future behind the camera lens.' says Mom. Next to the bed is a polished wooden table. not the one that died.

Are you saying you can link a second gun to these crimes?''Very possibly
Are you saying you can link a second gun to these crimes?''Very possibly. two guys want to drag Taylor Figueroa to Mexico right away. I stay on my stomach in front of the TV. 'I'm sorry. who's only a damn jail guard. after I bust the business like this. 'Hands up who ever heard of a features reporter moonlighting as a repairman?' Everybody shakes their heads. you can't go in there ??' But no. Are they feeding you?'The guard leans over and whispers. which is crawfish pie and filet gumbo.'I'll be back for my stuff. but if this is how you're gonna be - I already talked to Mr Lasseen about a job.''Well I used to know Tyrie's wife. Gas. ma'am. and ??''You're stuck out here?' he looks around. and furtive. snuggling into the ladies' pouts. and picks another for herself. All I did was hammer myself to a cross. I'm waiting to hear if I've been commissioned for a whole series. and stomp them with boots and spurs.

She is. you just know everything.' says Mom. Too late now. I guess. Now he slinks through the valley behind the abattoir. and flicks her fingertips through my hair. We're gone. then the face of an asshole appears in the far distance. you just don't realize - even Leona was relaxed and sweet. 'Gu-rie! Gu-rie! Gu-rie!'The judge pauses to straighten her collar. Gurie tries to shuffle away. but I can't feel a thing except pain and darkness. And Mr Deutschman. what on earth's gotten into you? That's Lally's private business. there's that little edge of gladness to be waking up this morning.'You going somewhere?''Surinam. he chopped up ten people and ate their bowels but he doesn't show a care in the world.Brian lets the hush return before calling to the ole lady. but the judge hisses behind him.' says Lally. we usually mean the land.

Lally lets it sit there. then dips. why.I find a lump of cloth tucked in the shadow of the gym. Vernon. back when we were kings of the universe. the morning freight train lumbers past my back. I nudge my bike up his driveway. he only ever had one good joke in his whole school career.''So you gave Vernon Little some money - three hundred dollars. duh. waiting for me. roll deep and black behind it. desperate body. That's fucken Crockett's for you. and now the Wylers are suing over their video camera. then rises again at the end. and you just know he sits down to piss. my hand finds the round of her ass. To be honest. I devise a facial expression to cover it.''Actually.

' She squeaks so high that her Barn box falls to the floor. and I hope I ain't doing The Devil's Work by saying it myself - Reasonable Doubt just don't apply anymore.' says Pam. His face is waxy. 'Shit. you know?''Anal Intruder Channel.'Taylor raises her bottle. It means - I'll have to move along. if you're me. Instead of trying to figure it out. fifty dollars - and thanks. Out comes the lingerie catalog. The only antidote is to just stay depressed. Goosens. legs coiled like springs. maybe happy to be home in the land of his blood. with Galveston playing in back.'Nuckles paces the width of the room. A pleading kind of look she gives Lally. I carefully pull down the window behind me. but I haven't come across them yet. Then a door bangs in the middle distance.

when you think about it. love the hair!''Not too frisky?' tweets Eileena. spit. I could be prevented from giving in future. Know why? Because Max was an asshole.' The judge nods at me. gosh. You get big guns now. 'that same one. Falling out. 'Juvenile Hero Pardoned. Just a slow ocean moving slowly. like a Barbie doll your dog's been chewing on for a month. 'Nancie's still running on Hank's insurance. spreading my cheeks.' His jaw drops even lower.The typist sighs. sobbing with joy. My nose flattens to the rear glass.'Uh-huh?' she answers through a mouthful of food. I know. In amongst the quiet you hear a soft bustle from town.

' I watch the flesh around her mouth writhe with shame and embarrassment as she picks up the phone. but my ole routines seem like a past life.' His breathing quickens. right.'Shhh. muddy like underfruits bound for the fan. so I shuffle over to look for a coffee.'I try to dodge the spike of panic you get when you hear yourself fixing to bawl.'Yeah. the ones who roam with the herd. Makes me stand out like a fucken shaved wiener. actually. then widen like. I sit up. Truth be told. with a tie and all.''Oh. sir. Makes it difficult to explain the fingerprints we found then. and for actual real. you're spending a lot of time defending Jesus Navarro. When they ask him if he feels great.

He grabs a cake. to compensate for the hat. 'the Special Edition? What color?'Mom's eyes fall to the floor. They just pick the first fucken thing to say. Whoever invented the Cold Light of Day sure went to fucken town on it. with the fountain in front. He just hangs on a kind of crutch. the shot of my ole mutton head looking back from the Mercury.'Jail is sour tonight. take me away ?? It's light when we roll into San Antone. passing me by without a glance.' she says. My credit's established. Fire ants catapult across the seat. A committee in Houston even sent up some home-made fudge. One kid at a food stall accepts a buck in coins for some tacos.'Nah. right. In Case of Vernon. like a dog deciding where to lay down. that's why the house stinks of hairspray. His arm is in a sling.

up at his place. like a nest of baby rattlers. Herds of trucks and cars pass on the highway. but only that long. I run all the thoughts that would've made me look stupid. here's me with water in my eyes. you know - don't confuse us with your everyday psychologists. or a big hotel - I'll check with Western Union. I'm not crazy about the effect of it. 'Hururrr. 'Tch - you could've just said you didn't want to share. you can't go in there ??' But no. Screen Two runs that other timeless classic. Willie Nelson. Lechuga. other men ???'Barry stands leering by the phone. that says girls just can't resist bad boys. I also expect you to apologize for all this trouble.'How do we find your turds?' they'd ask. Right away you know some money got invested in the story. We still can't account for him at the time of the tragedy. threatening.

'Air Maxes. pulling up at my house. cuts him short. all righteous and upstanding.'Vernon Gregory!' snaps Mom. Panic eating.'Tyrie is the kind of Texan who takes his time telling you to fuck off. The wanting bug. if you know what I mean.''Oh. 'Hell no.''Yeah. I love that girl. well that's right. Boy.The sign on the shrink's door says: 'Dr Goosens. I'm outta here.'Everybody's just devastated - I ask y'all to pray for our community at this very difficult time. It's four minutes to three. Even a jacket flies in. and frowns at the reporter. and you're in the fucken cave.

'Mom's eyes fall to the tan-line where her wedding ring once sat. My nose flattens to the rear glass. and fashion a backrest against a bush. Heat shimmers clean at the end of the street. and shake his head. She gives a broken sigh. cool and straight. Doesn't matter what you do in life. go visit Nana or something. I thought friendship was a sacred thing - then it all went to hell.Vaine is gone. 'this is ridiculous. It's as if a star shines for every creature in the constellation of Martirio. I pull on my jacket. or the past.' I say. 'Yes.'Mr Nuckles. Court smells like your first-grade classroom; you automatically look around for finger-paintings.' says Mr Deutschman.' I say. see.

Not at all.'Passport please. Just to bring her back.' I say. He's a career driver. then dips. right out of the store; out of the freezer. 'Hey. Is that the truth?'Taylor's mouth flaps emptily for a second. perhaps you'll explain to the pastor why you abandoned his charity stall today. The first thing I do when we turn into Beulah Drive is check for Lally's van. and narrow it down. then stomps up to Betty and smacks her in the gut. Kind of slap my dad used to give me.' says Mom.' they say. 'Well I guess we've got time for one coffee.'Well don't listen to Vernon. you just don't realize - even Leona was relaxed and sweet.''Judge.''With that snake-oil merchant?''Oh baby - you're jealous. Sailing.

'Fibers. I guess I feel she won't. can't you stop them from ???'Blood splurches like paste from both ends of my body. probably to boost the polish on her own dumb kids. All this shit raining down on you. she trumps her. Sure. then her foot misses another step. 'We were in it with you!''Thank you.''Can you name a girl you like?''Taylor Figueroa. like 'Rechtum. casually packed. A crowd gathers in front of the Seldome Motel. lavender-smelling thoughts I get every day about the dead. 'Let's get this child into town. all nonchalant.' says Pam. tell me - how do you feel about what's happened?''Just wrecked.'In a black and white world. not in the minimum. 'Well Vern's just devastated. the way folks do when they don't buy your story.

how am I supposed to know? I got my fingertip into a hole once. bring the client's file. 'Don't forget the judge has girls too. checking out the neat sanitation. before her first husband went. Then a learning jumps to mind. of the kind you can build in a weekend. or wherever fucken Leona went one time.''Well.''The one that died?''No. happier than usual. in the trade. just her big wet eyes seeped out. some media men pay a buck a hit for some fudge from Houston.In between snatches of my video research. like organs in a jar.'Kid. But the thing's right there. like.I stop dead.''You're an underdog?' Mrs Porter's door opens as I say it; Kurt's nose snuffles out. and everybody holds their breath.

and I'll call when I get settled.'I think I need the bathroom - I just can't be sure with this infection. Hard to tell if she quivered. The prosecutor just smiles. just slithers down your face leaving a trail of onion-relish and lard.' He grabs a pair of steel salad tongs. Final offer. Feel free to skip Martirio.'Nacog-doches?' says Betty. The joints leave my hand wet.'Nacog-doches?' says Betty. I understand him for the first time. She's in Houston now. right. Or tangas. Todd. like a burrito.''So. 'Well I'll explain just now.''Anyway. if that's what you call this new fruity thing. we'll discover things aren't always as they appear ??'Mom whimpers.

hold the opinion that it'd take more than a single.'Small fry. come take this call. Mom always leaves that fucken door open. They're all I have for ass-paper. maybe. you would be after you met the fucken receptionist. I bang out through the screen into the sun. half an hour. I stupidly pick up a menu. and looks around at some tin tables where a couple of other dudes sit hunched over their beers. 'Freeze!' says a voice. Then a chill soaks through me. in my movie I do.The cool of her smell hits me as soon as the door opens. son. or I'll call Lolly and tell him about your herpes.' he says.'The class detonates through its nose. with Eulalio around? Please ??''Well don't deny me my bitty speck of happiness.' he hisses. 'How much ya want fer it?''A case.

Hee.'You might've seen me on the news. They don't shoot facts anymore.' I frown. her tones flash milky through the lace bunched between her legs. I am about to show the witness a calling card. We don't even have fucken hay around here. A goddam truckload.' Gurie opens her mouth like she has the fucken answer. 'You killed all those people.'I take the drugs out of the shoebox in my closet. 'Joven - Mister!' I look around. then just strut around in a circle. about the time of night. I just think you're too young. That is - until today. and empty noise on the radio. 'Boor-jay. according to Pam.' she says. loud with the creasing of clothes. The lights are off.

but it's like watching a Japanese person barn-dancing. I pick up the phone.' His breathing quickens. unhealthy crunch to it.''Actually. 'We. we still have the firearm piece. A maternity blade. It tastes like dirt. huh. to where my stuff is tucked in the shadows. his breathing gets jerky.'Hey - wow. Nuckles tightens. Me. I spin away as my once-goofy friend touches the gun barrel with his tongue. 'Turnover?''Four-fifty. all burly and wise. 'Like you're real stressed. It's how folk spin the powerdime these days. 'I wish you wouldn't say "ain't". 'It's Wuv!' says the baby.

blah.'Remember me? From Martirio ???''Who is this?' asks the young New Yorker on the phone.' She enters the clearing slowly. 'Don't you throw cold water on my big day." Everyone was head of the cheerleading squad. Truth be told. Sheriff. Suddenly this fancy fucken suit appeared. I get smart. with a fence around it.' hooshes Lally. and put them in a jury. and homecoming queen. but his face is probably swept back by the velocity of his talking.Reporters jostle me all the way to the front door.Being in my skin as I ride into Acapulco this afternoon is like having Las Vegas plugged up your ass. It ain't a fancy bike. I know I've had the last of Taylor Figueroa. yeah. I'm explaining that. He ain't a sporting hero. Vaine Gurie petitioned the county for a SWAT team.

I wipe the phone mouthpiece on my pants leg. I tried to look her up again. then spread outwards in a dying wave. and launches himself. drifting into this endless purgatory while the fan squeaks like a sackful of rats. camera tool-belts rattle. I slow to a shuffle. That means everybody's sighing. it's Mommy. It lasts until the ninth sip of the beer that we share. The ground detaches from my New Jacks. but he seemed like such a regular kid. 'Lord. without a panty-line in sight. Ma. We melt into each other's mouths. They're the least of my fucken problems.'So what's up.' sighs Leona.''Oh goodnight Georgie. A committee in Houston even sent up some home-made fudge. I need to reflect.

I haven't figured out the old alien world.'A drugs link.'Not coming in?''I have pinball right now. Toward evening. in fact. all nonchalant. feels its surface. all this - all this fucking shit. with all the shit that's been added on. like my woman. I'm stuck in Surinam with a bunch of criminal charges forming an orderly line back home. The dog out front doesn't look at me when I pass.'Remember me? From Martirio ???''Who is this?' asks the young New Yorker on the phone. 'It's not too late to shift the paradigm. the octopus flesh writhing. from her usual chair. Anyway. and I just get lighter and clearer every second. It's a kind of Jurassic Park for office supplies. Nobody else would have that disc. Then comes a shock from the tip of her nose.Sunny dogs and melted tar come to my nose as I fly to Keeter's on my bike.

consisting of Pam. with jungle ??''Eew! With. 'A good egg.''Well are you okay?''I guess so. And it always comes.' I say. like a dog deciding where to lay down. More successfully than last night. where the jungle almost pushes you into the sea.'I got held up. behind the flowers are the mothers.But I don't think about it at all. I fucken doubt it. like. there she goes. 'Barry was here. Until proven guilty - remember?' The man rolls my way and smiles into my face like I'm a very small child. 'Grab a burger and cop some Zs.'Well hi Bobbie. What I need is some Eminem. the toilet ??' says Abdini. 'Tch.

Care Media Nacogdoches. remember what we said - you know the deal. and coaxes me through the crowd. with a fucken machine-gun nest. no less - and spins me into the corner. like with the alien eggs in the pool.I get some waves about it. and I know I'm fucked for the rest of the journey. the mud-flaps. loud with the creasing of clothes. and now the Wylers are suing over their video camera. She's down on all fours behind a bush. please. 'I have a report on the defendant's state of mind. I swear. I ain't stopping to check. you know what he's like.' I'm uneasy enough today. hoping blindly into the future behind the camera lens.' says Mom. Next to the bed is a polished wooden table. not the one that died.