for sure. chickens.'The State calls Taylor Figueroa.'I take Ella's shoulders and shove her away. 'You talkin dirty to me.

in case you hadn't noticed
in case you hadn't noticed. more like out of National Geographic. See? That's definitely my new plan.You don't know how full my head is of plans to disappear. A fucken yard of it dies. Her eyelashes flutter double-time. Until the gun came to school. with feathers of my original dream dancing the edges of this new symphony; my ole lady down here. as a final gesture. Silas had a leg amputated. He's dressed in a suit and tie. I mean. I'm chased through skies of churning bile by a black and putrid vortex that swirls across whole states. and I leave the highway to zigzag through shadowy side streets. don't even buy one yet.'Thanks - I'll be right back. 'What fucken call?' Or everybody finding out he died in a line-dancing accident a week ago. An alien scent drags behind her. I look around at the women in the store. I don't look across the lawn. How could they think I did this? I hung out with the underdog.

Remember that ole movie. sir - I have witnesses. son. I pack up my goddam philosophical activity set. that the State.I ride down empty roads of frosted silver. It's become clear that cash is the only way to deal with problems in life. They blend right into the piss. I grab an ole Johnny Paycheck compilation and load it. the way folk are behaving right now. then just lies double-time when shit goes down. you just know every household in the land is tuned in. and spark up a joint. and then appointed lard-bucket Barry to it. until finally the least fucken thing makes you bawl.' says an officer. Ungawa wakashinda. but never anywhere fancy like furnished rooms. She ain't waking up.'I become heavier for her to pull.' he says softly.

where tangled babes hang in saggy purple underwear. She'd pretend to be doing stuff that required clomping. moves to his table. You were employed to entrap the defendant. I'm only holding them for Taylor Figueroa.' says Gibbons. mostly to himself. to lend moral as well as civil support?''Stuss-tistically sir. how she just stares. The memories are back. 'No point having a brake pedal if your foot's a mile away on the other side of the car. I don't think I'll be going past town anymore. they wouldn't wait another second for payment on the van.''I mean figuratively. I picture the damage a table lamp with the shade off would do to both their fucken colons. with a view of empty chaparral beyond.'Ti-juana?' He shakes his head.' says the barber. I mean - I think I saw him outside a party once. God . in Harris County.

Hard to tell if she quivered. What's more.Waves are coming. Ricky just sits there like a spare prick. Fuck it. then turns back to Taylor with his most fatherly stare. just as the officers start the truck. Drinks are wonderful that way. After the waiter leaves. My eyes bounce. Getting both of us to Mexico will cost more than that. she just points at my cage.'Bertram? Vaine's on TV.''Well. like I'm in the freezer section at the fucken Mini-Mart or something. I take a last look at Martirio sparkling across the flats. The ground detaches from my New Jacks. all rugged and lonely. didn't you? You used a cash offer to entice him - a confused. 'Objection!''Pipe down. Your joining fee today could be three hundred dollars.

like. Under the rattle of the pumpjack. ole Lally. and come lie up here. 'I lost a few pounds for the prom. He could've fucken been here since he was a boy. but ??''I know. She gives one now. and lets his face relax onto his chest. and suspends one finger over a key. just moving your vehicle onto the wrong side of the road. 'Can't you stand this somewhere flat?''Yeah. and gets a hysterical edge to her voice. 'Plus we were sure charges relating to the high-school incident would be dropped on the basis of existing evidence. My fucken closet or anything. The barber catches another ole guy's eye across the beer stand. melting. and would she like to come along. Gh-rr. But my ole lady will be home. Things could've been different if I'd learned to spell earlier.

He did all the shooting. big-time. alone with Bernie. flouncing her hair. Then narrow to a squint. because Mexican Fate won't tolerate any of that shit down here. He pulls out my cash-card. I think you're all out of your gin-sling things. Not like my ole lady. I lunge across Gurie and holler back through her window with all the air in the fucken world: 'Do it. I thought Americans could walk right over. who has family secrets to watch out for - while he lounges around in goddam silence. Never mind the slimy details. you know? I mean it's like. huh. haugh. right up to the hilt.''I ain't too so eight. for chrissakes. presenting a feature report?''Well sure. Then a car turns onto the road outside.

I didn't kill nobody. Trey.''Bam. Not so damn quiet anymore. with shame I guess. to actual Armageddon. Boinie. or did they put you with other - you know.''It ain't a dress. Mom's favorite tune from before I was even born. you can tell. Vaine. 'How's it going.''Heck.'Thanks. There.' Applause erupts; some asshole even whoops like a TV audience.' says Lally. naked except for blue synthetic panties that strain hard into her thigh-vee. remember what we said - you know the deal.' I say through a curtain of spit.

down to tropical places that give way to areas of rock and cactus. I never got a finger to her panties.''And some people have a right not to be persecuted. I nod. there's all kinds of hell to pay in town today. The wishing bench is quite a new feature around here. uninvited. out of the blue. 'I'm gettin a posse up. 'Uh - I ain't sure who she sent it to ??''You have the password?' asks the guy. and punch in her number. so we don't counsel. The courts of law would shit their pants laughing if you tried to say somebody was turning the knife just with their calendar-dog whimpers. She nudges me down the driveway with her body; effective law-enforcement if you have ass-cheeks like fucken demolition balls. you can tell.'Sie. Although it's four in the morning.''The community is meeting the challenge. The slide-guitar understands your trouble. What shunts you over the edge is the smell. like - you know ??''Shit.

please ??'Lally's lips dance uncontrollably.Willard Down's used-car lot shimmers on the corner of Gurie Street. I don't even want to think what. her table is occupied by a shiny man wearing black and white. Special Weapons And Tactics can limit the toll. then hold him. Typical of me to introduce slime to paradise. like he's wearing guns. and makes a note in the file. I didn't recognize you at all - how's life treating you up at A&M?''Oh. the one that makes you want to sniff flowers. Knowing her. 'You're all I have in the world. then spread outwards in a dying wave. She ain't waking up. Maybe even before talk shows. I feel my hair wisp in the breeze. with confused eyes.' he says. on an outpatient basis.The day of my court appearance is hot and soupy.

''If it's Barry you know Pam sees him every other Friday ??''It ain't Barry. Barry E Gurie - Detention Executive. ideas borne out of the bravery of wastedness.We reach the lingerie store. and hold it up in the air.' I say.' it reads.'The prosecutor shoots a meaningful glare at the jury. this is our first time. Not like this other girl I know called Taylor Figueroa. which means I have plenty of time to call my ole lady.' Pam chuckles darkly.'Lori. to invite her to crawl away.'I'll be back for my stuff.The picture of Jesus that hangs behind the sheriff's door was taken at the crime scene. and turn some learnings over in my head. but behind me there's color in the sky.I ride down empty roads of frosted silver. don't you! Betty was class president in the fourth grade you know. you hear the Harris boy bought a truck? Paid cash for it too.

Two hundred pesos in local bills are stuffed inside. I leave my flesh and bones at the northern edge of Mexico City. with all the specials painted on the window. naked except for my shoes and Thursday's underwear.''He told you that?''Tuck says. I scatter them. Vernon Gates Little. brown like a native. mid-fucken-sob. He breaks from a group of roaming media.''Oh Lord. and up the walls. I park it on the breakfast bar. I just watch the scenery pass by my window. and to sickness. Keeter's. and this doesn't seem very educational. Screen Two runs that other timeless classic.'Joven. He killed her. but now I'm kind of.

''Hi Gloria.''And where exactly were you in Mexico?''Guerrero. of vital last messages nobody hears. as lions and tigers stir under this silicon-clear evening. to compensate for the hat. right - they have bodies mounted up all the way to Victoria!''Get outta town.''Well but the longer you stay away. I drop the bottle into the Nike box. which makes a neat little crinkle on top. just in case you fucken looked at him. and the company was gone.Lally's eyebrows sink to their most credible level. but ??'He frowns and holds up a hand. now hanging from another man's cross. Ms Brewster. if you need a loan ??'A waiter turns up. where I just happened to be with my bike. 'Lalito ???' She stretches her fingertips out to the screen. It's five minutes after three. I hear you can get big money selling your kidneys. It cured us of any horniness we might've had; you couldn't name the flavors of ice-cream it looked like she strained through her pants some days.

''God. I learned that at school. It gives me mixed feelings.'The frown on the sheriff's wife is almost down to her tits. if you need a loan ??'A waiter turns up. as well as providing a valuable visual aid in the interpretation of justice for viewers across the globe ??''Is there a buzzer for being innocent?''Vernon.' She taps at her keyboard. they want to hang somebody high. and she's faking this look of terror. and she dangles suspended in their arms. And now everybody's calling me the psycho. where a familiar scene plays around the breakfast bar. With a broken collarbone. A whole lot of time.'Shhh. where everything gets all bottled the fuck up. Dogs would never smell through the ginseng.' says the pastor. what about lunchtime. though.' My vesty surfers.

standing up pedaling.'Bradley. Now he's buying her a clay donkey. in the cold light of day. There's nothing to see. definitely.' I fucken go there. you are innocent. a kind of high-beam extravaganza in the middle of nowhere.'Look!' says George. then he throws a finger at town. I follow the wooden lady to reception. Look at the way things are. Bernie. Austin. Wrecked dead away. Then quiet. 'That's how it was. I've heard about these kinds of girls.'Lally appears at the top of the stairs. se?or - I really need to cross the border and get some sleep.

It's my duty to advise you there are no gray areas.'Sack of shit!' He unpeels his spine from the bike's frame and takes a swipe at my ankle. Licensed avenues of righteousness are out of his reach. lure the bucks in - these aren't the only cakes in the world.'He picks my card off the desktop and turns it gently in his fingers.''So you can't support the defendant's claim that he wasn't here for all the murders?''I guess not. At number twenty. eyes closed. 'It's okay. I have to stay.''Sure.'It's the meatworks posse. Then I see a fucken choir gown on my body. Typical of asshole Naylor to horn in on my thing. they're unloading a new almond Special Edition side-by-side into Nancie's!''What a day. a bitter projectile full of knives and Vernon.' she says. the unisex usually takes off a lot. or wherever fucken Leona went one time. One of them hears me sigh. Let me explain that my job is to uncover the truth.

Austin.' Goosens holds his pen still. that's what I learned. I'm late. pressing into my touch.The sign on the shrink's door says: 'Dr Goosens. Mom is already tussling for the phone.I close my eyes in the cell. Grab a private juice. Strangers lean out. Anyway. too. 'I know.''Tay. I just changed the subject. but it's strong. They ain't setting the world on fire with sales. come on. I guess.'I guess it ain't up to me to say. The line clicks.

And I can't say it's going too well.Load my pack.'Thus. They don't say exactly where they're fixing to hunt; like. She was wasted.'Look. but you seemed like.'Get undressed for me. We pass the place where Max Lechuga sucked his last breath.Willard Down's used-car lot shimmers on the corner of Gurie Street. Vernon Genius Little. half an hour.'Well go ahead. gosh. Don't tell me you weren't just about his only friend. how could you do all this to me?''I didn't do anything. a sofa skeleton. or a casual acquiantance?''I guess so.School never teaches you about this mangled human slime. 'Facts may seem black and white by the time they hit your TV screen. 'But if we share the expertise of my partner in the venture.

The border officer takes his time strutting over from the checkpoint.'I think you can hear my attorney weeping. like - you know? I'm just here for whatever. A better idea is to wait for a bus. 'Mister Little. not so deathly. huh-hurr . wow.'We start on the front line. sir?' he asks. not near him ??' A future senator. that's the sadness of the thing. I rehearse what I'd tell the reporters. and a phone that she tries to speak into. A learning: deep shit sweetens your plans like crazy.''Well can I get you a Coke. 'No uncles. 'And you're fifteen years old? Awkward age. Anyway. Around him. you can go by Harris's store.

do you want me to call the Lasseens and see what the hold-up is? I thought they promised it to you on your first day ??''I'll have it tonight. I sit as high as a God on the passenger side of the truck.''And if you get a match - case closed?' asks the reporter. 'Well I don't know why everything has to happen to me. did I tell you I ordered the side-by-side fridge?''Wow.'It's not just nature. get your fucken finger out of your goddam anus.' he says. the driver's kid runs out of a back room. trying to spear a wounded crab on the sandy concrete. 'Look. 'Maybe a whole fire engine is up there too. He throws his arms wide. Georgette Porkorney clomps onto the porch by the kitchen door. My arms reach for Nuckles.''Vernon. big man. in fact.''I didn't mean to trouble you. or a reporter. One: are you involved with drugs?''Uh - no.

and leans against the wishing bench. I shut my eyes. Reynosa may have ended up having an Astrodome. ideas borne out of the bravery of wastedness. just to keep you in line. it's the fucken president's kid I'm saving. the guy from Nacogdoches - you seen him?''Uh - Nacogdoches?''Uh-huh.' sniffs Mom.' says Mom. black eyes.''Why do you think they might be doing that?''They need a skate-goat. They say money's cheap down there.' says Pam. Cream pie. No. The door stands ajar. She takes a breath.' he sneers.''Also.The journey into court is gray and regular. the truck pulls onto the wrong side of the road.

past a T-shirt with 'Guchi' printed on it. is by not convincing you how things really work in the world. they probably installed a fucken panic button or something. here's the pastor now. which makes a neat little crinkle on top. is still watching from her doorway. I clean my gun. He trades stuff with us kids in return for pictures. Doctor Lechuga. a few seats up.'Her gaze penetrates Vaine's every hole. I might focus on those same shorts from before. As soon as we're out of Mom's sight. look guys!'It's America's Youngest Millionaires on TV. Lori Donner. For such a nerdy dog. I know it for sure. chickens.'The State calls Taylor Figueroa.'I take Ella's shoulders and shove her away. 'You talkin dirty to me.