Caray, Caray!

Part 1 of 2 [Some scenes have been combined to help the flow.]
Previously on D.F. Law
Victoria and her client, Sol, Baby Daddy and his lawyer, listen as the judge trumpets out his decision: Baby Daddy is to pay to said Adult Baby all the child support he should have been paying all along. Vic was always confident of the outcome. Sol is over the Luna and her daddy, Jorge Garcia, is so gobsmacked he forgets he's in court and starts to rail against the decision. The judge has spoken. The gavel comes down. Sol looks over at her daddy.

A continuacion
Lalo has finished his interview with the nice lady psychologist and is returned safe and sound to his anxious papi and Gus, who have been waiting in the hallway. Lalo says the games they played were tiring and now he's hungry. Before they can leave, an over-anxious mami, blowing in on a nasty whirlwind descends on the defenseless trio of guys. She envelops her little amor and as she clings to him she swears she'll never let him go. And she doesn't. She swears she's going to buy him lots of toys. She swears she loves him muchisimo. Sr. Tijeras tries to separate them. Gus tries to separate him from Lorenza who are smothering the kid between them. She doesn't let go until her attorney (who showed up out of nowhere) pulls her away. Lor continues to screech how much she loves Lalo as she's propelled down the hall. Gus saw through Lor's little act and tells Agustin that she did it to provoke him. He's sure the psychologist will see through her, too. Unruffled, Lalo just wants to go get something to eat.

Sol and Victoria leave the courtroom, but Jorge calls her back. He's sorry things ended up like this and she's sorry he left her no other options. Jorge asks his daughter, rhetorically, "Do you know what hurts me the most?" "Did you ever wonder why I left?" [Thanks, Niecie.] Then Sol retorts, "How dare you say that to me." Daddy answers, "It's the truth." He says he will comply with the judgment, but if it was only money she wanted, then don't come looking for him again. Sol is getting riled up now. She says she did look for him but he never responded. As her father, she insists, he should have been looking for her and looking out for her. He insists he did. [As your court reporter recalls overhearing somewhere, I thought he said that Sol's mother told him to get lost and not to contact them or try to see Sol, not that he had abandoned them, but ni modo.] They seem to be at an impasse. Vic has been watching the exchange and steps in to indicate that it's not too late (or was it too late??) to have a father-daughter relationship but not here, not now, and whisks Sol away.

Bobby comes to the jail to visit the man who held the Pistola That Went POP, aka SB, or Albert. He's there to tell him he'll remain in jail a little longer, but if things go their way, SB will be exonerated from intentional homicide, but will probably have to compensate the widow. Perhaps he should give Fanny a larger share of the business. SB is sorry that nothing he can do will bring Ramon back, but he's willing to do anything. [He sounds sincere and looks earnest.] Bobby says he must be sure to give his statement of the incident exactly as it happened.

Ric the Bric welcomes his rambunctious kids to his vast well-appointed bachelor pad. The kids are impressed. Elena slithers in behind them carrying the cake that should carry her to his heart through his stomach. She's impressed with the digs, too. Hijinks ensue when the kids discover Ric's Romper Room. >>FF until, oh my, all four end up piled on top of each other and engage in some unusual moves on the bed. [Your court reporter averts her eyes.] Elena decides it's time for her to leave. At the door she makes her move on Ric--that is she moves, THEN turns around to face Ric. Her eyes begin to glisten as she recalls the happier times, locking his fingers in hers, and how they are getting along so well now, as Ric unlocks his fingers from hers. She wonders if there is a chance for them again. Ric is honest, if not blunt, and says no. It's over for them. There was a loss of trust. Elena swears it was a mistake. He says she knows very well that there was no longer any love between them. Yes, she insists, she loves him. Ric wisely says if she had loved him as she says she does, she wouldn't have gotten herself involved with someone else. Elena wants to know what she should do with all this love she has for him. Ric basically tells her to find someone else who deserves her.

Ric goes back to the kids and starts to read them a scary story. Fed is loving it, Nat is not. They put the book away for another time and after they snuggle down, Ric waits in the room until they fall asleep. He kisses them goodnight one more time, turns out the light and walks out.

Juan is wolfing down his dinner 'cause he has to go back to work, er, the bar, as he drops his nice new briefcase back down on the chair. On opening the door he finds a knock-out gal, oh, it's Fer, all dressed up and now with nowhere to go. He promises to make it up to her. Susana invites her in to share her supper. Over the meal, she "grills" Fer on her life, friends, activities, romantic attachments and is (pleased) sad to hear she works long hours and doesn't have time for outside relationships. Susana thinks Fer should have a little fun in her life--and to leave that up to her.

At Paula's place, the three Casketeers are spending the evening playing cards. [Oh, apparently Paula has a boyfriend the Patio hasn't met yet. His name is Mauricio. Your court reporter is passing this on for what it's worth. She's all giggly over him and a proposed trip somewhere she's going to ask him for.] Ale arrives and tells them she's more confused than ever. Carlos is doing a 180 in her direction (with starting a foundation for women) and Ric is doing a 180 away from her (busy with his kids and work). Paula thinks it must be hard for Ric to see her with Carlos. They encourage her to talk to him. It's not like she hasn't tried. She thinks Ric's attitude means she's no longer important to him. Ale wants to change the subject now. Paula gets the last word. Both Ric and Carlos adore her, so the only one who has to decide is Ale and she should listen to her heart.

Our Babe in the Woods...of...iniquity has returned to the scene of depravation. Tatiana is sent over to him but he flubs the job he was sent to do. Tat recognizes him and won't cooperate with him or his bunch of lawyers that got Carlos the Killer off. Juan tries to explain that he's out because there was insufficient proof of his guilt and they are now trying to find the real culprit. She can't hear and won't listen. She wants Carlos to pay for what he did and with that she walks off. Juan tries to follow her but the "floor" manager/waiter doesn't let him.

Next morning, Leo comes to Oli's office, excited to tell her that all the women who came forward have given their statements and that desgraciado will be sentenced accordingly. Oli wants to thank him personally (and alone, just the two of them), for all he did to help her. She's thinking of a dinner at her place. She'll fix whatever he likes or get take-out. Surely he can see the two of them need a little distraction. He's in and he'll get Vic, Rob and Ric as add-ons. [Oli's mylar balloon that says Happiness is Dinner for Two just got punctured and deflated at her feet.]

Sr. Perez has come to see Ale to get an update on his son. She tells him he was with Marcela and has been removed and taken into child protective services. Perez is ready to go get him asap. Ale tells him they'll go to Queretaro the next day, where he will have to show some proof that this is his son and Perez has legal custody. They leave the office together and overcome with emotion, Perez gives Ale a friendly hug, just as Ric comes around the corner. After Perez leaves, Ale and Ric greet each other in a much more friendly manner than in the recent past. They talk and smile at each other, catch each other up on family and cases, look at each other longingly, but their heartfelt words don't come.

Juan reports to Leo of his failure to get anything out of Tatiana. Leo is beside himself. They need her cooperation. She's the only one that can give them any information on Pat's life. It's not as if Juan didn't try. Leo orders him to go back and insist. Juan thinks it's useless. He's tried everything Leo suggested--until Leo implies that Tat herself can't be eliminated as a suspect. But he can't let on they suspect her. Leo tells him to go back and ask if perhaps Pat was in trouble with someone else. [Poor Juan--why didn't they send a skilled investigator or Roberto. It's unfair to Juan. It's not like it's in his job description to pay for a lap dance from a "ballerina" after hours.]

Oyez, oyez, Alberton is already on trial! The four eye witnesses are deep in conversation, probably prepping for their testimony. Oh, wait, it's only three eye witnesses, the fourth is now the attorney of record. At least given the quick turn-around, he's not been burdened with filing motions, hearing and transcribing depositions or the submission of evidence and witness lists. It's just their word against....well, nobody's. The last minute prosecutor is definitely at a disadvantage. Oh, we do recognize the judge, the one who was so nice to Robert just yesterday.

Part 2 of 2
Berenice, the Gun Popper's wife, is first up and asked to testify to the character of the deceased, then as to what she saw. She attests to Ramon's sterling character, lots of friends, always there to lend a helping hand and her husband's best friend. She plays her part well, sad eyes, cracking voice, straight hair drooping over her un-made-up face, wet eyelashes holding back tears that might come if required to continue. Berenice soldiers on, answering Bobby's questions--no, there were never any problems between him and her husband, Albert. She even considered him her friend and confidant, there to listen, help and console to make sure she was always ok. (Quick cut to the widow, whose demeanor is a mirror image of Berenice's--except she's wearing lipstick. My, they could be sisters.) She continues to cover their great working relationship in addition to being friends. Bobby's questions serve to show the judge there was no rancor between the partners.

The judge is listening intently. [Unless your court reporter got it wrong, she clearly heard the judge call her Sra. Budin--Spanish for pudding.] The judge calls for questioning by the prosecutor. He approaches the witness and asks if she's sure there were no problems in the relationship, ones maybe she knew nothing about? [Well how would she know what she didn't know, fella.] Bobby jumps up: asked and answered, your Honor. The judge admonishes the prosecutor to keep to the narrow line of questioning. [Oh, so it's Algudin, not Budin.] He agrees and starts over, is she COMPLETELY sure there were no problems between the two that might have led Sr. Algudin to want to murder his partner? Of course not, an indignant wife answers (she has a stake in the outcome, naturally). They were like brothers. No more questions.

[Trial reporting is intense and demanding, so, taking a break we slip back to the Vega offices.] Leo drops in on Ric. He finds him quite reanimated. It's due to his having had his kids overnight. Elena is being quite reasonable and Ric wants to keep it that way. Leo invites him to the dinner he and Oli are throwing that weekend. Ric turns him down in favor of spending time with his kids. Ric hopes Elena doesn't misinterpret his new attitude. He had to make it clear to her that what they had is finished. He doesn't want to hurt her; he hopes the best for her. He only wishes to get along with her for the sake of the kids.

Back to the trial. Bobby takes a big risk and puts the defendant on the stand. As he takes his seat, the bereaved widow murmurs under her breath, "murderer." Bobby asks Albert what happened that night. [Now his surname sounds like Albudin. I'll leave it at that.] SB explains how he came to take out the Pistola that Went POP. Bobby immediately points out it was duly registered and submits the evidence. It just went off, SB says earnestly and sincerely (see jail scene). He didn't mean for it to go off. When asked about his relationship with the deceased, he echoes everything his wife said. (Quick cut to the two Mujeres de Negro. This time Berenice is staring coldly at her husband while Fanny is noticeably upset and crying.) He swears it was an accidente. That's all from Bobby, for now.

The prosecutor steps forward and asks, wondering out loud if the relationship was really that good, up-close. He infers that, "La confianza apesta," or that confidence can become a pestilence. Both Bobby and Albert jump up to object. The judge tells the hapless prosecutor to get to the point. He states that being too close could provoke problems. Albert denies any problems between them. It was the gun's fault. He should never have had it in the house, much less get it out when he didn't know how to use it. [Now that's news.] The prosecutor is done. Al runs his mouth, directing his final comments to Fanny, that he never meant to harm Ramon.

Ale and Carmen are at the Vega front desk arranging Ale's travel plans to Queretaro. The Grown Up Mean Girl Elena sweeps in and stops long enough to greet Ale, commenting on her upgraded fashion and new "luke," surely attributing it to Carlos returning to her life, sneering gaily as she says it. She turns down Carmen's offer to announce her arrival to Ric because he's expecting her. Ale is left with a bit of acid reflux in her mouth.

Court is still in session. Bobby calls the widow to the stand. Composed, she gives Al the eye--maybe stink eye, maybe not. Bobby has her declare how long she's known the accused--since she and Ramon got married 13 years ago. She echoes what Berenice and Al reported about their business and personal relationship--it was solid. Bobby then moves to the night in question. Was there anything unusual going on? No, it was as always when they got together. This time, though, they all got a little nervous when Al took out the Pistola that Went POP, but no, he wasn't angry or violent or anything like that. At first she indicates that she doesn't think it was an accident, but segues into all the confusion surrounding them at the time and comes back to "the accident" that took the life of her husband. (Quick cut to the doctor, sitting beside Berenice, stony-faced with a touch of disbelief.) Bobby leads the witness, so it was never intentional on the part of Al, no threats, no conflicts. The widow Fanny answers no to all the items on the list.

How many times did Sr. Albudin pull the trigger? Fanny says only once. In that case, sums up the crack lawyer, Albert couldn't even be sure his friend had been killed, clearly unpremeditated aggression. And, did he threaten any of the witnesses after the shooting? Did he try to get rid of the gun or take off before the police arrived? The widow answers in the negative.

It's the prosecutor's turn. He wants to know if Fanny was close enough to Sr. Albudin to see what happened. She was, although not right next to him, but in her line of vision. Is she absolutely sure that she saw that he pulled the trigger without meaning to? Well no, she can't be sure of that. He changes his line of questioning. Is she sure there was nothing that had changed in the two men's relationship? Again, Fanny says no. He's done (really, done in).

The judge asks if either has anything to add. Bobby does. He firmly declares this was an accident, unfortunate in that it cost someone his life, but it was not intentional (sin dolo), in spite of it being a homicide. Sr. Albudin will carry that knowledge on his conscience the rest of his life and that would be his worst punishment. The judge calls a recess to deliberate with himself.

Return on Monday to get the verdict. Must see TV.

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