One of the most interesting take away I got from this story was the idea of social status and the Law and the way this is used to provide commentary on the realities people faced within this time period. Within the story we were provided a view of two distinct classes of people, first with Almada, a man who is possesses a significant de facto political power through what we can assume to be a result of his connections and or wealth status. Second with those who are of low socioeconomic status, first through the crazy woman on the street but further through the lives of Larry, a woman turning to sex work to provide for herself, or her partner Antunez.

Almada is used as a symbol representing the significant divide in wealth and privilege. Each interaction he has with the poor and socioeconomically disadvantaged, he presents a disgust or hatred for these people. I believe his gives us an important insight into the way these people were treated at large during this time period. Those who were thought of as in compliant with the state were expendable and violence was normalized. Further they were made out to be lesser, and clearly treated like lower class citizens.

We see this issue institutionalized through the lack of effort the police department put into this case. Despite a lack of evidence, Antunez was expendable and as such easily accused for the murder of his partner, Larry. Despite a strong case suggesting Almada was guilty the institutional power he held prevented the police from looking into him any further. This is where journalism or in the authors case, detective literature, is introduced as an important tool for providing a voice, or an alternative perspective in a highly restrictive state where traditional checks on power do not exist.