I'm
Christopher Mason. Sometimes the truth is very liberating; other
times it leads to prison or worse. There are several people in
Mexico City about to learn that lesson as their lies will fall apart
in the face of the truth. While some wealthy people have bought
justice in the past, there are two here who will realize they can't
anymore.
I'm
Candace DeLong. Corruption is as old as civilization, but we are
about to see it die a slow death, one criminal at a time.
Dorantes
shouted that the documents just entered were fabricated. The judge
said back that they had been examined scientifically.
He then told
Alejandra that they documents were entered and thanked the witness.
Dorantes' lawyer said that this did not prove his client had bribed a
notary. Jaime argued that these documents proved that the
transactions took place during the defendant's administration as
mayor of his town. Alonso got up to say something and the judge
rapped his gavel and told everyone to sit down.
Raquel
was in Roberto's office. He apologised for calling her there but
they had something important to tell her. He explained the forensic
report on Ariadna and that it proved that she did not commit suicide.
The marks on her neck and the condition of her spine indicated that
she had been strangled and then hung to simulate a suicide. Ariadna
had been murdered. Raquel was shocked. She asked who did it and
Roberto said that this is what they needed to find out.
Raquel
was too close to the truth for it not to stare her in the face.
However, it is always difficult to discover there is a killer in
one's own family.
The
judge asked for closing arguments. Alonso started by saying that
Jacinto Dorantes had abused his position once elected to his office.
This was proven by the evidence his firm presented. He stated that
they were seeking out evidence of other crimes. Dorantes' attorney
continued as though he had proven his client innocent. Alejandra
reminded him that his client is accused of bribery. The judge
declared a recess.
Raquel
took a drink of water and told Roberto that her sister and
brother-in-law had been good people, that there was no one who would
want them dead. Roberto told her that they needed to work closely
with her and her nephew to understand who would want to do this. It
would have to be right away in case the killer was looking to get
after them or to get away. She promised to talk to Julio right away
and begged Roberto to get to the bottom of this quickly. She still
had trouble believing that anyone would want to hurt her sister.
Miriam
must not have confided much in Raquel about the friction between
Julio and his father.
Phillip's
brother, Jacob, arrived at Samuel's house and shouted for the kids.
Samuel was unwilling to release them to him, saying he was their
uncle and he and his sister were taking care of them. He then said
“The crazy bitch killed my brother.” The girl said “What?”
and Jacob turned away, realizing that the children hadn't been told
anything yet. She asked if this was true. He told them he was
taking them back to the USA and not leaving them with criminals. He
ordered them to get their things. They went upstairs while Samuel
tried to stop their other uncle. Jacob punched him and demanded that
he “Stay away from my family.” He then yelled at the children to
hurry up.
Jacob
was just as violent as his brother. That should go over well with
Child Protective Services.
The
judge denied the request to free Dorantes, who then cursed Alonso.
He told the defense he woul delay the sentencing and allow them time
to present other evidence. He ajourned the court. Dorantes called
his lawyers useless and the lead attorney told him that he hadn't
been sentenced yet and there was a lot they could do.
Alonso and his
team breathed a sigh of relief except for Gustavo, who shouted at
Dorantes that he would pay for the deaths of his family. His
colleagues pulled him back. Alejandra said they had to look for the
maximum sentences for Dorantes' crimes and be prepared. They left
the building.
Jacob
asked the kids for their passports but they didn't have them. Samuel
tried to say he didn't but Jacob didn't believe him. He punched him
again and threatened him with the full US Constitution because he
would accuse him of kidnapping American citizens. He said he was a
Marine and would be backed up by the full force of US law to send him
to prison like his sister. Finally, Samuel backed off and said he
would get the passports. He told him to calm down and reminded him
that the children were watching. Jacob wouldn't let him leave the
room alone; he almost frogmarched him up the stairs, telling the
children to stay where they were. The children looked sad and
frightened.
Ricardo
and Alejandra talked briefly about the initial success and what they
hoped for as an outcome.
Jacob
told the children they were leaving. The girl looked back at Samuel
and Jacob yelled “Come on; you can cry later.” Samuel stepped
out of the doorway and watched them drive away.
I
would put down odds that he didn't allow them to cry at all.
Carlos
and Alan talked about the Dorantes case; Carlos said that there was
little chance he would get free because all the charges are federal.
He would likely have to serve a long sentence. Carlos then asked
whether he was right to refuse to defend him. Alan reluctantly
agreed, seeing that this question was something of an “I told you
so” meant for him.
At
the staff meeting Alonso thanked his staff for their contributions to
the case and said that the next step was to find out whom Dorantes
contracted the killings to. Then they could get on with their
regular cases. First he had Carmen distribute copies of resumes of
potential new lawyers for the firm. Ricardo offered to help with
interviewing. Alonso thanked him and then announced that Juan is now
officially a junior attorney and will have his own office. He will be
able to try cases on his own as well as collaborating with Roberto.
Everyone congratulated him.
Alan
told Carlos that he wanted to take on half the dealings with El
Ciego. He didn't like the idea of him ultimately destroying their
firm. “We built this firm together,” he said. Carlos looked
doubtful of this.
Despite
his awareness of Alan's shortcomings, Carlos was still blind about
Alan's loyalty. As blind as Raquel seemed determined to be about
Julio.
The
Vega staff reviewed all the candidates' resumes and thought them all
worthy. Gustavo agreed, but said that they shouldn't be looking to
add staff now because of the risks they would incur. Alejandra said
that she understood his concerns but Jacinto Dorantes would not be
getting out of prison. Gustavo agreed, but the people who killed his
family were still free and nobody knew who they were. Alonso told
him he would see to it that Dorantes gave them up.
Dorantes
went into the rec area of the prison and encoutered his brother, who
was not pleased that he hadn't gotten him out. Jacinto told him that
he had money and his lawyers would get both of them out. He used all
his usual persuasive bullshit to get Ramiro to believe him, but
refused to discuss it at that moment.
Samuel
was shown into Alejandra's office. He explained the reason for his
visit and begged for her help. She told him that this would be very
difficult because the children were born in the US and what he was
asking was to take them out of their own country. Samuel was
desperate because Jacob was very violent with a hair-trigger temper.
She said they would first have to get his sister out of jail and then
make a case for taking the children back. She accepted him as a
client.
Alonso,
Roberto, and Carmen showed Juan to his new office. His name was
already on the door. It looked about half the size of Roberto's
office but had lots of shelf space and a new computer monitor on the
desk. Roberto looked at the chair and told Carmen she should find a
bigger one.
Alejandra
told Samuel that she would need to get another lawyer on his case
because of its dual nature. She would handle the family issues and
would get him a lawyer to handle the criminal case matter. She asked
for all the information he had on Jacob. He gave her the current
address and told her that he was a Marine and very violent; also that
he lived alone so he was afraid for the children. Alejandra said the
first step was to call the police to check up on the children. She
would also need to talk to his sister. Samuel hadn't yet told her
what had happened to the children, so this wasn't going to be easy.
She would talk to their mother and fight to get the children back.
Victoria
and Roberto.... she told him that now that Jacinto Dorantes is in
prison it would be time for him to return to his own apartment. More
ado about nothing and she sashayed out of his office. He decided
that she must be afraid of love.
Jacinto
Dorantes paced in the telephone bay at the prison until his secretary
arrived. Dorantes was in his usual bad mood when he was told that
his lawyers were working to get him out. When he asked about his
“friends” his secretary told him they were not answering their
phones. Dorantes cursed, then said that he needed to talk to a judge
because he had information about an important narco. This caused a
guard to become alert. He was willing to surrender El Ciego in
exchange for his freedom. The two guards behind him began talking.
Jacinto
Dorantes considered himself to be untouchable, a major delusion of
wealthy criminals. He didn't seem to notice the guards or worry
about what they might have heard.
Alejandra
spoke with the police department near Jacob's home, explaining her
concern for the children whom he was taking back to the US.
Sofia
came in and Alejandra introduced her to Samuel and explained that she
was to take Miriam's case. She gave her the file and told her she
would talk to Miriam shortly, then told Samuel they would do
everything necessary to reunite his sister with her children.
Dorantes'
flunky told him that the judge wanted the information before agreeing
to any conditions, but Dorantes would not comply with that. He
insisted that the man tell the judge that he had important
information about a major cartel. That would make the judge come to
see him. The guards behind him left. Neither Dorantes nor his
visitor seemed to notice.
Victoria
called Alejandra to invite her over for dinner, but Alejandra
explained she had a complicated case to work on. She described it
and Victoria understood. Alejandra took a rain check until after her
case. Victoria sat down on her sofa and looked at her contacts list,
landing on Roberto's name.
Roberto
arrived at Ricardo's apartment with two six packs of beer, which were
a match for the two boxes of pizza on Ricardo's table. Roberto
started talking about his problems with Victoria and Ricardo reminded
him that Victoria's relationships don't last. He asked Roberto if he
was obsessed with her because she was so hard to get. Roberto said
he wasn't.
The
Dorantes brothers ate at an otherwise empty table in the prison mess
hall. Jacinto said that the lawyers were working on their freedom.
Ramiro wanted to know more but Jacinto didn't want to talk because of
all the people around them. He said he was willing to negotiate in
exchange for giving them information. Ramiro asked if he was going
to rat out El Ciego and Jacinto told him to keep his voice down.
Ramiro told him this was too risky and Jacinto answered that El Ciego
would be locked up far away from them. Neither noticed the same two
guards who had eavesdropped on both of the in the telephone bay. He
told him to eat and soon they would be dining in the finest
restaurants.
Only
if there are such places in hell.
Ricardo
told Roberto that most of the time it is just a question of time.
They compared their situations. Ricardo told him he needed to be
patient. Roberto brought up that Carlos was always still nosing
around Alejandra. Roberto said he loved Victoria as much as Ricardo
loved Alejandra. So he had to be patient.
Juan
went home with a bottle of wine and his good news.
Gustavo
went home to his lonely house. He put his keys down on the table
with the family photo. He remembered things they said and put the
photo back next to the athletic trophy won by Luis. He hugged it and
cried again. He looked as though he had aged at least ten years.
Jacinto
woke up in the middle of the night just as a guard opened his cell.
He sat up and asked what the hell was going on.
The man told him
“This is a hello from the boss.” “I don't have a boss,”
Dorantes protested as he was grabbed from behind and pulled back. He
was punched in the stomach five times, which forced him to double
over.
He was then strangled with rope and left on the floor.
One
guard took a prison garment off the bunk and rolled it up.
In
the morning as he was getting ready to leave for the office, Juan
told his mother he was going to buy himself some new shirts and maybe
a new suit, as he was moving up in the world. Susanna said he was
there for his knowledge, not his wardrobe. However, Juan said it was
important to show that he belonged.
Ramiro
walked through the corridor looking for Jacinto. Nobody he asked
said anything. He got to his cell and found him hanging from the
bars on the high window.
He called out for help. He sounded almost
as though he were crying.
Alejandra
visited Miriam at the women's prison. Miriam explained that she had
gone to Mexico with the children to get away from her husband who was
jealous, obsessive, and abusive. She couldn't take it anymore. But
he came after her and they fought. She had not wanted to kill him,
just defend herself. She began to cry.
Miriam
should definitely have had a full medical exam upon her arrest. Her
mug shot would show her facial injuries, but an MRI should be done on
her brain. Her husband could have done some serious damage that
won't show for a while.
True.
The lack of an eyewitness will not work in her favor and her
children are young enough to be afraid of their paternal uncle to say
much that will be helpful. However, this Marine should make a very
poor showing in a US courtroom. As for Jacinto Dorantes, his
criminal hubris earned him a “Karmageddon” he richly deserved.
However, his death will protect El Ciego for some time to come, which
will continue to make Carlos Ibarra's life the nightmare he signed on
for. As for Julio Cervantes, he is likely to crack very soon. Will
he plead insanity? We will see. Until next we meet Behind the Walls
of Justice, I'm Christopher Mason.
Labels: ley2
Permalink posted by Urban Anthropologist
@ 9:34 AM
© Caray, Caray! 2006-2022. Duplication of this material for use on any other site is strictly prohibited.