Caray, Caray!

Ay de mi, where is Christopher Mason tonight? Without his literary talent, this episode will have to be in the ever-dull court reporting style.

Part 1 of 2
Rob is handing Fanny's problem with Albert over to Gus. He has to explain to her, why. He's recently uncovered facts that demonstrate Al fooled him into believing the shooting was an accident but he really meant to kill Ramon. He feels guilty about allowing him to go free and can't help her himself because, well, he represented Al. Gus is up to speed and takes over. Fanny doesn't understand any of this.

After last night's convivial phone conversation Ric had with Ale, she returns the call in the morning. Her dimples light up her face, smiling through the admiration Ric lays on her. She promises they'll see each other when she gets back. He says he'll be waiting for her. Ale is happy with the anticipation of a reunion with Ric.

Sr. Perez and young Brian join Ale in the lobby. Ale has everything settled and arranged. Marcela has agreed to abide by the court order in return for Sr. Perez not pressing charges. He's very happy and can't thank Ale enough. They're ready to go home. Ale gets a phone call from Carlos. She doesn't light up the way she did with Ric. She's professional and business-like as she relates the handling of the case and its resolution. She accepts his praise--that she's the best lawyer he knows. Carlos hopes that now she'll have more time to consider his offer (to come work for him or come live with him in their apartment, I can't remember which offer). He wants to see her as soon as she gets back, to celebrate. Ale makes work an excuse. She must go back to the office. He understands and signs off with a, "te amo," which she doesn't take kindly. He hangs up before she can respond.

Benji surprises Letty in her office by sneaking up to her and grabbing her for a kiss. She tells him, again, things are different now--he's not to be snogging her in the office. Well, he wants to celebrate. He proudly tells Letty he's got his first case to handle off the books. Letty is sure this is risky. Benji is cock sure of himself. He's tired of bringing in money to the firm and not getting the recognition he deserves. It'll be a snap. He has his client thinking she might go to prison when she's only looking at some fines. He's planning to make a pretty penny off her. Letty thinks taking money from her is ok, but if Alonso finds out, Benji will get the boot. Benji says he no longer cares. If Alonso finds out, he doubts he'll be shown the door because Alonso won't want to lose all the money he brings in. Benji's not that stupid that he'd risk losing everything. So, how about that little celebration? The finger slides close to Letty's lip. She holds back his hand, but not her sultry gaze. [Will she or won't she?]

As your court reporter is outside picking up lunch, she notices a traffic jam due to a fender bender. Out of the corner of her eye she sees  a guy in a hoodie with a gun approach an unsuspecting woman driver and tells her to hand over her purse, which she does. Spell-bound, your court reporter becomes a by-stander with the gathering crowd. Meanwhile, a couple in a scaled-down Humvee are also witnessing the robbery. The husband, Fabian, reacts as would any logically thinking person and honks his horn to distract the robber. The robber turns his attention to their car and points the gun at the couple. In a flash, Fabian accelerates the car and hits the guy. He bounces off the back of the car in front and lands on the pavement. The by-standers declare him dead. Valeria, his wife begins to get hysterical. What will they do? Their car is trapped by the traffic jam and they wait and listen to the wailing of the patrol car approaching. Fabian tells Valeria to call a lawyer and starts to get out of the vehicle. Why is he getting out, Valeria shrieks. He's not going anywhere, he's afraid he's going to be arrested. He is. He's handcuffed as he gets out of the car, no questions asked.

Valeria begs the officer not to do this. The Sra. who was robbed comes up to thank Fab for saving her life and chimes in with Valeria. They plead in vain as the police carry Fab off. The Sra. promises to be there for Valeria and hugs her.

Juan and Leo are watching Rob's melt-down as he kicks himself for falling for Albert's con job. He realizes he can't be the one to appeal the case. Leo says the time for appeal hasn't expired. Juan correctly (according to the Televisa Codigo Ilegal, Sec. 3.14) reminds them that the firm can't appeal the same case. A dim light bulb goes off in Rob's head. He has an idea.

Elena brings Natalia her costume for the performance for the next day. Nat's very excited, but also a bit nervous. Elena lets Nat call Ric on her phone. [Thank goodness our galan is decent enough to answer it, knowing it's Elena, while visions of sugar plum Ales dance in his head.] When it turns out to be Nat, Ric is overjoyed to hear from her and swears his promise to pick them up the next day is a solid promise.

Rob's idea takes shape in the form of Carlos-At-The-Bar (the alcohol dispensary bar). He lays out his problem to Carlos regarding the trap he fell into--he let a murderer go free. The appeal is in three days and he shows Carlos the file. No one at Vega can do it and he wants Alberto to spend a good long time in prison. Carlos is happy to help (and put Rob in his debt) and to count on him. He asks to see Fanny in his office in the morning. Rob is relieved enough to have a drink. [Kirby--are those ginormous parameciums on Rob's tie?]  Carlos natters on about him and Ale being together again, the apartment they bought and how soon all that "unpleasantness" will be forgotten and in the past. Rob makes sure to congratulate him, while nervously looking like he'd rather be anywhere else than there.

Leo comes to visit Fabian in jail. He explains that Valeria called him and he'll be representing him. First, he wants the blow-by-blow account of what happened. After he relates it, Leo tells him they'll use the justified criminal act as a defense. He gives Fab a little lecture from the Justice 101 syllabus. It boils down to not taking the law into your own hands--if everyone did, the legal system would not function. He reassures Fabian they have enough to show he acted in defense of his wife and the other woman. Meanwhile, he'll have to remain in jail awhile longer. He says, "Vamos a tener que esperar el termino." [Apologies, court reporter's legal dictionary is English only, so she doesn't know what it means to wait for...what.] He explains to Fabian the prosecutor's office has 48 hours to resolve what happened, give Fabian a psych exam and take statements. Leo continues in absolute dead-pan that he will make sure Fabian doesn't get sent to prison. Fabian is now quite distressed. He's not the one at fault. It was the guy with the gun, he's the guilty one.

On the way out, Leo stops to bug Sonia, the dear prosecutor. He insists on it being a necesidad disculpante. [Court reporter think it means excusable necessity.] Sonia has a bug up her skirt and chews Leo out for defending a caped crusader running over folks willy-nilly in the name of justice. Leo chides her for not admitting that this is not the case here. He sets up the scene for her, acting it out. Fabian couldn't move or get out of the way. He was hemmed in by other cars. He feared for the life of his wife and his own as he faced a man with a gun. Folks in the office stop to watch the performance. Sonia tells him to have his client take care in his declaration as there is a big difference between excusableness and justification for what he did. She doesn't want the city full of vigilantes running over folks, meting out their own form of justice. Agreed? Well, the two agree that statements will be taken first thing in the morning. Leo seems satisfied.

Next morning Leo is back visiting Fab, prepping him for his statement. He must remember to mention that what he did was to protect his own life and the life of his wife as the assailant had a gun pointed at them. He's sure Fab will be out in a few hours. Valeria and the Sra. will also be giving their statements.

Part 2 of 2
Ric the Bric (with an Ale chink in it) arrives to take Elena and Natalia to her recital. >>FF

Joel and Marcia sit down for a cup of coffee but are interrupted before Joel can stir the sugar in, by the marshals who have come to carry out the eviction. They start right away carrying out the comfy arm chair and sofa right out from under them and probably the coffee in the cups as well. Joel has Marcia call Ric just as he's dropping off Elena and Nat. He promises to come as soon as he can, but in the meantime, he'll send one of his colleagues. He reaches Rob on the phone and he takes off for Joel's.

Ric finds Elena outside the building and tells her what is happening to Joel. She understands. He must go. No, Ric the Bric Wall stands his ground and says he'll stay for Nat's dance, then go. Elena uses the opportunity to tell him he's the best papa for her children she could ask for and strokes his chin briefly. They go in together.

Joel is trying to comfort Marcia who keeps blaming herself for their predicament because his children didn't like her. Joel kisses and hugs her and tells her, her only fault was making him happy. [Joel, it's entirely your fault. You are a stubborn and prideful old man, hoping the best in your children would come through, though all the signs pointed to the contrary.] He tells Marcia she doesn't deserve this and he isn't going to become a burden to her for the rest of her life. [Ay, ay, ay prophetic words. Dang! Not a spoiler. Everybody on the Patio knows what he means.] He hugs and kisses Marcia and repeats himself--he swears, promises that things will get better.

Rob arrives to an empty house and finds the marshals hanging around inside and the couple out on the patio. Rob takes a look at the papers and asks the marshals to be careful with his aunt and uncle's belongings. That little lie seems to make a difference to the head marshal. Rob returns to Joel and Marcia and tells them there's nothing he can do. Everything is in order. Joel's hopeful demeanor falls, replaced by utter hopelessness.

Back at work, your court reporter observes as Val and the Sra. Manriquez give their statements truthfully regarding the fatal incident to Sonia. Sra. Manriquez' version is dramatic, to say the least. She does add that the car behind Fabian's left, but she's sure they saw it all as well. She turns back to Fab, who is behind them, and says emotionally that he saved her life. She'll be eternally grateful. After they both sign their declarations, Sra. Manriquez is excused and Fab, still in cuffs is reunited with his wife. He sits down beside her. [An interesting aside--Sonia is in possession of the medical exam stating that Fab arrived with no visible medical issues (i.e. bruises or missing teeth) and has no complaints relative to his treatment.] Fab now gives his version, which is identical to the other two (and which your court reporter witnessed). He signs his declaration. Sonia says he's to be taken away and will give her decision whether to move forward with charges later that day. She tells Leo she'll see him later. [The Patio has been wondering if there's a heart beating for Leo under that icy exterior.] Her eyes are glued on Leo as he leaves.

Fabian, uncuffed, is reunited with Val and the Sra. Manriquez. Leo says he should have believed him when he said he'd, "saldrias en el termino." [There's that word again....is it finish, stipulation, ah, conditional?] His freedom is conditional, based on his not being a flight risk. Leo is pretty sure everything will turn out ok, and his firm will stand by for any developments and let him know.

Now your court reporter must hurry back for Gus' case, where Gus is steering Agustin into the court room, propping up his client's flagging confidence. Agustin is scared Lorenza will win after her recent histrionics in the court room. Gus thinks it will actually work in their favor. Speaking of .... here she comes, her histrionics preceding her. She declares self-righteously that she's going to win custody. A child needs the love of his mother--and all the money from the father that it will take to keep them in the style to which she wants to be accustomed. The Tijera case is now in session. The judge asks for initial arguments. Gus gives it his best shot, covering the psych exam administered to young Eduardo. It showed the boy suffered from infantile stress stemming from his mother's treatment. Lorenza can't stand it and gets up to shout it's all fake. They must have bought someone off for that diagnosis. Lor is out of control. Once she is quieted by her attorney, Gus continues. Ed's father, on the other hand, treats him with kindness, encouragement, empathy and love. His education and therapy are progressing well under the care of his father.

Lor's attorney objects that all that can't be determined in one session. Gus replies that those exams have been designed precisely to be able to determine behavior as close to reality as possible. [During the break, your court reporter watches the overhead TV. Rosita must have a new job. She's in a commercial for L'Oréal's Revitalift and looking g-o-o-d.]

Back at the empty house which is no longer his home, Joel seems a bit disoriented by the news Rob gives him. Ric arrives and gives first Joel then Marcia hugs. Joel rambles that it's over, all over and finished. Ric protests. They are both to come with him and they'll get a mover to come get the furniture. Joel agrees, but first he must go get his things out of the safe and say good-bye to the house. He kisses Marcia on the forehead and tells her everything is going to be ok, pats Ric on the cheek and goes upstairs, while everyone else stands around.

The marshals are anxious to get going and try to hurry up the process. Ric races upstairs calling out for Joel. He stops short as he hears a shot ring out and realizes what Joel has done. He enters the room to see Joel's body prone, a gun near his hand and blood on the floor. Ric the Bric's façade comes tumbling down, even the wood framing is crumbling. He becomes an emotional wreck. Marcia, Rob and the head marshal are right behind him. Marcia reaches for Joel. She wants to hug him. Ric won't let her. He and Rob pull off a sobbing Marcia, who only wants to be able to touch him, to say something to him, and Rob takes her out of the room. Ric, though, HE gets to go back to weep and wail over the body of this dear man who was like a father to him and this horrible ending to someone so near and dear to him.

[Not sure how killing himself solves their problem, but it is as it is. Your court reporter, signing off.]

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