Chapter Four

Watching and Waiting

Stephano Mercado was hot and frustrated. He wiped a bead of sweat that ran down the side of his face as he road slowly back to the pueblo. The sun would be setting within the hour and he was more than ready to bid the hot day goodbye. As he had done the day before, he had sat on a hill overlooking the de la Vega hacienda, watching the comings and goings of the large hacienda. He was not encouraged by what he had seen. The previous day, he had been surprised by the amount of activity around the hacienda on a Sunday, but nothing compared to what he had seen today.

Using a small spyglass he had won from a ship captain in a poker game, he had watched as vaqueros, servants and guests came and went throughout the day. The number of servants seemed to be minimal for such a large hacienda, but there were more than enough vaqueros to make up for it. And even more surprising had been the number of guests that came by. The hacienda was on one of the main roads, but most of the guests were other dons from the area. Probably coming to ask advice or plea for some sort of help was Stephano's guess.

As he rode, he thought about his men. He had two dozen men altogether, but several of them had stayed at home in Baja, unwilling to leave their families for such a long and risky venture. He couldn't blame them. He hadn't wanted to come here either, but his younger brother, Enrique, had insisted. If they did somehow find a way to rob the de la Vega estate, he would make sure that the men left at home received enough to feed their families when they got home. And he would never again allow his brother to push him into something so foolish.

Stephano suppressed a growl of frustration. The hacienda was a busy place, it would not be easy to find a way in, without bloodshed. Enrique wouldn't care, but Stephano would insist if they did this, it would be without a fight. His younger brother was too quick to kill, and Stephano would have to keep a tight rein on his arrogant sibling. The death of a de la Vega would not be taken lightly and they would have to take care not to have every soldier in the territory after them when this was through.

The gates of the pueblo came into view and he sighed in relief. He was looking forward to spending the rest of the evening in the presence of the beautiful tavern owner. He had thought for a moment last night that she would turn him away when he knocked on her door, but something had changed her mind and she had let him in. He felt bad for stealing her food last night, and he planned on slipping her some extra pesos tonight to make up for it. While he hadn't thought about it last night due to his overwhelming hunger, he had plenty of time to think today as he sat on the hill and the guilt over stealing from her had sunk in. He had only known her for one night, but the thought of disappointing her did not sit well with him.

As he approached the gate, Stephano realized there were two guards waiting. He groaned softly. They watched as he approached and beckoned him to stop.

"What is your name, senor?" the taller guard asked him.

"What's yours?" Stephano snapped in response.

The second guard took a firmer grip on his musket. "Answer the question, senor."

Stephano sighed. He hated soldiers. He had a pistol in his saddle bags and had worn his sword, but also had a knife attached to his forearm with a strap, hidden within his sleeve. He could take out both soldiers with just the knife before they even had a chance to blink, but it would draw unwanted attention.

"Stephano Mercado," he finally answered.

"Where do you come from, senor Mercado, and where are you going?" the taller asked.

"South and into the pueblo, what does it look like?"

The soldiers shared an annoyed look between them but did not seem to notice that the direction he rode from was not the south. "You must pay the traveler's tax."

"What traveler's tax?"

"Fifteen pesos, or we will take you to the cuartel and you can explain it to the alcalde."

Stephano reached into his pocket. Normally he would tell the soldiers where they could go with their 'traveler's tax', but since he was paying the tax with money stolen from their own alcalde, he had no problem giving a few pesos back. Besides, now that he knew where the alcalde kept his money, he knew he could always steal it back, if he needed it. He had to hide his smile as he flipped the coins to the waiting soldier. Without waiting for permission, he urged his horse forward and continued into the pueblo.

The tavern was busy tonight. Sergeant Montoya and some of his men took up two tables and the rest were filled with caballeros and vaqueros, ready for a good meal and a drink after the hot day.

Victoria fluttered between tables, stopping to talk to her guests when she could, but for the most part, keeping up a constant pace between the kitchen and her hungry, thirsty guests. She had two girls that helped her, and nights like this made her wonder if she shouldn't hire a third.

She slipped through the curtain into the kitchen and took a moment to catch her breath. She poured a glass of water and opened the back door, stepping out into the night air. It wasn't much cooler outside, but at least it was away from the heat of her cooking fire.

A noise from the corral caught her attention, and she was about to move in that direction when Stephano came out of the smalls table. He didn't seem to notice her as he grabbed the saddle bags he had placed on the corral fence and tossed them over his shoulder. As he stepped toward the tavern he looked up to find her watching him and he grinned.

"Buenos noches, Victoria."

"Buenas noches. What were you doing in the stable?"

Stephano shrugged. "I seem to have returned too late to catch the blacksmith again, so I was hoping I could use your corral for my horse again. I will pay you of course."

As he stepped closer to her, the light from the door illuminated his face and she could see he was tired and sweaty. Bits of hay stuck to his pants from the stable.

"I took the time to groom and feed your own horse while I was at it. I hope you don't mind."

Victoria hesitated only a moment before giving him a grateful smile. "Not at all. I'm afraid I get busy and sometimes don't give her the attention she deserves. Besides, I'm sure she likes the company of an extra horse. You are welcome to use the stable as long as you staying here."

"Gracias."

"You look tired, senor. Do you want some dinner?"

"Perhaps later. For now, I would like to get out of these filthy clothes and cleaned up."

Victoria nodded as she led him in through the back door. Stephano nodded at her in thanks. He gave her an oddly familiar salute as he disappeared through the curtain and headed for his room. With a sigh, Victoria turned back to her work. From the sounds coming from the tavern, it was getting busier and she knew her girls would need her help.

Several hours later her tavern had emptied considerably, finally, but she was still making regular trips back and forth through the curtain. She moved around the room refilling glasses returned she had a pitcher of juice that she used to refill the glasses of some of her remaining customers.

She stopped briefly at a table in the back, where a card game was going on. She feigned interest in the game, but was really keeping an eye out to make sure no one was losing too badly. She wished she could ban the games altogether, they often led to trouble, but she had to admit that they usually brought her a great deal of money. Men liked to drink when they were playing cards and she often got a small cut of the winnings. She did have one steadfast rule, though, for card games in her tavern. Nothing stronger than wine was served, and that she would water down if she saw anyone getting too far into their cups. She occasionally got complaints and grumbles about her rule, but she would be damned if anyone was killed in her tavern over something as trivial as a card game.

The game seemed to be a friendly one, and was wrapping up, so she moved on to the next table to find Stephano staring up at her. She had spotted him earlier devouring a meal of soup and several tortillas, but hadn't had a chance to speak with him while the tavern was so busy. But now that things had slowed down considerable, she found she had time to talk.

"Would you like some more juice?" she asked.

He nodded and she filled his glass for him. He beckoned for her to sit. She hesitated a moment, thinking of the stack of dirty dishes waiting for her, but knew the girls were probably already working on them. She took the offered seat, intending to stay for only a few minutes.

"How was your friend in San Pedro?"

Stephano had a blank look for a split second, but it disappeared as quickly as it came. "Oh, he…ah, he didn't make it. He sent word that he was delayed. He won't arrive for a couple of more days."

"So you rode all that way in the heat for nothing?"

He shrugged. "Not nothing…but it was a rather frustrating day."

Their conversation moved to other topics and before Victoria knew it, the tavern had all but emptied and it was time to close up. She was surprised how fast time flew talking to Stephano and was a little embarrassed that she had neglected her remaining customers. She bade him a hasty goodnight, and went to collect money from her few remaining patrons and check on the two women in the kitchen. When she came back through the curtain several moments later, Stephano was gone.

Stephano Mercado was not the only man spending time watching and waiting. Zorro sat on the roof of the church, watching the light in the guest room of Victoria's tavern. He had actually been in the tavern over an hour ago, watching carefully from the shadows of the upstairs balcony, observing the guests below. It wasn't hard to spot the stranger staying in the first guest room. He sat by himself and wolfed down two bowls of soup and at least three tortillas as Zorro watched from above. After his dinner, he had sat quietly, carefully observing the other tavern guests.

From his vantage point, Zorro hadn't been sure, but thought it was the same man that he had spotted the day before outside of the church. This didn't make much sense as Victoria had said he came into town very late last night, asking for a room. If it was the same man, and he was fairly certain it was, where had he been all day, that he had to beg for a room so late?

Zorro shifted his position slightly as the light in the guest room finally went out. He glanced over to where he knew Victoria's room was, but he could see that a candle still burned in her room. He thought about making a quick trip to her room first, to ask her what she knew of her guest, sense she was still awake, but resisted the temptation. He could very easily be sidetracked from his goal in her presence.

After some time, the candle in Victoria's room was also extinguished, and Zorro made his way down from the roof. He entered the tavern kitchen in his usual manner, through the high window. There was enough moonlight coming in that he could make his way around easily. He had become very adept at moving around in the dark. He was about to step through the curtain, when he heard a noise and froze. When he heard the soft squeak of the wooden stairs, he stepped cautiously to the side and waited.