Sofia
met with three people who lost relatives in the fire at El Cuevo the
night before. The man pointed out that the club had not complied
with safety regulations. Had they done so, he would not have lost
his son. They were aware that El Gringo was badly injured but that
he was likely to be one of the owners. Sofia asked a few questions
and then picked up her desk phone.
Victoria
and Adrian met in the break room [I've never seen one as cool as
this and with a view!] and he seemed to be trying a little too
hard to cheer her up. He did eventually get her to smile and
laugh... just as Roberto entered. He asked what he had missed and
Victoria told him that she was just talking with Adrian on the
subject of how to please women. Roberto said “Verrry interesting.
This is the most interesting thing in my life.” He took a seat,
Victoria looked annoyed, and Adrian looked at her as though trying to
figure this out.
Javier
entered Sofia's office and she presented him to the clients
(Martinez, Ortega, and Avila). She told them that he had a lot of
experience in these sorts of cases. They had come to the Vega firm
because they were aware that the lawyers there sought justice for
those who had been wronged. Srta. Avia cried when she spoke of her
young brother who died in the fire. Javier advised that the suit
would be complex and would take time. However, he was willing to
take it on. He took their ID cards to copy for their records and
said he would have the initial paperwork done. Sofia did her best to
assure them that they would fight for them.
Back
in the break room it looked like Victoria was using Adrian to annoy
Roberto. Adrian said he was helping Victoria relieve her stress and
Roberto asked him whether he knew what Victoria was stressed about.
Adrian said he had asked but respected Victoria's privacy when she
declined to tell him. Roberto commented that women are unpredictable
but that was part of their magic. Victoria was irritated enough to
tell him that not all women are the same. Adrian answered that each
woman was a new world and that was what appealed to him. Roberto
agreed and said that this was why he was never bored. Victoria gave
him a withering look before putting her hand on Adrian's knee to tell
him she had to get back to work. She got up and left. Roberto took
a cookie from his plate and said “See, like I said.
Unpredictable.”
The
new clients signed the appropriate papers and left their contact
information with Sofia and Javier. When they left the office Sofia
and Javier talked about the case. He said he was sure the media
hadn't reported everything and that he was going to supervise the
investigation and get all the information he could from the police
and the forensic department. Sofia said she would take care of the
court filings and preparing the case. Javier told her this is a
difficult case and her reaction implied that he was not confident in
her capability.
Roberto
went into Juan's office where he unloaded. Juan had been working on
Monica's case and Roberto told him that this case should have taught
him a lot about women. That because of a woman who said she loved
him Rafael killed someone. He looked panicked when he told Juan it
was very important not to lose his head over a woman. He then
realized how this looked and said that he was stressed out over work.
Juan told him that if he needed someone to help, he was available.
Roberto thanked him and told him he was a great friend. [The
flamenco music that underscored this was very expressive and
magnifico!]
Javier
gave Sofia the “I work alone” routine when they talked about
gathering information at the site of the fire. She didn't buy it.
He said he was accustomed to working alone. She told him that like it
or not they will be working together on this.
Roberto
and Juan went out for drinks and Juan tried to convince Roberto that
not all relationships end up on the rocks. Roberto told him that not
everyone has his kind of luck. Some end up falling for people who
don't love them. Juan correctly identified Victoria as the source of
his mentor's problem. Roberto tried to deny it but realized he
couldn't. He then said that the problem is when people aren't honest
from the outset. He claimed to have been honest with her but she
never believed him. Finally he said “No matter. She will come to
realize that nobody could love her like I do.”
Sofia
and Javier went to the wrecked club and presented credentials to the
police guard. He loked them over and allowed them inside. He gave
Javier a flashlight and he went in first. Sofia asked the cop
whether there had been any developments. He told her notmuch and
provided some details of the investigation. The fire had started
inside. There had been several theories. She asked about the
security and he told her that everything had appeared to be in order.
She asked how it was that so many people were trapped inside and he
told her that the emergency exit appeared to have been blocked.
Roberto
pointed out a group of attractive women and Juan reproached him for
looking their way if he was actually in love with Victoria. Roberto
understood but said that he was trying to get Victoria out of his
head. He waived off the beginning of Juan's reply and went over to
two women who were talking to each other. He greeted them and told
them that he had a foundation for kittens.*
He asked if they were
interested. They seemed to be as he led them back to the bar. He
introduced them to Juan, who played along about rescuing cats. One
of the women said she would adopt them all. Juan laughed and then
excused himself, saying he was going to have an early morning. [*A note of levity and because I love cats.]
Javier
came out of the building and he said he found a few things. Sofia
told him she was told a few things that were quite incredible. She
suggested they pool their information. He stubbornly said he needed
to do his on his own first as they went back to the car.
Alejandra
was packing some of her clothes when Paula told her that the house
would not be the same without her. She told her how proud she was of
her and that she was happy she was going to be with a good man. This
was not the same as it had been with Carlos.
The
next morning Juan took Susana and Fernanda for a spin in the new car
while Alejandra brought some of her things to be moved to the new
apartment. She then took a phone call from someone enquiring about
Gilberto, who had not paid sums he owed. It was a bit bizarre. She
asked her mother for his phone number and Paula hesitated. Alejandra
told her that this could become a legal problem for her and that she
wanted to see Alicia in her office.
Violeta
got more and more upset about her situation. Aurora asked what had
been going on between her and Andres and she told her that everything
had been alright. They had been looking forward to a vacation. She
didn't understand what this was about. The guard came in and handed
Violeta a slip of paper with a law firm's name on it. She thanked
her and the guard said it would cost her.
Juan
brought Monica before a judge for the sentencing hearing. He accused
the district attorney's office of omitting certain information during
the trial. When Monica was sworn in she said she had never purchased
a gun. Sonia objected but the judge allowed him to continue. Monica
said she had never handed a weapon to Rafael, then later said she had
never told Rafael the address of the victim's office. This proved
that she had never given explicit instructions to Rafael to do the
crime.
Javier
was making notes on the fire when Sofia entered his office with
information on the ownership of the club... and that he was in no
condition to make a statement. She talked about ultimately suing the
owner because of the safety issue but Javier said they could not do
this. The fire had not been an accident; this was an arson case and
not covered by the property insurance.
Sonia
asked Monica why she impersonated her victim's wife. She admitted
she was seeking revenge. She even admitted wanting him dead. Sonia
pointed out that she was capable of planning a homicide. She
insisted that Monica was were she should be for her crime and for all
the years she had been sentenced to. Juan said that they were not
denying that she took part in a crime, but that wishes were not
actions. The judge decided that since there was no proof that Monica
handed a gun to Rafael or specifically told him to kill the victim,
but that she had possibly manipulated him into this decision, he
reduced her sentence to fifteen years. Sonia looked daggers at Juan.
Monica thanked him and apologized for her earlier behavior. Juan
told her that the others would be in contact with her about her son.
Javier
showed Sofia the documents and explained that the fire was not caused
by anything electrical. It originated in an area with boxes of
alcohol. The question then became who did this and for what reason.
What this also meant was a different direction for justice for the
families of the victims. She did not look forward to delivering this
news to their clients. Javier tried to dismiss Sofia from his office
but she stayed because she still had things to discuss with him.
Roberto
was trying to get over a hangover when Gustavo entered his office.
He told Roberto he could not go on like this. Roberto told him that
he thought that all was lost with Victoria.
Carmen
was on the phone with Violetta, whom she gave over to Victoria, who
said she would be there.
Paula
and Alicia went to Alejandra's office. Alejandra wanted to talk to
Alicia privately, but Paula resisted leaving the office. Aleandra
insisted, telling her to go have coffee with Carmen. As soon as she
was out the door Alejandra told Alicia she had to have the truth.
Alicia looked like a guilty child.
Juan
came back to the office and told Roberto what happened in court.
Roberto told him he had put up a great defense, but advised him not
to get so personally involved. He could not allow anyone to get the
better of his reason.
Alejandra
explained to Alicia that her mother had signed a contract with her
house as collateral and was in danger of losing it. Alicia claimed
not to understand any of this and Alejandra asked where her husband
was. She told him that he was in the US and Alejandra said that she
was licensed to practice there, so where was he? Alicia admitted
that something had gone wrong with the business deal but that they
would pay back every centavo. Alicia handed her cell to Alejandra
and she called Gilberto to tell him that she had gotten a call about
an unpaid debt. He claimed there was a client who had not paid money
owed to him but he would take care of it as soon as possible. She
told him she needed to send him a revised contract for her mother to
protect her and he said that it wasn't necessary because he would be
returning to Mexico soon. She said she would see him in her office.
He tried wiggling out of this one and she told him she was serious.
This was an abuse of a long friendship. She said she might have no
alternative other than pressing charges. She ended the call and
handed the cell back to Alicia, who was starting to resemble Bette
Davis in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane. She told her
that Gilberto would have to pay up ASAP. Alicia looked as though she
was going to cry.
Victoria
met with Violeta who told her everything. She could not think of a
motive for Andres to have her arrested.
Labels: ley2
Permalink posted by Urban Anthropologist
@ 12:28 AM
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