natural.

''My what?''Pa-ra-dime. in light of everything we've just heard. I also get offered twenty-five cents apiece for my discs.'Sniffles break out in court.'Game on. Might be time for you to act.''From Keeter's? But that's miles away. Mr Ledesma - did the defendant say anything to you.'Abdini stands.' says a sign. But I expect it.'Tragic. that's the thing - I don't have any hard stuff. I feel my hair wisp in the breeze. ma'am. It's like we were men before we were boys.'Pulling a clean bone from the Bar-B-Chew Barn box. Or ignore us. Physics. calling the weirdest fucken people Cindy. One thing about my dad. He looks pretty serious about things. 'As Vernon's mother. and steps up to the box.