When Diego and Felipe arrived in town that morning, they went to the best place to get information: the Tavern Victoria. They found Sergeant Mendoza eating his second breakfast; Victoria was keeping him company.
“…were all around us, shooting their guns.” Mendoza recounted, “My men were afraid and looking to me, their courageous leader, for help. And then I—“
“Buenos dias, Diego. Felipe.” said Victoria, rising.
“Oh, no, please sit.” Diego said, pulling a chair for himself to the table and nodding to Mendoza. Felipe sat next to his patron.
“I was just telling Victoria about the banditos who attacked our regiment last week on patrol.”
“Must be a very thrilling story, indeed, Mendoza.” Diego said. Victoria’s face revealed the opposite. “Actually, I have a question for you.”
“Si, Don Diego?”
“When the Martinezes left the pueblo, did Don Eduardo post a letter or send a messenger anywhere?”
“Si, Private Lopez had to travel to Monterey for the alcalde. I think Martinez sent a package with him to the governor. Why do you ask?”
“Oh, it’s nothing really. I was just wondering what Martinez was referring to when he told you,” he motioned to Victoria, “about Anna’s release.”
“Shhh.” Mendoza said. “Don’t say her name too loudly. The alcalde is in a foul mood today, not having found that girl at your hacienda.”
“Mendoza!” the alcalde yelled from the plaza.
“Madre de Dios, what is it now?” Mendoza said, throwing his napkin in his plate. “Gracias, Senorita, please put it on my bill.” The Sergeant said, running from the room.
“His bill.” Victoria huffed, “It’s more like charity.”
“You are always so generous.” Diego said.
Victoria looked around and then leaned towards Diego and Felipe. “Where is she? Where did she go?”
Diego and Felipe looked at each other. Felipe shrugged his shoulders and began to sign.
“He’s going too fast for me. What is he saying?” Victoria asked.
Diego translated, “He says that he followed her out of the hacienda and then lost her in the darkness.”
“I hope she is alright.” Victoria said.
“Oh, I’m sure she is fine. Perhaps Zorro is hiding her.”
“Where would Zorro hide her?” Victoria asked.
“Oh, I don’t know. Wherever Zorro lives, I assume.”
The innkeeper remembered her own visit to Zorro’s lair, how private and secluded it was. True, Anna was very young, but she was beautiful, and they would be alone… Diego saw her insecurity.
“Oh, I’m sure there is nothing to worry about, Victoria. Zorro only has eyes for you—we all know that.”
Felipe tapped his palm on his chest.
Diego laughed. “Si, if Zorro so much as laid a finger on Anna, he’d have Felipe to contend with.”
“Oh?” Victoria said, smiling. “Is this true, Felipe?”
The young man grinned and ducked his head bashfully.
“How sweet! Diego, you should find yourself a senorita, too.”
“I have my eye on one, Victoria. She doesn’t seem to notice me, though.” he said.
“Oh, I’m sure she does. She’s probably just shy.”
Diego chuckled, “No, shyness is not a trait I’d ascribe to her.”
Victoria gave him a sisterly smile and stood. “I must start preparing lunch. Can I get you anything before I go back to the kitchen?”
The men declined and rose to leave, as well.
“Now, to figure out what excuse to use to get to Monterey.” Diego whispered to Felipe.
The door to the tavern opened and a young man about Felipe’s age entered the room, spurs jingling. He was clearly an Americano: leather chaps, cowboy hat, flintlock pistol. Nodding to Diego and Felipe, he walked to the bar to speak with the waitress.
“Excuse me,” he said, in heavily accented Spanish, “I’m looking for Matthew and Anna Baker. Can you tell me where to find them?”
Felipe stopped and waited for Diego to turn back first.
“Excuse me, Senor,” Diego said, placing a restraining hand on Felipe and then walking to the bar. “My name is Diego de la Vega,” he gestured beside him, “This is my servant Felipe. And you are?”
“Hartwell. Michael Hartwell.”
“Hartwell,” Diego repeated; “Ah, Senor Hartwell, how do you know the Bakers?”
“Matthew is a friend of mine. He sent for me by letter.” the man pulled a piece of paper from his jacket.
“I see,” Diego said. “I’m afraid I have some distressing news. Would you care to sit down?”
With a look of suspicion, Michael Hartwell sat at one of the tables, Diego and Felipe sitting across from him. The man did not seem interested in long introductions, so Diego began to tell of the Bakers’ arrival with the Martinez family.
Felipe sized up the other man. Michael was tall, well built, and handsome. He was filthy and smelled of the trail, but his eyes were intelligent and his hands strong from heavy manual labor. He was courteous to Victoria when she asked if they would have something to drink.
Diego told of Roberto’s attack on Anna at the hacienda.
“No,” Michael said, shaking his head, “Matthew would never have allowed that to happen.”
“He was obviously angered, but he handled it well in this case,” Diego said, then told him of the day when Matthew had been shot. Michael slammed his tequila on the table, but said nothing. Diego ended the story with the alcalde’s attempt to arrest her.
“So where is she now?” Michael demanded.
“We aren’t really sure, Senor. She hasn’t been seen since last night.”
“You mean no one followed her? No one is looking for her?”
“Felipe followed her a little ways into the darkness, but he lost track of her.”
Michael looked to the other man. “Where did you last see her? Can you take me there?”
Felipe began to sign.
“What’s he doing?” Michael asked.
Victoria, busy serving lunch, walked to the table to quickly refill Diego’s glass of lemonade.
“Felipe is a deaf-mute.” Diego said, “He says that he cannot recall exactly where he last saw her, but could show you a general area.”
“It is Zorro you should speak to,” Victoria said, placing Diego’s glass back on the table. She looked to Diego, nodding her head, “I think that is where she is.”
“I don’t understand.” Michael said, “A fox?”
Diego began, “A local outlaw who—“
“An outlaw only to the alcalde!” Victoria exclaimed. “A hero to the people. A man who fights injustice and tyranny and seeks peace for all.”
“You come quickly to this man’s defense.” Michael observed.
Victoria blushed. “He is wonderful.” she said, turning back to her other customers.
“I must speak to this Zorro then.” Michael said.
“That may be more difficult than you think.” Diego said, “Zorro tends to come and go as he pleases.”
“I see.” He looked to Felipe, then back to Diego, “Can he understand me when I talk?”
“Yes, he can read lips.”
Michael looked at Felipe and spoke slowly, “Take me to the place where you last saw her. I can track her from there.”
“Senor Hartwell—“ Diego began.
“Michael.”
“Michael. I’m afraid I cannot accompany you as I have business to attend to at the hacienda. Felipe, however, would be more than happy to show you the location.”
“But I don’t understand his signs.”
“It’s only the location you need, correct? That would not require much communication. I’ll ride with you two part of the way.”
Diego, Felipe, and Michael left the tavern and began the ride to the de la Vega land. Halfway to the hacienda, Diego took his leave and rode ahead. Felipe and Michael continued a slow, awkwardly quiet trek to the site where Anna was last seen.
Once he was out of sight, Diego spurred his horse and raced to the back entrance of the cave. He quickly found Anna and Felipe’s tracks and covered them a good way’s back towards the hacienda. He then returned to the cave and went inside.
Toronado whinnied and Anna looked up to see Diego enter the cave.
“Hello.” she said, “Did you find out anything?”
“You’ve been busy,” Diego observed as he looked around the cave. It was spotless. The shelves had been dusted, the tables cleaned, dirty laboratory equipment had been washed and put away. A bucket and scrub brush lay on the wet floor next to Anna.
“I clean when I get nervous.”
“I see. I usually have Felipe dust and sweep, but I can’t remember the last time the floor has been scrubbed.”
“I know.” Anna said, indicating the brown water in the bucket. “Did you find out anything?” she persisted.
Diego walked to the rack that held Zorro’s clothes. “Yes. Martinez posted a letter with a military messenger to Monterey before he left. I think that letter may have been your pardon papers.” He took off his jacket and paused.
“And?”
“Zorro needs to…” he began, picking up his hat.
Anna looked confused, then her eyes widened and she spun around. “This is not going to work.” she said, blushing pink and hiding her face with her hands.
“I know, but this is only temporary, I hope.”
“How do we get those papers?”
“It’s a long way to Monterey. It would take two weeks to get there and back, not to mention the time it would take to get the papers. Anna, there was a man at the tavern by the name of Michael Hartwell. He was looking for you and Matthew. Do you know him?”
“Michael Hartwell? Yes, we met him in Littleton-Upon-Severn three years ago when we visited the seashore. I believe he was the son of an American ship captain.”
“So you know him?”
“Yes, Matthew met him one evening at the shore and introduced Kathleen and me to him the next day. He and Matthew corresponded regularly when we lived at the Manor.”
“Well, he says that Matthew wrote him a letter telling him to come to Los Angeles.”
“Matthew did tell me that he wrote to someone. He never told me who.”
“I see. Does he know of your intelligence connections?”
“No. Matthew wouldn’t have told him that.”
“Matthew told him something that made him come here immediately all the way from the United States. He is out with Felipe searching for you.”
Anna smiled. “Really?”
“Yes. Now, we need someone to go to Monterey to get those papers. Do you think he would do it?”
“I couldn’t say. I wouldn’t have thought that anyone would come all the way from the United States to look for me, though. How will you persuade him?”
“I think Zorro will do that. Ah, you can turn around now.”
Anna turned to see Diego dressed as Zorro.
Zorro asked, “Do you have anything of Matthew’s that Michael would recognize.”
Anna lowered her eyes. “No. The only thing he had was his pocket watch, but he sold it to one of the vaqueros.”
Zorro walked to a box on the shelf and lifted the lid. He pulled out an object.
“You mean this?” he asked.
Anna dashed to his side. Her mouth agape, she took the gold watch from him.
“Where did you get this?” she asked, with tears glistening in her eyes.
“Matthew sold it to our foreman, Miguel, a few weeks ago. I recognized the seal and bought it from him.”
Anna draped the chain over her hand and opened the watch, winding it a few turns. The mechanisms still worked in perfect time.
“I also read the inscription.”
Anna looked up at him, a tear tracing down her cheek. She looked back down at the watch.
