HOT OFF THE PRESS

I pick up the newspaper at the end of the driveway. I return to the house, seat myself on the sofa and turn on the light. I pull off the rubber band, unroll the Herald and read the 60-point headline at the top of the front page: MARISOL FOUND DEAD Hoping against the growing hopelessness of each passing day, the inevitable news brought Matamoros to a standstill Wednesday morning. A boy herding his goats across a patch of scrubland discovered the remains of Marisol Mireles, the 18-year-old television personality and college student who was kidnapped ten days ago at the state university campus by a former boyfriend and an accomplice. "We initially identified Marisol by her clothes," said Matamoros Police Chief Enrique Espinoza who had cautioned from the outset to keep expectations low. "Between the elements and the animals there wasn't much to identify by the naked eye. We have sent the body to forensics for an autopsy and a formal identification, but I have no doubts about the final findings." "She was a beautiful girl," lamented Dr. Miguel Mireles who rushed to the scene to confirm that the macabre discovery was his daughter. "Now we have nothing left but the memories. Nobody deserves this fate and no mother should have to endure such a horrible tragedy. We will give our angel the funeral she deserves and send her home to God." The multi-talented Mireles had starred in the children's show, Rocinante Y Yo, in which she sang, played a variety of instruments, danced and displayed her remarkable skills as a ventriloquist, sharing the spotlight with Rocinante, her puppet horse. XURV, the station that hosted the show which appeared Monday through Friday from five to six, has been showing reruns since her disappearance. "It has been our most successful local production for the past two years," said General Manager Jorge Briones. "We have maintained the programming because hundreds of parents have been contacting us saying that their children weren't prepared for the sudden termination of the show. She was a big sister to our viewing audience. Her senseless murder has been a death in the entire Matamoros family." The big break in the case came late Tuesday night when the police nabbed Lucio Cienfuegos, the alleged accomplice in the murder. The authorities had captured Rafael Bocanegra, the former boyfriend, two days after her disappearance. In spite of the intense interrogations and eyewitness accounts asserting that he and Cienfuegos were seen dragging her into the car, Bocanegra steadfastly denied any involvement in the crime. "We persuaded Cienfuegos that he was in a dire situation," explained Comandante Espinoza who emphasized that no torture was exercised to exact the confession. "We're not the U.S. military. We're professionals with years of experience who employ time-tested techniques. If we resorted to the unethical methods that the U.S. Army uses against accused Middle Eastern terrorists, we would have squeezed the truth out of the boyfriend or he would be dead. We have graduated from the old school of doing things to more modern methodology." By Wednesday morning Espinoza and his underlings had convinced Cienfuegos that it was in his best interests to admit the truth of face the consequences of his actions. "Though we would do our best to keep him isolated, there is a vigilante justice inside these walls, no different from U.S. prisons, that sometimes we are unable to control," admitted Espinoza as a sardonic smile offered a stark contrast to his usual fierce expression. "It's no different from the other side of the river. If you're a nasty person, you should prepared yourself for the vicissitudes of the nasty world that you have chosen to inhabit." According to the authorities, Cienfuegos admitted that he had assisted in the kidnapping, but he insisted that he hadn't laid a hand on the victim once he and Bocanegra had secured her in the backseat. He drove the car to the beach while Bocanegra raped his former girlfriend. He remained behind the wheel when his friend reportedly said, "She's dead. We need to dump the body." They turned off the highway and abandoned the body where it was ultimately discovered. They returned to Matamoros, Cienfuegos leaving Bocanegra at his parents' house. He fled to Monterry, hiding with relatives until they told him that they could no longer help him. He returned to his aunt's house in Matamoros with the intention of borrowing money in order to escape to Houston, but the police staking out the residence nabbed him when he arrived. "Among the drug dealers we aren't as successful at capturing the culprits as they generally even accounts in their own bloody fashion, but we're much more successful in resolving crimes of passion," continued Espinoza. "These aren't professional criminals. The moment they step over the line, they are lost. They become their own worst enemies. In their attempts to cover-up their own misdeeds, they make a bigger mess of things. They are so confused by their own actions that we get the impression that they want to get caught in order to anchor themselves back to reality again." Cienfuegos led the police to the body. "I never imagined Rafael would do something like this," Cienfuegoskept pleading to the officers guarding him. "He said he needed my help in order to talk to her. I owed him 500 pesos for CDs I had bought from him. He said he would forgive my debt if I drove him. I never conceived that anything like this could possibly happen. I knew he was jealous, but I never thought he was capable of such a terrible act. Except for being stupid, I'm innocent." Both Bocanegra and Cienfuegos are in solitary confinement. "They wouldn't last 24 hours within the general population," said Fidel Becquer, El Bravo's police reporter. "Their lives have no value. I predict that neither will be alive by Christmas. Mexico may not have the death penalty, but these two are facing an execution date in the near future." For the Mireles family, the torture is over. For Bocanegra and Cienfuegos, the torture has just begun. I rest my head against the back of the sofa. I take the first of many deep breaths to calm the rising tension. The Apostles are awake. I stand and head toward the bedroom. I have a boner and I'm not about to waste it.