Caray, Caray!

I'm a little late this week. I was out at a charity event on Thursday night and I was completely wiped out yesterday!

Tonight, Susana Gonzales is "Tere, Desconfiada" (Tere, distrustful).

A woman in a blue sweater stands with her back to the camera. Another woman says, "Tere? Teresita?" Tere turns around. Her neck is covered in blood and she's holding bloody scissors. "En que le puedo servir?" (What can I do for you?)

Credits. I admit, the song gives me chills.

A doorbell rings. A man in a suit, carrying a laptop, puts down the laptop and answers the door. It's Eiza Gonzalez, who I last saw as Lola in Lola, Erase Una Vez. She obviously attends St. Britney Spears' School for Wayward Tarts. She's looking for her mom, who she thought would be with Tere. The guy invites her in. Just so we can avoid confusion later, his name is José and hers is Gabriela.

A knitting shop. Gorgeous yarns, sharp shiny needles. Tere puts skeins of yarn into a bin and looks at the clock. She shakes her head and keeps working. She starts stacking skeins on the shelves. She counts the cash in the till. She sighs. She takes a pill out of a hankie in her pocket and downs it. I think the hankie is done in hardanger. I wonder if she did it herself. She leaves the shop and locks the door. The whole time, she's got a dead look on her face.

José offers Gabriela a "refresco" (soft drink), but she'd rather have coffee. He makes her an instant coffee and asks her to get the cream out of a cabinet. He checks out her ass as she does it. Something fell out of the cabinet and she thinks it got her in the eye. He gets up way too close to see if she's ok. The microwave beeps and he hands her the coffee. She pretty quickly puts it down, sits on the counter, puts her feet up on the opposite counter and says there's a place nearby that serves real coffee. Maybe he could meet her there around six tomorrow? He hears the front door and says it's Tere and her mom. But really, it's only Tere. Gabi's mom went to the store. Gabi supposes she'd better go home. She thanks José for the coffee. He and Tere share a look.

Moran comments to the medical guy, who is maybe Gerardo, that it was odd the guy was killed that way. Gerardo thinks what's weird is that Moran thinks it's weird. Aranda, the curly-haired cop, says she's surprised he was killed with this"…whatever it is it's in a plastic bag, so I can't quite tell. Gerardo is surprised the two of them work with him. He asks what else they found and Moran shows the bloody scissors.

Tere heats up two plates of dinner in the microwave and brings them into the dining room. José asks when the maid is coming back. Tere says with only the two of them, there's not a lot for her to do, so despite the maid's absence, she'll manage. José asks for the salt and adds some to his plate. Tere thinks it was weird for Gabi to be there because she knew that Tere wasn't going to see her mom today. José gets nervous and changes the subject. He asks if she sold anything, even an "estambrito" (a ball of yarn). She says a couple of ladies came in, but no, she didn't sell anything. Come on, people, support your local "tienda de hilo" (yarn shop). They start getting into an argument. She thinks business will pick up. He's upset because they're not done paying off the house yet and he's also paying for her mother's medical bills. "And on top of that, I can't count on you for anything…not even as a wife." He tells her that the two of them aren't anything. She says she's grateful for him taking care of her mom and as for the "mercería" (haberdasher's; i.e., the yarn store) it's a business and you have to invest in businesses. She reminds him that he's the one who wanted her to have the store as a distraction. It just hasn't been the distraction he hoped it would be and he thinks she's becoming more depressed. He tells her he doesn't care what hobby she chooses, he just wants her distracted, and if it should happen not to cost anything, he'd like that even better.

Later, in bed, she calls a halt to the action.

The next morning, he's asking about his blue shirt. She starts specifying which one, but he gets pissy. She breaks off brushing her hair and goes into his closet to get the shirt, which was hiding under a jacket. As he puts it on, he reminds her that it's someone's birthday, so he's going out for drinks with the guys after the meeting. She's upset that he hadn't mentioned it before. He doesn't know exactly where they're going and he doesn't know if he'll be home for dinner. She clips her hair up.

At the shop, she looks around, fussing with things, rearranging. Eventually she pulls out a project and starts knitting, almost angrily. I bet her gauge is consistently tight.

José goes into the coffee place. Gabi is waiting for him, smacking gum and smoking. He sits down. He tells her he sometimes goes there after work, but she laughs at him. He accepts a drink of her beer. He asks if she didn't go to school. She says she did, but she went home to change. Ew, is that code for "What happened to the uniform?" She's already underage and wearing short shorts and a top that doesn't cover her stomach. Is that not enough for you, Humbert? She asks if he's comfortable or if he's nervous that they'll be seen. He says they aren't doing anything bad, so she rubs her foot against his leg and says he wants to.

They go to a hotel. We are left to assume that the dirty deed was done.

Tere chops vegetables badly and makes soup. She looks at the clock. She takes some meds. Her hands are shaking badly.

Later, she pulls the hankie out from under her nightgown and takes another pill before she goes to bed.

She's sleeping with the light on and he comes home.

He remembers Gabi asking when they'll see each other again. He tries to suggest the following Tuesday, but she gets pissed off and says they'll meet on Friday at the same hotel. He hedges. He's not sure if he'll be able to make it. She tells him he will be able to.

José turned out the light and Tere sleeps on, while he's still awake thinking of Gabi telling him he will be able to.

Tere and another woman are working on some kind of craft project, decorating what I think are tiny baby bassinets. The other woman, who I think is Gabi's mother, is suggesting that if they were doing this at the shop, people would see them and it might bring in business. Tere says she wouldn't have been able to go to the store, she's got a headache that's killing her. Gabi's mom thinks the projects are cute, but Tere thinks they're awful. Gabi's mom suggests that maybe it's because they're baby-themed and Tere never had a baby. She sees the look on Tere's face and apologizes. Tere asks how Gabi is doing. Mom says she's fine, she always does what she wants. The doorbell rings and Tere goes to get it. Gabi, in full-on tart mode, saunters in. She touches Tere's cheek and says she looks tired. Tere blames it on her headache. She asks Gabi what's up. "Are you happy? Are you seeing anyone?" Gabi says she "more or less" is and mom gives her a hard time for not having mentioned it. Tere says there's nothing wrong with going out with someone, "as long as they're not married." Mom makes a face. Tere asks if the guy lives nearby. Gabi says yes and starts laughing at a picture of José and Tere. Tere tells her the picture is about ten years old. Gabi says José (Pepe) looks exactly the same. José comes home and looks freaked out to see them all there. Tere explains that there wasn't enough room at the shop to work on their project. José asks about dinner and Tere says she'll make some now. Mom says she and Gabi need to be off. She'll take some stuff home to work on, but Gabi needs to get home because she's in the middle of exams. Jose, like the idiot he's already proved himself to be by cheating on his wife with a little tart not yet out of school, says "Really? Exams? You didn't tell me." Tere immediately picks up on this and asks why Gabi would have needed to tell him. José says no reason, just talking. Gabi and mom take off.

Back at the popo, Aranda tells Capellan that the team is brining over the rest of the evidence. Gerardo begins his report to Det. Capellan: "The first thing she did was drive in the needle. She did it with enough force to get it 20cm in and through the liver." Det. C objects that a knitting needle can't do that…it would break. Not so, says Gerardo, not with today's ultra-light, ultra-strong ones. "How long has it been since you last knitted?" Det. C takes the needle from him, points it at his neck and says it's been a long time since she last knitted, but she'd like to practice on him. Moran and Aranda grin.

Tere shows off some yarn to a client. The client likes the yarn, but she forgot exactly what color she used to start her shawl in the first place. I do this all the time--not forgetting the color, exactly, but running out of yarn and not being sure a new skein is going to match. Tere gives the woman the skein and says if it's wrong, she'll exchange it. Gabi's Mom comes in and says she finished (with the project, I assume) and asks if Tere did as well. Tere avoids answering and asks where Gabi is, if she's out of school. Mom supposes so. She doesn't ask Gabi where she's going. And she has no idea who the boyfriend is. She announces that she finished 100 of the decorations, but she doesn't want Tere to pay her. She just did it to keep busy. Tere gripes that all she ever sells are skeins of yarn. Gabi's mom reminds her that José bought her the store as a distraction, not so she would become a millionaire. I wish my husband would buy me a yarn store as a distraction. It couldn't go under any faster than I could knit up all the yarn instead of selling it, I'm sure. Tere immediately starts asking about Gabi again, if she seems happy. Mom is wierded out, now, but she says Gabi is strange, like they all are at that age. She laughs at the suggestion that Gabi may be going out with an older man. Tere winds some ribbon back onto a bobbin at lightning speed. Mom says she thinks Gabi likes guys her own age.

Jose sleeps as Gabi smacks him to wake him back up. She angrily says she ditched school today, so he'd better teach her something new. Ew. "Whatever you like best." He's groggy.

Tere is nervous. She plays with her hands, takes out her cell phone, pulls out a bottle of pills and plays with the cap. José comes home. She was waiting for him. She asks if they should have dinner. She's suspicious that he wants to shower now, at this time of day, but he says he feels "dirty." He comments that she looks nervous, so maybe she should just take the pills already.

Tere examines her face in the mirror. José asks what she's obsessing about and says she's beautiful, young. He asks where his wife is. She shakes her head and says she doesn't know. José's cell phone rings. He eventually answers it, but in a shady way, since he can see it's Gabriela calling. He tells her he'll call her tomorrow.

Tere and Gabi's mom put the little mini-bassinets in a big basket in the shop. Mom reminds Tere that yesterday was her saint's day (St. Teresa…there are a couple of them). Tere isn't used to celebrating it, but Mom got her a gift…of skimpy lingerie. Tere says it's pretty, but she doesn't wear that stuff. Gabi's mom says she'd better. One has to keep one's man warm. Then she says it was Gabi's idea. Tere storms off. Gabi's mom also says to thank José for buying one of Gabi's schoolbooks for her. She thinks that José is just playing daddy (riiight, sugar daddy). Mom supposes that Gabi, being the little "igualada" (uppity) girl she is, probably pestered José into buying it for her and he didn't want to say "no." Tere agrees that must be right, but her heart isn't in it.

Gabi didn't get a call back, so she waited outside his house. José says he couldn't call because he was in a meeting. She bullies him into agreeing to meet her at the hotel at 7 tomorrow, even though he says 7 is too late.

José waits impatiently for the microwave to finish heating his food. Tere comes in. He asks her what's up and she returns the question. He claims not to know what she's talking about. She says she wants to know what's up with Gabriela, with him buying her a book, and when did he even see her to give it to her. He says they just ran into each other and she asked him for money for a book, which he gave her, and what's the big deal, it's Tere's friend's daughter." Tere says she's a girl, to which he stupidly replies, "She told me she was 18." Tere says she's seen the way he looks at her and he gripes that she's not a girl, she's a woman. "Excuse me if I like to look at women." He leaves his food on the table and leaves the room while Tere seethes.

The next day, Gabi's mom comes into the shop and announces that she found some fabric for them to use to make the "duendecitos" (little imps, little goblins). Tere is busy knitting way too tight and she slams down her knitting to ask Gabi's Mom if her daughter is going out with her (Tere's) husband. She keeps advancing on Gabi's Mom, and Mom gets nervous and says Tere has gone crazy from taking so many pills and she's sick.

José tries to explain to Gabi that they can't see each other so often. People are getting suspicious. He says she's very "chiquita" (little). "You didn't care about my age when it came to sleeping with me." She confesses that her mom asked her if they were going out. "And you know what? Tere's the one who told her, so she already knows." José doesn't think so, but Gabi says they "always" end up finding out. "Not if we do things right." Gabi kicks his shoulder and sulks.

Gabi is walking down the street, minding her own tarty business, when Tere comes up behind her, holds scissors to her throat, slaps a hand over her mouth, and drags her away.

Tere drags her into an alley and tells her to shut it. Gabi cries and gasps. She says she didn't do anything. José told her he was going to buy her a book and he took her to their house and raped her in their bed. Tere pats Gabi on the head feebly, puts the scissors away, and walks away. Gabi keeps sobbing and gasping.

Gabi's Mom tells the same story to Det. Capellan, that José raped her daughter. Det. C asks if they did exams, if they reported it. Gabi's Mom says if her daughter says it happened, then she believes her. Det. C coldly says they can't discard the possibility that her daughter is lying. Det. C says she can order a gyno exam and she doesn't need mom's permission to do it. FYI, that will only tell them if she's been sexually active recently, not whether she was raped.

Gabi and José sit in his car. Gabi angrily tells José that Tere tried to kill her. She demands that he get divorced and send Tere to jail. José doesn't think Tere's capable of doing anything. Gabi says the only one not capable of doing anything here is him. She calls him "poco hombre" (not man enough) and says he can get into a relationship with a "little girl" but he can't confront his wife. José says they'll settle this right now.

He goes to the shop asks "What did you do to Gabi? You threatened her with scissors?" Tere asks him what he did to Gabi.

Det. Capellan shows Gabi's mom a medical report and says a gyno exam showed no signs of rape (because it usually can't) and Gabi's body doesn't show any signs of violence (which doesn't necessarily mean she wasn't raped). Mom is shocked.

José laughs off the idea that he could have raped Gabi. He says that the pills have made her crazy. Tere says Gabi's the one who told her. Gabi who didn't wait in the car like he told her to. José confronts Gabi with having told Tere that he raped her. Gabi starts crying and asking "Why? Why did you do this to me?" Then she calls Tere a killer and says they're both crazy. She calls José a pig and says she should have called the cops. Tere gets upset and José says "can't you see what she's trying to do?" He calls Gabi the crazy one. He tells Tere that she wants to destroy them. "Didn't you tell me to divorce her and send her to jail?" Gabi keeps up the lie and Tere is beyond confused. José is now telling the truth, about her waiting outside the house for him, ditching school. José tells Tere that he'll admit his responsibility, but he won't let "this girl" come between them. Gabi screams again that he raped her. "Oh yeah? Weren't you the one who asked me to show you new things last night in bed?" Tere cries and holds her head.

Detective Capellan tells Tere that Gabi lied. José never raped her. Her suspicions were correct, they were having an affair. Tere, still a bit bloody, pulls out the hankie with the pills and says, "Then it was good I punished him?" Det. C says no, she shouldn't have punished anyone, much less in that way. Tere wonders when she heard Gabriela and when she stopped hearing and seeing her husband. "When did my sight get clouded with his blood?"

José keeps yelling that Gabi is crazy. Gabi keeps crying that he said he loved her, he said she was the daughter Tere could never give him. Tere comes at him with a knitting needle, stabs him with it, and cuts his throat with scissors. And now Gabi's crying for real. The bloody butterfly flies away. Tere turns to look at Gabi, and then at the camera.

"Tere Alamilla was found guilty of brutal murder, aggravated by matrimonial ties. She was condemned to 14 years in prison. Her lawyers tried to declare her incompetent but they failed. Gabriela Ortega was condemned to 11 months in prison after being found guilty of the crimes of perjury and false testimony."

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