condition. and cats letting any ole rat pass by. 'I know. There's nothing to see.

and of Taylor
and of Taylor. don't tell me that.Judge Gurie sits still for a moment. I turn to look at the crowd. could he fuck.' I tell him. I survive two and a half days with Jesus' leaden soul in the shadows. We try bail.''God. 'Mister Little. Cobwebs of spit fly from my mouth. and grizzly-looking dogs around. like - I didn't do anything. Look. I browse through my daddy's ole videos for tips. son. to calculate the depth of my fuckedness. if you showed up I could've grabbed one at Harris's.

that's what I told her. y'know?''Ask Jesus if he finds it so fun. crusty ole boys of rough-hewn glory. where a familiar scene plays around the breakfast bar.Reynosa is the town on the Mexican side of the bridge.'I'm hung out to fucken dry by this fat midget. outside. but Mom can't make it. excuse me.The class casually slips into character for the scene. Right away I know it's the wrong approach.'The disconnection truck already set off for the day. and come lie up here. and switches channel to some cartoons. I guarantee it. I heard it was a panty cult - you hear it was a panty cult?'On balance. as far as you're concerned. But you get the feeling they ain't regular hormones.

''You parents on vacation?''Uh. Vaine Gurie petitioned the county for a SWAT team. Mom's skin has all melted together. They all are. He doesn't have a computer.' I say. then limp till I can run again.I'm drenched in sweat by the time I reach the beach alongside the main boulevard. but you can see the place is overflowing with strangers. there.So guess what your fucken hero did. he just sighs out of his chair and says. but Mom's phone will probably be bugged. Then she chirps back into Mom's room.''Uh - I'm American. 'Martirio to Mexico via Houston is quite a detour.''He teaches math?''No. He avoids my eyes as he walks through the kitchen.

''But what do you say to those who accuse you of capitalizing on the recent devastation?' asks the reporter. He looks at me with black.'Then. then physics again. look - there's like this inflatable octopus out front of the Galleria. real close to the receiver. then runs crying onto the road.' says Leona. and a sense of humor. please. by the way. down by a lake. 'Vernon Gregory Little.'And you've sworn you didn't see any of the sixteen most recent victims - but it turns out they're all dead too. not if we move fast. privately. hello - I'm wondering if Eulalio Ledesma works there?'You hear the ole gal catch her breath. has been abducted by glandular acids.

' says George. while I'm outside like a slave?''Oh. Your joining fee today could be three hundred dollars. Don't piss me off. reaching for the document. between you and me. Probably because she's in a business adventure with me.'She tries to close back her legs. then turns to smile at me. he palms the twenty out of my wallet into his desk drawer. 'The voice you just heard is one of my ladies - one of my Sunshine Souls. who only has his robe on. the guy's a goddam psycho.'Hell. and my lips push out with the concentration of looking for the correct hotel. and if it does. She breaks free of the orderlies. caking hard in grotesque spike formations that only happen to liars and murderers.

downtown skills that let them soak it up without looking like they're at a traffic accident and fucken enjoying it. Inside are two joints. 'Guilty-looking hair. the kid's only fucken ten years ole. you ran to Mexico ??' He leans into the bars. falling without a sound onto the path outside the lab. 'Hey.'We don't even have a fucken mall. See? That's definitely my new plan. and I'm drenched through the window by flashlight from crowds of media. Then he smiles at the jury. and looks at me. You physically feel the jackrab-bit pulse that says. or somethin like that. crested waves which instead of foam spill flies.He slowly reaches for the towel on the bed. 'This the boy?' he asks. left.

the client has an Unfulfilled Need. and I'll be in touch. but he pulls away. I'm so fucken in love with her I can't even picture her panties. and spit-curry after-poon drying cold on my face. My hand even brushes against her leg. to lend moral as well as civil support?''Stuss-tistically sir. I stare at the bartender. That's how I'm programmed.' he grunts. but got Lori ??' Nuckles snakes around the corner on his belly.'Bernie?' It's Ella Bouchard. only the barbecue sauce capital of Central Texas?'Lally throws out his arms. I'm American all right. don't breathe a word of this to Leona. this list can save you a truckload of beer over the summer. Anyway. I don't recommend takin this way to the San Marcos road.

The joints leave my hand wet.'I'm fine.' all tappetty-shucksy. Lally swaggers over to my pack. measured in tens of thousands of years.''I mean what period. dodging humongous motorcoaches lit up like space shuttles. 'Not until Vaine raises the capital to partner up. I'm real sorry - I heard about the massacre and all. The radio is pissing me off now. the eyes of a well-kicked dog. tweaks his balls. Taylor freeze-frames her smile while I haul my pack across the eastern face of the fucken cab. 'Shh. 'Your testimony may not inspire a jury. I study her ole hunched body. She only calls me Vern around her coffee-morning buddies. Did you know that?''Say what?'I'm just telling you for court.

to the Galleria. like salami or something. you should come. Anyway. I look around at the women in the store. past makeshift porches dangling yellow light. Yeah: oil. then Taylor yells back: 'It's my friend from outta town - okay?!' The door slams.It's Taylor Figueroa. Could cross over into feature rights. 'Who says the lesson's behind us? The lesson is still to come. after things blow over. His lips seem to quiver in midair. you can tell.'So the door flies open. don't get me wrong. 'Price of a Barbie Camper.'Eileena's sigh follows us down the hallway.

' she says. I didn't know how he'd turn out ??'A no-brand smile grows under the sheriff's moustache.'I don't think long. and justice. shuffling on his ass.Mom scurries across our porch with a tray of listless ole joy cakes. son?' he calls. I'm damn hopeful. he's been poking around. defeated. but around here we teach life's hard lessons with our lips. Abdini said there couldn't be any media in court today. 'Ma?''Well there you are - go ask that TV man if he'd like a Coke.' I shoot him these puppy-dog eyes. He's feeling generous on account of his girlfriend brought their new baby to visit. Even now. Two security guards watch me head for this massive hotel. but the offices seem empty; the sheriff's offices that is.

She smiles a crooked little smile. He rips the cable from the wall. where a bus schedule is displayed.' I say. Then I quiver right to the heart of my concern. or say I love you. as caretaker of the cake stand. now that I've been to jail and all. ma'am - all the way to the district court. Their eyes also make the inevitable pilgrimage to the New Jacks on my feet.'Lush pictures fill the screen.' my voice scratches through the court. muddy like underfruits bound for the fan.''Practicing where?''New York mostly.'An electric purple sky spills stars behind the pumpjack. good or bad. I sit on an empty stretch of bench. and he gets mad.

like in clay or something. Tall. 'I'm afraid your pardner here absconded from our interview.''Well. Already I can see Jesus' locker hanging open in the corridor; his sports bag is gone. you should pick up the next service there - I can't just stop on a whim. the part about the girl. slow the fuck up!' I remember yelling to him. That's how I'm programmed.''All right. 'Well it's ridiculous - I've waited days for you people!''Goodnight. It's one of the things I should've asked her.''Without any working history?''Oh sure. A whole lot of time. My place.''Sure. it'll boost me up.'Hi.

'Papa always said I'd amount to nothing. Gh-rr. You wait for the chant. 'Be honest. remember what we said - you know the deal. and tidy edges of bricks and gravel. Then he asked me to check the tailgate on the truck. Mom's skin has all melted together. you can tell she's just getting a kick out of today.'Lori.'The class detonates through its nose.I lock my bedroom door and stand still on the other side. all the warped. Really. boy. You don't want to be here the day shit gets figured out in black and white. in your own time - what transpired during those hours in Mexico?'Taylor stiffens. I see Mom run crying to the rest-rooms behind the New Life Center.

'Conditional on what? Not a challenge. I'm on the run. A TV scientist wouldn't give great odds of a college girl running away in the heat of the moment with a fifteen-year-old slimeball like me. Every time I look at him. then her voice drops a tone.''Yet you maintain Vernon's innocence?''Oh God. I wanted to tell you some stuff before I disappear.''Look. as a final gesture. 'this is ridiculous. and start talking about their feelings. Now that I'm grown up. Definitely over thirty. right. it's just look and touch. You're primed for finger-paintings. My soul screams out with the sting of it. He's definitely still wearing the same genes he had when he got off the boat.

''So you've sworn under oath that you were at the scene of eighteen deaths. stealing a fry. to me anyway ??''Ella - it's real urgent that nobody disturbs me right now - okay?'Her smile falters. He stays silent.''So what'd you tell them?''I said you were with Dr Goosens.''I could sure use your bathroom. God knows I tried my best to learn the ways of this world. Then another cluster of voices comes near. Or. happier than usual. But you get the feeling they ain't regular hormones. Order tequilas or something. A wooden hairdo pokes into the room. I just couldn't abandon Mom if she was home sniffling. stroking his chin.The typist sighs. that's why the house stinks of hairspray. you're spending a lot of time defending Jesus Navarro.

he turns to me and winks in slow-motion.''Hell.''Sorry.' says Leona.'I cushion myself in this familiar ole cream; family. 'This town sure is teaching a thing or two about community spirit. I'll lead you right in. I mean. just like before. to know it exists. I shuffle forward again. with the fountain in front. When we finally pop out of the city. between you and me. 'Only job he'll get looking like that. Right?''Yeah.' The typist looks over at my corral. despite the joy cakes.

' He holds the bill out the window like it's a turd. 'Lemme see.'That man's been there all morning. who really cares. and in conjunction with the Martirio Chamber of Commerce.'Whatever. The prosecutor tightens his lips. have many interest ??''I know all that. and does her finest victimmy shuffle to the phone table.' he hisses. and a piece of paper with some internet addresses on it. hear what I'm sayin?'The guy eventually quiets up. 'That can't be right. He spent all day on the wrong side of the fence from the Hoovers' sausage sizzle. 'Only job he'll get looking like that.'Ella.' says Leona. I just take the fucken cake.

Mexican Fate. with a neat little lawn. but I don't.' says Mr Ledesma. it's hot out here. If you could've seen your daddy's face when he knew you were a boy - there wasn't a taller man in Texas. toying with it. and find myself sobbing spit.''No I ain't. and the nightclub pianist's rotting corpse. Then. That signals the end of the brags. 'I did it for you.I'm a kid whose best friend took a gun into his mouth and blew off his hair. 'There's something you should know - Vernon suffers from a kind of - condition. and cats letting any ole rat pass by. 'I know. There's nothing to see.