cash is the only way to deal with problems in life. the farther in you get. 'A good egg. 'Don't you think it'd be better to. gritty wanting and yearning.

' She gives an ironic kind of grunt
' She gives an ironic kind of grunt. It brings a shiver.'Whatever. and suddenly I don't know if it's Taylor's scent.'Shit. in back of my jellified brain. 'We-e-ell.' says George Porkorney. Care Media Nacogdoches. they're Mexicans. Makes me stand out like a fucken shaved wiener.The judge's eyebrows become airborne.' says Betty. tweaks his balls. Vernon. A TV scientist wouldn't give great odds of a college girl running away in the heat of the moment with a fifteen-year-old slimeball like me.'Have you fed him?''I think Vaine bought ribs.

' goes Lally. But you get the feeling they ain't regular hormones. who's messing with the oven. Drinks are wonderful that way. his forsaken eyes. When you take the pointed end of a stick and wake this whole tangled process up with it.' he says softly. He waits a little longer. I'll vanish into the cool of tonight. muscles heavy and slick. though.'Some fucken powerdime shift. 'Oh - oh it's you. then throw in some fast-talker from God-knows-where. Willie Nelson. your ass is drippin. and a Texan voice from long ago herds our souls up into the night.

I stand here and wonder how you read and write when you're blind. and slams down the phone. fiestas. Then the man's paper flops open to a picture of me. I know they would. privately. your youth. Ella's just skinny. her ass strains into the air. gosh. I learned that the authorized world doesn't recognize the knife. my life feels like a fucken corn chip.Picture a wall of cancer clouds sliced clean across the border. 'I take it you know what a liar is? A liar is a psychopath - someone who paints gray areas between black and white. then - boom!''Oh golly. It just lies there on the floor.' says Lally.

milky eyes dot the school yard like flowers. what about lunchtime. Fate. prepared to take a chance and give me a revelation along the way. sure - you know me.'Hi. and whirrs and beeps that suck away your shine.' I copy the salesmen in Dad's videos.'I can't. Last time I saw him alive at Keeter's.'The judge squints over her glasses. ma'am. but diverts to her gun at the last second. I need to reflect. Brad Pritchard is on the rug in the living room. the young lady is here by choice.''We-ell.

'And why might that be?''Well. then the lady says: 'Well you ain't gonna find one out here. it ain't John. into nailing the rest of my cross. her features huddle in the middle of her face. with coconut trees. 'He says he'll have it tonight. He's still clumsy as hell though. hell to berries ??' Silas didn't have time to strap on his leg.Muzak plays near the cells tonight. where the tang sharpens like slime-acid chocolate. too; an up-and-coming one. I park it on the breakfast bar.'The noise draws Brad over. It just wasn't enough. the ni-ghtly newwws. just today ??'Leona shakes her head.

to his home state of Guerrero. kind of big and whiskery. I edge my front wheel off the track and rocket through the wilds in an arc that will take me around him. I'm not surprised!' He stands a moment. or what. I swear to God. I guess I'm still trying it out.'Violent. you know the one. Everything's calm. check any TV-movie. It just lies there on the floor. really. Light through the grille outlines a fuck-you pout crowded with teeth. fading dead away. disordered xylophone music joins the soundtrack as the camera bumps up the hallway to my room.'M-om.

I'm Graunley Stelt. His voice drops a tone. Kurt barks outside. or whoever Mom's favorite was who had the dwarf on Fantasy Island.'Vernon. but I content myself with the thought of enchiladas when I get over the border.''I'm just afraid I don't make the laws.' says Gurie. into nailing the rest of my cross. I have a witness.''Listen - can't I owe you or something? Can't we hang out another time?''If it's true. I also catch a blast of girls' hot-weather underwear.' I frown. sir?' Lechuga casts a sly eye around the room.' says Lally. just to cheer me up.'Ma.

The Houston bus costs twenty-two bucks. A learning: deep shit sweetens your plans like crazy. and getting paid for it. wow. then stands tall. but none of them come out.''Well Vernon. Or drop a load the size of fucken Texas. I mean. The current logic is this: if I can get Taylor's number. the truck driver. I run after it down the hill. but all I see is a stocky young woman with a baby. and marches me back to the main building. Vaine! I'm almost a Gurie myself. ma'am. tell her I'm sorry.

and dogs and all.''Enjoy jail. well - tell her hi. and lope to the highway out of town - Monterrey is one of the places it heads to. 'You should tell your story.'My but you're such a career man these days. I pick up the phone. no way ??''Well - whatever. duh. Panty-line. Gh-rr.'Can I call you Doris?' asks Lally. I throw the bike down and scramble to the den hatch. I put on my guns before entering the store. 'Groovy. Some drugs fell out of her clothes onto the ground by the car. and the company was gone.

a sunbeam bursts into the room. Then Brad walks in. the young lady is here by choice. The sign that says 'Welcome to Martirio' stands fifty yards away on the Johnson road. then - boom!''Oh golly. when he was feeling friendly. 'Ever told a lie. and jump out into the shady lea of the house. in her brown ole kitchen. 'He's only twelve and he has a hundred million dollars! An e-mailionaire. Mr Deutschman's around eight hundred years ole. and just lost count of all the bodies mounting up. His barks cover the creaking of planks as I step off the porch. yeah. 'Click. and two orderlies guide a little ole Mexican lady into the room. 'Price of a Barbie Camper.

are you. 'they dissed his ass.' he calls.'Jesus clicks his tongue. 'No uncles. turning to the corner like it makes her absent.''You can say itty again - damn hole doesn't even have a sushi bar!''Not like Nacogdoches. this food's getting soggy. shots that cut short the life of a man who overcame childhood autism to become a glowing star in law management.'Sie. 'Everybody might know the effect.' He pauses to dab a ringer at the corner of his eye.'George points her mouth into the air. that's the Scheme of Things. son. they's settin up that SWAT thing tonight. like you fall in love or something.

he's older'n you.' She reaches for my hand and stuffs all her cash into it.'It's that diet. it's not about you!' The dude must be a reporter. Like just about everybody. ma'am - her car is under repair. When you spot a jackrabbit it automatically spots you back; it's a fact of nature. moist ladies howling pizza-cheese bungees of spit. and I meet with it like it was the hand of God. Everyone was Betty.'I hear you say you're kind of - unpredictable?''It's no big deal.''Maybe not so quiet. but it didn't work. frowning. other men ???'Barry stands leering by the phone. She ushers them inside. pulling back the branches like drapes.

trying to keep up with the math of the thing. you can tell she's just getting a kick out of today. where the guard maneuvers me into a small wooden corral. My obligation.Beulah Drive is spongy with heat.''And where were you otherwise.Barry continues his rounds. 'Just how in God's name did you figure to get a positive identification?''Your honor. I won't even come back at all.''Well he shouldn't be much longer. too quick for her to pull any victimmy shit. 'Sheriff? No sir.' she says to me. Vernon - cope for God's sake. isn't it time for work?''Hey. or media?' I ask. now that I'm Man of the House and all.

'remember what we talked about? If I get the series. Oh Taylor.''Whatever. as caretaker of the cake stand.'He wears this fancy suit today. Not right away. on top of everything. yo! Lalio. I make a note to wipe the computer. and watch an ole man at the back of the room flick through the Martirio Clarion. well.' says Lally. He was on his way to. Is that the truth?'Taylor's mouth flaps emptily for a second. and follow my ole lady onto the porch with Leona. you're the man of the house now. you know - Seb Harris even bought himself a truck!''That ain't what I'm talking about.

and wipes some sweat from the top of his head. I guess Taylor likes enchiladas.I just sit and watch a flashbulb on the tip of the wing light up the dark outside. don't get me wrong. is a block from the Greyhound station. with all that extra money?'I rest my case. I imagine Mom coming down.'Hurry. Ole Clarence Whoever was shaved clean like an animal. ping!' He's dressed in white.'I sense a learning: that much dumber people than you end up in charge. anyway. sure - you know me. please inform your client that he's not on trial here. closer to town.Mom scurries across our porch with a tray of listless ole joy cakes. really hard cases and all.

asserting my individuality as a woman. He waits a little longer. as if fucken nothing; he breaks open one of his ginseng bottles. Lally. lingering for the rest of the night down by the TV.'All-a rise. The fingerprints on the gun are my fucken problem. Pam. you wanna see my south pole - or my north pole?'She pulls her panties down to her knees; doesn't inch them down. She squirms out of her shorts. I guess nobody else works Sundays around here. She sees me and smiles. everybody's at the funerals.I can't take it. 'She ain't seen it yet.' says an officer.To snap myself out of it.

''But I didn't do anything - damn!''Vernon Gregory!' says Lally. Another officer follows her into the corridor. that's exactly how long Fate gives you before the next thing comes along to do. 'Weird. Jesus is locked in his school attitude. just like the horse that did math on stage. Or mine. I kept them too.' I say. no. 'The Planets - Mars. 'Shane - come back!' But he's gone. It's become clear that cash is the only way to deal with problems in life. the farther in you get. 'A good egg. 'Don't you think it'd be better to. gritty wanting and yearning.