Caray, Caray!

Elisa turns around to find Leonardo right behind her about to look for his seat.  She steps into the aisle in front of him.  "--What are you doing here?  Are you following me?"  He's not letting this thing/or her go until she gives a statement or decides to trust him.  "--That's not going to happen."  He must move along.  (Everyone's in line behind him and, man, those carry-ons and duty-free bags of goodies tend to get heavy, don't ya know.)  He moves along to the back and sits down.  She continues to peek back there at him and consider whether to move.   

Later that morning at Grupo Cantu central office, Victoria is looking through files and finds a resume from Julia Alvarez. (Dun-dunnnnn!) Fernanda's sneaking peeks till she gets a call she has to take.  

At casa de los Velasco, Jose Luis is getting ready for work.  His lovely lady lets it drop that kid brother is flying off to Nueva Yorrrk to galivant around all the while supposedly working Julia's case behind his back again, looking for clues to his prometida's activities.  J.L. is negatively impactado once again.  That's what he told their mama, says, fishwife.  "--If you don't believe me just ask her!"  She sashays out of the bedroom.

During the flight, Elisa goes back to Economy Class and trades her First Class seat with the gal sitting next to Leo.  She plunks herself down.  He rolls his eyes. "--Now who's stalking whom?" She sighs.  "--You have no idea of what I'm capable."  He raises an eyebrow and lists their past few meetings:  "--You kiss me in the middle of the street; you go rummaging through Julia's drawers, digging around for things; you accuse me of taking you against your will.”  She counters: "--You nearly cause me to have an accident racing around me; you handcuff me and take me wherever you please, and you accuse me of stalking you??"  He asks for a truce.  And in light of the truce, what can she tell him?  She says she's already given him all she knows.  (She’s getting good at sprinkling little white lies.)  The bottom line, if he finds out who killed her Papi then he'll find out who killed his fiancee.  All she's got to do is tell him what she's doing flying to N.Y. and he'll gladly be on the next flight back. She ignores him and takes a headache pill, puts in the old ear pods, and starts to nap.  He remarks about this to nobody in particular and adds she must be feeling more comfortable around him.  Must be his shoulder is his sweet spot cuz he cannot get that first kiss out of his head and thinks about it while she naps..

Fernanda tells Vicki she never saw Julia working around there.  Also, she doesn’t know if hubby was getting it on the side or not (yeah, or may Dios strike me dead on the spot); Vicki then orders Fernanda to investigate whether Julia worked for the company or not.  Maybe she was hired and they never realized it.  (Fern seems a bit too anxious to throw herself into that little task!)

Back at J.L.'s, Mama V confirms what wifey told him just now.  Not missing an opportunity to snipe, J.L’s wife adds in a snide dig that if Leo’s got enough dough to fly to Nueva Yorrrrk, then he certainly should have enough to rent his own apartment.  “--It really is a bit too crowded in the house now.” (What a peach!)

Renata, with Marcelo in tow, arrives at Tio Eugenio's in time to interrupt his breakfast.  

Meanwhile, Marcelo and Spy-hooker rush into a far away hallway so he can maul her while he chats her up about all the money he wants Ren to collect for her portion of the company; he'll divorce her and run away with Spy-hooker and the dinero.  (Wanna bet? Who wants to lay odds this grifting louse plans to take a flyer on Sky-hooker and his wife once he can lay his hands on her millones de dolares?)   

JL scolds his subordinates that morning for conspiring with Leo outside office hours.  They are warned not to let it happen again and he wants anything and everything about Cantu yesterday!

During Elisa's naps she rolls over onto Leo's shoulder; he begins to flashback to her kissing him outside the department's office building.  

Again at Geño's, Renata’s all in a tizzy—agitated, even.  She isn’t there to share breakfast, only to discuss the possibility of her liquidating her shares in Grupo Cantu.  If he bought the others from Elisa, he can buy hers also, right?  Ren gives her reasons: she's ready to become her own woman and is tired of the others constantly walking all over her.  She has plans (somewhat up in the air, not exactly thought through) to start her own business with her husband, and to prove she's got what it takes to be successful on her own.  

Ren eventually “persuades” Geño to agree to buy the shares, even though he says he thinks she's wrong.  (Parts of Viewerville are quite uncomfortable during this scene.)  She does get in his space quite a bit.  Would-be child abuser comes to mind as another one of this guy’s –ahem--admirable traits.)  Tio Geño, after hugging her and rubbing her back like that, and Ren picking the lint off his tie takes note and tries if only for appearance's sake, to keep it from getting too awkward.  He reminds her to go look for Marcelo who, after all, is still waiting on her. (Blechhhhhhh!!)

Olivia and her housemate? have bits of discovered information to share.  Oli says somebody was getting paid monthly out of Auggie's accounts.  Guy Cop says he's got something also, but it remains classified and is for Leo's eyes only.  

Speaking of Leo, the flight lands and Elisa wakes up.  She gives Leo a dirty look.  He tells her not to blame him; it was she who leaned on him.  As they deplane, she tells him "iHasta nunca!"  [Goodbye and good riddance! Or, if I never see you again it will be too soon!]

Fern reports back to Vicki that after checking all the time clock information, the woman never worked there in any capacity.  Vicki says well, that means she must have been the hubby's lover then.  She's off to trick the family into telling her something useful about the supposed relationship.  Fern goes with her.

In Customs at the airport in Nueva Yorrrrk, a couple of dogs smell something odd as Elisa rolls her bags along; her heart jumps into her throat.  Somehow the dogs get distracted.

Meanwhile, Vicki and Fern introduce themselves Julia's sister and mother, Nieves. (AWKWARD!!) Vicki offers a job to Julia's kid sister as a gesture of good will, their main breadwinner now being six-foot under. Julia's mama --for the second time-- comes off as the whining moocher Viewerville believes she is.  (Nieves and JL's wife could make BFF's in a Nueva Yorrrrk minute!)  She tells Vicki as she and Fern get ready to leave that maybe there is something Vicki could help them financially with.  (Anybody want to bet on 'kidney harvesting?)   

Dario quickly appears at the NY gallery.  Elisa mopes again; Dario asks her just where she thinks her Papi got all that dinero to pamper her and her sisters with all these years.  Yeah, Daddy and Dario--and she--are all cut from the same Crooks R Us cloth after all. “--So get off your high horse and get to work on those documents!! 

A bit later Dario and his American buyer—somebody Elisa seems to already know-- reach a deal over the pieces that Elisa smuggled into her gallery; Elisa forces herself to hand over her forged documents for the contraband art pieces.  Once the buyer is out of there she asks Dario about her returning her sister.  Dario has other plans, and he moves the goalposts further.  She will work for him as long as he wants her to.  He informs her that whether she realized it or not, she has been up to her neck in forgeries and stolen goods since the day she opened her gallery.  He walks off and yells back over his shoulder to await his further instructions.   

Elisa now begins tracing back various possibly stolen pieces when she notices that Leo's downstairs looking around in the gallery.  She goes down.  He's the last person she wants there.  They grouse and he mentions that his research establishes that her daddy made numerous trips to N.Y., and he even bought an apartment there. (That’s convenient.)

Fern and Vicki have returned to Grupo Cantu. Fern doesn't understand why Vicki hired the daughter.  Vicki says the girl’s defensive attitude means she knows more than she's letting on.  So keeping her around, they'll probably learn something from her.  Just then Geño appears.  Vicki asks him why he bought the company shares from Elisa and he quickly comes up with the excuse that it was to keep her close to him.  Vicki doesn’t get it.  He has his own business and the shares mean nothing to him, he assures her.  He then gets a call from Dario and walks off to take it.  Dario reports the sale and transfer of the merchandise.  Geño takes a minute for a triumphant grin before he returns to inform Vicki that Ren wants to sell her shares at any price.  Vicki wants to discuss that in her office.

Leo and Elisa enter Daddy's NY digs but as Leo notes, it's no simple apartment but a veritable warehouse of art pieces. Elisa finds a folder with numbers of invoices for all the prehispanic art pieces --invoices she was never aware of.  Leo says it is obvious now that Auggie was indeed involved in trafficking stolen art works.  Elisa is in shock.  She admits she never knew a thing about it.  He asks if the people putting pressure on her were involved in this also--possibly forcing her into helping them with this. (I think?)  She fibs no, of course not, and adds that she never thought Papi would have abused her in this way.  Leo insists she's not guilty for her father actions.  

It's late so rather than have Leo look for a hotel this time of night Elisa suggests he just sleep on the couch.  They have food in the fridge and he says he'll cook for her.  (Thank gawd no aprons ala Mrs. Doubtfire in this scene!)  They have an intimate dinner and just enjoy it.  “--It tastes great!”  But then, she’s famished after not having eaten anything in two days….   

In the middle of the night, Elisa has nightmares about the kidnapping.  She whimpers loud enough in her sleep to wake up Leo.  He comes up to comfort her.  And, once more it’s into his arms and onto those strong, masculine shoulders.  (Yep, all that and he cooks, too--sans apron!)  

The next morning Elisa has snuck out early and left Leo to prepare pancakes for one.  

Fern, meanwhile, is gritching out her mama and warning her to keep her mouth shut about her.  Well, Mama did tell the police that she has not lived in their house for years.    There is suddenly a knock at the door.  Mama must hide in the bedroom.  It is Leo's two associates, there to question Fern about Auggie’s murder.

Dario has driven Elisa to a bank to deposit the check from the illicit sale into her gallery's account.  If she behaves, Dario suggests she'll finally be able to see her sister at the airport when she returns to the D.F.

Olivia tells Fern that they have proof that she's had money put into her personal account from Auggie's for that past two years.  Her partner says they know the two were lovers.

Leo walks up behind her on the flight back and comments that once again she fled from him.  Where was she?  She doesn't want to discuss it, or argue, she says.  He reminds her that he told her she could trust him.  He walks down to his rather disappointed and totally exasperated.  They certainly don't sit together on this flight back.

Once she is off the plane, Elisa races into the main area of the airport looking for Majo,  Majo is not at the airport after all.  Dario watches her from the balcony above. He again has tricked Elisa into doing the unthinkable.  And, again, he tortures her by refusing to return her sister.  He rings her on the phone and says she was a bad girl so no sissy after all.  Now he won't give her back until those pieces he wants are returned to him; he clicks off and walks out of the airport.  She breaks down into tears.  Leo finally arrives in the general passenger area and finds her balling her eyes out on a chair.  He races over to learn what has happened.  She frantically tells him that she just cannot deal with this any longer.  Out comes the truth: they kidnapped her younger sister.  "--They've threatened to kill her if I tell the police, they'll kill her if I tell my family, and if I don’t do what they ask they'll kill her also.  Please help me find her, ok?  You've got to help me find her!!!" Once again, those large masculine shoulders have come in mighty handy.

Labels: imperio

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