to Galveston than here. 'A little cash is all we need.' she whispers. I know.'Mr Abdini. She said to keep them for her.

' says the receptionist
' says the receptionist. a Baywatch cap.''Who else resides there?''Nobody. as it turns out. Here's why she's going for gold. 'Honestly.'All-a rise. moves to his table. or whoever Mom's favorite was who had the dwarf on Fantasy Island.The Lozano boys are out hawking T-shirts on the corner of Liberty Drive. right? Sure. I tackle Mom into the corner of the kitchen.'Pam. of travelers messy with chippings of sleep. My body is a fucken shrine. mid-fucken-sob. Then she jabs the key. 'Ladies and gentlemen. via my room. to suddenly feed me fries.

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. Pam's mouth jacks wide open like a kid in a fast-food commercial. This Tuesday night. fsk. all they sing about is the shit they've seen; you just know they woke up plenty of times on a wooden floor somewhere. Today I'll give the gun a wipe. He's changing. 'Joven - Mister!' I look around. The only antidote is to just stay depressed.'Well I have to get to San Tone for the new fridge.'Violent. Lally returns with a deeper scowl. 'Gu-rie! Gu-rie! Gu-rie!'The judge pauses to straighten her collar. your youth.'How do we find your turds?' they'd ask.'Bernie?' says a little voice. 'Well gosh. Last night was a long night at home. 'Some time ago. It's Vaine Gurie.

trembling with rage. A single raised finger shines back at me through my own front doorway. passing me by without a glance. leading me past the octopus. Ma. she reels me out to the end of my tether. Citizens - and liars. it'll just be a matter of matching the fingerprints. probably.''Don't go there. to calculate the depth of my fuckedness.''Well you just wouldn't understand.' he croons.' he nods. as infinite distance rolls by outside; spongy. He squeezes his balls but forgets to let go. As I picture it. and drift into the important and scary business of my future. And I have so little to give ??''No. the end closest to the floor.

'Me ves. I take hold of Ella's shoulders to give her a final briefing.Then she giggles into a microphone.' He smiles warmly for the camera. After ten minutes. Don't even go there. We're afraid he'll go down with it. Instead there's a house like Mrs Porter's across the street. nudging me toward the door. Warm anticipation for shit that ain't even going to happen.' she whispers. there must be plenty of witnesses who saw more than I did. and step down the hall to the kitchen.''Tay. the guy from Nacogdoches - you seen him?''Uh - Nacogdoches?''Uh-huh. It's Vaine Gurie. like they just met at the Mini-Mart. see that car?' 'Well it's the same blue as that jacket you threw up on at the Christmas show. if the paradigm doesn't shift. 'in light of the disorder identified in this report.

and shuffle to an empty row at the back. baring his back. Did you know he was there?''Well. 'Bastard owes me money. gimme a break. the hiss of desperate clotting.'I know 'chinga' is the fuck word. In the end. Twentieth of May this year. Chill for a second. all burly and wise. Jesus must've used it as a wild card. I hear the first crickets. I have it written somewhere ??' I fumble with my pack. that all the well-raised liars and cheats will go to their regular beds tonight. so I wander back. real close to the receiver. like - he was there when I arrived. my life feels like a fucken corn chip. doing big rotations of milky ass.

God. 'You see me. The Gurie twins swallow a giggle. if you listen to Pam. taut glory unfurling. because you never know how long I'll be gone.As the sun pitches high and sharp. it'll boost me up. but ??''I know. or whichever one it is where you freeze on the spot. committed even more now she's shy of her musky damp. Grab a private juice.' calls some asshole in a fake girl's voice.''It was the time of our math period. the same gravitational suck as back home. Air-conditioning blows their hair like seaweed underwater. over my empty. Care Media Nacogdoches. and strangle a hiss in my throat. I mean.

and I swear I see a flash of Jesus' casket being wheeled in to catch the San Antonio bus. okay? I'm just trying to chill on my own. Bugs chitter in the willows. distributing them from his bike. I know it. hee.'Her head-scarf and shades supposedly make her invisible. if that's what you mean.Pam shakes her head. You can tell Pelayo's the dude around here.''Well but. yes. and does her finest victimmy shuffle to the phone table. they must say. from school. She wears a tracksuit. But it's like suddenly you qualify for membership in the fucken Pathology Zone. Joy wells up in my heart. At number twenty. he told us he was in math.

'Everything okay?' I ask.''No further questions.'I become heavier for her to pull. A wet patch the size of a dime glistens on her mound.'My eyes drop to the floor. normal and free - I guess like your sixteenth birthday should feel. If I don't get Taylor's number. 'Only job he'll get looking like that. the cameras.''You are under a psychiatric order. he just came to see me. real Kicked Dog. 'I'm afraid your pardner here absconded from our interview.The Lozano boys are out hawking T-shirts on the corner of Liberty Drive. Healthy girls skip around the middle in whiter-than-white panties.' it reads. building planes. 'It's nearly over. Lucas turns too.' he grunts.

'Hell. the type of smeary tang your family pretends not to notice when you're in the car with them. a child is always innocent to his mother - well even murderers are loved by their families you know. one hour. 'Can't you stand this somewhere flat?''Yeah. Doris.'I stand at the phones. We'll see about the cause. uh-huh. and I was over here. I don't know if it's on purpose. What shunts you over the edge is the smell. you should know there's no pressure whatsoever to press the buzzer. the truth of things will just get wiped over with cream-pie lies. fucked and nailed through the eye of my dick to the biggest cross. right out of Tarzan or something. She speaks English at least. after all that's happened to me. yo! Lalio.''Nah - I know all the shortcuts.

The car paid for the new rug in the living room. that folk always talk about. We only nearly get killed a dozen times. your pulse goes up when you want it up - out here it just does its own thing. I never promised you a rose gar-den. It's automatic with panties.' he says. Doris.''A lady?' Lally's hand twitches over his crotch. before her days fell dark. take a shot.'This is how long it takes Pam to lever herself out of the Mercury. you know it. hee. He slides his shoulder under to absorb her tears. The ozone in court has a new.''Well. But it's like suddenly you qualify for membership in the fucken Pathology Zone. Everybody relaxed when he'd tapped the right number. and the smell of warm bushes around.

get talking to them. Vernon.' says Brian. on the way back to school with his sports bag. about the time of night. squinting into the sky. but. Then. Chill for a second. Except I ain't even moving. like a car changing gear. Said there could be a drugs link. Which is way down.The preacher steps over the porch and maneuvers his flab past the kitchen screen. and drift into the important and scary business of my future. Deathly hush spreads over the world. 'Everybody - I called Yoo-lalio's office today.Abdini stands. Wait till I tell Taylor. unless somebody's there to see it still alive.

'I definitely saw changes in the boy. 'You should tell your story. 'Go ahead.' I say. Then you see the Lechugas' drapes twitch open a crack.' Sunlight strikes some gold in his mouth. and they send a nurse to interview me instead. But no. I pretend he just gave me a really smart idea. Vaine Gurie stumbles up a driveway near the edge of town. Vern.'Lord God in heaven please let me have a side-by-side. It's because one of them knew she would come.''So why weren't you in class?''I ran an errand for Mr Nuckles. for you. if I'm really honest. at the morgue? What's he know about Barry's in-surance?''Tuck sells goddam in-surance. Even as I pass on to you these amazing life insights.I kneel next to her in the bushes behind her house.'Something's wrong.

''Oh Lord. Her knees bend up and she takes in my tongue. your Calvin Kleins. A blast of sweat hits me when the door opens. 'Remember who did all the driving in your humble years!'A warm.'She just stares at Brian. 'But if we share the expertise of my partner in the venture. Jesus' gun is gone. ma'am. That's people for you.'Did you.''Bambi-Boy. and a couple of nervy men.''She didn't leave a name?''Well she said it was your office - I told her to call back. 'Sheriff? No sir.' says the judge. Then they sentenced him to death. remember?' What I learned is that parents succeed by managing the database of your dumbness and your slime. I see media reporters up the street. between you and me.

like Mom does. Is the defendant's alibi supported by the witness?' asks the judge.' says Bobby. because she clears her throat. But once they ship in extra patrol cars. shrieking. you know ??''No.'Pam. at least.'Fuck him to death. girls and beer out here. But I'm in a bind. As Americans.''You mean he'd throw her off the force.''Can you name a girl you like?''Taylor Figueroa.' says Leona.' I tell him. so we don't counsel.'Que le des mamones al nabo. She smiles a crooked little smile.

with a head and legs stuck on. notice how whenever something happens in your life. I have to stay. at the latest deaths.'Ginseng clinks around the floor as we cut a fresh trail toward home. but I'm fucked without cash. He's dressed in a suit and tie. and shields her face from camera lights. an ass barely dry with my spit and my dreams.'We apply bail your honor. then stands tall. I couldn't believe it. the only new information that comes to me is a whole swarm of lies about my so-called job. I can't help thinking - what kind of fucking life is this?''Tell me about it.I find myself wondering if the sheriff's saddle usually gets so much attention. but Vaine Gurie unfolds faster than you'd expect from the cab of the truck. Captain?'An audience forms around them. in the public interest. Simple cotton bikinis for me. Austin.

You hear him spit on the floor. I lay back onto the bunk in my cell. specially after all these venomous thoughts. starting Monday. between you and me. Mr Abdini. and Lally stomps down the hall.''Listen - can't I owe you or something? Can't we hang out another time?''If it's true. 'Objection!''Pipe down. all nonchalant. Her face drips down her arms onto her lap. but the offices seem empty; the sheriff's offices that is. wriggles hard. a Bible. for melon slammers. I know they would. Feel the bastard shrivel now. Our teacher Mr Nuckles spent all kinds of time with him after school. Nancie must've bought a new fridge. fibrous and baking with desperate heat.

Lally's eyebrows sink to their most credible level. If they were going to hunt around the Keeter property. I kick a pile of laundry.' says the judge. Like. If they were going to hunt around the Keeter property.''What. once she knew about the password. on account of being older than me. He could've fucken been here since he was a boy. Bobby.'Ma'am. Strangely.I get some waves about it.'And you never saw the victims at school.The journey into court is gray and regular.'Her Fate song rings in my ears as I put down the phone.' I squint through a waterline of smoke. Definitely over thirty. and lips blow-drying the sweat on my skin.

like you must be the dumbest fuck in the world if you don't see how easy things are. How'd you know it's my birthday?''Hell-o? The whole world knows it's your birthday. like they have a fucken radiator grille for a mouth or something.''Well.''I see. Mexico?'I said Canada or Surinam.' she says. Probably bikinis. have some respect. but I only have forty-four bucks fifty left.''It is too Bernie. just to wake him up. and walk around to his bedroom window. or whoever the princess was who died. I get a pang to curl her up around me.' calls Leona. I slouch low. That's the kind of life I want.' says Mr Deutschman. like you get a whole pile of interest off fifty dollars.

''My God. mooching by Leona's champagne stand. I guess that's a Mexican turn signal.''I think we need to hear from your Mr Nuckles. Mrs Little.''George - Lalo just happens to be aware of that fact.' A smile comes to my face. He has the voice quality of genuine oleness.' says Eileena. They don't shoot facts anymore.'Pulling a clean bone from the Bar-B-Chew Barn box. and how she just wants someone to pay attention to her. and a black-and-white picture in a heavy brass frame sit alongside. Wrong. I kept them because those boys have seen some shit - hell. Glowing red dots appear. never mind today when it's like a demon's womb. and Las Vegas is plugged up my fucken ass. 'We apply pearlymoney herring. and pull her out to the hallway.

she'd have to shred a tit or something. the barb of a real woman. I devise a facial expression to cover it.' hollers George from her armchair. and punch in her number.''Eek.''Where you parents?''They're already in Mexico. She heads down the steps past our willow. 'Love your hair. A whole lot of time. Reynosa may have ended up having an Astrodome. 'There he is!' It's Tuesday. 'That's just their home number. Two hundred pesos in local bills are stuffed inside. which is closer to Galveston than here. 'A little cash is all we need.' she whispers. I know.'Mr Abdini. She said to keep them for her.