I'm
Christopher Mason. Betrayal by family members is the most painful
human experience. Not even the loss of a romantic partner matches
the pain when a sibling, a parent, or a cousin betrays. Alan's envy
and resentment of Carlos was not a constructive force in his life and
it is likely to lead to his ultimate downfall.
I'm
Candice DeLong. Most murders happen within families
Mexico
City: Sonia reminded Alan that
when they are in court she will say that he killed Particia Linares
and Augustín Téllez and that his cousin has petitioned to reverse
the sentencing of Pedro, which he was also involved in. He said she
could help him. She said she could ...if he had something to tell
her in exchange.
Boston:
Kate, Emma, and Jordan hugged
Victoria and Ricardo while their opponent slinked out of the
courtroom. Victoria said they would begin the procedure immediately.
Jordan told the lawyers they were awesome and that... they made a
beautiful couple.
Mexico
City: Sonia continued to talk
about his sentencing. He went on about appeals. She said that
sooner or later she would get Carlos. Alan taunted her with comments
like “Neither you nor anyone else have any idea who my cousin
really is” and pressed again for a written promise. She told him
she would think about it, then left. The guard was listening from
outside the cell the entire time.
There
can be no doubt that this guard is on El Ciego's payroll. The only
question here is whether Sonia is really making this promise or
leading him on. It is difficult to believe that she would allow a
murderer to go free.
Diego spoke on the phone with
Ricardo, who gave him the good news. He hugged his cousin, thrilled
to be going home soon.
Roberto sat at his desk in
pensive mode. He picked up his cell and called Lucia, who was
pleased to hear from him. He suggested they go out to eat and asked
where. She said anywhere was fine with her as long as they were
together.
In the lounge at Vega, Manuel was
trying to catch up with the morning news when Lorena came in upset
that she could not stop thinking about Gustavo. He told her that she
was young, smart, and pretty and that there would be many men who
would appreciate her. That seemed to make her feel better and he
started saying “Just open your eyes. Your happiness could be right
in front of you” when Juan entered the room. She excused herself
and left. Juan said “Please tell me I didn't interrupt anything
important” and Manuel told him he hadn't. Things had not
progressed for him.
Boston:
More hugs and thanks from
Diego's family. Ricardo complimented Victoria on her presentation and
the precision of her work.
Mexico
City: Javier went to see a
forensic expert for a report. He could not believe the report that
was handed to him.
While that was happening Nancy
met the female fingerprint expert in a Japanese restaurant and handed
her money. She told her this was the best decision she could have
made. The technician was not so sure, saying that the only reason she
did this was for her son's sake. She looked at the money in the
envelope, determined it was the amount promised, and promptly left.
She looked ashamed of herself.
Javier was furious. It was
impossible that there would be no fingerprints on the the beer
bottles or anything else from that crime scene. He invaded the man's
space, insisting that they look for more. The man was sufficiently
intimidated to use the standard verbal defense of saying that they
can't work miracles, touting their professionalism, then asking him
to please withdraw.
This
meeting was so absurd, almost comical.
Carlos
was in no mood to see anyone but Damián insisted and entered his
office. He was understandably angry at the revelation that Alan had
committed murder and how this would affect his business. He came to
terminate their contract. Carlos told him that the entire firm
represented him and that he personally would take over handling his
business. It took effort on his part, but he got Damián to agree to
give him a chance. Damián left without shaking Carlos' hand. To
make matters worse, Marta told him she was fielding calls from other
clients, including Michelle. He said he would talk to her now.
Marta put the call through and Carlos told her he had many clients to
talk to. He put off their next date because of the issues. She
suggested that they meet at his place. He more than liked that. As
she ended the call she had a look of distaste. It was not easy to
determine whether this was at the prospect of meeting Carlos at his
place or at the contents of the front page story.
Javier called Nancy with the bad
news... that he did not realize she was responsible for.
She gloated
to herself and asked him what he was going to do next. He wasn't
sure for the moment but said he would investigate the ballistics. She
grinned to herself after ending the call.
Obviously
she was satisfied at having foiled his investigation, since he thus
far had foiled her attempts at seducing him.
Roberto had just finished telling
Juan about his visit to the prison. Juan was astonished at Alan
having deceived so many people for so long. He had difficulty
understanding a lawyer who would do such things. Roberto told him
that it happens more frequently than anyone realizes. He then segued
into talking about Tatiana. She had been a suspect for a moment, he
said he didn't think she was a killer, but she is an expert at
persuading men to think whatever she wanted them to. He told him to
be careful. Juan defended her because she was turning her life
around, but Roberto told him this could be to impress him and to be
honest with himself: “You love Fer.” Juan argued that it was
Fer who broke up with him over her perception of his attitude about
money and possessions. It started wen he failed to get back her app
in the case against Damián and got money instead. Roberto then
identified that this was when he started seeing Tatiana. Juan
insisted that Tatiana was only a friend.
Roberto told him to watch
out anyway. He then turned the conversation to work and assigned
Juan to getting Pedro out of prison. Juan was ready and willing and
immediately sat down at the computer to start the process.
Carlos had just spoken with a
worried client when Nancy came back to tell him that the forensics
found nothing in the way of fingerprints. Also, the dead man could
not be connected to El Ciego. He breathed a sigh of relief and told
her “Good job.” She closed in to initiate some desktop nookie he
thanked her again, saying he couldn't do this without her.
Nancy
was smart enough to close the door behind her.
El Ciego took a call from his
mole in the prison, the guard who had been spying on Sonia and Alan's
conversation. He reported what he heard. El Ciego made comments
about the man's family being safe. He told him he would keep him
informed. El Ciego replied with satsifaction but looked pensive when
he ended the call.
She may have planned it well but
Nancy got no nookie after all. Carlos sent her back to her office,
saying that he needed to put the firm in order.. She didn't take it
badly, merely saying she hoped that soon things will calm down and
they can see each other outside the office.
I
wouldn't bet on that if I were you.
Javier showed the report to
Alonso, concluding that there was no progress. There were o
fingerprints and the dead man's criminal record only showed minor
offenses. He opened up the ballistics report which identified the
firearms, those often used by cartels. They compared favorably to the
bullets that killed Gustavo's family. He also had some information
on the areas where El Gringo received his merchandise, but concluded
that he must have protection somewhere. Further, Javier believed
that this was only the beginning and Dorantes was only the tip of an
iceberg. If they kept investigating they were soon going to hit
something big an dangerous.
Roberto and Adrián ran into each
other in the library. Neither had heard from either Victoria or
Ricardo. Roberto was sure nothing had gone wrong in court. Adrián
brought up their schooldays and Roberto said that the three of them –
Alonso, Ricardo, and Victoria – were very important to him. Adrián
asked him to let him know if Victoria called. Adrian's phone rang
and it wasn't Victoria; it was Debbie. Roberto turned around at the
sound of that name.
Alonso and Javier had a heated
discussion about corruption. Alonso was determined not to give up
the fight despite Javier's warnings.
Boston: Victoria and
Ricardo picked up some Starbucks and sat at an outdoor table to talk.
They were satisfied and happy with the outcome of this case but
Ricardo thought about Alejandra, who also had had an international
license. He was still grieving her loss. Victoria told him that she
thought of him as a brother and that he needed to remain level-headed
in the fight for justice.
Mexico City: Over lunch
Roberto told Lucia about his university days up to when they
graduated and Alonso hired them for his firm. He then asked her
about herself. She was not as forthcoming, at first saying that her
life wasn't very interesting. She finally started talking about
going to live with her aunt to take care of her during her final
illness because no other relative wanted to. It was a big house and
she had spent most of her time taking care of it. Roberto looked a
little skeptical.
Boston: The conversation
did an about face as Ricardo told Victoria she had the right to be
happy. She said she was. He said that he normally didn't judge his
friends but felt that she and Roberto must be madly in love. She
said that not all was as it seemed. “You know how Roberto is,”
she said. He agreed, but said that they were both stubborn and that
she had one of the most honest hearts he ever knew. She said that
was her problem, that she always got hurt when trusting any man. She
did not want to be vulnerable. He said that they always take risks
in this but Victoria was determined not to anymore. She always ended
up feeling like a fool in the end. When she came out to meet him at
the bar she saw Roberto with another woman and that was the end for
her. Ricardo told her he had spoken with Roberto about this and it
was a definite misunderstanding. “You know I wouldn't lie to you,”
he said. He was certain nothing had happened between Roberto and
that other woman.
Whoever
Mariano was, Victoria obviously did not want to repeat that
experience. And in the office? That is the ultimate mistake.
Mexico City: At Roberto's
next questions Lucia said she had a job, which she did not elaborate
on. She said she had enough money. She had tried to distract him
from this with talk about finding the best doctors and medications
for her aunt with a roll of the eyes here and there. He offered her
money if she needed it but she vehemently said she had enough and she
didn't want to talk about this anymore. This continued amiably, but
Roberto still looked guarded.
Roberto
was wise to suspect something wasn't right with his mother, whom he
wasn't even addressing as such.
Boston: Victoria told
Ricardo to stop protecting Roberto. He denied doing that, saying
that he believed Roberto, who had never lied to him. The other woman
had left alone in the cab. She said she wished she had been there
that evening. She was very afraid of being hurt and he said that was
normal, but she should not allow that to keep her from living.
Ricardo went on about how being lawyers means helping others solve
problems but can't protect themselves from tough matters of the heart
. She said she can't stand loss in that area so she shuts herself
down. Ricardo then concluded that she was in love with Roberto. She
tried to deny it but he told her she was afraid of love.
Mexico City: Late that
night Gustavo blew up at the news from Javier, especially when he
told him that there was nothing else they could do at this point.
Lorena arrived at his office as Javier was leaving.
Another
case of bad timing for Lorena.
Michelle arrived at Carlos'
apartment. Their initial conversation started like that of an old
married couple's. (“How was your day?” “Difficult”; etc.)
Gustavo let loose with his
frustrations in front of Lorena, protesting that he had run out of
patience with the investigation. She finally hugged him, asking him
to let her help him. He cried.
Carlos and Michelle went into the
bedroom. As he watched her peel off the black dress to reveal black
lingerie he looked as though he had forgotten the entire previous
day.
At the same time Alan was having
a very different experience in the slammer. El Chulo entered his
cell, slammed him up against the bars, and began working him over.
He summoned three others to join him. They began kicking Alan all
over.
Blood
is the last thing anyone should count on when greed and envy enter
the picture. Both crime and politics are written in the blood of
their players, many of whom have been related. Alan and Carlos are
right down there with the Caesars.
Indeed.
While Roberto's problem with Lucia is unlikely to come to this, he
has better instincts for self-preservation. However he needs to be
prepared for a possible conflict with his father. Michelle has yet
to truly come to blows with her brother, which could be as disastrous
as what is certain to happen between Carlos and Alan. That is a
nuclear bomb waiting to explode. Until next we meet Behind the Walls
of Justice, I'm Christopher Mason.
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