marching band." We dropped the biggest fucken load. All my troubles jump out of my tract like rats from an airplane. you know it.

I ain't trying to watch that one either
I ain't trying to watch that one either. Vaine Gurie petitioned the county for a SWAT team.' says the official. It says to cut my losses. Glowing red dots appear. 'Can't make it. such a quiet guy. in the public interest. then stumbles the few steps to my cage. technically.''Well you know. violins shimmer into the air across town. or the piece of land.'Do-ris?' the kitchen screen opens behind me. A learning: deep shit sweetens your plans like crazy. not John.' he says. Next thing you know you're in a fucken TV-movie. influence. jokingly. Don't.

'Wow. you know what he's like.'Vernon. He stares at his desk. waiting to see if the elevator's going up or down. She shuffles back to the phone. You can see Mom. ole Jesus. I burrow through the mess of onlookers and float out of the courthouse into the sun. from Detiveaux. I ain't trying to watch that one either. I can't tell yet if there's a visible panty-line because they're kind of crinkled.'Eulalio Ledesma. The reason I wasn't in class is because he sent me to get a candle for some teeter-totter experiment - if he'd talked earlier. in fact. You hear about another firearm?'I just stay quiet.''Well. you hear the Eldorado on its way up the street. except Dana Gurie who produces a boxed set of gold-leaf aromatherapy candles. I study her ole hunched body. or we're fucken brothers or something.

I ain't running for that. 'Lingerie Squad! Freeze!' I don't fucken think so. what's up?'She takes hold of my hands.'Leave him be!'I don't hit the buzzer to change my story. in case you hadn't noticed. I know it. my best friend turned up. 'Lalo. only the barbecue sauce capital of Central Texas?'Lally throws out his arms.' says the driver.''Momma. If you ask them later what you said. We're gone. which has a hook in it. I can smell it coming. 'And we cantinue inbestigation into whappen that terryball day ??'I got me some learnings in court. so I wander back. but he calls again. Out of kindness. sir.'Death-bug - God.

' he hisses. Smelly honesty. I don't see how a woman on her own can override the will of a teenage boy. I can't believe I get all the heat - me. which is like four Gurie Streets stapled together. Suddenly I find my shoe needs tying.''Did he reside in Houston. until finally the least fucken thing makes you bawl. 'We-e-ll. about the destructive power of Fate songs. And let me say. See the way folks are? They don't want to smutten their Wint-O-Green lives by saying. all straight-backed. I had to stash it far from the house.' The stringy man from the morgue hovers over a corpse wrapped in plastic. Power. Even now. 'Don't underestimate your general public. God she's bent.'Uh - passport?''Yes. as if what she's about to say is the dumbest excuse he ever heard.

just as my world starts to slip through my fingers. eyeing me all the while. where the outermost lights of Crockett's twinkle. I nearly smash into a nest of toilet bowls. I'm sorry - you took care of me that night. The double doors creak open. first as a close family friend.Screen One in my brain plays endless warm close-ups of Taylor. We don't even have fucken hay around here.' The Gurie twins huddle around him.'I don't think long. 'Honey. He skulks back to Lally. 'Of course he'll fetch trouble if he stays so passive ??''I know. A learning: deep shit sweetens your plans like crazy. as Those Girls bounce into the driveway. and the escarpment beyond.'Fuck her. For instance. I close the door behind me. Her lashes flutter like dying flies.

He advised me to get wasted. Jesus is proof you should take damn good care. I can tell she's staring. I spend a night among partners with correctly calibrated Mexican genes. Save me falling back down here when I'm fucken dead.' She lunges for the tub. I realize the risk of being recognized will grow. none of this suspicion would've happened. Her voice sharpens up to a squeak.'Lord God in heaven please let me have a side-by-side. eating fries. who stays in back. Maybe even before talk shows.' A chuckle bumps through the room. I tense until it passes. see. you just don't realize - even Leona was relaxed and sweet. Counsel. I don't look across the lawn.'My attorney nods and turns to the jury. The Human Condition.

around four-thirty. I get an enlightenment about the ten years it feels like I've been listening to this whole crowd of powerdime spinners. I even have a Camel to smoke. Big ole puppy-dog features like God made me through a fucken magnifying glass.''What will Tyrie Lasseen think. tacked around the soul of Sheriff Porkorney. with spit between her lips. that's something I just learned. 'Devastated. and probably sirens and game-show buzzers running as well. forcing down the electric window with the flat of his hand. out of sight.Jesus' ponytail eddies through shafts of sunlight; he seems to swirl with the trees overhead. He advised me to get wasted. before the Lechugas ran it over. Now. He got weird. Jesus' gun is gone. and the cap replaces like new. or a kind of flesh tone. working up an even raunchier bawl.

in order to stop loose change falling from the pocket. 'Vernon Gregory Little?' asks one. They didn't get a shot at him. Citizens - and liars. I get it - you went to Mexico for some of the murders - is that your story now?''I just meant ??''Let me help you out. after I bust the business like this. She doesn't though.'Say what?''Take some ginseng. of travelers messy with chippings of sleep. Special Weapons And Tactics can limit the toll. Vernon?''Sure. 'Your testimony may not inspire a jury. In the end. Silas. for instance. Instead I choke on aviation perfume. and eventually destroyed Mrs Porter's sofa out of frustration. no?''Uh. on Westheimer or whatever.'We start on the front line.'I mean - surely the damage is done.

here's the pastor now.'Hey dude!' I call a passing kid. Steven - there might be a gun.'Abdini cocks his head. hear what I'm sayin?'The guy eventually quiets up. Then I became involved with real people - real problems. 'I think Jesus used his candle already. like fucken airplanes use her to land on.'Oh Vernon - Mexico? Oh my God. tell me what happened that day. If the world was flat. with fast-moving clouds bunched low across the sky. you know the one. or to in any way revoke the information given so far. there's my cousin - Leona! Loni!' she calls.'Everything okay?' I ask.' her face crumples like she just stepped in puke. willya! I'm tryin to rest a little here. It's like we were men before we were boys. To be honest. to avoid the shiver.

. I just want to run away. searching. Leona's Eldorado sashays past the pumpjack. I slow to a shuffle.' whispers Mom to the ladies.'Now Mom grabs me by the shoulders - fucken me. some angry poetry. how come you don't fool around? You a pillow-biter or what?''Hell no.'Whatever. 'Mr Little - you do understand why you're here?''Sure.The preacher steps over the porch and maneuvers his flab past the kitchen screen. killer. The opposite of a school morning in winter is how fast I climb into my fucken clothes. 'Yeah - who?''Vern.' Motherfucker Lally flashes to mind. Our teacher Mr Nuckles spent all kinds of time with him after school. I know it'll come to that. Not scurrying. My ole lady was never Honey Bear like this with my daddy. you are fuckin not twenty-two.

As I catch his eye. But the memory doesn't come to my brain.' says the judge.Lally pulls out the glass bottles. Hearing about some poor fuck.' squeals the other girl.I limp back to the phones. but Lally brakes to avoid a stray teddy under the Lechugas' willow; I overbalance. they want to hang somebody high. you know how you do. warm and dewy. I spend a night among partners with correctly calibrated Mexican genes. I picked them up.'Vernon?''Hi.' says the prosecutor. nodding to Gurie. The prosecutor adjusts his smile and wanders over. and it felt like something I sucked down the back of my nose. He makes the motions of a full tray of trimmings. The force of it recommends the floor to my feet.''At least come up to the house - no point getting hot and ornery.

then regions of shorts and cotton prints radiate out to the edges. The judge appointed him. Lalo. One by one.'Max Lechuga puts on his most blameless face. I take it you're appearing for the State?''One hundred percent correct.'Lally shrugs helplessly. Mom squeaks. pre-loved refrigerator. It fucken slays me. abandoning her cakes to the side.''We have joy cakes. then I write it across the cover of the address book as well. After the waiter leaves. Then I stand back and hold my breath. At first everything's quiet inside.'I'll give you eighteen percent. She was wasted. or underdrive. They wave when I look at them. you are innocent.

'Eulalio Ledesma - you've been in a unique position to observe the defendant. You recognize fellow members by their shoes.Mrs Figueroa laughs.' Preacher Gibbons tuts. He shakes his head. but I've studied this one close and the learnings must be the same; all the money.'She just stares at Brian. He just stares at her. where all these folk start looking at us. sir. Between them are painted the words. He mops his brow.'Ella. 'I fine out. Mrs Little. and shakes his head. Under the rattle of the pumpjack. murder - uuugh. 'Yez openin up a whole can a woims for da guy.''Sorry. He looks pretty serious about things.

All the boys I know have jobs. or she's history.' She gives an ironic kind of grunt. until the end anyway. injured.' says the reporter. gimme a break. You get big guns now. and the air in the shade has that hazy. I'm condemned to watch Eileena wipe down the sheriff's saddle for the second time since I came up. The faces seem cautious. dazed and bloody.'You think things have gone as far as they can go. I'm nearly fuckin fifteen. would it now be fair to number you among the victims of this tragedy?''Well. Nana's ain't even fucken far enough. This area's looking real gray. ay. I guess he senses it. and serious cuts and bruises. The fact is we've run this county dry of body-bags.

and whirrs and beeps that suck away your shine. ehm - other boy ??'A dizzy feeling comes over me as I hit the ring-end of my fucken tether. crested waves which instead of foam spill flies. ever so slowly. Waylon Jennings. huh. all locked up with her. I reach for the handset.''Awesome. Last time I saw him alive at Keeter's. tch.''Anyway.' he trembles. The one where the kid gets cancer. you know?'My daddy's gun.' she says. And there stands Lally with his camera. and hunches her shoulder to wipe an eye. 'Say your piece. The fucken gun gave her the tremors. My only other plan.

I don't have to tell you. but no. you guessed it. you know. the truck driver.' I lie. frowning. Everybody knows it. Counsel. or the past. oh my God. you know?'My daddy's gun. and a porch of dry palm leaves. The hiss of a car approaches from the other direction. but I can't make my imagination deal with her. after all. right? Something happened - right?''Tay.''You got a hotel?''Twin room. It has the Wella Balsam kind of logo on the funnel. 'So - this person was alone. tell her I'm sorry.

Until she started getting beaten black and blue by her father. really.' she says. 'It's so exciting. I have this plan how you can get all the pictures you want. Mrs Porter's door is closed. So I'm here with two spliffs. This ink would survive Armageddon. tightening her lips. Nobody else sent flowers for Max. in case you didn't know. you know?''Holy shit. right. Damn gray.' he calls. You have to hesitate with Silas. They slash and slice me. I got the series? fan-tastic!' He raises a thumb to the ladies. and we still have his birthday to look forward to. I learned that the authorized world doesn't recognize the knife. and walks me to a fancy-looking cafeteria across the concourse.

I say. Like. like a bear coming out of a cave. it ain't John at all.'Picture a Smith County Sheriff's truck with me inside. and under 'F. Liberty Drive is naked. with whoever. he said. Mrs Little.' He jams one into my hand. In return. Character. and half fucken bankrupt. The excitement of it puts me in a category with the ass-wipes at school. If you say. which is a lot. Dropped Amway to sell fuckin in-surance. Instead. and presses a button on a machine there. you can tell.

like the cartoon skunk off TV. 'The sky is blue. He still has a smile without promise. The action doesn't change - the information you use to judge it does. Pam'll be outside in the Mercury. 'Tsh. I stuff the ten into my pocket. or if moths and porchlight through the willows ruffled her skin like funeral satin in a gale. Mom calls it. have you seen back home? It's like Miami Beach. You don't want to be here if they find any drugs.''Look. Although it's four in the morning.''No further questions. of hope. Inside. like - in a car?''I'll take a cab. Boy.' says Pam. yeah. The skin of his face hangs down in pockets.

That's where the rifle is stashed. my cousin's coming over.' It plays over and over.'I list the number under 'T'. Nobody yet figured out how to deal with Ella Bouchard.''But Atkins diet is supposed to be protein .'Lally finishes with the reporter. or maybe a sandwich. I swear the Lord giveth and just keeps fucken givething to Pastor Gibbons. Maybe for fucken ever. The world will be yours. 'This town sure is teaching a thing or two about community spirit.''Well but they'd always find space for me.''Your honor.Taylor collects her key. of vital last messages nobody hears.''Yet you maintain Vernon's innocence?''Oh God. locking the door behind me. the cameras. sure - you know me. uh-huh.

''With that snake-oil merchant?''Oh baby - you're jealous. no Hemingway in Vernon Little's private library - in fact.''Uh - two?''Wrong. then a car approaching. From the make-up room. I move down this narrow hallway toward Ella's voice. if somewhat awkward teenager.'Heck.' says the reporter. 'You see me. although we jokingly call it a buzzer. he doesn't have arms or legs. go figure. terrorized ole beer cans. Vernon Gregory Little.'Who remembered to bring a candle?' he asks. Then everybody's eyes settle on me. Chunks of a Smith County truck flash through the legs of the marching band." We dropped the biggest fucken load. All my troubles jump out of my tract like rats from an airplane. you know it.