Velvet Was the Night

Maite visits Emilio in his expensive home in a wealthy neighborhood. She tells him that she’s now looking for Leonora because she believes Leonora has gone missing due to the contents of her camera. Emilio corroborates that the camera had compromising photos related to the Hawks. He says he wanted to get the camera from Leonora because he was afraid that she would take it to a journalist in Cuernavaca named Lara—he suspects this is exactly what she did. Emilio says that he’ll call Lara to see if she’s had contact with Leonora. As Maite leaves his apartment, a man approaches her from behind.

Elvis and El Güero track Maite to Emilio’s house. They realize that they’re not the only ones surveying this building. When Maite emerges from the house, she’s approached by a man Elvis doesn’t recognize; the two get into the man’s car. They tail the man and Maite, eventually ending up at the building where Asterisk is located. Since Elvis was planning on infiltrating Asterisk later anyway, he follows the pair into the building, leaving El Güero in the car. He makes his way to the Asterisk’s main meeting room, which he gains access to using the information he got from Justo. Maite and the man she was with aren’t there, so he approaches a woman named Concha and pretends to be an acquaintance of Leonora’s. Concha tells him that Leonora won’t be at this meeting or any future meeting, because she was ex-communicated from Asterisk by Jackie, who believes that she is a mole. She also tells Elvis that Leonora had secretly gotten back together with Emilio but didn’t want anyone else to know. Just as Elvis is about to press her for more information, a new group enters the room. Father Villareal is among them and immediately recognizes Elvis. Elvis tries to run, but he’s captured at knifepoint.

After leaving Emilio’s, Maite realizes she’s being approached by Rubén, whom she forgot she’d agreed to meet up with. Over lunch, they discuss Maite’s conversation with Emilio and her surprise visit from Anaya. Rubén is disturbed by the news that the secret police are following her and know of her association with him, so he takes her to the building where Asterisk is located so they can inform Jackie of this. They find Jackie in an office with a few other people, including a badly injured man who is introduced as Casimiro and a silent man in a suede jacket. Maite tells Jackie everything she knows, and Jackie goes over the problems currently facing the group: They don’t know where Leonora is; they aren’t familiar with the reporter, Lara; and Casimiro has recently been beaten up by a group of men of unknown origin. Some of the men leave the room while Rubén asks Jackie if he can borrow her gun and car while he and Maite go to find Lara. Jackie consents, and shortly thereafter, they hear a scuffle in the hall. Some of the members of Asterisk—including Arkady, the man in the suede jacket—have captured the man who tortured Casimiro. They are holding him in a storage room.

Elvis, captured by the members of Asterisk, is interrogated by a man named Arkady. Elvis deduces from his name and accent that this man is Russian, probably a KGB agent. Arkady beats him with a rolled-up newspaper, and Elvis confesses that he’s looking for Leonora but doesn’t have any useful leads. He lies, telling Arkady that he’s employed by Anaya—a response that seems to satisfy the Russian.

When Arkady leaves the room, Elvis escapes and gets in contact with El Mago. He meets up with his boss and tells him about the confrontation with Arkady and about what Justo said about Anaya. El Mago knows of Anaya and that Anaya has a side hustle smuggling stolen cars. El Mago gives Elvis folders of information on Emilio and another member of Asterisk, Sócrates, and then tells Elvis to continue keeping tabs on Maite.

Rubén takes Maite to Emilio’s antique shop so she can get Lara’s address from him. Emilio is surprised that Maite is so determined to find Leonora, but he still gives her the address. Maite brings Rubén back to her apartment, where the two discuss their past breakups and how Rubén is still in love with Leonora even though she dumped him for Emilio, whom he perceives to be bourgeois and womanizing. Maite lets him stay the night on her couch so they can rest before heading to Lara’s in the morning.