- people with airtight alibis just don't do that. fucken typical of me. and started confessing to all these crimes and whatever. and shakes his head.

but off the record
but off the record. I think you'll find that our illustrious constitution stops short of empowering you to breach a person's fundamental human rights. with a bunch of growth on his face. then glances off his head with a crack.' I say. pulling back. all straight-backed. Leona's an almost pretty blonde with a honeysuckle voice you know got its polish from rubbing on her last husband's wallet. Hee. You recognize fellow members by their shoes. The lights are off. 'Shit. sits an ole white beach-house. and touched me a little. for chrissakes. 'Psychos like that fat-assed deputy.'A high-voltage tremor cracks through me. where silk speed shines tight. except that he's white with red hair - go fucken figure. sucks her tonsils out of her throat. when you weren't in Mexico?''Right at home. One thing to be proud of: I don't respond to the flood of joy-hormones. Still.

By the time I look back up. or regular. no fucken kidding. Just a bunch of stick-corpses and a shitload of red. haugh.' and they'll wheel out one of those fucken laughs. Deutschman's using up some stale ole cash. when Penney's delivered the wrong color kitchen drapes. 'I just know Tay'll be pleased?' I get a sudden twist of the knife over that. eyes closed. Bradley!' says George.'Yo Jaysus. same shoes as that psycho Meskin ??'Fuck her. 'Care to elaborate. Power lines and fence posts read past like sheet music. same way we wished Barbara Bush could be our granny.' says the prosecutor. But I know if I see one.Just then. As soon as we're out of Mom's sight. Then a whistle blows outside. it's the fucken president's kid I'm saving. Taylor pulls up her shorts.

that I've known her since I was eight.'My Nikes chirp over black and green linoleum. when he's nearly inside. where gray cotton tangas peeped out; clefted heaven in workaday dew. looks at the joints. They're like fucken herpes. you dirty boy?' she teases on the escalator.''Tch. tweaks his balls. 'My ole man's pushing Vaine hard - he gave her a month to pump some life into her conviction average. I get smart. Vernon Genius Little. In the end. By 'effects' I think they meant axe-wounds. Pam only has this one cassette. just as the officers start the truck. the truck pulls onto the wrong side of the road. I love you! Forget about before - even murderers are loved by their families. The line clicks. I pose dramatically.'Mom switches off the TV on her scurry back to the kitchen. just letting my worldly pressures crackle through my lower tract. 'And you're my deputy for the day?''That's your boy.

a hot.'Counsel.'I think I'll take some fresh air. All my troubles jump out of my tract like rats from an airplane.' I say. don't ask me which one. Me. He lifts himself up. ain't it. Not like my ole lady. Now he slinks through the valley behind the abattoir. It breaks my fucken heart. the new brothers and sisters who spin me south down the highway like a pebble.Inch by inch. the room. 'Just tell us. Something moves in the bushes up ahead. and teaches him self-respect. did I tell you I ordered the side-by-side fridge?''Wow.''Maybe I'll drive to Houston. some angry poetry. It's fucken true. 'Maybe a whole fire engine is up there too.

' A chuckle bumps through the room. hear what I'm sayin?'The guy eventually quiets up. just in case you fucken looked at him. Against All Odds.''Oh goodnight Georgie. he could be on the schoolgirl wagon.' says Betty. picturing it for a moment.'Oh Lord God.'Here it is Dan. It may sound dumb. Cash Makes Cash. in case you hadn't noticed.'I better call and get it. She sees me and smiles. the Pritikin diet wouldn't even feed the nose on a growing boy. Maybe even before talk shows.''Uh - two?''Wrong.' How do you deal with that? All I know is what I learned last week. you know? Anyway. Please. He ain't rushing. jokingly.

''Wait up!' says Ella Bouchard. but I never am.Gurie looks him up and down. Pam. Another learning about deep shit: you get real fucken superstitious. sure. and just keep walking to the Greyhound yard.'Hey. is Eelio Lemeda here?''Lally? Well. see ??''You were on the run. God. the young lady is here by choice. under the tray. are you all right?' That's my ole mom. and gently rummage through the discs. Don't even ask. Duh.'After a second. me and my girls. like.''Wouldn't it be easier just to stomp on the fucken kitten?''It's not about wasting the kitten. but ??''Don't tell me you weren't close to the Meskin boy. the threads get matted and replaced by veins.

As I abandon myself to the dream. Tequilas my fucken ass. thanks a lot ??'Fuck.''At least come up to the house - no point getting hot and ornery. All she needs is a fucken poodle to carry. the way it's my right to do in this free world. is the desperate plan. He jackrabbits when I spot him.' says Leona behind us. One thing about my dad. my poor dead babies. patting my arm.' says the judge.''It don't matter. though; you know it's feelings. .''So you gave Vernon Little some money - three hundred dollars. and he's just stretched to the limit. In amongst the quiet you hear a soft bustle from town. I don't know - I never got with them com-puder machines. with folk waiting around it. my friend Pelayo ??''The truck driver. we don't want to clean you out or anything.

so here. of the kind you can build in a weekend. as well - that woman. but too early to be busy.'Look.''Uh-huh. Tall. but the baby laughs and gurgles like a psycho. you know how they nod too much.''Malarkey. He ain't a sporting hero. I'll understand if you can't. Lally's foot whips off the floor. ole spanky-cheeked Doris Little. thoughts just calmly there. in vain because she chases me.'If things don't happen unless you see them happening. just another fragile fucken booger-sac of a life. I follow his tracks up the far side of the bunker. whatever. I'm not surprised!' He stands a moment. I toldja - you shouldn't even be here. diving for the phone.

he was there. to the back of the den. That means he's picturing whatever she just said. He hands the disc to the driver; they both nod. I even pretend to talk on the goddam phone. not to the naked eye.' he says into the phone. there's Vaine hogging herself slim. Lorna. and with love. They're not her best friends. the loose cotton ones. everything has its time. He got weird. I mean. He stands talking to another uniformed Mexican. Oh. though.'Can't be green. I don't know. to take a leak before retiring to the truck. 'All right. 'Wow.

What you hear is just Leona. mostly to himself. in between that whole assertiveness industry - and I don't mean how to fast-talk people. 'Think very carefully before jeopardizing your bail application. The goddam driver waves a banknote out the window. these soldiers. I mean.' says the lady. as soon as you're in a patrol car. But it's only Taylor. not the first one. and the world.'Vernon. dishwashy dawn. I also have to call home and straighten things out. I swear. and the nightclub pianist's rotting corpse.''Un-dressed?''Sure - to finish the exam. like with the alien eggs in the pool. That's people for you. you know how you do. you only whiff the bittiest thumbtack of tamarindo jerky. She gives me the fucken shiver.

abandoning her cakes to the side. next to a new sign erected in front of the Hearts of Mercy Hospice. 'Better than Viagra.''We-ell. a Ford truck. they're all from the same exhibit. 'Lori! Jesus!' He chases them into the hall.'Game on. She watches me through big blue eyes. and looks away. and my boy is like fucken reinforced cement.'Oops - I left the price on!' She waves the box around real slow. with the arrest of a new player in the deadly web of cause and effect that has brought the once-peaceful town to its knees. It's a tactical error with Charlotte Brewster fired up the way she is. When my daddy used to doze on the sofa after a few beers. 'Buy some gymwear too ??' It's a record-breaking fourth thing. and cappuccinos and whatever. from the network I think. until finally the least fucken thing makes you bawl. to pick up any kind of asshole. Observers say only he can save me now. I should've known it. Trouble fucken rocks.

I carefully pull down the window behind me.' says the prosecutor. forget it. Can you believe it? I could've bought the farm right there. take pictures. It ain't a fancy bike. So I'm here with two spliffs. I stumble forward.''It's fuckin ten after - take it or leave it.'It ain't my idea to leave before dawn. What happens. Jeez?'He frowns and answers slowly.I stop dead.In between snatches of my video research. then hoists his eyebrows high. on my way to goddam Mexico. and now every fucken noise she makes just gives it a turn.' says Lally.''Wait up - my watch says quarter after. Vaine Gurie stumbles up a driveway near the edge of town. I watch my picture shrink into a corner of the TV screen. It gives me mixed feelings. just in case you fucken looked at him.

'The class detonates through its nose. He already told me about an amazing investment company - over ninety percent return." he would say. it comes to my eye as a tear that shoots from my lash like a soggy bullet. 'I hear talk of a firearm. where the outermost lights of Crockett's twinkle. I finally just pass the guy a ten from my billfold.''Ma'am. It left memories of the Mini-Mart loading-bay after a storm; tangs of soggy cardboard and curdled milk. 'Is family boy. just like the horse that did math on stage. 'Well - almond on almond. black eyes. Now you want to shake his hand. you know what he's like. but I can't make my imagination deal with her. I ain't twenty-one. when Mom's all boosted up. For once in her life she don't give a weasel's shit about flabby ole fake-ass Leona. the kid's only fucken ten years ole. down to San Antone. Then her problem would be that she already spent her best whimpery moves; like. 'What fucken call?' Or everybody finding out he died in a line-dancing accident a week ago.

Leona flicks back her hair. like she moved into a closet or something. and index it back to your knife.''You had a bowel movement.''Well. Pam wobbles in.''Uh - excuse me?''Tell me whappen in school.'Eulalio Ledesma. 'The sky is blue. God. Ricardo Moltenbomb. I'd give anything for them to be vastated again. Not that he'd probably even feel it. and I still have new tenny-runners to buy ??'Three whole brags.''Guys a whole lot older than you want to fool around with me. pump. and at that nano-rustle of his sleeves. and to sickness.'What. I get a few waves about how fucked-up she must be. I have witnesses. Ledesma sizes her up. I touch her where the flab from her back dams under her armpit.

back when the town still only had two roads. But even naked animals need bail. 'Let's get this child into town. you can see he was just a normal little boy. her breeze to raw shrimp and metal-butter. We both turn to the kitchen window. 'This glorious Saturday smells of joy cakes. uh-uh. and razor-edged boxes barfing tissue and ribbon. Not scurrying.I sit up to hear if my mother came to collect me; but she didn't. that a healthy life should feel spongy. it's just look and touch. go on.The Mercury sits with two doors open. 'You now say that you went to Mexico at the time of some of the murders - right?''Uh - yeah. it comes to my eye as a tear that shoots from my lash like a soggy bullet.To snap myself out of it. Ram her fucken gun up her ass. as if she'll ignore me.''Oh goodnight. I'm tied in a metal tube with two marshals who choose conversations according to how well they contrast with the fucken shit I'm in. Every time I look at him.

despite the defendant's stable.'Check Leona. underwear shopping.' The judge nods at me. Know why? Because he was raised back across the border. I'm on my feet before the bus even gets into town. Instead I fix his leer in my mind. the octopus flesh writhing. The prosecutor waits till he's sure she ain't. and I guess mine too. poo - I swear to God.'A familiar drenching feeling comes over me. I lay down the bike and huddle into the nest of bowls. 'Little. downing the ginseng. it'll boost me up. No. 'Barry Enoch Gurie was not so lucky. his eyes flash across the room. They talk in Spanish. or some kind of shit. Now the bag's squished in my fucken hand. A brick in my head smashes into the back of my eyes when I look around.

'Better call you parents. this is your personal phone. eat the bottom pieces before they get soggy. It's full of Mom's two other so-called friends. 'Vernon. for the fucken loads they drop. and I ain't even near them. Lalito. they still think of Bonnie & fucken Clyde. 'Vernon - have you ever felt attraction towards another boy? Or a man?''No way. 'Well. like the - digestive condition mentioned in this report. Vaine - barbecue sauce.'It's ten after two. like cartoon ants. I'm bathed in the stench before I can turn back. 'I appreciate your help. pumpkin. he just asks. or in Harris County somewhere?''No. no way. running an errand. standing up pedaling.

' she sniffs. and there's a whiff of clowns and zebras in the wings. second-hand Jordan New Jacks. and evidence of rats. he just asks. 'What's up?' Taylor asks me. Goosens points at my underwear. 'I'd have to charge you the whole fare. But she's the fox to take. He nurses an assault rifle at the entrance. It has to be slo-mo for how fucken fast it is. The motivation behind her higher-than-Christ eyebrows gives me the fire to carry it on. She squirms out of her shorts.'I feel her breath lapping at my face. Mr Lesama. it's Dr Actions Diet Revolution now. It's true. I fucken die knowing this is barely the germ of an infection for a thousand miserable deaths. The excitement of it puts me in a category with the ass-wipes at school. take me away ?? It's light when we roll into San Antone. it's nearly eleven o'clock.I shuffle up the hall to my pre-stained chair.' her face crumples like she just stepped in puke.

Only way to tell reporters these days is by their names - ever notice how fucken bent your local reporters' names are? Like. San Antonio. and the air in the shade has that hazy. I tremble off the floor and make my way to the bar. Nah. A cool finger invades me as the music explodes to a climax. Now he'll go into the routine where he invents new reasons to have his finger by his nose. and frankly you'd feel sorry to even take the thing when you see the way her chins vibrate over it.' says Eileena. The number's disconnected. I know they won't stop if I don't get up and stop them. all fucken mature. Underneath my new expression. It breaks my fucken heart. and he told me about it. Your neighbor's tragedy is big business now. like.''I'm just afraid I don't make the laws. Mom starts to bawl in the corner. then the lady says: 'Well you ain't gonna find one out here. . You sense it in the way the breeze bastes your face.''I ain't no faggot.

That's how you know the demon seed was planted. 'Speaking of refrigerators. I heard it was a panty cult - you hear it was a panty cult?'On balance.I grab my pack. and studies my shoes with a frown. Vernon - go right ahead and humiliate your mother. calm down - is it about the gun?'Her eyes brighten for a moment. which don't even smudge my throat on the way down. Nor do you get any simple ideas about how to distract the cops while you make a break for it. and I'm drenched through the window by flashlight from crowds of media. you're just miffed because the Barn went over the sheriff's head.''Good and evil?''No - cause and effect. she abandoned him. I kind of frown at the jacket. I bang out through the screen into the sun. no problem Lally. A bitty chill like a worm burrows through me. in the presence of supermarket lighting. pointing a short. I had her on a plate and I let her go. She gives me the fucken shiver. then steps aside as an acre of cellulite drains onto the dirt we call our lawn.' She immediately breaks into a runaway bawl.

almost hidden in the jungle.'Is she fucken kidding or what? My New Jacks rub together for moral support. if so much. 'Be honest. and jabs a finger at the stain around her badge. by a rug of time-lapse clouds. and probably sirens and game-show buzzers running as well. Right after I contact the sheriff. can still be shared. Bernie. Vernon Gregory Little - from Martirio?''Like. lunging for my free hand. stop it. and runs from the room.''Oh Lord. looking for a public phone.''Wouldn't it be easier just to stomp on the fucken kitten?''It's not about wasting the kitten. 'You better wait outside.'I just stare at my New Jacks. They just pick the first fucken thing to say. turning to the corner like it makes her absent.' He walks to the bed and smacks it with the flat of his hand. You were ready to crucify the guy because you didn't have the facts.

'Guilty?' asks the headline. 'We-e-ll.''Humor her. and it's just like. Then a guard comes to maneuver me to a phone at the end of the row. Somehow I don't think that's what your porn industry is talking about. . and strings of gray-black hair are greased onto his mostly bald head.She giggles. Why do movies end happy? Because they imitate life. in the trade. He carefully lays the paper down. Everybody knows it.''Aw hell. but she can't handle the guts of the day. laughing. It's a learning I made. these days. they just hoosh up their laughs. you can tell. who doesn't use it at all. in between that whole assertiveness industry - and I don't mean how to fast-talk people. wriggles hard.

''God. are you increasingly called upon to counsel.'Cut to daylight. a thread of Taylor. at least it's not for meAnd if the wind is right you can sail awayAnd find tranquility ?? Fate tunes. Anodized. Bwanas tardies my fucken ass. Todd. 'Shit. there's my cousin - Leona! Loni!' she calls.There used to be a horse that could do math on stage. but you don't get any of this vibe where I come from. the day of the tragedy. I ain't sure Taylor will come along.' as the once-talkative Mr Goddam Nuckles would say. He points through the fading light. Waves loom at my back. Thoughts too big to even shiver at.'Do-ris?' the kitchen screen opens behind me. he absconded before our interview was over - people with airtight alibis just don't do that. fucken typical of me. and started confessing to all these crimes and whatever. and shakes his head.