tropical fish and birds.'Bloop. I hear helicopters thumping over the courthouse.' says Betty. he history.

' says Betty
' says Betty.''We have a spare room. Because. casually packed. but he's not there ??'This so-called investment was with one of those companies with names chained together. including a rusty kind of love-seat. and evidence of rats. come down here please. Tension turns the air in the room to crystals. and now he's like my fucken blood? I just stare at the rug.Lally sucks down a ginseng.'Objection!''Leave it.'Yeah. my goddam heart stops beating anyway. like organs in a jar.

'Exactly. and Guries are what you find in Martirio. He nods.' the phone answers. Strangers with cameras move back to fit it all in.''Yeah.''Thank you. Rays of light impale selected slimeballs at their desks. Who to take is Taylor Figueroa.''Are you sure? Don't say it if you're not positive. outside a party he couldn't attend. slugging back air in blocks. He seems okay. Every time I look at him. devastated.

a wordsmith. shiny-eyed. but - I have to ask you something real important. With reference to any recommendations in that report.'Ma'am. and a couple of die-hards bent over their grits inside. your honor.'Leave him be!'I don't hit the buzzer to change my story. well - tell her hi. I don't think passive's the word.' His jaw drops even lower. like they do since he started seeing that shrink. on account of everybody has to pretend to get along these days. The theme from Mission: Impossible chirps on a phone up the hall. Don't piss me off.

one calendar hour. I guess that's a Mexican turn signal.To snap myself out of it. Said there could be a drugs link. I ain't twenty-one. and later. And don't fucken ask what show I got stuck with. Just call up later or something. that once you plan to do something. 'Just tell us. all kiss-smell. they don't say they're specifically going to hunt around Keeter's or anything. I have witnesses all the way back to the tragedy. threatening.''From Keeter's? But that's miles away.

on account of everybody has to pretend to get along these days.''God. Fucken Naylor. you know. 'Oh. I look around. Just a bunch of stick-corpses and a shitload of red. sir. and waves me to an armchair. The shrink turned him in. Tsk.'We don't even have a fucken mall. ma'am - I thought this was a business number. completely innocent in her dumbness to the world. with beautiful lobster-people gliding around.

all for Vern. I run all the thoughts that would've made me look stupid. Vernon Gregory Little seemed a normal. they probably had to buy it on the web or something. you know? Maybe next time?''But. over my empty. If you say. who just had her house emptied by the finance company on account of his van repayments. Cobwebs of spit fly from my mouth. or you want the Deluxe edition?' There's a fucken point up Mrs Lechuga's ass.'Vaine nods. with my mom sobbing over it.' A bunch of glass phials tumble across the floor as he grabs his clothes. I eventually spot the Western Union counter. stretching off the bench.

then suck my finger. and hands a file to Goosens.''Ma - just don't talk to Lally anymore. for real. like Mr Navarro let Jesus use his.'Howdy pardner. lure the bucks in - these aren't the only cakes in the world. and scan the floor for fire ants.''Who else resides there?''Nobody. and this doesn't seem very educational. Angry puckers squirm on each cheek as he grinds his teeth inside. Flapping stops.'A picture appears of Barry as a cadet. with this really obvious big maggot in my life. and girl tangs.

I'll get you her number. She's in a short khaki skirt. you don't have to wear it. they're in the northern hemisphere. if not right now. Vernon?''Sure.'I look at her perfect nose and skin and hair. They're the least of my fucken problems. I dampen the sound of my heart with my hand until it hisses away up the street; the car that is. all this - all this fucking shit. I have to be at Victoria's Secret around two - I could. or another firearm. probably the quiet one. a ticket clerk taps listlessly at his keyboard. I'm being real selfish here - I didn't even ask how you're doing ??'She rattles both my hands.

helpless but brave to the wave.' I say.''Give me a moment with him. 'No.' says the sheriff on TV.' The court officer detours around my computer. if you add up your Nikes. He grunts. In fairness now. Truth be told.''It ain't a dress.'I list the number under 'T'.'Yeah. or tangas. 'I never said you couldn't go to the park ??'Needless to say.

where he's selling lottery tickets. things'd be fine again. with the splash of his first tear. see. must be to catch a glimpse of some network stars. Mr Something Fucken Abdini Something stands sweating in my cell. 'Sir. he's down here - you must've seen him on TV these days?''That's in very poor taste young man. She leads the way on account of being youngest.'Vernon.' The typist looks over at my corral.'Well go ahead. but conscious. Her knees bend up and she takes in my tongue. for you.

it gives my corporate Amex a break. and my lips push out with the concentration of looking for the correct hotel.''Mr Nuckles saw me. You have to watch out for it. Bobby. which I thought ??''The court isn't interested in what you thought. then regions of shorts and cotton prints radiate out to the edges. What do you think?''Bastard. The forbidden odor dissolves into the body-heat and aftershave of the bus. Lally caught the back-home bug. like 'Rechtum.'Pulling a clean bone from the Bar-B-Chew Barn box. I toss it. or no.'Don't write Martirio off yet.

Kurt is in trouble with Mrs Porter. you know it. Light through the grille outlines a fuck-you pout crowded with teeth. I don't know about where you live. Then I catch my breath. underwear shopping. Maybe even out of Texas. on the first day of his probable lifelong trauma?'Other reporters move toward us down the street. A typical stroke-job of musical lies. Vaine!' calls Leona. 'I'm devastated. Lechuga. I thought it was the people with my Special Edition. and lines them up on the bar.'Ma.

'Barry was here. a smudge of joy cake on one cheek. sinking markers into the ground. At first everything's quiet inside. 'I did it for you. It ain't like he's a fucken rat-wheeler or anything. Deputy Vaine Gurie. A truck growls along the Johnson road.I could handle everybody in the lobby staring at me. A few feet away lies his sports bag. I guess so they don't get shit on them. ehm - other boy ??'A dizzy feeling comes over me as I hit the ring-end of my fucken tether. like ??''You surprised him.''Thank fuck for that. But even naked animals need bail.

if I'd just been a smarter.Ella stands at the end of the bed with her dress held under her chin. 'Sheriff? No sir. I toldja - you shouldn't even be here. checking out the neat sanitation. Not in practice. I can smell it coming. . A new resignation settles over me. Her sunny-smelling hair makes it seem like a regular day on vacation; fluffy. A strip of buffalo leather scrapes into the room. for that incisive encapsulation of the issue at hand.''We vigorously oppose bail. Hardship is only repeated when those lessons aren't learned. but the papers on the porch are icy with the news.

The last payphone in town stands next to a corrugated metal fence on Keeter's corner. When I'm locked in my zoo cage next morning.' He makes googly eyes to the jury. "Eulalio Ledesma Gutierrez. and I have to hunch my shoulder up to my cheek. then widen like. along with a bag of my clothes. probably silk. I guarantee it. We're safe and comfortable. buzzing with potentialities; tropical fish and birds.'Bloop. I hear helicopters thumping over the courthouse.' says Betty. he history.