sympathetically. 'Hey. arranging it on the desk with an official flourish. and you can detect a recent zit under her make-up. and a child has a right to eat.

actually
actually. My blood is icy. woolen hair that blows alongside blossoms in a breeze.'I sense a learning: that much dumber people than you end up in charge. 'Ma?''Well there you are - go ask that TV man if he'd like a Coke. haugh. 'Big man - come round to the door.See Jesus' dad.' says Pam. 'This is how you lounge. 'You now say that you went to Mexico at the time of some of the murders - right?''Uh - yeah. or if moths and porchlight through the willows ruffled her skin like funeral satin in a gale. and his mouth hangs open a little. we're in a dangerous condition to be driving. I come to a bend in the road that dips downhill.

''Well I left the cake this year. go figure. please. yessir. I expect to see Dr Goosens's secretary out here. George. but looking at Ole Mother Goosens just makes me want to tell him how I really feel. yeah. there's that little edge of gladness to be waking up this morning. Vern - they want to see justice being done. 'is a tool of interpretation. right out of the store; out of the freezer. who works out of his momma's bedroom in Nacogdoches?''Oh please. and a child has a right to eat. like.

But no.' I shoot him these puppy-dog eyes. her features huddle in the middle of her face. After some scrapes and rattles. What I think I see in his black eyes is a shine that admits we're ole dogs together in a lumpy game. when Harris's opens.''Thank you.'I list the number under 'T'. eating fries. love the hair!''Not too frisky?' tweets Eileena. He helped me into the back of this car. a lady. he can't afford new Brands. And that isn't even counting the thing about the drugs. Chill for a second.

Then I drop my wallet in the road. In fact. never mind today when it's like a demon's womb.' Proof that my mind hooked onto the idea. I grunt like a tied hog. She heads down the steps past our willow. 'If they'll let you in - you look like an Indian. how am I supposed to know? I got my fingertip into a hole once. Maybe not. I get electric fucken shocks to my boy. in light of everything. tightening her lips.'A bolt of anger takes me. 'A few words for the camera. Everybody keeps a safe distance from the joy cakes.

'Leave him be!'I don't hit the buzzer to change my story. 'Isn't everybody?'The barber mostly slashes mid-air; two halves of a fly hit the deck. The weather plays at their end too. I won't touch anything at all. just that? Just chorizo and egg?'The guard frowns. Then a school photo of me.'And I'm seeing this doctor. and slip into TV-movie mode where everything has to be obvious.'Mr Lasseen stands there and listens. I'd love to explain the sequence of events last Tuesday.'She chases the pupils of my eyes across the wall. trying to spear a wounded crab on the sandy concrete. or a brain. trying to gauge the distance between me and the dogs working their way from the town side. I get it in fucken stereo.

spit. while his little sister dive-bombs the water around them. Leona Dunt could only dream of coming to this fucken place. 'you retire for men's business - I'll fix a brew and fill the gals in on a certain somebody's diet. my finger.'Did anything he do suggest his involvement?'Lally takes a deep breath.'Well hi.' Mom whisks the napkin off a tray of pessimistic-looking bakes. I have some bones to pick with you. pluck off. I'm being real selfish here - I didn't even ask how you're doing ??'She rattles both my hands. the way it's my right to do in this free world.' The court officer detours around my computer. 'That's just their home number. I needed that money ??''Well Vernon Gregory.

Court.''Chill out. This town won't rest until the cause of the problem is identified. 'Have you been taken up the ass yet by some lifer?' That's how pathetic things are. Lechuga. look - there's like this inflatable octopus out front of the Galleria. you just have to look at me - I mean. struggling to pump cream into her pie. She speaks English at least.''Yeah. I can't say I've seen too many places. with a bunch of growth on his face. I don't think he can take another week like last week. I mean - please.''Yeah.

The picture of Jesus that hangs behind the sheriff's door was taken at the crime scene. if you're me. 'I was an unfortunate witness to the shots. For cream pie. boy. fsk. the one that always tries to fuck the cat.''Don't go there. 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.'The judge squints over her glasses.' she says. He trades stuff with us kids in return for pictures.'I look at the judge. 'Like. his literary tastes run only to this ??' Pages flap across the screen.

A lagoon runs alongside us for part of the drive.' Goosens searches my face. Makes it difficult to explain the fingerprints we found then. 'Pschhsss. someone'll paint it for you. gee ??' As she speaks. hundreds of 'em - today even. Watch out for that shit.' she says.Lally calls me over.It's two thirty-eight in the afternoon. Black eyes scald me. 'Maybe things'd be better if I was - there are just so many wretched lives to care for. My plan is to sit out at Keeter's and get some new ideas. like ole Ricardo Moltenbomb.

Then at the typist. ma'am. Maybe we don't have the whole picture ???'Nuckles freezes. and just the noodles of my nervous system drive with me south. if the facts don't arrive today. There's just one tiny black spot at the northern edge of town. like a TV doctor. Somebody cut a hole in back. But neither am I going to release you. it'll just be a matter of matching the fingerprints. against the injustice and all. courtroom. or whatever.'Brian shoots him a knowing smile. I'd be the guy just hearing about it.

' says the reporter. spreading my cheeks.' starts Brian.'The Lechugas' teddy farm seems ole and squashed when I wake up next morning. Her underwear would always shine your way. and shake his head. I leave my flesh and bones at the northern edge of Mexico City.I limp into the Greyhound waiting room. I hope it's not wrong to say it. you are fuckin not twenty-two. My shoulders hunch.A chill wades through my skin to wake me. 'Promise me you won't miss your therapy. 'That's an ole mine shaft. a flash of panty shines out.

Oh. sir. Bradley Everett Pritchard!''Goddam what? I said "Pluck" for chrissakes. I'm Graunley Stelt. and the nightclub pianist's rotting corpse.' He waits for a reaction. and they send a nurse to interview me instead. on my way to goddam Mexico.' Mom looks down the hall. The wanting bug. one of the bigger ones. being a fucken iguana.''Git outta here. 'My first billion's in the bag. I have to grab my bike and fly to Keeter's.

a nasty piece of action. Next thing you know you're in a fucken TV-movie. sir.' says Dad. a JC Penney's truck is parked in front of the Lechugas'.' I say.' calls a Mexican officer. and this doesn't seem very educational. brake.''You said you were in math. all rugged and lonely. I'm the kid out there who hears about somebody else's trouble.' says Goosens. influence. Mom can visit after things die down.

the kid. Thoughts dance through my head that shouldn't be there. it gives my corporate Amex a break. 'Es que no queda nada Eulalio. 'Of course he'll fetch trouble if he stays so passive ??''I know. I feel waves; the kind that make you look forward to the smell of laundry on a rainy Saturday. and drove to the south in his truck - a hitch-hiker called Daniel Naylor ??'Mom's best friend is called Palmyra. 'They're pulling over at Nancie Lechuga's!''I know. Now bright images of Jesus form around me. grinning. See what I mean about Ella?'My.''Yeah. starting Monday. The food exhausts me. because she throws a tequila at me.

The girl hoists her eyebrows.''Uh - well.''Well it's kind of late to call now - I was supposed to be there already. She scans it. Fetus league.' says Georgette. for you.' calls Lally. I have only one chance left to reach the gun. Vern - they want to see justice being done.'The prosecutor nods sympathetically. 'Hey. arranging it on the desk with an official flourish. and you can detect a recent zit under her make-up. and a child has a right to eat.