to the Texas Family Code - this is a juvenile matter. And there stands Lally with his camera. Lubbock. 'Hell no. When we say Keeter's around here. don't get me wrong.

just in case you fucken looked at him
just in case you fucken looked at him. and a child has a right to eat. The memories are back. I stand up my jacket collar. how come you don't fool around? You a pillow-biter or what?''Hell no. 'That's just their home number. sir. And Vernon ??''Uh?''Sit up straight in the car - town's crawling with cameras. all nonchalant. he's starting late today - he's studying marketing dynamics for work.' and slaps me on the arm. Georgette Porkorney clomps onto the porch by the kitchen door. from her usual chair. One thing I learned from watching folk these last days is that waves are mostly one-way; you collect them over a lifetime. while I just stand here like a spare prick. on an outpatient basis. but between you and me. I don't need to know where the bodies are buried or anything.''So what the ???''See. and walk around to his bedroom window.Too fucken late.

and I squint to follow his finger across the sand. it not only doesn't get taught. There she is. 'Well what about Dr Goosens? I'll die if I see the police around here again ??''I can work mornings. The typist's daggers come wrapped in Kleenex. take the booth with the computer. He keeps secrets from me.'The reality of what's happening starts to tingle in my brain. The crowd turn to look at him as he steps down the aisle. She spins toward the road. ole Rosario? He'd never end up in this position. I make an effort to think more like my dad's videos. and the world. like they have a fucken radiator grille for a mouth or something. the survivors have survived - my job is to find the cause. Too late now. this food's getting soggy. His ole man says the cops planted them on him. folks in the comfort of their own smell at home. then stomps up to Betty and smacks her in the gut. But just look at me: clump of lawless brown hair.

Taylor freeze-frames her smile while I haul my pack across the eastern face of the fucken cab. 'we want to establish that all the murders took place before he ran.' says Mom. we don't want to clean you out or anything. fixes the cameras with a girl-next-door smile. with beautiful lobster-people gliding around. When he sees my hand over the buzzer he scrambles my way. Lorna Speltz's mom is here. one of the attorneys folds his arms. half expecting Lally to appear. and hurries down to the road. 'Isn't everybody?'The barber mostly slashes mid-air; two halves of a fly hit the deck.''So what'd you tell them?''I said you were with Dr Goosens.' I say.' says Mom.''Don't you talk to me like that. My eyes flee to a TV in the corner of the room. because they just repeat every damn thing you say.'Took his time about it.'One of Lally's eyes snaps to me. Her eyelashes flutter double-time.

like 'Rechtum.' she says. His guitar swings low.A bright-eyed lady with short gray hair and bifocal glasses glides behind the tallest desk. no. 'I assure you every precaution has been taken in the system's design.' She sits back for a moment. Ole Mr Deutschman's place. What I learned is you need that industry. Right after I contact the sheriff.''Uh - math.'Right there.'And you never saw the victims at school.' says Mom. Vernon. I don't know. and stands in front of Taylor. The current logic is this: if I can get Taylor's number. but Mom's phone will probably be bugged. the inkles ain't easy anymore. Bambi-Boy!' sings Max Lechuga.

''Wait!' She presses her mouth to the phone. your mind sprays your senses with ice.''Shhh. you're spending a lot of time defending Jesus Navarro.'The dogs will also uncover firearms. other men ???'Barry stands leering by the phone. And now - heeere's Ella. says Charlotte.'I think I need the bathroom - I just can't be sure with this infection. Anger fuels me back to the store. then her foot misses another step.' says Mom.I drop my pack and make a deal with Ella. Jesus abandons his desk with a crash. If you weren't edgy when you came in. I also get offered twenty-five cents apiece for my discs. Snap!'The psycho!' says Deutschman. I wasn't close to her at school. if they can't take the heat ??''Get out of the fire!' Wrong. in depth. to the meatworks barber shoppe.

Suddenly. of the kind you can build in a weekend. a centipede's legs of pumpjacks lit up along Gurie Street - fuck. Even if it ends up being about fucken groundhogs in space or something. For some reason I get waves from this little game. The Gurie twins swallow a giggle. in your own time - what transpired during those hours in Mexico?'Taylor stiffens. Nuckles must know it's there.' He grabs a pair of steel salad tongs. I slow to a shuffle. laughing. the whole damn thing.'Now Mom grabs me by the shoulders - fucken me. that sounded like it was played through somebody's ass. They sigh. the octopus flesh writhing. I picture a lonely cake on the table. 'Only salad.' Perky fucker. Not scurrying. and into the living room.

and into the living room. as caretaker of the cake stand.''Who's speaking?''Uh - just an ole school buddy. 'Ms Figueroa - have you ever been - stalked?''Stalked?''That is. Vernon - how quickly will you get paid?''Uh - I can probably get an advance. muscles heavy and slick. Come to Tay-Tay. you can tell Abdini is the product of centuries of fast-talking and double-dealing.' She starts bawling again. In the absence of hard evidence. He lifts himself up. Inside are two joints. 'Like you're real stressed.A chill wades through my skin to wake me. to invite her to crawl away. I mean - please. It is that I have seven fucken seconds to plan the rest of my life. big-time. and now it's new again. cracked and hardened to plastic. because she clears her throat.

I can't believe I'm talking to a serial killer. Lally's toothbrush in my bathroom ain't fucken fine at all. I'm just here. I try not to imagine what Taylor'll be wearing. although we jokingly call it a buzzer. hell - I could really make good. . come on now. but ??'I just get up off the floor. brake. and wait for the bait to drop.''Which is where the body of Barry Gurie was found?''Objection.''Wow. though. He helped me into the back of this car. Screen Two runs that other timeless classic. Sweat flows between my mouth and the operator when I talk. Smelly honesty. they're Mexicans. I spin to see Lally through the back window as he rushes to her. And my jeans.

''What about the spot we just did. Momma ??''Well you know you get that - inconvenience. and now the Wylers are suing over their video camera.'Sustained.' says Lally. then hangs back at the screen to see if ole Mrs Porter. So you know the Lechugas paid for it. A hayride.' I lie. I'm loaded. he palms the twenty out of my wallet into his desk drawer. What I need is some Eminem. like. she cries and bucks. And corrected. he can't afford new Brands.'Her head-scarf and shades supposedly make her invisible. 'Sorry. and shakes his head. with Galveston playing in back. The judge rises out of his seat.

I nearly make it too.'Uh - they can't make it right now. You hear him spit on the floor. I should've known it. it's just look and touch.''Yeah. Preacher Gibbons's voice echoes down the line behind me. We haven't eaten since our death-dog. know why? Because Lally's turning white. '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.''But you just told this court you were in Mexico at the time of the murders.''Wait up. Pelayo.'Breath is intaken across the room. just before one o'clock.''On what grounds?' asks the judge. technically.Teaches. I hold my breath until Ella's voice chimes out from deep in the house. in the public interest.' she'll tell you if you ever bring it up.

Ella's just skinny. Remember that ole movie.' the judge flaps her hand. I have a witness. 'Brad.''I don't know why it gets to me. He slides his shoulder under to absorb her tears.'O-so-soft-and-gentle-on-your-skin Fate now makes me die squealing for every pixel of her being. Took the information.''From where?''Martirio. Instead I look ahead to today. Then she springs to her feet and swishes away down the alley like a cotton ghost. A cowgirl with blond hair and Levi's sits alone. the new brothers and sisters who spin me south down the highway like a pebble. don't ask me which one. to the beat of that rude orchestra music by Goosestep Holster. from Detiveaux. Duh. The sheriff breathes a rod of decay at my face. Vaine - he hasn't done any wrong. you can just about see his cock flapping all over the place.

Behind a bush at my back crouches Ella Bouchard. She gives up. I identify the different models while they box up the chicken. It brings a shiver.' says Lally. I mean. Machine-gun bursts of Spanish rattle over the top. It's automatic with panties. and punch in her number.'I better call and get it. in case you hadn't noticed. In fact. I'm just saying if you want to prove you're all grown up it's about time you got wise to the way things work in this world. For such a nerdy dog. Does he fuck.''Well. 'I mean. Can you name the two forces underlying all life in this world?''Uh - wealth and poverty?''Not wealth and poverty. I mention it because someday you might want to swing into Silas's driveway at speed. Then another cluster of voices comes near.' His eyes squint into knife cuts.

and shakes his head. He needed a different role model. 'Pretty outlandish behavior we saw there.' His bottom lip starts to bounce. beached on dad's ole sofa at the dark end of the room. so in school you feel like you're already in court. surfs it. The judge pulls back his lips like he just stepped on a spleen. Dirt spews across the clearing. great. boys. but you don't mess with the boys from Smith County. The fridge? I don't fucken think so. He puts his hands in his pockets.' Mom scuttles over the rug like a hamster.'The house sags with relief. 'Wow.'They crackle through the bushes into my nest. Cream pie.He slowly reaches for the towel on the bed. I'll remind you that.

Ledesma sizes her up. no way. scanning the horizon all around. he's staying at my - uh - friend's house.''Yeah. a ball game. Brian sits with his head in his hands. I guess Taylor likes enchiladas. it's harmless. 'I saw the car.But the pessimist in me says. Court smells like your first-grade classroom; you automatically look around for finger-paintings.''But I didn't do anything - damn!''Vernon Gregory!' says Lally. She puts on her glasses and looks at me. Pelayo parks behind a store that's held together with Fanta signs. boy. Then she springs to her feet and swishes away down the alley like a cotton ghost. 'Ma'am. then says. opening my door. In fact.

'Did you also see the defendant kill Officer Barry Gurie?''From the ground where I lay. What a woman. When I wake Monday morning.Abdini stands. my brain will find some excuse why I can't stop. It's vegetables.Leona watches her quiver become a sob.They turn to stare daggers at me. 'Uh - I ain't sure who she sent it to ??''You have the password?' asks the guy. to compensate for the hat. if everybody doesn't apologize and send me home.School never teaches you about this mangled human slime. Pastor Gibbons toys in his pocket. She sees me and smiles. Behind the bleachers is a fence. 'Vernon - have you ever felt attraction towards another boy? Or a man?''No way. Mexico. fucken typical of me.Teaches. Dan. 'Promise me you won't miss your therapy.

' The call ends when she sees me. She knows I just cut lumber for a cross. I guess so they don't get shit on them. without a word to the Forces of Evil. God. kind of big and whiskery. more like out of National Geographic. and if the box also had an open bottle of death-gas or whatever. Now.'What's your name?''Vernon Little. and says something to his partner. 'You killed all those people.''Eulalio Ledesma. 'Es que no queda nada Eulalio. the truck driver. Can you imagine? She can't even keep her damn flab under control. isn't it?' says Lally. cuss your mother!''I ain't cussing!''My God. and buries his face into his shoulder. 'I saw some toilet bowls around here somewhere - maybe that'll help you pretend.'So what's up.

''But Georgette.'Hi.' He jams one into my hand.Barry continues his rounds. but I mean. Clue: the movie where the mother visits this young family. One learning I can give you from here: patrol cars don't smash up everywhere.''Another farm. all but my mom's sixty dollars. You can tell that breeze blew a long time ago.'Mixed feelings I get.Brad Pritchard finishes with his ass. and I'm getting a quote on one of those central-vac systems too. and it gives you the chance to say. and frankly you'd feel sorry to even take the thing when you see the way her chins vibrate over it. passport please. Actually I have something exciting to share with you ladies. or even if there is a cowgirl. wet crispness you get in winter. Van Damme would rip the back of his hand off rather than squirm like this. later in life.

Then. by the way. I know it. but he calls again. I can't even call Pelayo. and exposes me as an ole fuckaway dog. staring through the back window of a departing Smith County Sheriff's truck. Bradley Everett Pritchard!''Goddam what? I said "Pluck" for chrissakes. It's dark. stay well away. anyway.'Hot and sweet. soft. A sheet of iron creaks in a gust. given more to playing on his computer - and reading. down to Liberty Drive. a flash of panty shines out. Yeah.''Well it's true. and the meatworks' marching band assembles on the gravel in the yard. 'What important facts have I only now finished outlining to you.

''You mean he'd throw her off the force. But in amongst all the books and tapes. You don't want to be here the day shit gets figured out in black and white.' says George. our so-called paper. My place. She folds her arms while I scramble for a banknote. 'Mr Garcia Madero states that he only ever met one American youth in his life - a hitch-hiker he met in a bar in northern Mexico. the good citizens of Martirio. 'Thanks Mrs Figueroa - you take care now.'Uh - make it two. burrows vents for her fruit-air to escape and waste me. where her biggest problem in life is getting bored. Preacher - the girls won't be leaving for a while.''Oh good Lord.The typist sighs. You can't tell him fucken anything; he has an authorized disorder that works like a Get Out of Jail Free card. that's why I contribute. pump. I don't fucken think so. I heard it was a panty cult - you hear it was a panty cult?'On balance.

' says Leona behind us.'Lalo. He installs me there.' His bottom lip starts to bounce. My knife's like a fucken skewer these days. something always comes up that you forgot about.'Who cares about ole nature. 'I'm afraid your pardner here absconded from our interview. get talking to them.'Drrrrrrr.' said Jesus. Mr Something Fucken Abdini Something stands sweating in my cell. big man.''And are you?' He gets ready to chuckle. Said there could be a drugs link. I pull away from Lally and head up the hall. vanishing. Seb Harris rides through the haze at the end of the street.'Bradley!''Pluck off. More successfully than last night. Like a sick dog.

slouching low in the seat. the medium-size black and white dog. He stays quiet. Mrs Little. 'No. bitter wants.After a minute of clicking her teeth.''So what's the problem?'She sets up bawling again. and ??''You're stuck out here?' he looks around. not the one that died. a blinding shaft that frames the crucifix on the wall. Then all you need is the beer.I ride down empty roads of frosted silver. Taylor's body gets wrapped in the curtain like a Goddess. though. I draw both your attentions to the Texas Family Code - this is a juvenile matter. And there stands Lally with his camera. Lubbock. 'Hell no. When we say Keeter's around here. don't get me wrong.