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"You study with Lansdale?" I asked

"Did," Madeleine corrected "He kicked me out of the dojo Said I was over-the-top"

I tried to iine what Joe Lansdale would consider over-the-top Chain saws and atoirl like Madeleine White would’ve taken upRalph had told me Mr White had coot so bad they affected the family I wondered what exactly that meant

At the Taco Shack counter, the redheaded thug was getting his order

"Come on," I said "Let’s interrupt this poor "

Sure enough, Mr Thug had cradled his taco bag like an offensive line across Roosevelt Avenue

He didn’t seeood clip He cut through the parking lot of San José and headed for the ates

"Pull the car around," Madeleine ordered the driver

"Why is he going to San José?" I wondered

"Damn," Ralph said

"What?"

"Zapata’sabout?"

The lihty

I held the door handle to avoid sla into Madeleine

"Zapata’s ot Zapata’s family’s been at the mission for, like, centuries"

Madeleine snorted "You think Zapata is in there with his ine Johnny Zapata as a good Catholic boy Or even a good boy Or even having a o down in a church," Ralph muttered

The limo stopped in front of the visitors’ center

Madeleine slipped a new clip into her nine "Alex was right, Arguello You are getting soft"

She kicked open the car door, looked atsoet better help from people if youthereeable people With the hard-luck cases Iabout them hich you can empathize

With Madeleine White, that wasn’t easy

The ass-kicking woman who led us into the irl I’d known at Alahts

The only memory that made me feel any sympathy for her was so unpleasant I’d buried it for years

My senior year at Heights, I attended ht celebration to kick off the new school terrackles were screeching in the trees The air was thick with e hormones

The football field had been converted into a carnival ground Parents and younger siblings ae toss, the cakewalk

I was supposed to belate, so I fell in with Ralph and Frankie White, ere trying the football toss and drinking Big Red sodas secretly laced with tequila

Over by the fifty-yard line, Frankie’s dad was talking to one of the city councilmen Guy White wore jeans and loafers and an Izod button-down, like he was one of the common yuppies His silver hair contrasted starkly with his deep suood humor The field was crowded, but he had an open radius ten feet wide around him Only little children who didn’t know any better wandered close to hiet the football through the tire He always griped that he should’ve made quarterback, but he couldn’t throw to save his life He kept giving carnival tickets to our bored English teacher, Mrs Wee footballs off the ri drill tea up, which didn’t help Frankie’s mood

After a few tosses his little sister, Madeleine, ran up to hiic Marker designs--spirals, mazes, scary faces She had a fistful of candy canes and her face was painted blue and gold There was cascarón glitter and confetti in her hair

"Share your tickets, Frankie," she derowled

Madeleine held her ground "Dad said they were for both of us He told you to share"

Frankie ju the football at her She squealed and ducked her head

Mrs Weems, normally an innocuous soul, said, "Now, Franklin--"

"I told you to get lost," Frankie yelled at his sister

"You can’t touch"Dad said--"

She never got to finish her sentence

Frankie grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and aht red "You want the apple dunk? Huh?"

She tried to fight hied her over to the tin washtub Then he pushed her head underwater

"Frankie," Ralph said "Stop"

Frankie brought Madeleine up again, screa

Mrs Weeet an apple, Brat?" Frankie said "Gee, I’ain That’s when Ralph and Mrs Weeot into the act

Ralph pulled Madeleine away from Frankie while Mrs Weeht advantage He elbowed ut, then pushed poor Mrs Weems a little too hard She stumbled backward

"Stay off ot to her feet, furious, and slapped him hard across the face