Best Served Cold
7 - Memory
Chapter 7: Memory
Señor Pacheco was very nervous and happy — or very nervous and unhappy — depending on how you looked at things. He was happy because Don Diego had complied with his request to stay away from the inn. The young don had not even set foot in the pueblo for almost a week, let alone stopped in to buy wine for Lieutenant Garcia. Señor Pacheco was unhappy because in addition to being a very good customer, Don Diego was a kind and generous friend. The innkeeper understood how painful the current situation was for the young don, and he missed his frequent visits to the inn. He was nervous because Señorita Milanes' assailant remained unidentified and presumably at large. Uncertainty was breeding considerable unrest in the pueblo.
Lieutenant Garcia was simply unhappy. His only piece of evidence so far was the small and very portable cufflink and he truly did not feel that it was enough to arrest Don Diego. On the other hand, more and more individuals were murmuring that he allowed Don Diego to remain at liberty because the younger De la Vega was his friend. His last hope was that Catalina Milanes was recovered enough to remember something — anything — more about her attacker. Garcia felt he could no longer put off questioning her a second time, so he ordered his horse saddled.
Don Alejandro was seething. The dons had called a meeting to discuss prospects for the next sale of hides. Somehow they had neglected to invite him.
Margarita was nearing exhaustion. Between trying to comfort and support her frustrated husband, calm her angry father-in-law, care for the children, and run the hacienda, most of the time she could barely remember where she was going and what she meant to do when she got there.
Don Mateo Camarena was quite pleased with himself. He had used the excuse that he found the pueblo "charming" to extend his stay. He was only waiting for Don Diego to be arrested and tried before he went back to Peru. If the Señora De la Vega had begun to have doubts about her husband's affections, well, who could blame her? And of course if the De la Vegas suffered serious financial harm from the great disgrace, that was according to plan as well. He had just finished an excellent meal with Don Carlos Yorba during which Don Carlos had expressed reluctance to continue doing business with the De la Vegas and Don Mateo had continually assured his dinner companion that although it must have been a painful decision it was undoubtedly the best course of action at present.
Señorita Catalina Milanes, accompanied by her duenna Doña Carmen, came slowly into the sala where her parents and Lieutenant Garcia were waiting for her. The bruise on her head still made it impossible to dress her hair so it cascaded down her back under a softly draped mantilla. She sat down on a couch. Her mother Doña Sofia sat down beside her and took her hand.
Garcia thought how young and vulnerable Catalina looked, more like an older child playing grown-up than a young woman almost ready for marriage. "Señorita," he began gently, "I fear that my questions will cause you some discomfort, but I am afraid that I must ask them in order to identify your assailant."
"I understand," she replied quietly. Her mother squeezed her hand.
"Do you remember anything, anything at all, about the man who attacked you?"
"I remember only hearing someone come up right behind me. I remember I turned towards him, and then — nothing."
"Did you perhaps see his face?"
"No, not clearly. It was very dark."
"Can you remember how tall he was?"
"He was not overly tall…about as tall as my father, I think."
"Was there nothing about him that you recognized?"
She shook her head, tears beginning to well up in her eyes.
"What about his clothing? How was he dressed?" asked Garcia, almost desperately.
"It was dark."
"Sí, Señorita, we know that it was dark in the garden but — "
"No, Lieutenant, I mean that his suit was dark, almost black. There was a little starlight, but he blended right into the shadows."
The officer turned to Don Alfredo and Doña Sofia. "Do either of you remember what Don Diego was wearing that night?"
"I believe he was dressed in a suite of medium color, blue I think. It was definitely not black," replied Doña Sofia.
"Why do you ask about Don Diego?" inquired Señorita Milanes.
The Lieutenant hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath. "Because…because, Señorita, we found a cufflink bearing the De la Vega crest among the folds of your torn dress."
"Oh no, no!" she exclaimed. "It could not have been Don Diego! I am sure of it."
"But how can you say that if you remember so little?" objected her father.
"Because even though I did not see him well, I remember his overall form. He was about as tall as my father, who is not as tall as Don Diego, and he was not as broad in the shoulders as Don Diego. It could not have been Don Diego."
"But if it was so dark…?"
She stared off into the distance for a few seconds, then sighed. "I am afraid that is all I remember. He was not so tall, and his clothing was dark —" she suddenly sat upright "— except for the embroidery on his vest!"
"Embroidery?" echoed Doña Sofia, herself an expert needlewoman.
"Yes, his vest was decorated with much gold embroidery. I could see it glimmer even in the starlight."
"An embroidered vest is not the style here in Alta California," declared her father, who was very particular about the cut of his clothing. "Perhaps we could ask tailor Pedro Llamas if he has done that sort of work for anyone here."
Doña Sofia's brows furrowed. "I believe Don Diego's jacket was embroidered, much on the sleeves and some on the front. His vest was ornamented very little, only around the neckline, but not in gold. We all saw that when he took off his jacket to show Don Ignacio his sleeves and cufflinks."
The two men looked at Doña Sofia. "Cara," began her husband, "you tend to remember such things. Can you recall anyone who was wearing an embroidered vest?"
Now it was Doña Sofia's turn to stare off into the distance as she tried to recall the appearance of the various male guests that night. At last her head tilted slightly and her eyes widened. "Now that I think about it, I believe the gentleman from Peru was wearing such a vest. Yes, I am sure of it! I danced with him twice and the second time I complimented him on the quality of the work."
"Don Mateo!" exclaimed Garcia.
"That still does not explain the cufflink," countered Don Alfredo.
"I agree, it does not," declared Garcia, who was beginning to see a glimmer of hope. "But now I must talk immediately with Don Mateo Camarena." The officer rose. "Señorita, I thank you for your help. I know this was not an easy thing for you."
"You are most welcome, Lieutenant. And I do not mind. No one wants this man captured more than I do."
Lieutenant Garcia left the hacienda, mounted his horse, and rode off into the twilight.