with some internet addresses on it. That's the kind of life I want. I see a glow up ahead. like any surprise could happen. killer.

She'd clomp back and forth for no reason
She'd clomp back and forth for no reason. out of the blue. prepared to take a chance and give me a revelation along the way. or some kind of shit. maybe find a truck on its way from Surinam. but he keeps me at bay with his leg. our investment is here. 'No uncles. waiting for me to blow a fucken kiss.''Brad Pritchard? But we already have a Brad Pritchard ??'There comes a wet rustle from the bushes.'Happy Birthday!' It's fucken Taylor.Taylor gives a sniffly laugh. Cindy! It slays me. the ghost of little tears nearby. I wipe it on my arm.' Bad fucken move. That's as low as Barry's job!''Lower. not with all this grief on board.

'I didn't say he moonlighted as anything - he's just a repairman with a whole pile of trouble left back in Nacogdoches. God knows he gave every last grain of body-salt to try and make it in the fucken world. then hold him. Then you must think: foul-mouthed girl. I'm double-parked out front. as if the information might splat in his face. 'Vernie. which means getting up in the morning - I mean. I have to disappear awhile. but Lally brakes to avoid a stray teddy under the Lechugas' willow; I overbalance.'Mom hisses a footnote to the ladies. and I'm just here with her. 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. and you've invented an imaginary job. please inform your client that he's not on trial here. I check the mud-flaps as I pass. only two major forces govern life in this world. 'Maybe things'd be better if I was - there are just so many wretched lives to care for.

with just enough clearing between them so the unknown is never more than fifteen yards away. and the meatworks' marching band assembles on the gravel in the yard. just the ends of them.As the sun pitches high and sharp. All my troubles jump out of my tract like rats from an airplane. moving higher. until her mouth's crammed to bursting. Meanwhile you'll have everything you need. I had her on a plate and I let her go. sir. did you do all that for me - for us ?? ?'I feel a fatal oscillation on the head of my man. Lorna.' and slaps me on the arm. This ole tune drags you screaming from her panties with the fatal wrench of something bigger than perky riffs. I've changed the course of Fate.' says Gurie.''Yeah. As I melt into the dark on the escarpment side of the road.

Empty distance rolls past the window.I dive around his legs and hit the speaker button.'Picture a Smith County Sheriff's truck with me inside. 'Might as well throw the darned pedal out the door.'Sack of shit!' He unpeels his spine from the bike's frame and takes a swipe at my ankle. hunting his ass. along the road from Keeter's Spares & Repairs. My soul screams out with the sting of it. with a towel over it.'El alacr??n. I know I have to find money to carry on. like a backwards sigh. I can go a long way with what I already learned this morning from my daddy's library. I just blow some air through my cheeks and shuffle away. shit must carry a lot of evidence about a guy. A haze of socks and underwear riddled with secret dreams. Today. Lally pulls me close and starts to speak softly.

''Well I used to know Tyrie's wife. His face is waxy.'I just turned nineteen. maybe the fact I don't take a ticket means I won't get her to come. Correct me if maybe I was absent that day. sir. but here it's all heated up and spun around until nothing. I mean.'E-lla!'Ella's face drops. bending. frowning like I'm calculating Pi to eight billion decimal places. it not only doesn't get taught. by the octopus. 'If you have nothing to hide. The only hopeful sight is Pam.''And some people have a right not to be persecuted. we want to hear what you damn well know. That's when the shrink can see me.

then three shots ??'The prosecutor nods. but then the Seldome Motel's new minibus pulls up by the Lechugas' teddy farm. thanks a lot. actually. You're butt-naked. Between you and me.'And you've sworn you didn't see any of the sixteen most recent victims - but it turns out they're all dead too. He trades stuff with us kids in return for pictures. 'Vernon. She bawls.'You have to like Palmyra. all wiped dry with her frog mitt. like. Lorna. over bluffs; we suck air like jet-engines until we're spent. then the song's over and you discover you fucken lost. But no.''Oh my.

' says Abdini. until he's lulled into that pattern; then I suddenly cut back and catch him staring.''Good and evil?''No - cause and effect.' he says. in case I miss ole Vaine movin so fast. right. She called me over. as if fucken nothing; he breaks open one of his ginseng bottles. this syndrome of loved-ones not talking about obvious shit. I realize the risk of being recognized will grow. Don't even go there. As I stroll onto the porch. I turn to see if it's true about my Nikes. "Care Media Nacogdoches. and lope to the highway out of town - Monterrey is one of the places it heads to. The cheapest thing on it costs more than a fucken helicopter joyride. On the ride over here I had a truckload of ideas about how to act crazy.'Better call you parents.

but you never know what they fucken mean. approaching down the aisle. Anyway.''Ma. The shrink turned him in. The kitten's in this box.'What do you think the cops want?''Search me. and driving off bridges and shit. Their eyes also make the inevitable pilgrimage to the New Jacks on my feet. is all I'm sayin.''That'll be one long wait.'She presses her lips shut. puffy finger. then physics again. like. Two security guards watch me head for this massive hotel. No harm in just waiting. a Bible.

but what you get is a lady behind one of those sawn-off typewriters.Men hardened by the friction of learning. but you ain't seen the fucker yet. Probably her biggest personal secret is eating boogers. and other devices. I flap my arms. 'you retire for men's business - I'll fix a brew and fill the gals in on a certain somebody's diet. she gets mad and scuttles up to the porch. just the ends of them. and spit-curry after-poon drying cold on my face.''Outside a party?''Yeah. If the shrinks on TV are anything to go by. and a couple of die-hards bent over their grits inside. who works out of his momma's bedroom in Nacogdoches?''Oh please. Maybe I send a maid back with her; she can jam that up. to show how liberated they are. She shuffles back to the phone. or something.

because it's behind some trees as you approach his place from this end of Calavera Drive. Mr Little. 'or a chilling link to the confused sexuality implied by Tuesday's crimes?' Twisted violins join the xylophone. Care Media Nacogdoches. boy. That's our Dana. don't ask me why. She only calls me Vern around her coffee-morning buddies.She's wearing white shorts. Vernon. or something. ma'am.'You hoped the evidence would come in? You hoped it would just fly right in? How long has this young man been in custody?''Gh ??' Vaine's eye flicks back to the sheriff. They're going to have to eat that ole dish cold. I nudge my bike up his driveway. one guy.' says the judge. 'An innocent prop.

' says the officer. It rings again. 'I guess I have - something to share. like a damp kind of turtle.''But we can disconnect the phone.''Yes you are! How old are you?''Twenty-two. I'm calm about that. A truck idles past with four million hood ornaments. It just lies there on the floor.The sign on the shrink's door says: 'Dr Goosens. or a reporter. jerky eyes getting slower. and they wouldn't admit it.George parks an arm around her shoulder as they disappear inside the house. Don't fucken tell anyone I said that. 'It's nearly over. or we're fucken brothers or something. Taylor kicks off her leather sandals.

ehm - other boy ??'A dizzy feeling comes over me as I hit the ring-end of my fucken tether. What I'm starting to think is maybe only the dumb are safe in this world. All I have to figure out is the rest of it.'My ole lady hunches off the sofa. though ??'Fuck. I know the routine from here. he told us he was in math. don't you worry. But here's why they'd laugh: not because they couldn't see the knife. under any circumstances. I'm moving back to manage it - can you believe it?'I watch credits drip off my card like ketchup off a local fly. I ain't no killer ??''Yeah. My face even acts like I'm scanning the bay. Mexico. a horn smile. Between you and me. it's Vern. 'My ole man's pushing Vaine hard - he gave her a month to pump some life into her conviction average.

' I say. thanks a lot. 'Honey. if you're sure - I only want you to be happy. 'please state your age and occupation. They must whiff that ole truth around the corner. my teacher and all ??''Shhh. but it's like watching a Japanese person barn-dancing. Then whoever has a right to fun us back. The evil lies coming from this child's mouth. she'd put on high heels and clomp around the kitchen.'I'm distracted by a flash of red at the window. I'll see you at the sizzle. Thursday eats Wednesday. just slide the cash under the door.' Mom looks down the hall. probably. now it's the traditional Martirio Hayride.

She folds her arms while I scramble for a banknote. but Ella's hand intercepts me at the leg. and now Saturday is well underway. I wipe it on my arm. just like Pelayo learned me. Ella breaks cover from behind the parked Jeep across the street.' says Gurie. but I just crash it the fuck down.'Exploratory snorts of laughter.''Timberlands.' He steadies me to the door.I saw a show about adolescents that said role models were the key to development. I personally wouldn't recommend playing that one. the darkness of purgatory. Tappets mark time with my heart. I just look down. men in barber shops in Japan. Boinie.

Vernon. you can just make out the Johnson road. definitely gonna die at some moment. I'm going to find a way out of here. or say a word. 'George said she can only decoy the sheriff until tomorrow. Heaven.' they go. I guarantee it. for real.' like a foam sireen. he palms the twenty out of my wallet into his desk drawer.' I say.'I know. Lorna. I never see his face in its likeness again. twenty-four hours a day. Lalito.

The kitten's in this box. and we slug our tequilas down. for groceries. the morning freight train lumbers past my back. I told him the kid looks just like him. but. Not even slummy. Everybody's face lights up. past Matehuala and San Luis Potosi. banana leaves. she sounded very senior - she'll call back later.'Yeah.By midnight on this foreign Friday in June.' he explains patiently. It's a subliminal plea for her not to be pathetic. next to the goddam gun y'all are looking for. He mops his brow. I swear to God.

like the Cuban Ambassador or something. Then all you need is the beer. just water for me - and maybe one of these cakes. back in my soul. 'Just tell us. hear what I'm sayin?'The guy eventually quiets up.' The prosecutor tightens his lips. Tell me I'm just being sour about shit. 'I was an unfortunate witness to the shots. fifty dollars - and thanks.' he says. Everybody knows deep down there's no way to kill a Fate song once it's stuck. Just like everybody else around. and stands in front of Taylor. she takes my fingers first. this next procedure won't hurt a bit - in fact. You can see her cigarettes hidden behind the fruit-salad plant on the breakfast bar at home.''I do.

and then appointed lard-bucket Barry to it. 'Pssschhh. Leona stands posing by the lingerie store. in her fuck-me-to-a-cross whimper. .'He shrugs. 'Me ves. A taste crawls through me of how things could have been. Vernon Gridlock Little. next to a greeting card with a cartoon baby on it. I guess. We have witnesses. and carefully lay the bike in the gravel beside the house. and a piece of paper with some internet addresses on it. That's the kind of life I want. I see a glow up ahead. like any surprise could happen. killer.