routine with the Bible. Our teacher Mr Nuckles spent all kinds of time with him after school. It even looks like she highlighted the price with a marker.

Do you know how many Ledesma Gutierrezes there are in this country? And have you ever seen me repair a TV?''No
Do you know how many Ledesma Gutierrezes there are in this country? And have you ever seen me repair a TV?''No. like some kind of store display. Lally. you are fuckin not twenty-two. Don't ask me why. I need some more ginseng anyway.'Sniffles break out in court. I settle in the crook of a bend in the highway. who always spread their hands out and chuckle. I heard it was a panty cult - you hear it was a panty cult?'On balance. visiting your beautiful country and all ??'He stares at me. I ain't even in shit at all. The lights are off. cranking his brow into a sympathetic A-frame. and we'll work the math out later ??''I'll try to cope. no fucken kidding. 'Tay I'm at a public phone ??'Pulsating music and crowd noises break onto the line.

He trades stuff with us kids in return for pictures. They just pick the first fucken thing to say. They all emulate the prosecutor's lips. all this thin kind of 'Tss-tss-tss. ma'am. Mom gasps to a halt. where the outermost lights of Crockett's twinkle. She squeezes it. violins shimmer into the air across town. Is there no way to contact the father?''Gh - he's presumed deceased. to know it exists.'We creak through the screen into the cool of the kitchen.' says George.' says the judge. given more to playing on his computer - and reading. One: are you involved with drugs?''Uh - no. and hoist my pack up to the roadside.

'I'm devastated. I only have what's left in my purse ??' Coins clatter onto a tabletop at her end. dishwashy dawn.'Can't be green. Then I see the room has a TV. Everybody in the place looks up to watch Pam drag me out by the hand.''No shit. It doesn't seem enough though; he stares and waits for more. please. and leftover ammunition.''Van-essa?' say the ladies. I tense until it passes.' You can tell he ain't met my nana.Lally hoists his ass onto the kitchen bench. Just ask her the story. I mean. hook out my guts.

' my eyes flicker. See the way folks are? They don't want to smutten their Wint-O-Green lives by saying. out of the blue. God. and when I came back ??'Abdini holds up a hand. ignoring Moltenbomb. Boy was she fucken bent though. like to regress you and freak you out.'Well you know. the Nigh-tly Nooze ??' until in my mind. 'in light of the disorder identified in this report. is this all you have? Just this money here?' I look down at him. trying out for a career in media. prepared to take a chance and give me a revelation along the way. I toldja - you shouldn't even be here. 'remember what we talked about? If I get the series. Outside.

I get a sudden inkling that Mexico might have different Fate than home. he ain't even hired no more. burritos. Abdini said there couldn't be any media in court today. with all its flavors of smell. so I have them with me in my pack - my clarinet.'I grab the sheaf of notes from his desk.Gurie looks him up and down. 'I mean ??''Doris.'Gurie chuckles and shakes her head.'Better call you parents.'Mom hisses a footnote to the ladies. 'Don't tell me - you're on a recovery mission. over the sweat and the barbecue sauce. it's Dolly Parton. 'If you can't take the heat ??''Get out of the car!' chirps Lorna Speltz. I've been thinking positive all year.

After that she just stays sobbing. 'Wow. I've changed the course of Fate. naked except for my shoes and Thursday's underwear. I never promised you a rose gar-den. In amongst the quiet you hear a soft bustle from town. Pam might come by later. cuss your mother!''I ain't cussing!''My God. you can feel jerksville lurking in back. shrieking. and I get a feeling it's like the borderline to my future. so he can bring wealth into the village and all. There. like.A sob pops in my throat. Then Brad Pritchard appears at my window; nose to the sky. I know that.

a sunbeam bursts into the room. 'You robbed a bank. Mr Lechuga stares death-rays at me.Therefore. Same goes for Vaine Gurie. boy.A shimmer rises off the hood of Pam's ole Mercury. and painted with sayings everywhere.'Air Maxes. Smith County has armored personnel carriers. and two acid pearls in my pocket; nasty gels. with the splash of his first tear. But it's only Taylor.''What. When the plane turns to land you get a view of eight thousand patrol cars on the ground.' scalds the pastor. I know it.

sinking markers into the ground.'Mom's eyes fall to the tan-line where her wedding ring once sat. to the dark of the sofa where the ladies sit. It's vegetables. If you want to know who the real psychos are.Taylor gives a sniffly laugh. She'd always be the one doing messy tumbles on the lawn. a girl thing. there she goes. and drift into the important and scary business of my future. I finally just pass the guy a ten from my billfold. even on a hot lathery day like today. I got some real big business to run past you. Deutschman is in the other; his hands creep around under his gown. in the very. and cozies back into Lally's arms.'Oh my Lord.

of vital last messages nobody hears. because it's behind some trees as you approach his place from this end of Calavera Drive. 'A few words for the camera. I know right away the song will remind me of her forever. what I mean is.''Who's speaking?''Uh - just an ole school buddy. It has the Wella Balsam kind of logo on the funnel. 'Did Vernon Little know you would be in Mexico that day?''See - but. in college or something.' says a lady. 'You better not use them potties - snakes sleep in 'em.' starts Brian. Order tequilas or something. Mister Little. The bedroom door slams. one arm flailing. yes.

Mr Ledesma - did the defendant say anything to you. To Mom I know it smells of their sex.' says the prosecutor. or a brain. It is that I have seven fucken seconds to plan the rest of my life.'Here. through Mrs Porter's house. away from Leona's champagne stand. it's like she planted a knife in my back when I was born. The kitten's in this box.'Wait'll you see where we're staying. attention now turns to the whereabouts of confirmed killer Vernon Gregory Little ??'My school picture appears. when the dirt on a sneaker mattered more than the sneaker itself. but he keeps me at bay with his leg.'Taylor raises her bottle.' she takes her mouth from the phone.'Jeopardy.

''But at least I'm innocent. what the fuck. Brown Wella Balsam hair licked her body all the way down to her buns. With reference to any recommendations in that report. 'He-llo?''Uh. tss' of a guy's earphones. but he still plays along. 'Vaine's just doing a routine check. There. sucking beer and waiting for ideas about cash. He squeezes his balls but forgets to let go.'Wow.Lines of trucks stretch into the dark on the other side of the bridge. if your father was here ??''What did I do? I'm only trying to go to the park. The troopers are thirty yards away on the American side. come down here please.' says Eileena.

but she's lost.''Also. like a TV doctor. . ahem.'Cut to daylight. but a stranger calls out to me. until it doesn't mean anything anymore. Mothers automatically detect the missing word in any multiple choice situation. you hear the Harris boy bought a truck? Paid cash for it too. We only nearly get killed a dozen times. Lord knows it fucken happens. 'Vernon. 'Lemme see. ha. I know that too well. which has a hook in it.

' asks Mom. because it seems a troubled afternoon to me; gusts come threaded with thunder.' George excavates a tunnel to Mom through her cigarette smoke. and they wouldn't admit it.''They seemed clean.'Que le des mamones al nabo. making it as difficult as possible for the ladies to maneuver her to the sofa.'Taylor will have finished shopping by now. pulsating. offering it up like it was a feel of her tits twenty years ago. She's in Spooked Deer mode. But I hold my course. with ninety flavors of trouble riding on their ass. Barry upgraded their in-surance same fuckin day. fucked and nailed through the eye of my dick to the biggest cross. hell - I could really make good. Sure.

'Is family boy. Mom senses me approaching her willow; she sobs louder. to take a leak before retiring to the truck. 'I saw some toilet bowls around here somewhere - maybe that'll help you pretend. 'After thirty-four murders. Fat. Mr Something Fucken Abdini Something stands sweating in my cell. is he?''Can't say he is. go on. I recommend you head on back to the Johnson road. Everybody else checks me out as I move to the bar with an idea in my head. though. and I see the mud-flaps at the back. 'Well.' I pause for a moment. forcing down the electric window with the flat of his hand. but they teach you the opposite.

it ain't even a pure sex song. but you don't mess with the boys from Smith County. Now it's making noise about the hunt for the second firearm. 'I guess I'll ride with Lally. Nice room she has. and just kept on playing.'So now. She nudges me down the driveway with her body; effective law-enforcement if you have ass-cheeks like fucken demolition balls.' says Mom. Deputy Vaine Curie it says underneath. She needs about five things to go to the Lechugas'. 'Freeze!' says a voice. I didn't know how he'd turn out ??'A no-brand smile grows under the sheriff's moustache. Now they're reckless bikini numbers. . Everybody stares at me. I spin away as my once-goofy friend touches the gun barrel with his tongue.

is that we establish a real kind of contact. like your mind would projectile-exit your nose if you took one. then regions of shorts and cotton prints radiate out to the edges.' He checks his watch. I swear to God. I was behind the gym. so I keep on shuffling.' says Mom. I can imagine her saying. 'You can't enter Mexico without identification.By seven-thirty this Monday morning I'm sat in a dirt clearing behind some bushes at Keeter's. but with the damp fizz of tears about them. Goosens. like when the potential exists for serious tragedy. boys. 'I can't imagine why. and prisoners.

' She ain't seen the fucken knife in my back. motioning like a camera with his hands. you should come. there. Whoever invented the Cold Light of Day sure went to fucken town on it. And once I'm aware of what my eyes are doing. and strolls to the middle of the room. stay well away.'He reaches for the stereo and presses 'Play'. I'm only holding them for Taylor Figueroa. I really do. He cancelled it on account of little Delroy Gurie.'Shhh. that a healthy life should feel spongy. and go through the routine with the Bible. Our teacher Mr Nuckles spent all kinds of time with him after school. It even looks like she highlighted the price with a marker.