cliff stands looking at the arm with sam. mikey is a few yards behind them, playing with his metal detector. beyond him we see the sheriff's car parked.
a small group of teenage chicano boys hang around the truck in the bed, on the hood, leaning against it. a boombox placed on top of the cab blasts rancha music out at the neighborhood. somebody's legs are hanging out the open passenger-side door. the kids suddenly look as a sheriff's department car slides into the f.g. a deputy sheriff, travis, gets out.
wade sits across from his young deputies, young hollis and buddy deeds . a chicken-fried steak sits untouched in front of buddy. hollis has the anxious look of an errand boy, while buddy is self-contained and quietly forceful for his age.
we are in the high school auditorium, a hot-and-heavy teachers- and-parents meeting in progress. pilar sits at the end of a long table facing the agitated parents, taking some heat. danny padilla, a young, long-haired reporter, sits in the front taking notes, enjoying the show.
hollis sits in the swivel chair of a bass boat tied to a dock at the lake, going through his box of lures. sam appears on the dock and steps down.
cliff leans against a desk, a blackboard covered with radar diagrams behind him. priscilla sits nearby, both of them focused on athena.
hollis and a couple of men from the public work department look at the damage.
this isn't what sam was expecting. hollis watches his face--