Valores intachables—impeccable
values. That’s Mr. Fernández’s translation. But I looked it up—una tacha is a blemish.
And what if
it’s true? What if the judge possesses unblemished values?
Then it’s a
Greek, not a Caribbean, tragedy.
And I’ve
wronged the judge.
Well, he’s
no lightweight. Born in 1935, got his law degree from Harvard in 1961, served
in the army for two years, worked at Puerto Rico’s most prestigious law firm, was
appointed federal judge in 1994, and senior judge in 2005.
Do the
math. The man is in his late seventies, and has had a distinguished career. Only
now does he have…
…una tacha.
Well, we
were discussing him at the dinner table last night. And Raf, as always, has a
twist on the events. Carmen, he thinks, wanted a divorce. Pablo was jealous. He
sets up a carjacking, and one of the guns “stolen” was a rare weapon, called a
“cop killer.”
Goes
through bulletproof vests.
Oh, and by
the way, that’s the type of weapon that dispatched Carmen.
So, goes
the theory of Mr. Fernández, Carmen goes through with her plans. She leaves
home briefly, but comes back because her daughter is distressed. She’s reading
by the pool. Pablo comes out, shoots her between the eyebrow and in the left
chest.
Then
empties 14 or 15 more shots in her.
He goes to
the bathroom—where apparently the blood was detected. Takes a shower. Then goes
to visit Daddy.
Who knows
nothing.
Pablo acts
normally—some guys can. Leaves after a while, and then comes home to see the
“intruder” leaping the fence.
A ten-foot
cyclone fence with razor wire on top and vegetation on both sides that is
intact with no sign of trampling.
Pablo fires
the shots needed to establish an alibi of discovering an intruder, goes inside
and calls the police. Then Daddy.
Or maybe
the reverse order.
Then, this
honorable judge, who has worked and struggled a lifetime, makes the mistake
that will cost him his reputation.
He goes to
the crime scene.
Why?
He doesn’t
trust the cops.
And he
loves his son.
If it
happened that way, if this honorable man instinctively knew that the cops would
make a botch of it and raced to safeguard his son, then yes, it’s a tragedy.
Not a Greek,
not a Puerto Rican tragedy.
A tragedy
for us all.
