"Well, well," Luke said with a wink. "Jack Avett himself. Goddamn, ain't this a special occasion. What have I done to warrant the attention of the Chief of Police?" Luke stretched police out so it sounded like po-lease.

"Shut up and answer the question, shitbird," Tommy said, shooting a wad of tobacco stained spit at Luke's feet. "What was you doing at Choochiebug's?"

"Looking for a screw, alright?" Luke said defensively. "They didn't have the screw I was looking for..."

Now of the four Norman boys, Luke was without a doubt the one with the least intelligence. He was smart when it came to fixing cars, but when it came to simple things he could be stumped. One of those things that stumped him included social conversation and saying things that popped into his head before he thought better of saying him. For instance...

"Well, I guess I'm looking in the wrong place. I want a screw, I probably should see Violet about that. Am I right Jack?"

That was something none of the other boys would have said to Violet's brother, the chief of police in Pickett, out loud. Luke would eventually learn the error of his ways, but like a lot of lessons Luke learned in life this one would be very painful.