Caray, Caray!

Tonight, Sherlyn is "Laura, Confundida" (Laura, confused).

Present: Laura, a goth girl with heavy black eyeliner and a lip ring, sits in the interrogation room with Capellan and says "It's my fault." She claims to be responsible for the deaths of both Miguel and her mother.

Flashback: a man and woman struggle and a gun goes off.

Present: Capellan is confused about Laura's claim to have killed her mother. Laura doesn't clear up the confusion, she just keeps saying it's her fault. Capellan knows Gerardo's behind the two-way glass. She gets up and leaves the room to go talk to him while Laura starts crying, sending a stream of charcoal tears running down her cheek. Gerardo says he doesn't understand and everything is back in the lab, so what's she talking about. Capellan doesn't know, but that's what she needs to find out.

Que emane, says Gloria, like blood from an open wound. Or like the black tears of a goth girl.

Past: Laura's parents are arguing. Dad, Jorge, is played by David Ostrosky, who apparently had a part on ENDA, which I didn't see. Mom, Claudia, is played by Patricia Martinez, who was Maruja in Querida Enemiga (IMDB is wrong about which Patricia Martinez is in this role, but trust me). Claudia is griping at Jorge about having forgiven him before about being with another woman. He makes excuses. It's a "Clauda's lines" "Jorge's lines" situation. Laura gets tired of hearing it and says she'll heat up some dinner. She gives him a kiss and he asks for a "besito de esquimal" (Eskimo kiss). Mom gets in one last barb and then leaves. Laura tells dad she's tired of Mom's griping, always the same story. Dad says that's just the way she is.

Eva, played by Monika Sanchez (who was Mili's mom, Rosario, on Al Diablo Con Los Guapos for about five seconds, and Silvana on Amar sin Limites for way too long) is getting a little girl ready for school. Jorge comes in and is addressed by the moppet as "Daddy" and by Eva as "mi amor." Dad requests an Eskimo kiss before the moppet leaves. Eva walks the kid out the door and Jorge fixes them each a coffee. When Eva comes back in, she asks if his wife's bugging him again. "She says I'm cheating on her! I know I am, but what a I supposed to do about it?" Eva's unsympathetic. She's told him before to leave the cow. "But when I talked about divorce, she said she was going to kill herself!" Eva's take is that people don't threaten suicide, they just do it if they're going to do it. Jorge worries about his daughter, and Eva reminds him he has more than one. His rationale for Eva being mistress instead of wife is that she's stronger, she can take it.

Claudia cleans up the bedroom and starts to go through the pockets of a pair of Jorge's pants. Laura sees her and sits her down on the bed. She asks why Mom treats Dad like she does. "Dad's not cheating on you or lying to you!" But Mom is convinced he has another woman. Laura gives up and leaves.

Present: Capellan asks why Laura feels responsible for her mother's death when she didn't kill her. "Because he cheated on me." "Who? Miguel? What did he have to do with your mother's death?" "Miguel cheated on my mother. Jorge cheated on me. Miguel cheated on my mom. No, no." If that made no sense whatsoever, even after rechecking the names appearing so far in this recap, then yes, you're on the right track.

Flashback: Jorge sits at the dining table in his official home reading a car mag. He and Laura talk about the rough day he had. He's almost about to be able to pay the down payment on a taxi. He shows her a picture. Claudia isn't too excited about that. She'd rather he were a tire store manager like he used to be. Laura explains, for what's probably the millionth time, that when cars don't sell, neither do tires. Laura reminds Jorge that it's her birthday in a month and Jorge teases her about talking economic crises and then asking for presents. Claudia is upset that he won't get his ONLY daughter a present, because she is the ONLY one he has, that she knows of. Laura gets up from the table. Claudia tells Jorge that she married a store manager, not a taxi driver. "And I married a tender, sympathetic woman, not you!"

Jorge and Eva are in bed together. He needs to leave and she tries to wheedle him into staying. Seriously, what does this guy have that either of those women could want? They aren't a bad looking pair of babes and they so could do better than Mr. Part-Time Lover. Jorge says he's got to go or he'll have missed too much work and get fired. He'll be home late, after the moppet is in bed. Eva reminds him she needs money for shoes for the kid and he says he'll give her money, assuming he makes any. Eva rolls her eyes and rolls back in bed at mention of the taxi.

Present: Moran and Aranda are doing their respective things. Gerardo is analyzing the wounds--3 to the lungs, one to the heart. He asks how they're doing and they both try to talk at the same time and then get kind of giggly about it and Gerardo busts in to tell Moran to talk first. The blood from the "desarmador" (screwdriver, and it's the same whether you mean the tool or the drink) matches the victim. Aranda adds that the fingerprints match the accused. Gerardo says the wounds are from a screwdriver, so therefore…. Another "no, you first" match ensues. Gerardo says whenever, he and the young man aren't in a hurry.

Flashback: Claudia reviews an Avon catalog in bed. Jorge joins her and she shows it to him. Jorge is shocked she'd go selling door to door. Claudia says he drives a taxi, so what's the big deal. He starts to tell her, but the phone rings. Laura says she'll answer it, but Jorge gets so freaked out that Claudia freaks out in turn and they both go running into the kitchen. Laura is sitting there, eating some Ben & Jerry's out of the carton. She says it was a wrong number, and Claudia, predictably, freaks out. Laura looks at Jorge and says "It was a wrong number, right dad? Right?" Jorge leaves without answering and Laura cries.

The next morning, Eva admits that she did call. She's tired of him talking about "my house" and "my daughter" when he's got two of each. Jorge hands her some money for Jazmin's shoes. Eva is shocked. "What? How much do shoes cost, anyway?" He shows her his empty wallet. Cry me a frickin' river, dude. He also mentions that Laura's birthday is coming up and he doesn't know what to get her. Like this woman's going to care. She reminds him she needs a watch. "Oh, so now you want a watch?" NEED, she says.

Laura makes plans to see a movie with a friend for her birthday. Jorge comes in and talks to someone on the phone about covering a shift, or rather, not covering a shift. He goes into the kitchen and Laura takes the opportunity to check out a jewelry box that's half sticking out of his bag. It's a watch with a matching necklace and earrings. Laura is thrilled. She puts the box back in his bag.

Present: Capellan looks morosely at the computer as it analyzes fingerprints. Moran sent her the records for the dad. Capellan takes a look. He has an arrest record. According to what I can read, this is Jorge Mendoza Cervantes, Mexican citizen, married, taxi driver, incarcerated 6 of October, sentenced to 18 years for homicide, died 28 of March from pancreatic cancer. And in a couple of weeks when I get my new reading glasses, I might be able to read even more of that, but for now it's enough.

Past: Laura walks down the street and looks in the window of a restaurant. She sees Dad, Eva and Jazmin sitting at a table together, and Dad and Jazmin giving Eskimo kisses. Jorge starts talking to Eva about some opportunity he's really excited about. Laura walks in and stands by the table. Jorge doesn't see her. Laura notices Eva's watch, and Jazmin playing with Jorge's keys. Eva tells her to put the keys down. Jazmin asks "dad" if she can play with them. He finally figures out what Eva's look means and turns around. He, rather stupidly, calls Laura "hija" (daughter) and asks her to sit down with them. She leaves without saying anything.

At home, Laura rips up her dad's car magazines. Claudia comes home and is very confused. Laura tells her she hates her dad. "I saw him!" Claudia wants details. "He has another woman, and he has a daughter." Claudia takes this as a sign that Laura hates her. "He has another daughter. She's younger than me. I saw them together, by chance." Claudia wants more details, but at the same time, she thinks Jorge can't have another daughter, and Laura just hates her and is saying this because she hates her. Laura cries and says she does hate her mother, she hates her dad, she hates them both!

Eva brings Jorge a drink and tells him not to be so upset. Jorge doesn't want to go home, but Eva tells him he has to. "She was going to find out sometime." Eva says she's not going to kill him, she already knew he had another woman. She has no sympathy for him, having been through worse, and had to do it alone. Jorge is worried that Laura saw them. "Both your daughters saw you, Jazmin is just a girl, but Laura is a young woman." And now we find out that Jazmin already knew, because Eva believes in telling her the truth. "I'm not like you, a hypocrite!" Potato, potatoh.

Jorge makes his way quietly into his official house and sits at the dining table, trying to figure out how he's going to talk his way out of this one. Claudia walks in and orders him out of the house. OK, problem solved. But no, Jorge wants to talk. Claudia says for him to get his stuff and get out. But he doesn't want to go. Claudia says he's going, like it or not! He makes her sick! Laura comes in and Claudia tries to send her to her room. The parents hurl all sorts of nasty remarks at each other as Laura keeps watching and crying. Claudia goes into the kitchen and grabs a two-pronged fork. She stabs Jorge in the arm with it and he screams "You're crazy! I'm going to turn you in! You're crazy!" (first crazy "loca", second crazy "desquiciada" which is more like unhinged, out of one's senses) and when Laura comes near him he tells her to go to her room, it's all her fault. Oh, no he didn't! Claudia goes back into the kitchen and comes back out with a gun. Laura is cringing in the doorway, crying and freaking out. Claudia tells Jorge she's going to kill him, and then she'll kill his whore and her daughter. They fight over the gun and Claudia ends up getting shot. Laura freaks out some more and cries over her mom's body.

8 years later: Laura has gone goth. She tells a nice-looking boy it was all her fault. Dad ended up in jail and now she lives with her Tía Olga, so Olga can look after her. This is the soon-to-be-dead Miguel, played by José Luis Reséndez, currently playing David in Tormenta en el Paraiso (which show I'm am SO OVER already, just put it out of its misery) and who will soon be playing some other pretty boy in Camaleones (which will at least have stuff blowing up and therefore will keep Mr. 5ft more interested). Miguel wonders if she ever saw her dad again. She hasn't gone to visit him in jail and hopes someone killed him there. She figures the other daughter visits him. Laura ribs him about acting like a psychologist. "I could use one. Or better yet a psychiatrist. My mom's dead, my dad's in jail, and I'm crazy." She stops freaking out Miguel for a minute to give some guy a box of balls, not a euphemism, so he can play some pool. Miguel tells her he can't go out with her tonight, he's got to work on a car before tomorrow. It's a taxi. Dun, dun, dun. "What are you going to come up with next, that they changed your shift?" He's confused, and makes the mistake of calling her "loquita" (little crazy girl). He takes it back. Laura says she's got to get back to work, but she'll call him tomorrow. He asks for an Eskimo kiss "like you showed me." He can't figure out why she gets upset about this.

(Hey, what's this new show, Tiempo Final? And when are they actually showing it, because I don't see it in my listings. And more importantly, what crack are they smoking over at Uni?)

Miguel works on a car and his buddy, Luis, makes cracks about Laura's mental state. Luis is played by Ramón Valdés, last seen by me as Chamuco on Guapos. The phone rings and Miguel asks him to tell them he's not there, figuring it’s the guy calling about the taxi. Of course, it's actually Laura, but Luis is a dumbass and doesn't figure that out. Miguel also doesn't worry about it and says if it's important they'll call back. They keep working on the car.

Laura paces the living room, talking to herself. Tía Olga comes in, wondering what's up. Laura tells her that that idiot told her he'd be working late on a car and now he's not in the garage. Olga wants her to ease up on this guy. It's only been a month and she's already harassing him. Laura goes off to look for him and Olga just sighs.

Luis is ready to leave and checks with Miguel to make sure it's ok. As he's leaving, he runs into Laura, who asks him if he's being an "alcahuete" (procurer, pimp, i.e., is he covering for his friend). Luis is confused, but leaves anyway. Laura gets after Miguel about Luis telling her he wasn't there. She grabs him by the shirt and says she doesn't like being lied to. He yells back that he's not. When she gets upset he apologizes and suggests she go heat them up some coffee. Near the coffee pot are some car magazines. Laura looks uncomfortable.

Present: Tía Olga tells Capellan that she was right, Laura was getting very paranoid, everything bothered her, she thought everyone was against her. And when Olga gave her the message that Eva called, she accused her of making it up to bother her. Capellan wonders why Eva would call Laura.

Eva tells Capellan she called to tell Laura her dad was dying of cancer. She said Laura "me mando al diablo" (literally, "sent me to hell"; i.e., she blew her off).

Flashback: Laura is cleaning up a pool table when Eva walks in, asking if Laura works there. Laura is shocked to see Eva. It takes Eva a minute to recognize Laura, she's changed so much. "Why would you recognize me? My dad never introduced us." Laura wonders if Eva sees her dad. "Once or twice a month. Your sister, Jazmin, also visits. She's 18 now." Eva tells Laura that her dad is dying from pancreatic cancer. "And? He's finally going to burst. I'm his daughter, I can say what I want. Everyone dies. My mom died. He's dying. You're going to die. And Jazmin." Eva walks out and Laura says to herself "and me. And everyone."

Present: Eva can't believe a child would talk about her father like that. Capellan says no child could believe her father could kill her mother.

Flashback: Miguel and Laura eat burgers. Miguel talks about how he wants to save up money for a really cool garage, which is why he can't take her out for nicer dinners. He notices she's not listening. Laura says maybe she doesn't give a crap what he's talking about. She starts wrecking his place and he calls her an imbecile. She starts running Claudia's lines, and he, without knowing it, starts running Jorge's lines. He grabs her to keep her from hitting him and keeps repeating her name, Laura, until she seems to realize that he's Miguel. She cries and hugs him.

Present: Olga talks to Aranda over coffee. She tells her that Laura was doing strange things, like moving things around for no reason, spying on her while she's on the phone. "Sometimes she calls me aunt, and sometimes she calls me Mom." Olga suspects she's bipolar. Aranda explains that we've gone way beyond "bipolar" here. "Is she…crazy?" Aranda says she's manifesting symptoms of schizophrenia. "Her reality is fragmented." Olga thinks that makes sense.

Flashback: Laura is ripping up magazines in the living room when Olga comes in and asks what she's doing. "I hate him. I hate him! I already forgave him so many times and I'm not going to forgive him again. What do you mean what did he do? You're my sister and you don't know what he did?" Olga reminds Laura "I'm your Aunt Olga. Who are you talking about?" "I'm talking about what Jorge did to me. Jorge my husband. My husband." Olga is freaking out and tells Laura that Jorge is her dad and she's not married. "Jorge my husband, no, I'm with Miguel, Miguel my boyfriend, my husband, Jorge, Jorge's my boyfriend, Jorge's my dad." Laura cries and rocks back and forth as Olga tries to comfort her.

Present: Capellan tells Gerardo that if they can demonstrate that she commited the crime in a state of "enajenación mental" (insanity) that they can have her declared "inimputable" (not responsible). Gerardo thinks that responsible or not, this girl needs to be locked up or get treatment. Capellan wonders about the cause of her schizophrenia. Flashback to the night Claudia died. "She could have inherited it from her mother, but her father didn't help much." Gerardo agrees.

Flashback: Laura is cleaning up at the pool hall when Olga comes in to tell her that Eva called. Her dad is dead. Laura starts to cry, and then kind of laughs. "Of course. I thought the air smelled a little cleaner today." Olga says there will be paperwork now, and she'll go with her if she wants. "I'm not going. As far as I'm concerned, he can rot. Let them bury him, burn him, get rid of him. Let that whore Eva and her daughter go."

Luis is on the phone with his girlfriend. Miguel makes fun of his lovey talk. Luis tries to play it off like she's just some chick, whatever. Miguel claims he broke up with Laura cause she's kind of nuts. "Oh, and she didn't have a problem with that?" Miguel has to fess up. "What am I supposed to do? She gets crazy for any little thing. Last time she almost destroyed the garage. Next time she'll kill me." His cocky smile fades.

Present: Dead!Miguel's body bag is being zipped up. Gerardo tells Aranda and Moran that they can't do anything else, couldn't have been easier. Moran offers to carry the evidence box for Aranda, but she says she can carry it on her own, "Lieutenant." Gerardo summons Moran to give him advice. "What are you playing at? Never mix love and work. You always lose at something, and losing always hurts." Hm, but haven't you ever…? "Do as I say, not as I do." He smiles at the dead guy and keeps zipping.

Laura tells Capellan "If you don't help me, I'm going to end up going crazy!" Capellan says she has a clinical disorder, it's treatable, and she's going to be able to control it. Too bad it's the reason Miguel died, and no matter what she says to the judge, Laura committed a crime and Capellan needs to know how it all went down.

Flashback: Luis tells Miguel that he's going to get some dinner. He agrees to bring back some tacos for Miguel. Laura walks in after Luis leaves and Miguel, hearing the footsteps, thinks it's Luis, back already. Laura says hello and Miguel quickly gets out from under the car he's working on. He offers to get cleaned up so they can go get a coffee. She's upset that he wants to get coffee since she thinks it means he has something to say. She gets on him for the phone always being busy. He tells her that Luis has a girlfriend now and he's always on the phone. She, of course, thinks it's him on the phone. She's seeing his face flash back and forth with her dad's as he says "You're upset because I didn't call you and you're right, but sometimes that's just the way things are." He says maybe it's time for them to break up, because she's "prendida" (lit up, lively, etc.) and he's more "tranquilo" (calm). She grabs a screwdriver and says she'll take the calm out of him.

Present: Capellan asks how she took the calm out of him. "With a screwdriver." Laura kind of laughs and then repeats it. "I had to punish him, for everything he did to me and to my mother, and because I wanted him to be quiet. I wanted them both to be quiet." She keeps repeating that she wanted them both to be quiet.

Flashback: Laura tells him she'll take the calm out of him. "You know how?" She stabs him in the arm. He calls her stupid and crazy and says he'll send her to jail. She tells him she'll send him to jail for killing her mother. "What are you talking about?" She says he killed her mother and stabs him again in the chest. When he collapses onto her, she stabs him a few more times in the back. The bloody butterfly flies away and she stabs him a few more times, just for good measure.

"Laura Mendoza was declared incompetent and completed a sentence of six years in the psychiatric wing of the women's prison. To date she has had two suicide attempts."

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