Caray, Caray!

A woman with a bloodied-up arm opens an exterior door. Another woman in an animal print coat and sunglasses smiles, but then looks shocked as she sees the blood.

We're all lost souls…

Kika Edgar is Paula, Bailarina (Paula, dancer)

Isaac walks into an office, where another man is just finishing a phone call. Isaac tells the other guy "me amenazó" (he threatened me). If he doesn't get his sales figures up, he's out. He's been there for 15 years and he's had good and great years. He think he deserves support if he's not doing so hot right now. The other guy says in this company it's what-have-you-done-for-me-lately. Isaac agrees, it's the same at home too. He's tired of it. The other guy tells him to chill. He'd offer to take him out for tequilas, but he said he'd take his wife to the movies. Isaac calls his wife and tells her he's got a last-minute meeting. He asks after his son and she says he's eating without his father, just like she is (eating dinner without him).

Isaac heads for a strip club, balm to the wounded souls of businessmen everywhere, if the suits in this place are any indication. And I hear they have good steaks, but I can't vouch for that. A woman with two large feathered fans takes the stage. Isaac is instantly captivated as she does what's jut a touch closer to "exotic dancing" than some of the other girls can claim. She works the fans for a bit, then takes to the pole…now this, I hear, is a serious workout and a great way to tone the thighs. Again, not that I can vouch for that. She notices him watching her and gets a little thrown off. Her pole skills aren't really up to snuff. In fact, I can't see what's so captivating about her dancing except that the feather fans are a little different. Did anyone see that episode of Castle where they investigate an exotic-dancing-type club? That was a much better quality dance.

Isaac heads for a curtained-off alcove, where he is joined by Paula. He wants her to sit and chat and offers her a drink. She kind of remembers him, or at least pretends to. He compliments her dancing. She laughs at him. He insists that he doesn't think it's easy to dance in front of people and she does it really well. "So, you called me back here just to talk?" He says he didn’t, so she asks, "Well, then?"

Later, he sneaks into bed, but his wife hears him and tells him it's 3am. He says he had to stay for dinner and they talked a lot. She can't remember the last time the two of them talked a lot. He looks like he can't either.

Paula lifts one leg up high, then stands up and starts giving him a lap dance. He grabs her hips and she laughs again, telling him that he called her because he likes everything about her.

On another night, Paula is flirting with the bartender when Isaac walks in with roses for her. "For the prettiest one," he says. "In the world or in the club?" He says the entire world. They sit at a table together, but are interrupted by Paula's friend, Jessie. He invites her to sit down and Paula doesn't look too happy. Jessie interprets Paula's look and leaves the two of them alone together. He offers her a drink again, but she says she doesn't drink on the job. He tells her he'll go speak to the owner and she won't be working tonight, no problem. He goes to find the owner and tells her to go get changed and not worry about a thing. She looks worried and picks up the flowers.

Paula and Isaac walk down a sidewalk. She tells him that he's been coming to see her every day for two months and she wonders what he's after. He says he's never felt what he feels for her before. "Que sientes?" (what do you feel?) He says he feels like the most manly man of them all. He and Paula start kissing.

Isaac sits at the breakfast table with his son, looking at divorce papers. His wife sits down and he shoves them into a manila envelope. His wife tells him not to make promises to his son that he's not intending to keep (he had just said he'd take him to the zoo). She says he's never there for his son or for her. He gets up and leaves.

Backstage at the club, Jessie and Paula are walking in late. Paula says it's going great with Isaac. He says things that make her believe him. "He's married." "Well, he's getting separated." Yeah, they all say that. She doesn't even really care if he does get separated. She's having a good time. The friend warns her against falling in love with him. "They want us for what we are and then that's why they get rid of us." Paula says he invited her for dinner at a restaurant. They start looking for something for her to wear.

At the office, Isaac gets a call from his wife, Dora. His son is waiting for him to take him to the zoo. He gets off the phone before she can make him tell his son himself that they're not going to the zoo today.

Isaac comes to the club to pick up Paula. She's wearing a cheongsam that does nothing for her figure. It has that borrowed look and she's covered up to the neck. She's upset when they pull up in front of what looks like an apartment building, or maybe a cheap hotel. She asks what happened to the restaurant. "I changed my mind." "Te da vergüenza que te ven conmigo?" (Are you embarassed if they see you with me?) He picks her up and carries her inside the apartment we saw at the beginning, announcing that it's hers.

She asks him, after The Sex, why he did this. "Did what?" "The house." "To be with you." "For how long? In what way?" "What do you mean for how long?" "I'm not asking you for anything, but I also don't want to expect anything. Do you want me to be your lover?" "My lover, my friend, my fiancee. I'm going to get divorced, Paula. I want you to stop working--" She refuses. She needs money. "The operation is something--" He says they'll work it out together.

She does the walk of shame back into work the next day, minus any actual shame. Jessie is thrilled. Paula flashes her keys. That's not a euphemism. Paula whispers that he got her an apartment. Jessie is impressed and asks if she's happy. Paula says it was a big surprise. She asked for time, but Jessie says she should do it. Paula is afraid he won't want something serious. "Una no puedo olvidar quien es y como es el mundo." (One can never forget who one is and how the world is.) Jessie asks her who she is and reminds her that he fell in love with what she is, this divine creature…another girl busts in and says she's the only divine one in there, harshing the vibe.

Paula sits at her table, all set for a romantic dinner, complete with wine. She goes to her bag and digs out her phone. Isaac's phone goes straight to voicemail. She tells him it's 4:30 and if he's not coming home he should just say so. She says she really needed him today, blows a kiss into the phone, and hangs up. She's decorated the house really nicely. Looks classy.

She's getting ready at work, talking to Jessie. She says she went to the doctor and he told her she needs six more months of hormones. Isaac couldn't come with her to her appointment. Jessie tells Paula there's some fabulous guys out there…Paula doesn't want to be with anyone else but Isaac. He's the only one who wants her. He got her an apartment and he's getting divorced to be with her. "Sure, whenever he feels like it, so he doesn't have to pay you by the hour because it would be to expensive for him. Don't tell me you still believe in Los Reyes Magos" (the three Wise Men…because that's who brings presents in Latin America; we would say, "Don't tell me you still believe in Santa Claus). Paula gets upset and Jessie says, "Don't say I didn't warn you and hurry up because we're on in 20 minutes."

Paula and Jessie do a little number where Jessie's the bunny and Paula is the dominatrix. Jessie is still giving her a hard time, whispering to her onstage. Isaac is backstage waiting for Paula. He starts making apologies, but she says she knows he's married, and not to her. She reminds him he's paid for 10 minutes, so he'd better hurry up. Isaac says he doesn't want her to work, he wants them to be together. "Oh, so that's why you stood me up!" He proudly presents her with a fancy envelope containing his divorce papers. She gets weepy and he hugs her and kisses the top of her head.

Det. Capellan questions Dora. "Did you know about the relationship your husband was having with Paula Trevino?" "Paula? What a joke. This is supposed to be a department of investigation specializing in women, right?" Capellan says they're not there to judge anyone's identity or sexual orientation. They're there to investigate crimes. Dora says to investigate, because for her to kill him like she did, it must have been for a reason.

Paula and Isaac lie in bed. He says it's her birthday in a few days and asks what she wants to do. "It's your first birthday with me, after all." She wants something romantic, but he suggests a dinner party at the apartment. "We can invite all your friends, we'll eat, we'll celebrate, and they can all see our house." Paula agrees and giggles and kisses him.

The house is full of strippers who raise their fruity, umbrella-decorated drinks in honor of their little Paula, who found her Richard Gere, giving hope to another generation of sequin-clad women. Jessie says she'll miss her and says she's glad she was wrong about Isaac. The girls get down to business and start singing Las Mañanitas to Paula.

Meanwhile, Dora and Isaac are rushing the kid to the hospital with a high fever.

The strippers take their leave of Paula. Jessie says she's sure something bad happened. Paula hopes he didn't deceive her and once again Jessie says she hates to say "I told you so." Paula looks around at the remains of the party and pops a balloon.

Isaac comes home. The ladies didn't even bother cutting the cake. Paula is sleeping on the couch and he whispers her name and wakes her up gently. He tells her he had to take Juan to the hospital. She sits up groggily, and shakes off his touch. She says she was an idiot. She gets even more upset when he says he couldn't call because Dora was right there the whole time. "You're never going to leave her, are you?" I believe When Harry Met Sally established that no, he's never going to leave her. Paula is pissed that it was her birthday, all her friends were there, and for what? Just to see him stand her up. She starts smacking him around and he ends up hitting his head on a door frame. Paula is horrified.

Isaac wakes up in bed, with Paula sitting on a chair next to the bed. She tells him she doesn't feel well. She doesn't like what's happening. He repeats there was a problem with his son. She dislikes that she's always the one who has to understand: that he's married; that he has a kid; that she's just the mistress. He says he loves her, but she thinks he's scared of loving her. "Do you like the sea?" he asks. Paula doesn't answer.

Isaac's friend from work talks to Aranda. I know I was pretty vocal about my hair envy, but I seriously dislike that they've got it all slicked down on top and pulled to one side. Can we please have the fabulous curls back? She wants to know if his behavior had changed. He says Isaac always worked like crazy, extra hours, working weekends. "He was…hopeful."

Isaac grins when his friend picks up the brochure for Acapulco. The friend says his kid and his wife will love the vacation! "Fall in love again…in the sea!" he reads. Isaac looks uncomfortable.

The bags are packed. Paula is wearing a too-short dress, looking for her keys. She picks up the phone, but changes her mind and doesn't call anyone.

Dora comes running to Isaac laughing and kisses him. She found the reservations for the trip and she's excited. Juan brings Isaac a picture of the beach that he drew. Dora wants to celebrate.

Paula is calling Isaac and the phone keeps ringing. His voicemail picks up. She says it's her, it's the fifth time she's called, he was supposed to be home at 2:30 and it's 5. She's worried. There's a prescription bottle and a bottle of wine sitting in front of her with half a glass poured. Paula grabs a pill and downs it with the wine.

She fell asleep on the couch. When she wakes up, it's dark. She looks at her watch and gets up off the couch.

Isaac sits in a restaurant with his wife and kid, looking extremely unhappy.

Paula walks down the street and sees them through the window. She sees Dora kiss him and then they all get up from the table. Paula walks away, in shock. She stands a little ways away and watches Isaac put his wife and kid into the car. She comes up and just stands there staring at him. Dora gets back out of the car and asks who it is. "Nadie, vamos." (no one, let's go). They pull away and Paula cries…then she starts seething.

Capellan questions Jessie. "When you got there, Mr. Del Campo was alive?" Jessie tearfully says he wasn't. She describes their relationship, "She was in love, hopeful. She thought she would finally be a woman just like any other. With a life she'd always wanted. With a husband, a home, a trip. But none of that happened."

Paula starts ripping up fabric with scissors. Isaac comes back to the apartment and calls to her. She sits down at her dressing table and lights up a cigarette. Isaac walks in. "You forgot we were going on a trip?" He says it's difficult to explain. "Yes. I've been trying to explain to myself why I'm no one." He says it was an odd moment, complicated, and he couldn't do anything. "Do you want something to drink?" He just stares, then asks her to forgive him. "You can't be with someone who doesn't exist, right?" She brushes past him.

Capellan questions Paula. "Mr. Trevino…" "Paula. Paula Trevino." "We're here to investigate what happened, according to the procedure set out by the law. And according to the law, you're a man. Because of that, I should transfer you…" "Paula is the name I feel is mine, not the one the law says. Look at me. What do your eyes see? Do they see into me? That I'm a woman, like you, like any other." "You feel like a woman, but your body…" "My body isn't what I am."

Paula mixes more booze with pills. The bottle says "Sleepy" in big letters, in English. She puts some of the powder from the pills into one of the glasses of alcohol and mixes it in with her finger. She offers it to Isaac, back in the bedroom. They toast and down their shots. Paula smiles and takes his glass. Isaac asks her if they can start over, forget everything that's happened. "I can't forget what I am, Isaac." He lies down. "If we started again, I could be just Paula." Isaac calls her his princess, his love. "I would never again be this woman trapped in a body that isn't hers. Would you like that?" She pulls Isaac back up to sitting and asks him if he'd like that. She starts unbuttoning his shirt and then takes off her robe.

"You had an amorous relationship with Mr. Del Campo? And he knew you were a transexual? Mr. Trevino?" Paula insists on being called Paula and says she doesn't know. "That's why I had to break what we were and start again. To see if he could look at what I am and know that I exist."

I'm not entirely sure what happened at this point. Did Paula use the factory-issued equipment in a more traditional manner? What were the censors blurring out? (Well, that one I can pretty much guess.) She reaches over for the scissors. " Shall we start again? My love?" She reaches around and stabs him in the gut. The bloody butterfly flies away and she drops the scissors. Paula sits up in bed, looking at the blood on her arm, before turning to look at Isaac.

"Paula Trevino fue declarada culpable por homicidio simple y condenada a 21 años de prisión. A pesar de los esfuerzos del DIEM y de otras organizaciones defensoras de los derechos humanos y transgénero, fue internada en un reclusorio varonil. Por buen comportamiento quedó en libertad después de estar presa 9 años y 2 meses. Tiempo después volvió a trabajar como bailarina en un bar de provincia."

Paula Trevino was declared guilty of manslaughter and condemned to 21 years in prison. Despite the efforts of DIEM and other organizations that defend human rights and the rights of transgendered people, she was interned in a men's prison. For good behavior, she was freed after being in prison for 9 years and 2 months. Later she returned to working as a dancer in a provincial bar.

Next week: Jacqueline Bracamontes

Labels: asesinas

Tonight, Zuria Vega is "Azucena, Liberada" (Azucena [lily], freed).

A limp body in a chair. Broken crockery.

A young man runs into an office, frightened. He says to someone he calls "Licenciado" (licensed; usually an attorney) that Azucena is gone. The licenciado isn't worried. She probably went somewhere with her husband, Don Gregorio. The young man says Don Gregorio is dead and someone took Azucena. The licenciado asks if he's already checked at her grandfather's house. The two take off.

The licenciado goes into a house and sees an older man slumped over in a chair. Behind him, crouched by a stove is a young woman. He is shocked and goes back out of the house, where the other man asks him what happened. He doesn't answer. A group of people are walking up toward the house and he holds up his hands to stop them, asking them to calm down: "tranquilos, por favor!"

Back at DIEM, Aranda tells Capellan that she has "una llamada" (a call) that sounds "urgente" (urgent). Capellan takes the phone and the licenciado introduces himself as Ramon Morales. Capellan is pleased to hear from him, but he's in trouble and needs her help. He says there's a young woman who apparently killed a man and the townspeople want to "hacer justicia por sus propias manos" (take justice into their own hands) according to "usos y costumbres" (uses and customs--indigenous customary law). Capellan says it doesn't extend so far as allowing lynching. She listens and we can hear the people shouting through the phone. She frowns, nods, and says they (presumably the DIEM crew) are on their way.

In case you've missed it from previous seasons, DIEM, the division that Capellan, Aranda, Moran, and Gerardo work for is "El Departamento de Investigación Especializado en Mujeres" (investigative department specializing in women). Julie asked if we ever get anything about the personal lives of the DIEM crew, so I went back and checked my recaps for season 2, finding the following tidbits about the characters:

• Capellan may or may not be a knitter, though she's not up-to-date on the latest materials, as Gerardo had to clue her in that today's needles are sturdier than they used to be (one was used as a murder weapon).
• Gerardo (the forensics guy) sometimes gets "hunches" and Capellan tends to trust them.
• Gerardo dislikes wearing suits and is more comfortable in scrubs.
• Gerardo has a reputation that precedes him.
• Gerardo tends to roll his eyes at the younger members of the team (Moran and Aranda) a lot.
• Gerardo once hinted that he mixed business and pleasure, in the process of telling Moran not to do the same (Moran and Aranda were making googly eyes at each other). He told him to "do as I say, not as I do."
• Capellan really seems to care about the women, whether they're the victims or the murderers, and has given testimony that affects sentencing.
• I have severe terminal jealousy of Aranda's hair…oh, wait that was about me, not her….

Credits…we're all lost souls.

Four months before…

An older man struggles to tie his tie. A young woman comes up behind him and says "Abuelo, por favor no me obligue." (Grandfather, please don't make me.) His response is to tell her to put on something decent because it's getting late. He keeps fighting with the tie, then gives up and tosses it on the floor, turning around and asking her why she hasn't gone to change. She announces that she's ready. She insists and he backhands her across the face. Oddly, she appears to have acrylic nails.

The old man walks down the road, with the girl behind him, wearing a horrid orange sweater and carrying a suitcase. He motions her to walk in front of him.

In an office, another older man tells someone that the documents are in order. Azucena's grandfather walks in and asks if his "yerno" (son-in-law) is well, indicating the other older man, who I assume is the Don Gregorio earlier referenced. Him being the son-in-law would be funny if it wasn't so grotesque. Azucena huddles with two other young women and Gregorio asks if everything is ok. The grandfather says it is, and calls to Azucena, who stands by Gregorio. The JP, I assume, starts the proceedings to marry Azucena, 18, to Gregorio, 68.

Five months before…

Azucena rides on the back of a boy's bicycle. They get up to her house and notice someone is there. He tells her to hurry up or her grandfather will be upset. She kisses him and runs toward the house, but stops to ask him how many of something in a plastic bag to give her grandfather every day. He says just one, the old guy's diabetic and more would kill him. She says "ay, como crées" (oh, how do you believe; i.e., how could you believe I would do such a thing?; don't be silly; puh-leeze).

Inside the grandfather and Don Gregorio are eating. Azucena is questioned, and admits she came up with Marcelo, the son of the "boticario" (pharmacist), who will come by later to give her grandfather his injection. He keeps insisting she greet Don Gregorio "properly" but she and Don Gregorio both agree that she has. The grandfather tells her to make them coffee. He notices Don Gregorio checking her out. They start having a coded conversation:

"You're going to wear her out by looking at her so much."

"What? You want to look at her?"

"Well, televisions aren't free."

"What televisions are you talking about?"

"Oh, I'm just saying televisions aren't free. To watch them, you've got to pay."

"And to touch them?"

"Well, you've got to pay a lot more."

Both old bastards smile at each other.

Back to the mockery of a wedding ceremony: Azucena barely looks up as she nods her assent. She starts to cry as they both sign the register.

And on the afternoon when Don Gregorio and the grandfather made the deal: Gregorio comments that the grandfather isn't looking too well. The grandfather blames it on his diabetes and on having nothing but one useless girl in the house. He complains about his wife, who was sick all the time, and his daughter, Azucena's mother, who ran off, leaving her daughter behind. He's sold off all his livestock, including his mule, and now Azucena is the last thing he has left to sell off. The grandfather says if he only had enough for his medicines and a little to eat, he'd find a way to get by. "Oh, is that all?" Well, maybe if he also had a mule to carry him back and forth.

The JP declares Azucena and Gregorio man and wife and Gregorio kisses her, perhaps not on the mouth, but it's creepy all the same. Afterwards, they load up Azucena's suitcase in a red truck and she gets in the cab. The other two women rush over. One tells her not to be scared and just shut her eyes. The clasp hands. At the back of the truck, Gregorio tells the grandfather that she looks "rara" (strange). Right, cause she's supposed to look brimming with happiness at being married to you? What the hell universe are you living in? The grandfather says she's fine, but he should keep her on a short leash because sometimes she thinks she's an artist. Gregorio says he'll cut her wings. "Um, but before you do, aren't I supposed to get a fee for the deal?" Gregorio grins and hands him some bills. "I hope she's not going to turn out to be more expensive than a real artist?" The grandfather says not to worry, he's made a good deal. Gregorio gets into the truck and Azucena's grandfather leans into her window and roughly tells her to behave herself and not do anything to get hit. She glares at him, then looks desperately back at the other two women.

The DIEM SUV's roll into town. Ramon Morales waves them over.

Back to the wedding day: Gregorio brings Azucena to her new house. He takes off his jacket while she looks around. She starts to touch a box, but he tells her not to--it's something for his work. He buys things and sells them and she doesn’t need to get involved. He tells her to go put her things away. The whole house appears to be wallpapered with cardboard, and NOT in a Hildi Santo Tomas sort of way. She goes into the bedroom and Gregorio points out something about the window, saying he asked to have them put up, in case of thieves--possibly he's referring to the beams of wood that are nailed across the window. She tries to leave and says she'll go fix something to eat, but first he wants to "quitarme las ganas" (get rid of my desires; satisfy my desires). Mercifully for us, we fade out as he loosens his tie.

When we return, Azucena is crying. She pulls her dress down as Gregorio buttons up. He says she sure was worth it and good thing she didn't turn out like her mom. He orders her to get up and wash the sheets. "Hey, lazy! None of that! You're not going to pull that crap with me! I paid your grandfather a lot of money to have you, so you're not going to be putting on airs. Get up!" He walks out and she sits up, crying.

Present day: Azucena is led out of the house by Aranda, but not cuffed. She's got a busted lip. She and Morales get into the back of the SUV with Aranda. The group of townspeople, along with Marcelo, the young guy who likes Azucena, all watch.

Morales, Aranda, and Azucena walk into DIEM. Capellan greets them and refuses Morales' thanks, saying this is her job. She introduces herself to Azucena, telling her not to worry, she'll be safe there, and they'll do everything they can to help her. Aranda leads Azucena off, while Capellan tells Morales she's been hearing great things about his work and how he's become the lawyer of the people. He mentions that Capellan was once his teacher. He wants Capellan to help the girl, despite the fact that the murder has already occurred. He wants her to find "atenuantes" (extenuating circumstances), and he's sure there will be several but she objects that this was a "homicidio simple" (a homicide with no aggravating circumstances). Morales says there are some things he needs to tell her. He starts to tell her something we don’t hear and she turns to him audibly and says "What?!"

Rather than being in an interrogation room, Azucena and Morales are sitting opposite Capellan in her office. Azucena says she knows what she did was terrible. Capellan says in order for her to help, she needs to know what happened, and in what order. Does Azucena understand? She asks her to talk about her wedding day. Azucena begins "It was the first time…" she looks down, but inclines her head in Morales' direction. Capellan asks Morales to do her a favor and help Aranda write her report. He leaves and Capellan asks Azucena to continue. "My grandfather, the one who was my grandfather, he kept me locked up. I started to go crazy, and worse when I figured out I was pregnant." I'm sure she's referring to Gregorio, but she says "abuelo," grandfather.

Gregorio sits at a desk, writing in the bedroom. Azucena gets up slowly from the bed. Gregorio says "look who woke up!" He tells her to make coffee, then asks what's wrong, why is she making that face. Azucena says she's not feeling well and he tells her she should make something to eat so she feels better. "Maybe swallowing, you'll get rid of that face!" He says he's got to deal with some merchandise. She asks him if she can go to the doctor, but he says it's not like she's dying. Azucena says she feels really dizzy. Gregorio says when she's done making him some food and she irons his shirts, he'll give her a chance to lie down for a while. But not the doctor--that's a waste of time being out of the house. He complains that he's already paying for her grandfather's medicines, and he's not going to pay for medicine for her as well. He says maybe she does need to go out. She probably needs fresh air and to see the sun--she's looking a little pale. "Estas muy pálida, vieja" (You're looking very pale, "old lady" [wife]). He tells her to get dressed and go to the truck. Azucena keeps looking like she's going to throw up any second.

She carries boxes out to the truck and loads them into the bed. As she stops to throw up, finally, Gregorio tells her to load them up properly. He tells her to clean up her mess and drives off without her.

Azucena goes into town to the health center.

She tells Capellan that she was three months pregnant. "Do you have a child?" Azucena says she doesn't. That she never had it.

Azucena comes back to the house (WHY???!!!) and Gregorio starts in that he knew she would do this to him. She says she went to the doctor, but he accuses her of cheating on him and beats her before she can get out that she's pregnant. He looks horrified.

Azucena sits up in bed, crying. Gregorio tells her she can stay in bed a little longer if she wants. You know, cause now he wants to be nice to his child-bride-slave-rape-victim since she's pregnant. He asks her how far along she is and when she tells him three months he scoffs that she never tells him anything. He says he's going into town for some merchandise and does she want anything. Azucena tells him she just needs the usual groceries. He asks if she's sure. Then he asks if she feels ok and she says it hurts. "Maybe that's normal?" She says it hurts a lot and he suggests she try to lie down for a while so it will pass. He leaves.

Azucena wakes up from her nap and when she pushes the covers off, they've blurred out the space between her legs, where presumably we could have seen that she lost her baby.

The grandfather feeds some hay to his mule. Gregorio and Azucena drive up. Azucena gets slowly out of the truck. Gregorio gives the grandfather a bottle of alcohol. The grandfather says they should hurry up because dinner is already ready. Azucena hobbles slowly toward the porch. The men joke about the añejo (aged tequila). The grandfather tells Azucena to go see if the beans are ready and wash the dishes in the sink since he hasn't been getting around well because of his diabetes. He tells Gregorio that he's getting worse. He asks if Azucena is "mansa" (tamed) and Gregorio says she's still learning, but it's going ok. The grandfather shouts in, asking if the beans are done yet. She says she's on the way. The grandfather congratulates Gregorio, saying he does think she's more tame. Azucena carries out the food and Gregorio asks if the grandfather can really eat it all. Azucena answers that no, he can't or he'll be sick later. "Who asked you?" He tells Gregorio maybe she's not so tamed. Gregorio proudly tells Azucena to tell her grandfather about, you know. He brought over the tequila so they could toast. "Tell him about the kid!" The grandfather asks if he's going to be a "bisabuelo" (great-grandfather). Azucena says there won't be a baby. Gregorio looks confused and the grandfather says that's women for you. "Hey, you paid for Azucena, but the kid thing--that's not my responsibility, right?" Gregorio waves him off, then gets up and goes into the house, where Azucena is standing at the kitchen table. He menacingly asks her what happened with the kid and shakes her when she doesn't answer. Azucena says she lost it two days ago. "Why didn't you tell me?" She says because he doesn't like it when she talks. He says she should have told him and she replies "I just did." The grandfather calls from outside for Gregorio to come have another drink with him. He leaves and Azucena clutches her stomach and goes slowly into her grandfather's room to start cleaning up. She picks up a shawl and inhales the scent.

She remembers her grandmother lying in bed, covered with the shawl. Azucena is giving her the news from town. The grandfather comes in and yells at the grandmother that she's no great lady to be lying around in bed all day. Azucena gets in the way before he can do anything to her and he tells her not to get in the middle. He tells the grandmother that all she's got is laziness and she needs to get out and get some air. Azucena tells her not to pay attention. It's not true that the air is going to do her good--she's really sick, but she'll be better soon. Azucena is lying in bed with her, rubbing her shoulder. She asks if she's warm yet. Her grandmother doesn't answer and Azucena realizes she's dead.

Azucena lies on her grandfather's bed, holding the shawl.

Azucena tells Capellan that her grandmother was the only one who loved her. She took care of her and defended her from her grandfather when he wanted to take his anger at her mother out on Azucena. Her grandmother loved her like she was her own daughter, one who had turned out well. Capellan asks what her husband did when she lost the baby. Azucena says "he got worse."

Azucena is sitting on the bed when Gregorio comes in and tells her to take her clothes off--that they're going to make another kid. She says it's only been two days since she lost the other one. He asks what she wants--for him to put up with a "cuarentena" (quarantine; the forty days after giving birth).

Azucena and Gregorio go to the market. She says they need tomatoes, but she and Marcelo reach for one at the same time and Gregorio comes over and yanks her away. He noticed them looking at each other and she denies that there's anything going on and says she hardly knows him.

When they get home, he tells her to put everything away. She asks him if she can have permission for Chayo and Luz to come visit. He says she's staying locked up today and that's the end of it. He thinks the other women will bring Marcelo to the house so he can have sex with Azucena, and he says he's not stupid enough to allow that. She keeps begging and says she won't go anywhere, she just wants him not to lock the door so they can come in. He tells her to quit "fregando" (bugging me) and leaves. Azucena takes out a screwdriver and starts to open up one of the mystery "merchandise" boxes.

Forense Gerardo tells Capellan that he was sent some pictures of "her" case. She says it's "a" case, not "her" case. "Fine, 'a' case that you're making yours." He says it's going to be difficult to find extenuating circumstances, now that he's seen the pictures and the "saña" (viciousness) with which she committed the crime. Capellan replies that the girl was treated with viciousness every day of her life, for months. Gerardo tells her she's making the case hers. "That's what we're supposed to do! That's the purpose of this division! To find out the Why's!" Gerardo says she already knows the why's and it's all clear. He says he shares her outrage and agrees with her about how it was done. She says "Then you understand what I'm thinking." Gerardo says that one man's head was beaten to a pulp and the other was administered enough insulin to kill an elephant. He spreads his hands and says "She's a murderer." Capellan gives him a look and walks out.

Somehow, Azucena gets together with the other two women--Luz and Chayo. One says it will be Azucena's birthday soon. The other one suggests they have a party and Azucena shushes her because Gregorio is around. "We're not saying anything bad! We just want to celebrate your birthday." "Que festejar ni que nada!" (Celebrating? What celebrating?--The best way to translate "ni que nada" is to change it to "what" and put it in front of whatever came before it. If one of the girls had just said, "We'll get you a car for your birthday!" She would have replied, "Que carro ni que nada!" "What car?" as in "Are you freaking kidding me?") Azucena says he hardly let her come see them today. It's better if they don't celebrate. One of the other girls says they have to celebrate, like they did when they were little. Azucena sits down by them and says she can't. "Come on! I'll organize it. How long do we have, another week?" Azucena shyly admits it's Wednesday. The girls say that all she has to do is get permission to go out. And of course he's give her permission because it's her birthday.

Capellan says she supposes that Gregorio forbid her from seeing her friends. Azucena says not only that, he also beat her. Capellan says she went anyway. "Did I do wrong?" "No. It's just a question." Azucena says she did go with them and she paid dearly for it. Capellan asks her to explain, step by step, what happened yesterday.

Azucena pulls the "merchandise" boxes away from a window. She starts unscrewing the wooden slat in front of it. She climbs up on a box and starts working on the next one up.

The girls sit outside and toast to Azucena's health. She says she's been dying for a beer. Gregorio doesn't let her drink. She thanks them for everything and says she loves them a lot and doesn't know what she would do without them. They light the candle on the cake, but Azucena is nervous that it's getting late. One of the girls tells her it's her birthday and she should forget about that old man for a while. They tell her to make 3 wishes, but make them good ones because there won't be another cake until next year. Azucena freezes up. She says she can't do it anymore. Gregorio hits her. One of the girls calls him a "desgraciado" (a disgrace; a bastard, asshole, worthless…you get the picture) but she doesn't seem very shocked or outraged. Azucena continues that she lost her baby and she doesn't want to live anymore. Her grandmother was the only one who loved her and she can't take it anymore. The girl tells her they're there for her and she should drink her beer, it will make her feel better.

Azucena goes back to the house with leftover cake. Gregorio is already there. She says she was with her friends, but can't finish before he knocks the cake out of her hands and starts hitting her. He says she smells like beer and who did she get drunk with. He takes off his belt and starts hitting her with it, accusing her of having been with Marcelo and getting drunk to sleep with him. He says he'll kill her and she won't make a fool of him. He grabs a machete, but she grabs one of the pieces of wood that was on the window. She gives him one good whack and the butterfly flies away. She keeps hitting his head. Considering the sound, it wasn't wood that was over the window, it was a metal bar. Azucena's face is covered in blood and she goes into shock.

She tells Capellan that he wouldn't let her explain and he just started hitting her. "What did you want me to do? Either I killed him or he was going to kill me. The bar was right there, it was in my hand and I didn't think of anything. He killed my baby and he was going to kill me." She starts to cry. Capellan gets up and meets Aranda in the hallway. Aranda says she thinks they have "atenuantes" (extenuating circumstances). Capellan's response is that her husband was pathologically jealous, he sexually abused her, he beat her. She thinks the murder could be considered self-defense. Morales is grateful, but she says they can't thank her yet. The problem here is the second murder. She goes back into her office.

Gregorio is dead. Azucena is sitting at the table next to him, rocking back and forth.

Azucena covers Gregorio's head with the tablecloth and walks out the door. She walks slowly down the hill, hands in the pockets of her orange sweater.

She goes to her grandfather's house. He's sitting in the kitchen in a chair, with his hands covered by his jacket, shaking. He asks her if she came alone. He asks if something's going on, but she says since he said he wasn't feeling well, she came to see him. He says it's the diabetes. They were out of insulin at the pharmacy. He's dizzy, he has low blood pressure. He tells her the medicine finally arrived and it's in the box. He complains that Gregorio was supposed to bring him money but he didn't even come. Azucena says Gregorio's his friend and she's got nothing to do with it. The grandfather says she could have at least told him to come. Azucena says she'll fix him some coffee and then she'll give him his insulin. "How long has it been since you've had it?" He says he doesn't even know anymore with the dizziness. Azucena says that she thinks she'll have to give him all of it. "Do you think so? Won't it be too much?" Azucena says one for every day that he didn't have it. He scoffs, but says she'd know. He starts to tell her to tell Gregorio, but she interrupts him and says "I already told you it's nothing to do with me. He's your friend." The grandfather says he must have forgotten and he hopes it's not out of ill will.

Azucena tells Capellan that when she killed her husband she realized that she wasn't being fair. "Why should I kill him and leave my grandfather alive? After all it was he who sold me to Gregorio. He stole my destiny, my happiness. When I gave him the insulin, that happiness came back to me. The same as he took from my grandmother and I. Now we're even."

Her grandfather drinks his coffee as she gives him several injections. She asks him if he knows what day yesterday was. He wishes her a happy birthday. He winces at the injection and says this illness sucks. He always wants to sleep. He asks her to see if there's some juice in the fridge. She gets up and says there isn't. He asks her to bring some next time she visits. "It's not good for you." "Because of the diabetes? Well, that's what they say, but who knows if it's true." She gives him another shot. He says he didn't eat anything the day before, just some stale bread. "Que caray" (aw, gee, that's too bad) she says, with no feeling behind it. He asks her what she did for her birthday. She says her friends made her a cake. He remembers that her grandmother used to bake her a cake on her birthday, does she remember? She does. He says she always bought colored sugar for the top. "Sometimes we didn't even have enough for bread, but there she'd go and get you colored sugar. And I'd tell her she would make you spoiled. The fights we used to have. Do you remember?" He asks if Gregorio gave her a present and calls him a cheapskate when she says he didn't. "I'll have to talk to him. Do you know that all of a sudden my eyes are bothering me. What could it be?" Azucena says she doesn't know. "Why didn't Gregorio come?" Azucena says she killed him. Her grandfather laughs. "Good on you!" "Right? I killed him, just like I killed you." She cries and he looks at her, then slumps over. The butterfly flies away. Azucena gets up, shocked, and looks into the camera.

"Azucena Chávez fue declarada inimputable por la muerte de su esposo, considerándose el hecho como un asesinato en defensa propia. Sin embargo, en juez desestimó los atenuantes presentados en el caso del asesinato de su abuelo, al considerar que la acusada actuó con alevosía y ventaja. Fue condenada a 12 años de prisión. Ramon Morales ha apelado la sentencia. El caso se encuentra en los tribunales superiores y en la comisión nacional de derechos humanos."

Azucena Chávez was declared incompetent in the death of her husband, considering the deed as a murder in self-defense. Nevertheless, the judge disallowed the extenuating circumstances presented in the case of the murder of her grandfather, considering that the accused acted with viciousness and had an advantage. She was condemned to 12 years in prison. Ramon Morales has appealed the sentence. The case is now in the superior courts and the national committee on human rights.

Next week, Kika Edgar plays a pole dancer.

Labels: asesinas

Tonight, Giselle Blondet is "Luz, Arrolladora" (Luz, who runs over).

Luz Mercedes, aka Mercedes, played by Cynthia Klitbo, is driving down the street saying, "You and I are going to be very happy together. You'll never leave me, you'll never cheat on me. And I'm going to decide when to trade you in for another." She kisses her steering wheel. Having just purchased a new Latinamobile two days ago, I know the feeling.

Meanwhile, Amado is in bed, passionately kissing Vera, played by Margarita Magana (the feisty and financially motivated Karla on Guapos). Amado calls a halt, as things are not working. Oh? Which "things" exactly? Vera's reaction to this declaration is to tell him she wants an identical car. Amado says he'll think about it.

Mercedes calls him as he and Vera are walking through a lobby or foyer. He asks if she's happy with the new car, and while she says she is, he doesn't think she sounds like it. Well, that's cause last time he gave her a car it was because he was cheating on her with "Lucha." She demands to know who he's cheating with this time. He says they've already talked about it, and he gave her that car because it's the one she deserves. So, he's riding a bicycle? Roller skates, maybe? As soon as he gets done with this "meeting" he's having at the "hospital" he'll head directly home and they can talk. She doesn't answer and Vera walks out without him.

Mercedes sees them both walk out of a building and start having one of those fights you don't have with someone you're not sleeping with. She pulls a gun out of her purse and says this is what he deserves.

This season the background for the opening theme song is red and all the asesinas are in black. Meh. I liked the red dresses better. Ana Brenda declares them all lost souls. The bloody butterflies fly around. I miss Gloria.

A few weeks ago…

Vera sits behind the desk of a medical practice, saying she's nervous. She looks homely, badly dressed, with stringy hair. Meanwhile, Mercedes is all dolled-up and coiffed. She tells Vera that she'll do fine as the receptionist for her husband's medical practice. Well, Vera's sure gonna try. She's grateful for the opportunity. Mercedes warns her that she'll be busy as her husband is very sought-after. "There's never a lack of ugly women with aspirations." Vera looks uncomfortable.

"Luchita" aka, Luz Maria, aka Giselle Blondet, cries to Amado that she's been the perfect receptionist and has even saved him some money, so why is she being fired? Um, cause his wife found out you've been going above and beyond the call of duty? Just a guess. Amado asks her to stop crying before she makes him cry. She pretty much refuses to calm down, since calming down will help everyone BUT her. On top of losing her job, Amado has just informed her that this thing with them isn't going anywhere. Burn! Dude, you are so gonna die!

Back at the office, Vera worries that the Doc won't like her. Mercedes says she'll hit him like a bomb. And if he doesn't like her, too bad, since it's Mercedes making those decisions in his office. Vera wants to tchotchke up her desk, which is fine by Luz Mercedes. She tells her to let her know if she needs any stationery and if she finds anything belonging to the previous receptionist…burn it! Mousy little Vera is shocked! Mercedes tells her that Lucha made some mistakes that she couldn't forgive. Vera hurries to grab a pencil and write down what she needs to not do so that she doesn't lose her job like Lucha. "Well, let's see…she kept the agenda perfectly…she was great with the patients…she kept a close eye on the inventory…she even saved us money!...she did a great job of scheduling the surgeries…." Vera is heartbroken. Lucha was perfect! "Well, yes, but she also screwed my husband." Mercedes walks off as Vera sits there with her mouth hanging open, wondering if she should write "Do not screw the boss" with just one exclamation point or two.

Lucha complains that Amado has used and discarded her. Sure, his wife suspected something was up, but he should have defended her! Amado says he just didn't have any choice.

Back at the office,

Mercedes continues to Vera that Lucha was trying to seduce her husband, so she had to be fired. She was a "buscona" (from "buscar" to look…she was looking where she shouldn't…ho, slut, loose woman, etc.). Vera thinks getting rid of her was the best thing to do. Mercedes can tell that Vera is different. They'll be great friends.

Lucha tells Amado he's a coward. Amado has found her another job, but he tells her not to go sleeping with her new boss. Lucha warns him that if it's not a good job, her tongue just might get loose. Amado doesn't think she'd dare. "I have nothing left to lose." Amado says it's all going to be fine, but he gets nervous when she threatens him. He needs them to cool it while things calm down and then they can pick up back where they started. Lucha doesn't like the sound of that. She blows him off when he sweet talks her again, saying whatever, it's not a big deal. Amado is confused by her change of attitude and says "Who can understand you?" She grabs him by the throat and says probably his wife can understand her.

Mercedes sits in Det. Capellan's interrogation room, asking what's going on. She doesn't understand. It's some kind of nightmare. She's Mercedes Manjarrés, widow! Capellan brings up the car being in her name. Mercedes says her husband was a skirt-chaser, but she never could have…. No, she doesn't know what happened. She doesn't understand anything.

Two snotty brats sit at a kitchen table, the older one playing with a laptop, the younger with a handheld game of some type. The younger brat asks Mercedes when the new secretary is going to come to the house and play with them. She hopes she'll give them popsicles like Lucha did! The older brat tells her little sister that the new secretary is nothing special, and she'll be just another of dad's secretaries. Mercedes says no, the new one isn't just one more, she's staying indefinitely until "se hace vieja con tu padre" (she grows old with your father). Daughter counters, "o se hace la vieja de mi padre" (or she becomes my dad's 'old lady' [wife]). Mercedes is shocked to hear her say it. "Well, he left my mother for you, he almost left you for Lucha, so we'll see." She says she'll have to check out the new girl. "Maybe she's pretty. Dad likes them pretty." Mercedes tells her the new girl is completely ugly, so there!

Lucha is pissed that her meal ticket has gotten away. She is standing in a phone booth in the lobby of a hotel, talking to herself. She says now Amado will bring the new girl here and she'll never be his wife. Damnit!

Amado comes home and is let in by Mercedes. He claims to have forgotten his keys. He looks panicked when she asks him why his phone was going straight to "buzon" (voicemail). He tells her he had to turn it off because of that, um, conference. Yeah, they changed the date and he had to just quickly put something together for it. "What about the patients?" Amado jokes that they had to wait…isn't that why they call them "patients"? Mercedes doesn't appreciate the humor.

A parking garage attendant hears noises and goes to investigate. He finds Lucha crouching by Amado's car. She says she was just looking for some papers. "At this time of night?" Lucha storms off, saying she doesn't have to answer to a "portero" (doorman) but he claims he's a "conserje" (superintendent, or concierge). He goes over by the car, checking to make sure she didn’t install a bomb. He mumbles about terrorists.

Mercedes is really pulling out the big guns. She's got a face treatment on that seems to include some kind of cloth or paper mask, and she's rolling her hair up and pinning it like it's in curlers (just without the actual curlers). Tip: Guys love this. Amado complains that he's tired after the butt lipo he did earlier. He claps off the lights. Mercedes claps them back on and climbs into bed…immediately Amado whines that he's really too tired for it tonight. But Mercedes just wanted to talk. Well, he's too tired for that too! He says if Vera makes her feel more secure, he's really glad. Mercedes asks if he saw Lucha again. Amado tries to pretend he doesn't know who this "Lucha" person is. "Oh, well, why would I have seen her? The only one who's going to be seeing her is our lawyer, if she sues for wrongful termination." Mercedes peels off the mask and says Lucha was trying to steal her husband and let's see what a judge will say when she explains that Lucha was trying to get in the way of her "dicha" (good fortune, happiness). Amado complains that she was just his secretary, a "pelusita" (a little bit of fluff). "I was your secretary. Was I just a little bit of fluff?" Amado whines that no, she's everything to him…everything! But not a bit of fluff. They get it on.

Lucha comes to the office and surprises Vera asleep at the reception desk. She asks where the doctor is and says it's an emergency. Vera says he's not in the office because he's operating. "Don't you mean, 'he's in surgery'?" Vera agrees that yes, it does sound better that way. "And won't he possibly be back in the afternoon, depending on how many surgeries he has scheduled?" Vera supposes so. Lucha comes behind the desk and criticizes Vera's wardrobe, telling her she shouldn't be wearing flip-flops. Vera realizes this must be Lucha and she asks her to leave. "Fine, but I'll be watching you. If you make me lose Amado I will turn you into carne molida with a scalpel." (mincemeat) Vera agrees not to tell Mercedes that Lucha was there.

Amado and his older daughter go down to the parking garage. He's complaining about her attitude and she's complaining about not being a kid anymore. She warns him that if Mercedes gets sick of him she'll go back to her mother. Amado swears he'd never cheat on Mercedes with anyone. "Even your secretary?" Amado tries to sweet talk his daughter, reminding her they're best buds. Daughter is over it. The doorman/superintendent/whateverheis apparently tells Amado about the previous night.

Mercedes fights with the younger daughter, trying to get her to fess up to where her "mochila" (backpack) is. "If we don't find your backpack, they're not going to let you into school!" Daughter sagely suggests they just go to the movies instead, and problem solved. Mercedes finds the backpack and tells the daughter to go down to the car. Daughter had been playing with dad's cell phone and Mercedes looks at it and finds a text message from Lucha that says "You can't just throw me away like an old rag."

Amado and the portero check out the car, which has had "Amado es pu" (Amado is a pu… "puto"? Male slut?) scratched into it. The portero hasn't been able to get rid of it even with some stuff that's supposed to come from China, so you know it works. He suggests they complete the word so it reads "Amado es PUMA" like the university mascot. Amado doesn't like that suggestion. He gets in the car with the daughter and says they'll be on their way in a just a minute. He's about to run into the other car, but the portero gets in the way. Amado tries to explain that if he hits the other car, problem solved, but just then Mercedes and Lupita, the younger daughter walk up. Amado says he'll drop everybody off today, since he'd asked the portero to clean the car for her and it isn't ready yet. The portero obligingly stands in front of the scratched door. The two daughters look at each other, agreeing that dad is craaaaazy!

After they drop off the girls, Mercedes confronts him about the text message. "Who did you throw away like an old rag? It's Lucha, right?" Amado says yes, but she's crazy and he didn't want to worry her. She's been bugging him since they fired her and she's been doing some really strange stuff. Really. Strange. Stuff. He still denies sleeping with her. He says she came on to him, but he resisted and she is crazy…not a little crazy but CRAZY! Just then, Lucha comes out of the building, pulling on a pair of black elbow length gloves and glaring menacingly at Amado and Mercedes. Way to look sane, there, sister.

Capellan asks Mercedes how many times Amado cheated on her. She says he always denied it and she always believed him until the day she caught him with Lucha in the office. She says he was enjoying himself like he never did with her and his face just looked so happy. "And why did you forgive him? Because he bought you a luxury car?" "No. And it wasn't that much of a luxury car…not like the last time."

Months before...
The girls run down the steps and get into Mercedes' new SUV. She tells Amado she's forgiven him partly because he got rid of Lucha, partly for telling her the whole truth, and partly because of her new car. Amado keeps trying to talk to her and she keeps saying "el horno no es para bollos" (the oven's not ready for rolls; not now, leave me alone). She drives off with the kids and Amado and the portero exchange a look.

Mercedes tells Capellan that she thought he was going to change and that’s why she forgave him. Capellan wants the truth. "What truth? I don't know anything. It was all so fast!" Mercedes says they stole her car. "Then why are your fingerprints the only ones on the steering wheel? He cheated on you, you forgave him, he did it again and that's why you killed him." Mercedes says she didn't kill him.

Down in the lab, Forense Gerardo, Aranda, and Moran are waiting to check out the body. Capellan walks up and says the wife still denies having run him over. Gerardo says the woman's body was found about 50 meters away, with 2 bullets in her. They haven't found the gun yet.

Amado is doing a post-op on a patient. He tells her she's healing nicely and she looks about 40 now. "I'm 42." Well, that's ok, he was just joking. Go see the nurse for some antibiotics. Vera comes in to talk to him. She fell and hurt herself yesterday and while it's nothing serious, she'd like him to check her out. She sits on his desk and says his 4 o'clock isn't there yet. "Well, let them wait. That's why they call them 'patients' ja, ja, ja." He looks at her knee and says it looks fine, but he's got to check all the bones and make sure nothing's out of place. We all know where this is headed. Vera's been waiting for this for a long time.

Gerardo and Capellan talk behind the glass. She's sure the two murders are related. Gerardo says they didn't find any gunpowder residue on the dead guy. Capellan asks him to see if he can match Mercedes' prints to the gun and to check her for powder residue.

At the office, Mercedes asks if she can trust Vera. She doesn't think Amado loves her anymore. He's still being very loving, but they haven't had sex in weeks. Vera says that's normal in some couples. But she agrees it's weird for a man who loves you not to want to have sex with you. Mercedes is convinced he's cheating. "When? He's always working. When would he have another lover?" Emphasis on "another" and Mercedes hears it. Vera says she meant another aside from the many Mercedes has said he had. Vera says they have to investigate. Mercedes says if it's Lucha again, she'll kill her. Mercedes finally realizes that Vera is looking a lot cuter than she used to.

Gerardo and Aranda inform Capellan that they have the results back and it looks like the doctor's secretary is the one who fired the gun. Capellan figures he must have been sleeping with her too. The wife ran him over and the secretary killed the lover.

Lucha grabs Amado by the neck and asks if he's going to leave her. They're sitting in the backseat of a car. He says he won't and they get to mackin'.

Amado hangs out in a hotel room with Vera. She's complaining about Mercedes getting suspicious and accusing him of not sleeping with her anymore. "Well, that would be like cheating on you. And I'd rather be touching you anyway." Vera is worried and she doesn't like the implication that there's a time limit on their relationship. Amado says it's no problem. He's done paying off the car and they offered him a discount on a new one, so he'll buy her a new car and that'll be the end of it. Vera says that Mercedes thinks Amado is cheating with Lucha and she said she'll kill him. Amado looks worried and says Mercedes does have a gun. "Maybe I should hide it?" Vera says if it's true, Mercedes will kill him and so will she. "Damn, all that's left is for Lucha to kill me!"

Capellan shows Mercedes a picture taken by the hotel security cameras after her husband was shot. "There's a woman getting into a car. Do you recognize her?" Mercedes does recognize her, but doesn't answer Capellan's questions about who she is or where she lives. She just keeps repeating "She killed him." Capellan takes her iPad back and gives Mercedes a meaningful glance.

Lucha gets dragged into the police station. She cries to Capellan that what she had with Amado was more than just a relationship…she was the love of his life! And now she'll miss him more than anyone.

Lucha pulls on her gloves as she looks around a corner and sees Mercedes' car.

Lucha tells Capellan that she was angry at that moment because Mercedes had everything. But she says she didn't do it. "She left the keys in the car and after than I…I don't know."

Lucha watches Mercedes sneak into the building and she runs out to the car and gets in. She drives off in Mercedes' car.

"You know perfectly well what happened! You got into Mercedes' car and you ran over Amado!" Lucha says Mercedes was smart to marry Amado, but really she was like all the others. He didn't love Mercedes, but he did love her, Lucha. "If he couldn't be mine, he couldn't be anyone else's either."

Lucha is surprised by Amado walking out of the building. She screams and hits him with the car. He rolls off the hood and lies there for a few moments and then she turns the wheels for a better angle and drives over him. No butterfly so far.

Capellan tells Mercedes that they have her husband's killer. And also the killer of her husband's lover. Mercedes fusses with her hair and asks "Who?"

The portero polishes the car. Mercedes comes out and the portero tells her it's a really nice car. She gets in and drives off, with no message for her husband. She pulls up in front of the hotel and calls her husband. We get a repeat from the scene near the beginning. This time, Vera tells him she's pregnant, but no worries, she'll get an abortion tomorrow. Amado is shocked. Mercedes hides around the corner and then follows Vera.

Capellan points out that four lives have been lost--Amado, Vera, and the two killers. Gerardo adds the unborn baby as #5. Mercedes says she didn't kill him. She wanted to, but she didn't. Her, yes. She was a piece of fluff trying to steal her husband. It was fair, wasn't it?

Mercedes catches up to Vera and shoots her twice in the back. The bloody butterfly flies away.

Lucha gets out of the car and another butterfly flies away.

Mercedes drops the gun in a nearby trash can, then sees that her car is missing. She sees it parked around the corner and looks inside first, then sees Amado lying dead under the front of it.

Mercedes and Lucha are walked down the hall in handcuffs. They stop to look at each other, then turn and face the camera.

"La parte investigadora demostró que Luz María arrolló, con un lujoso auto, a Amado Manjarrez pasando un par de veces por encima de su cuerpo. Fue diagnosticada como maniaco-depresiva y recluida en una clínica psiquiátrica de la capital. Luz Mercedes confeso haber baleado a Vera, la última amante de su marido. Fue condenada a 45 años de prisión. Las dos hijas de Amado, Elsie y Lupita quedaron al cuidado de su primera esposa, madre de Elsie."

The investigative department showed that Luz María ran over, with a luxury car, Amado Manjarrez, passing over his body twice. She was diagnosed as manic-depressive and interned in a psychiatric clinic in the capital. Luz Mercedes confessed to having shot Vera, the last lover of her husband. She was sentenced to 45 years in prison. Amado's two daughters, Elsie and Lupita, stayed in the care of his first wife, Elsie's mother."

Next week, Zuria Vega is sold to an abusive old guy.

Labels: asesinas

The new season of Mujeres Asesinas is starting on Thursday. These are some bullet points about what was discussed on Sal y Pimienta about the new season and the Mujeres Asesinas series:

• If you haven't seen the show before, the premise is that it gives a lot of actresses a chance to play grittier roles, usually involving a lot of violence and at least one murder per episode. This season, we're supposed to get: obsessive sisters, religious fanatics, overprotective mothers, Machiavellian women, and all sorts of twisted minds.
• The list of ladies for this season (and some of their character names) includes:
○ Rocio Banquells--most recently on Cuidado Con el Angel as Isabela
○ Jacqueline Bracamontes--most recently on Sortilegio as Maria Jose and Sandra
○ Yolanda Andrade--Rubi in the 2004 version of Rubi
○ Aleyda Nuñez--on Mañana es Para Siempre as Gardenia
○ Ana Bertha Espín--on Soy tu Dueña as Enriqueta
○ Aislinn Derbez (As Marta, Manipuladora)--not on anything I recognize according to IMDB
○ Dulce María--from Rebelde; on Verano de Amor as Miranda
○ Zuria Vega--on Mar de Amor as Estrella
○ Kika Edgar--on Season 1 of Mujeres Asesinas as Margarita, Ponzoñosa
○ Diana Bracho--on Fuego en la Sangre as Gabi
○ Maite Perroni--on Triunfo del Amor as Maria
○ Luz María Aguilar--on La Fea Más Bella as Irma
○ Dominika Paleta (as María, Fanática)--on Mañana es Para Siempre as Lili
○ Belinda--the singer
○ Issabela Camil--on La Fea Más Bella as Isabela del Conde (and Jaime Camil's stepsister)
○ Cynthia Klitbo--on Atrévete a Soñar as Bianca
○ Giselle Blondet--the host of Nuestra Belleza Latina
○ Leticia Perdigón (as Maggie, Pensionada)--from Hasta Que el Dinero Nos Separe as Leonor
○ María Rojo--on Corazon Salvaje as Clemencia
○ Patricia Reyes Spíndola--on Season 2 of Mujeres Asesinas as Tita Garza, Estafadora
○ Pilar Pellicer (all as Las Cotuchas, Empresarias)--on La Madrastra as Sonia
• Veronica Castro and Lucia Mendez were in the first season, which was quite a big deal since they were said to be enemies since the '80s.
• Giselle Blondet hasn't been acting in a while. She's going to be in an episode as Luz, Arrolladora, a betrayed wife who gets revenge. She joked that she thanks God and the Virgen that she's nothing like her character, but that's what acting is all about. She prepared for the role by reflecting on the fact that it's all too common for women to experience infidelity and many of them deal with it through violence (okay, not really an answer, there). She's excited to get going on the 5th season of Nuestra Belleza Latina. She hopes the public enjoys her performance in MA3.
• Kika Edgar gets to smack a guy around.
• Jacki Bracamontes will be "Irma, de los Peces." She's playing a woman who's terrorized by her husband. She was shocked to see how "ugly" they made her look without makeup and such. It also looked like they had her hair dyed darker. She talked about women who are in domestic violence situations being trapped. She said although she is an "asesina" she's not a villain, but a victim. She talked about how her character is different from Maria Jose on Sortilegio because she loses both parents early and is left with this older man who she ends up marrying. She showed off her engagement ring and talked about her fiancee Martin and how he proposed at a Fire and Ice event with a sign that said "Will you marry me?" She was kind of shocked and couldn't answer right away, leaving the poor guy down on one knee in the snow with fireworks going off.
• Stop the presses! William Levy is the episode with Belinda and he won't be a nice guy! This oughtta be good!
• Maite Perroni, Diana Bracho, and Luz María Aguilar will all be in an episode together as a daughter, mother, and grandmother.
• Aleyda Nuñez will be in "Elvira and Mercedes, Justicieras" with Yolanda Andrade. She talked about doing the filming in the center of the DF. Mercedes is blinded by her love for a man and doesn't see that he's been abusing her daughter. They all joke some more about how ugly everyone looked on screen and Adela adds that on top of everything else she got a huge mosquito bite. She talked about doing about 3 weeks of table reads, studying the characters and their psychology. She thought about how she wanted to show the character, not just externally, but what shows in her eyes, how she speaks. She enjoyed working with Yolanda, but said there were times she was so funny it took her out of character. She talked about playing Gardenia and how it was fun to work with Fernando Colunga. She hopes she can show different characters every time she's on screen and said she's finishing up a new telenovela, Cuando me Enamoro, where her character Alfonsina will be nothing like Gardenia or Mercedces.
• www.novelasyseries.com has more info about the series.
• The episode Dulce Maria is in seems to have something to do with her sister-in-law coming on to her rather forcefully. We're told there will be an intense shower scene.
• William Levy and Belinda will be in an episode that looks like it's all in flashback--either that or it's about 60's reconstructionists. William Levy gets to have a threesome and beat on Belinda.
• The first episode will be Giselle Blondet's.
• Ana Barbara is singing the theme song this season, which she also wrote, "Alma Perdida." Ana said that it's not completely out of line to think that when people write songs, those songs must have something to do with their personal lives. For this particular song, she did write it before a painful incident in her personal life that she ended up going through a little after she wrote the song. She says the series itself has enough elements to pull from to write the song. She doesn't like to be "aggressive" in her lyrics, but the series made up for that. The song is a song about pain, but pain that any woman could feel at being abandoned by a parent or a lover or from fighting with her kids. Jacqueline talked about having to lip synch to the song for promos, but she liked it so much she couldn't help actually singing the song. She makes cracks about her voice, but Ana Barbara tells her she's so pretty no one would care.
• Ana Barbara sang the theme song live. I was prepared not to like it because I LOVED the one for Season 2, but it's ok. I think it will grow on me. However, her backup dancers had me thinking "Madonna called from the 80's and she wants her wardrobe back!"
• Here are the lyrics and translation for "Alma Perdida"
Soy la que siempre se entrego al amor (I'm the one who always gave herself to love)
La que ha sufrido sin una razon (The one who's suffered for no reason)
Quien predico sin una bendicion (Who preached with no blessing)
Soy la que humillada suplico perdon (I'm the one who begged for forgiveness, humiliated)
Mi fe perdida me dejo una herida (My faith lost, leaving me a wound)
No habia otra salida, no habia redencion (There was no way out, there was no redemption)

Tan injusto es mi pasado (My past is so unfair)
La condena esta a mi lado (The sentence is by my side)
Tengo culpa (I'm guilty)
Siento que ahora yo (I feel that now I)
Solo soy… (Am only)

Un alma perdida (A lost soul)
En mis manos se te fue la vida (In my hands your life left)
Tu recuerdo la enterro perdida (Your memory is buried and lost)
Me gritaban voces asesinas (Murderous voices screamed at me)
Proclamando que ahora soy (Proclaiming that now I am)
Un alma perdida (A lost soul)

Soy la que ocultó su miedo por verdad (I'm the one who hid her fear for truth)
Quien de rodillas imploro piedad (Who on her knees begged for mercy)
La que jugo a perder su libertad (Who risked losing her freedom)
Hoy crucificada de mi voluntad (I've crucified my will)
Le pido a dios que no me de su ausencia (I ask god not to leave me [not to give me his absence])
Pido por clemencia ya no puedo más (I ask for clemency and I can't do it anymore)

Tan injusto es mi pasado...

Un alma perdida...

Un alma perdida...

Perdida...

Labels: asesinas

Is anyone else planning on watching? I did recaps for season 2 and I'd like to continue for season 3. Would anyone else like to join me? I don't know how many episodes to expect, but maybe we could split it up by week number? Or if you have a particular actress whose episode you want to do? Let's talk it out before the blood starts flowing!

Labels: asesinas

Don't adjust your computer screens. Yes, this really is the recap for last week's MA, which was also our season finale, sadly. Apparently they showed a Season 1 rerun this week, but my TV did not record it for some reason. Well, we're promised Season 3 "soon." In the meantime...

Tonight, Patricia Reyes Spindola is "Tita Garza, Estafadora" (Tita Garza, con artist).

An older woman struggles her way down a flight of stairs, but almost immediately loses her balance and tumbles to the ground. A gardener shouts out "Doña Carmen" and yells to someone that she fell.

Aw, yeah, Gloria, let's get bloody for the last time. I'll miss you babe.

A bevy of broads play cards, including the soon to be fallen Carmen, and Tita. Carmen wins this hand. Tita gets a call on her cell phone from "Beto" and asks him when he needs her to "resolver" (resolve or settle…settle a debt, maybe?) she calls him her "angel de la guarda" (guardian angel) and says she'll do it, of course. Meanwhile the ladies motion to her to get off the phone and back to the game.

A guy in a suit tries to get hold of Tita, but leaves his fifth message, as the line is busy. He yells at a woman who walks in about needing to talk to Tita and ends up telling her that when Tita gets back, she needs to tell her that he's waiting for her.

Tita starts talking to the ladies about some fabulous investment that they've got to get in on tonight, if at all. She's apparently made money for them in the past and they debate among themselves whether they want to invest in whatever new scheme she has or not. Tita lays out some bull about a woman they know who made a ton of money. Two of the women say they'll give her a check, but Carmen isn't into it. Tita agrees to let her know for the next time. Carmen deals the next hand.

Tita finally makes it home and the maid tells her that her husband is furious and wants to talk to her. After she leaves the kitchen, the maid picks up Tita's discarded cigarette and starts smoking it.

The husband, Antonio, gripes at her for being out and is upset when she says she was gambling at Carmen's. She just stays annoyingly calm and asks what he's so upset about. Apparently, he gave her four million pesos to invest because she swore she could double it. Well, he hasn't gotten it back yet and it was supposed to be untouchable company money to pay the workers with. Now he's got no money, he was planning to sell the factory at a more-or-less reasonable price, and instead it's all falling apart now. He's worried about going to jail, but she says no one's going to jail in that same annoying "what a tiresome little man you are" tone of voice. She blames his lack of management skills on the problems with the factory and reminds him she's going to give him back a ton of money. She practically runs into the bathroom and locks herself in to get away from him. He starts asking if she invested all the money. She takes a pill and doesn't answer. He whines that he wrote some checks and they're going to get returned for insufficient funds. Tita starts taking off her makeup and looks a little desperate.

The next day, I guess, Carmen has changed her mind and is willing to invest $60k. In dollars, mind you. Partly in cash and partly by check. Tita doesn't even blink at signing an IOU for the money. She congratulates Carmen as a fellow investor.

Carmen talks to her daughter (who for some reason isn't listed on IMDB, but isn't that Diana Golden?) about what a great investment it is and that it's practically guaranteed. The daughter is having a little problem with the "practically" as opposed to an actual guarantee. Daughter chokes on her orange juice when she finds out mom invested sixty mil…dollars, that is. "That's everything you've got!" Carmen sighs that she's going to get all the money back next week, plus interest. Daughter remains unconvinced.

Daughter visits Det. Capellan, presumably after Carmen's death. She and the man with her are of the opinion that there was some kind of fraud going on. It's too much of a coincidence that all three women handed over money. They've spoken to the families of the other two women, who said the same thing happened, there's no record of the money or where it went. Capellan informs them that if they want to make a case for Carmen being murdered, they're going to have to autopsy the body. The daughter agrees and Capellan tells Aranda to get to work on it.

Tita is observed by a security camera as she walks into an office building and asks to see someone on the 9th floor. The security guard says there isn't anyone on the 9th floor--they and all their furniture left last night. She insists on seeing and he tells her to go ahead. Before she leaves she asks him if the guy left any kind of forwarding address. The guard says he didn't and she's not the only one to come looking for him. Tita starts getting nervous. Right then the guard gets a call from the guy, Alberto, and Tita snatches the phone away to talk to him. She's furiously asking why he up and moved offices and insisting that no, she will not calm down! He hangs up on her.

Tita spends some quality time smoking and watching the ants in her garden eat up a beetle. Matilde, the maid, comes running out with her cell phone. It's Chata, one of the ladies from the card game, asking how Tita could have taken money from Carmen when neither she nor Nena have seen any return on their investment yet. She complains that Tita told them ten days and it's now been a month. She insists that she needs her money back, like, now. She doesn't even care about the interest, she just needs her original investment back. Tita makes excuses. Chata reminds her that she has an IOU that Tita signed for the money. Tita complains that this is the first time she's been late and Chata acts like…. Chata has had enough. She asks if she should come by for the money herself or send a lawyer. Meanwhile, the maid also asks Tita if she should poison the ants.

Tita visits Chata. She's brought some freshly made butter-poison-cookies (or so I suspect) and she gives Chata two checks--one is the original investment and the other is the interest. She tells her she can cash the checks first thing in the morning and agrees that it's ok for Chata not to give her back her IOU until after she's cashed the checks.

At home, Antonio offers Tita a drink, but she declines. She lights up a cig as Antonio says that his dad always said a drink dulled the pain. Tita complains that she had a friend die, just like that, and how does he think she feels? He figures it feels about the same as when the interest on a debt is drowning you even though you're throwing a lot of money at it. She tells him to quit talking about money. He says he'd like to, but the little bit of money she gave him isn't enough. They're going to lose everything if he doesn't pay off the rest. She says he said things were getting better, so what more does he want her to do?

Matilde brings Tita some tea. She hesitates, but tells her that "they" came for her watch and Antonio gave it to them. Tita thought he was going to sell off some of her jewelry, but Matilde reminds her how he's always saying that the market goes up and down, so he didn't. Um, and also Nena called three times and said it was urgent. Tita just wants to be left alone.

Nena comes over to visit Tita. They talk about Chata's untimely death. Tita reminds Nena that they always call high blood pressure "the silent killer." Nena laments that Chata had even pre-paid part of her vacation. Well, that's life, says Tita. Matilde comes in and the ladies leave her to finish preparing the tea pot for them.

Nena begs for her money back. It's her life savings. Tita says the money's got to be put to work. Nena reminds her that the time period for the investment has already passed. Tita promises she'll have the money back next week. She says she'll go see her "executive" and get him to pull the money out of the investment. Nena is grateful. She has to leave, but Tita asks her to wait a moment. She comes back with cookies and tea for Nena to take home.

The phone rings in the middle of the night and Antonio answers it. He just says "yes" a bunch and then "don't worry." He turns on the light to tell Tita that Nena was feeling bad. She called the doctor, but wants Tita to be with her. She refuses Antonio's offer to come with her, saying Nena is shy and will be embarrassed about him being there. She says she'll take a taxi.

Nena coughs up a storm. The doc writes her a prescription for antibiotics to be taken every six hours, and advises she drink lots of water. Tita blames it on street food. She goes to walk to doctor out. Nena struggles to breathe. Tita prepares some tea and brings it in to Nena. The doorbell rings. It's paramedics running in to take care of Nena. One says she has no pulse and the other says there's nothing more they can do. Tita looks horrified.

Carmen asks her maid to hurry up and answer the door. Tita comes in asking what happened. Carmen says with what happened to Chata and Nena, she's very upset and she is also sick of waiting for her money back, she wants it now. Tita assures her she'll have it back today. She offers to go get the tea and asks if Carmen wants sugar. Tita brings the two cups of tea back into the living room and hands Carmen one of the cups. She tells Carmen to drink up while she goes to the bank and she'll be right back.

Forense Gerardo confirms that Carmen died of poisoning. They don't know how or with what, but the labs will at least tell them the "what." Capellan asks Aranda to order the exhumations of the other two women. I would think that after the embalming, they're not going to be able to run blood tests and whatnot, but who knows.

Capellan breaks it to Carmen's daughter that she was poisoned. Carmen's daughter insists that Tita must have done it, but Capellan says all they can do for now is investigate. They have no evidence that Tita did anything. Capellan asks where the IOU is, but daughter doesn't know.

Tita and hubby come to Carmen's funeral. Carmen's daughter is there, with her husband. She points out Tita to him as a friend of her mom's. Tita comes over to offer her condolences to the daughter. She introduces her to her husband and finally the daughter gives her name as "Diana Alvarado" (which character is listed on IMDB, but is not played by Diana Golden, but by Lourdes Reyes). Tita excuses herself while Antonio continues to talk to Diana and her husband.

She hightails it upstairs and looks in the nightstand for the key to a jewelry box, in which is her IOU. She grabs a picture off the nightstand just as Diana walks in. She pretends to have been up there mourning solo. "I saw her days ago and she was just perfect!" Diana says she'd rather Tita not be up there. Tita agrees to leave, but asks if she can keep the picture. Diana agrees and asks if later, she and Tita can meet to discuss business. "Oh, you want to invest some money?" Uh, no, she'd just like her mom's money back. Tita claims not to have any of her mother's money. She says she returned it all. She writes Diana's insistence off as being upset over her mother's death. Diana reminds her about the IOU. She calls her a con artist in front of the other funeral guests as Tita goes to grab Antonio and drag him out of there.

Diana and Capellan just look at each other, presumably after Diana told her the story.

Antonio asks for an explanation. Tita blames it on Diana's hurt and "nervousness." Antonio is having trouble understanding some things. Tita gives him a look and a gesture as if to say, "Well, that's cause you're stupid." He walks out of their kitchen. Tita pulls out the IOU from her purse and says "you'll have a lot more" (trouble understanding things, or things to not understand).

Antonio and Tita sit down to breakfast. Tita gripes at him for tucking his napkin into his shirt. He takes it out, but kind of huffs as he does it. She asks if they're ever going to be ok with each other again, but he doesn't think so. Too much baggage. She reminds him she's always been there, lending him a shoulder, making up for his debts and his lack of ambition. He tells her to shut it. He doesn't like easy money. She says he doesn't like difficult money either and he comes back with "Well, what have you ever done, besides lose millions!" The doorbell rings. Antonio tucks his napkin back into his collar. The maid announces that the cops are there to see her. Antonio, troubled, gets up to see what's up while Tita lights a cigarette. The DIEM team is in her foyer. Aranda asks Tita to come with her. Antonio insists on seeing the warrant, but Tita grabs it out of his hands. She then hands it to him saying there must be some mistake and tells the maid to bring her purse and her jacket. She obligingly lifts her hair out of the way as the maid lays her jacket over her shoulders. She then grandly waves the DIEM team out of her way with the hand holding the cigarette as she walks out the door. Antonio follows her. Aranda instructs two of the team to start searching. The woman asks the maid to open some locked doors in the sideboard. Meanwhile, the man has found the package of ant poison and plenty of live ants. The maid is escorted back into the kitchen as another guy finds a package of either cookies or tea. After being asked, the maid says she's worked there for six years.

Moran brings the report to Gerardo that all three women were poisoned with cyanide.

The very nervous maid talks to Aranda. She says Tita liked to make the food for get-together's herself. What she made depended on whether it was for breakfast, or dinner…or a game. Aranda asks what that menu would have been like. Cookies, French-style canapés, "brochetas" (skewers or kebabs), and coffee or tea. She says she always helped with the cooking.

The DIEM team continues their search at the houses of the deceased ladies. The find cookies at two houses at least.

Capellan tells Antonio that she has evidence that the financial problems were caused by Tita. He defends her, saying she's an investor and the market is unstable. "Mhm, right. What about the four million that you owe your workers?" Capellan says the money was removed from the company account by his wife. Antonio says she invested it in a "fund" so they could get back on their feet, but it looks like she lost it. He was not in agreement with the withdrawal, but she did it without his knowledge.

Moran and Gerardo fill Capellan in on the cyanide/ant poison.

Tita coldly and un-shockedly, says it's horrible that the families of her friends are trying to get some advantage out of their deaths. Capellan says there's no proof that Tita gave them back their money. Tita shows the IOUs and says she gave back all their money, plus interest. Capellan says all three of her investors are dead. Tita says they all died of natural causes, and, hey, they were older. "I'm already being accused of theft, now they want to accuse me of murder?" Capellan says neither the money nor the interest were deposited anywhere, so how did Tita get the IOU's back. Tita says her dad's an ambassador, she doesn't need to steal to live, she's an educated woman incapable of killing an ant. Capellan says what she knows is that Tita was defrauded by Alberto, her husband's business was in trouble, and the only way she could find to get back her IOU's was to kill her friends. "Prove it," says Tita. Oh, you asked for it bitch!

Capellan puts up the fingerprints and picture of Chata on a screen. "She liked butter cookies, right?"

Flashback to Chata eating the cookie and starting to get dizzy and have trouble breathing almost right away. Tita holds her arm s Chata dies. She picks up the IOU and walks out.

"You say you can't kill an ant, but you are capable of killing women with the same poison to solve your problems. One after the next." She puts up the fingerprints and picture of Nena.

Flashback to Tita smoking away in Nena's kitchen while she waits for water to boil. She puts the water in the teacup and adds a spoonful of ant poison. She spoons the tea into Nena's mouth. Nena's breathing gets more and more difficult. Tita tells Nena to calm down as Nena gasps for air. She smiles slightly after Nena dies.

Tita accuses Capellan of having an overactive imagination. She says she's an investigator. "Let's get back to the subject at hand. What happened to Carmen?" Tita blames it on Carmen's heart and Carmen's lack of self-care.

Flashback to Tita asking Carmen if she wants sugar in her tea. She forgot to ask about the ant poison, but she thoughtfully adds it anyway. We see Carmen rolling down the stairs again. The maid goes running to answer the gat as Tita comes running in, calling Carmen's name. She goes in the house to call the doctor and an ambulance. She goes frantically searching through Carmen's room for the IOU and finally realizes it must be in the jewelry box. She finds the key and opens it, but before she can take the IOU she hears the maid running in and puts everything back. She grabs the phone and starts yelling "How am I supposed to know what's wrong with here, hurry!" They both run outside. Carmen is foaming at the mouth as the gardener says she's still breathing and why is it taking the ambulance so long to get there?

Tita finishes, "and that's how it was. Are we done?" Capellan says she never called the ambulance and she didn't help Nena or Chata. "The evidence is against you. There are no coincidences, but there are coincidences (as in things coinciding) in the way her friends died. Killed by the cookies, tea, and canapés poisoned with the same pesticide she used on her plants. Capellan calls her an "arriesgada" (daring woman). Tita says those are Capellan's conclusions, but she doesn't have any way of proving anything. Capellan says Tita overlooked one thing. Matilde already testified against her.

Flashback to Matilde coming into the kitchen as Tita mixes cookie batter (while having a cigarette hanging out her mouth, cause we all know poisoners don't give a crap about getting cigarette ashes in your food) and adds some of the ant poison. Tita and Matilde look at each other.

Tita tells Capellan she didn't kill them. "I made them earn money and I won too."

Flashback to Tita standing over Carmen's body as the maid and the gardener keep trying to revieve her. She looks directly into the camera and smiles.

"Ernestina 'Tita' Garza was found guilty of three charges of first-degree murder and condemned to 50 years in prison for each one. She always denied having killed her friends and instead insisted she had exerted herself to increase their wealth. Matilde Sanchez was condemned to five years for criminal conspiracy. Antonio unsuccessfully cares for Tita's plants, infested with ants."

Some specialty legal vocab:

Homicido calificado--first-degree murder, meaning it was premeditated
Asociación delictuosa--criminal conspiracy

Labels: asesinas

Tonight, Patricia Navidad, Galilea Montijo, and Ana Brenda Contreras are "Las Garrido, Codiciosas" (the greedy Garrido girls).

Two kids walk along by a river debating what positions to play for baseball. They lose their ball down by the river, where they see a dog holding a severed hand in its mouth. They also see a body all wrapped up in a garbage bag and tape. There's a really twisted Ziploc commercial in there somewhere, I'm sure. Quick, call the ad agency.

Gloria informs me the blood will be flowing tonight. She says so every Thursday. Ah, but tonight we get upgraded--last week was a 2-for-1, this week it's 3-for-1. What have we done to deserve such a delightful buffet of depravity and murderousness? I don't know, but let's get to it!

The cops come to pick up the body. It's a fifty-ish year old guy, he's been there for a while and he's got a lot of bruising. The cop in charge tells the forensics guy to do fingerprints, etc, but the forensics guy complains his lab can't handle it. The head cop calls Sofia Capellan and asks her for a favor.

Patricia Navidad, tonight playing Concha Garrido, walks down a sidewalk and through a gate. "Concha" always makes me think of a breakfast pastry, best dipped in coffee. I also have a Tía Concha. It's short for "Concepción," I believe. Beyond the gate is a large patio. Through a window, we see Marcela Garrido (aka Ana Brenda Contreras) getting her hair did by a woman who's complaining that Marcela always wants her hair done in that flashy color. Marcela says she wants to look like an azalea. I wish they'd either not swear so much on this show or quit muting it out. It makes it even harder to understand what they're saying. And then, sometimes I wonder if the sound is just randomly cutting out and no one's swearing. Very annoying. Plus that's some valuable vocabulary I'm missing out on. Something about someone with a swear-worthy name going to get Marcela's cigarettes, but Lorena (Galilea Montijo) objecting and wishing she'd get them herself. More high-speed mumbly banter that I hope turns out to be inconsequential. Concha finally makes her way in and sadly announces she's been fired. They decided the nurse could answer the phones. She accepts a coffee from her sister. She asks if they've got money for the rent and both have excuses, but basically the answer is "no." Concha is frustrated and can't help them, especially now that she lost her job. Her husband, Juan Antonio, hates giving out money, even to family, and even though she's his wife, she says she's more like a piece of furniture to him.

Concha walks through the courtyard and into the main house. There are paintings missing from the walls and they've left stains.

Juan Antonio walks out of somewhere with a pissed-off face and a skinny guy telling him to just let it go "agua que no has de beber, déjala correr" (if you're not going to drink the water, let it run). He's got his nephew with him. I'm going to bet he just lost money on a dog fight or a race, given that a couple of guys with dogs on leashes are on their way into the place he just left. He's gambling away all his money, perhaps?

Juan Antonio goes home, quietly damning someone. He notices Concha and asks what she's doing home at this hour. She asks him what he's going to take now. There's no more glassware, and no more paintings. She asks how much he lost. "Listen, princess, we've been together for 15 years and you've always known I like to play a little, and that's how you win or lose." She notes he's never gotten around to winning and asks what he's betting on now. Dog fights. He growls in her face. She calls him a pig. He blames it on his nephew, who picked the wrong dog. Juan Antonio finds some candlesticks, but Concha objects, since her mom gave them to her. "Well, thank her for me, and thank your sisters too." He calls them a pair of "mantenidas" (kept, moochers, freeloaders) and accuses her of using some of her pay to help them out. She informs him that's over, since she's been fired. He asks what she's planning to do now, you know, for her expenses. She mentions that he lost the "ferretería" (hardware store) gambling, but he claims he sold it because it was losing money. She yells at him for gambling all their money away and tries to get the candlesticks back. He hits her in the face with one and says the house and everything in it is his. "I'm going to bet you. Maybe I'll get lucky and lose."

Marcela and Lorena notice Concha coming over. She storms in, demanding to know where Lorena's kid Jorge is and Lorena says he's sleeping, he was out working late, etc. Concha wakes him up, drags him out by the ear, and yells at him to tell his mom where he really was last night. He admits it and gets smacked by his mom and his aunt. Concha also informs them that Juan has been paying the kid in marijuana. Now they all start raising their voices to him and he runs for it.

Det. Capellan is welcoming the cops from the opening scene. She and Mario are old friends. Gerardo comes in and tells his fellow forensics guy that the body is ready. Mario tells Sofia that so far they don't have any leads.

Concha drinks coffee and tells her sisters that Juan Antonio took the candlesticks. She swears she's going to leave him, but Lorena says she's been with him for fifteen years already. She won't get anything because they were never really married. Well, Concha says, fifteen years of living as his wife means she'll get what's due a wife. Lorena disagrees. She reminds the other two that the house was never given over to Juan Antonio, but is still in his mother's name, so even though the mother's dead, the house isn't even his. He never paid taxes on it. Concha doesn't care about the house. Lorena says they all need the house. Marcela says something about killing him. Concha sounds like she's into it.

Aranda and Moran present their findings--a crapload of gambling slips, lottery tickets, etc. from various places. Mario declares him a compulsive gambler. Capellan tells Moran to get a digital photo of the dead guy and to look and see if there are any missing persons reported who meet his description. Mario supposes they need to check out all the gambling places to see if anyone knows the guy. Capellan tells Aranda to work on that with Mario. Mario guesses that the guy made too many bets, lost too much money, and when he couldn't pay it back, someone killed him.

Juan Antonio plays cards and drinks with a shady-looking guy named Malpica. For once he wins. Malpica doesn't look to happy.

Juan Antonio comes home, yelling for Concha. The sisters see him going into the big house and Concha reluctantly gets up to see what's going on. Juan Antonio goes into the house, still calling for her, and puts two plastic bags down on the table. Concha comes in and JA accuses her of gossiping with her sisters. He says something about her looking angry. When she goes to leave, he asks her to wait. He proudly takes the candlesticks out of one of the plastic bags, announcing that he won for once. He asks if she made dinner and she seems nervous when she says she hadn't yet. Hey, no problem, tonight he and the missus are eating out. He shows her a big wad of cash. Concha says she'd rather he saved the money in the bank. "I'm not saying you shouldn't gamble, but just remember that I lost my job." She agrees she'd like to go out to dinner, but she wants him to promise they won't spend all the money. Well, he can't promise that because he already spent it on some other things. From another plastic bag, he produces a nice-looking pair of hooker heels and a pretty dress, non-hookerish. She's thrilled with the present and thanks him. He insists on answering the phone when it rings, and sends her off to go get dressed. It's Malpica. It sounds like he's offering Juan Antonio the opportunity to bet on something, for the low, low price of 10,000 pesos. Juan Antonio looks at the wad of cash in his hand and says he's in. Dipshit. He puts the phone down and sneaks out of the house, stopping briefly at his altar to pick up some mojo. As he's leaving, he notices Marcela doing the wash and takes a minute to appreciate the charms of his sister-in-law. Marcela gives him a bit of a come-hither, but Juan Antonio's got bigger fish to fry. He leaves and Lorena tells Marcela "I told you so." She calls her sister something bleep-worthy.

Concha comes out of the bedroom looking for Juan Antonio and realizes he's left. I'd hide those candlesticks right now, if I were her. That and everything else left in the house that isn't nailed down. She sits down on the couch and feels sorry for herself.

She's still there when he comes home. He sits down on the couch and basically bitches about his bad luck. The damn animal tripped and he lost. Concha says she's leaving him, but he's not really listening. She says she's leaving the house tomorrow. Still not listening. And bemoaning the loss of the money he just won yesterday. Not getting the sympathy he feels he deserves, he asks her if she's listening to him. "No. And you're not listening to me either." She gets up and leaves.

The forensics guys do their thing. The body's looking pretty gross. Visiting forensics guy says he was killed rather violently. Capellan asks if there were maybe more than one killer. Gerardo says he'd assume so unless there's someone capable of shooting, stabbing, and doing something else to the guy all at one time. Har, har, har.

Mario and Aranda visit some gambling dens.

Lorena and Marcela play cards for money. Juan Antonio comes in demanding to know what they said to Concha. Lorena has no idea what he's talking about. "She says she's leaving me." Lorena tells him not to listen to her, and Marcela calls her menopausal. JA doesn't care, but if she leaves, the other two are out on their asses too. They get it. JA compliments Marcela's hair color. She offers to let him play, but he's out of money. "There's a lot of things you can bet." Nephew comes up asking if JA is ready for, you know, and JA sends him to bleep land. JA leaves and Jorge asks his mom if there's any food. She, likewise, sends him to bleep land.

Moran tells Capellan that only one person matches the fingerprints--Jorge Lopez Garrido. He's a juvenile delinquent. Moran is going to pass on the info to inspector Mondragon.

Lorena and Marcela bitch that Concha's just so damn selfish, thinking of leaving Juan Antonio without caring what's going to happen to them. Yeah, and Juan Antonio coming to throw it in their faces that they're just a couple of moochers, what's that about? Concha walks up and quietly says they are moochers, but they've never cared about it before. She laughs at them for following Juan Antonio's example and betting on cards. Lorena says they've all at least got a roof over their heads here. Concha replies "I'm suffocating." Lorena advises her that sometimes you've got to make sacrifices. "Oh, look who's talking, the one who left her husband without even telling him." Lorena says he hit her in front of the kid and said the kid wasn't his, "What was I supposed to do? It was a case of life or death!" Concha says her situation is too, "I'm dying in there." She goes back into the big house. Marcela holds up the deck of cards and suggests they play again. Lorena agrees. Bee-yotches!

The guy that Aranda and Mario picked up at the gambling den is in interrogation. Someone asks him if he recognizes "this guy." It's a partial reconstruction of the dead guy's face. The guy says it's "Juanito Orduña" and he's known him for several years. Mario asks if he used to bet a lot. The guy doesn't know, but he does know that sometimes the guy played with Justino Malpica and they got into an argument about Orduña's wife. The guy has a vague idea of where Orduña lived. Moran interrupts the interrogation with some information for Mario.

Mario and crew show up at the house asking for Jorge. Concha opens the gate for them. She says Jorge isn't there, but he says he needs to ask him some questions. Concha lets them into the house and angrily tells them that she's already told them that Jorge isn't there. Mario picks up a picture of her with Jorge and asks if it's her son. "No, my nephew." Mario asks about her husband, but Concha says he's not home and she doesn't know when he's getting home. Aranda calls for Mario and Mario indicates they should both follow Aranda.

Lorena looks nervously at the cops coming in and tells Jorge to go hide. She opens the door and Mario asks if she's Jorge's mom. "We need to talk to him." Dumbass Jorge kind of darts around the hallway just as Lorena's saying he's not in. Aranda notices him and goes after him, gun out. Smart kid stops trying to climb over the wall and lets Aranda take him in. Lorena cries piteously and is held back by another two of the DIEM crew.

Gerardo fingerprints Concha in his lab.

Jorge is interrogated by Mario. "If you didn't kill him, then who did?" Jorge says he only put the body in the river."

Lorena wipes the fingerprint ink off her fingers in Capellan's office. She asks where they found the body. Capellan asks her why, if he was gone for more than 24 hours, no one called the police. Lorena claims he used to be gone for weeks at a time. "That's how he was. My sister was the only one who could put up with him." Lorena says he used to humiliate her and one day he even bet her.

Juan Antonio and Malpica walk into the house, startling Concha, who is only wearing a housedress. She covers up with a shawl. JA laughs, telling Malpica what he's losing out on for not believing him. "And you, what luck you have, woman! I was going to bet you." Apparently Malpica didn't care to take her in exchange. JA offers him a silver teapot instead. Concha looks on in horror.

Capellan shows Lorena the condition of the body. Stab wounds in the chest, a bullet in the shoulder, and a destroyed cranium. She asks who did what. Lorena claims he was gone and none of them knew where he was. Aranda comes in with a folder and whispers something to Capellan about the accused. Capellan smiles at Lorena and says she does know who did what. She shows her the report that all three of their fingerprints were on the body. Lorena says it was his fault for wanting to leave them all out on the street.

Concha goes over to the little house, crying and banging on the door. She tells Lorena that Jorge bet her. Lorena immediately goes for a knife and says she'll kill him this time. Marcela holds her back. Lorena calms down a little and hugs her sister. Marcela hugs them both.

Lorena says this is her fault for telling Concha to put up with him. Concha tells her that yesterday he won 20 thousand pesos and lost them again. Now they all agree they need to do something. Marcela shows Concha the papers for the house. They actually are in Juan Antonio's name, even though he had once claimed the house wasn't in his name so he couldn't lose it to Malpica. Marcela found it with his little gambling altar. Concha says it doesn't matter, there's nothing she can do. Lorena points out that if something happens the house is hers. Concha doesn't want to go to jail. Marcela says they won't end up in jail, as long as they do it right. Lorena says they'll think of something.

In interrogation, Marcela tells Mario that Lorena had the idea. "She knew he liked me, so we invited him to a party." Lorena and Marcela dance around Juan Antonio while he sits in a chair. They're both all dressed up and drinking beer. Marcela starts making bets with JA. "I bet you my shoes you won't dance with me. I bet you my skirt you won't dance with me. I bet you your ring if I take off my blouse." JA bets his gold necklace if Lorena gets undressed too. Concha looks on, concerned. Lorena takes off her dress and takes the necklace. Lorena sits in his lap and asks what he'll give for…she whispers in his ear. He points at the other sister instead. Marcela kneels down at his feet and asks him what he'll bet for it. Concha says "the house."

Concha is in interrogation with Capellan. She says she's not surprised he's dead. After years of him betting everything, coming home covered in blood because he was at the dog fights or the cock fights or because someone beat the crap out of him for not paying his debts, sooner or later he was bound to end up in the river with his head bashed in and a bullet in him, right? Capellan wonders what's stranger, that Concha never sought help for herself or her husband, or that she seems to know exactly how he died, without Capellan telling her anything. "We have evidence that you and your sisters participated in the murder of Mr. Orduña."

Concha says "the house." JA looks around at the other two sisters. Marcela gives him an encouraging nod. He repeats, "the house?" They all look back and forth at each other. Lorena goes to join Marcela. Thankfully, we are spared the details of what exactly he traded for the house, but I'm sure we can all imagine and are now going to need a thorough brain scrubbing. Concha seethes.

Capellan tells Concha she supposes now she'll claim it was done in self-defense. Concha says "after what we did, I can say anything, can't I."

Lorena and Marcela get up and Lorena says "we beat you." JA takes a minute to get up, adjust, and zip his fly. Marcela hugs Concha. All three sisters toast with beer bottles. They laugh over the ring. JA comes back into the room with a gun. He tells them that for a good gambler, like he is (I'm not even going to touch that one) you have to give him a chance to win back what he lost. He puts one bullet in the gun and says they wanted the house, fine, it's theirs, but now he wants his chance for revenge. "If I die, the house is yours, but if one of you gets the bullet instead the house is mine again." He calls them bitches and says that even so, he'll be a gentleman and start first. He puts the gun in his mouth and pulls the trigger. No bullet. He asks who's next. He tells Marcela to get on her knees. He puts the gun to her temple and pulls the trigger, still no bullet. He tells Lorena to lean over the chair and pulls the trigger with the gun pointed at her head. No bullet. He calls Concha the most useless one and says a number of other uncomplimentary things, all while pointing the gun at her, and eventually pulls the trigger.

Capellan says "there was only you left." Concha says she hates to bet, but he bet her life, and he had to pay with his.

Marcela hits Juan Antonio on the back of the head and he drops the gun. Concha picks up the gun and shoots him in the shoulder with it. JA calls her stupid and Concha loses it and shouts to her sisters to kill him. Lorena stabs him, Marcela keeps hitting him with, maybe, the candlestick, and Concha beats on him with the gun. Jorge walks in and sees them all covered in blood.

"Concha, Lorena, and Marcela Garrido were condemned immediately for conspiracy to commit murder, to 28, 25, and 20 years. Jorge received a sentence of 8 years for complicity."

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