Chapter 26

"There is no use in spying through the windows, Señor. The tavern is closed," Sergeant Mendoza informed Ramon, who was trying to look inside.

"I heard that it was closed, but where is Victoria?" Ramon questioned. "Did she leave a message?"

"Señorita Escalante? She has left Los Angeles more than three months ago. The tavern was closed before that. It's now..." Mendoza took his fingers and started to count, "117 days since Victoria was arrested and closed the tavern. Since then I didn't have a good meal in the pueblo and I'm starving." Mendoza patted across his belly,

"I need to find my sister. Where did she go?"

"Your sister, Señor?"

"Si, I'm Ramon Escalante, Victoria's brother." Ramon introduced himself.

"Señor Escalante, it's a surprise to see you here in Los Angeles. I didn't recognize you after all these years."

"I haven't been in Los Angeles for a few years as I have been living in Venezuela and Mexico. I never had the time to visit my sister," Ramon explained.

"Victoria said she was going to live with you when she left Los Angeles." Mendoza asked, puzzled.

"You must have misunderstood something, Sergeant."

Mendoza shrugged. "That's what she told me, Señor. My men and I escorted her all the way north, close to the border to Santa Paula territory. We didn't want anything happen to her, although she insisted that she could take care of herself and didn't need our protection."

"Did you hear anything from her after she left Los Angeles?" Ramon inquired.

"No, I didn't, but I never expected her to write to a simple sergeant like me. She may have written to Don Alejandro who was always like a father to her."

"Did Don Alejandro mention Victoria?"

"I don't recall, Señor, but I don't have the chance to talk to him so often as we no longer meet in the tavern." Mendoza looked miserably at the closed building.

"Why did Victoria leave without selling the tavern? Didn't she find a buyer? Why did she leave before she got the money from it?"

"I don't know. She said she hadn't found someone to give her a good price, and that Don Alejandro would look after it when she had left."

"Did she say when she would come back? Because that's the only reason I can imagine why she didn't sell it." Ramon stated.

"Señor, I can't answer your questions. Don Alejandro may be able to give you more information," Mendoza apologized. "But, I would be more than happy if your sister came back to Los Angeles and reopened the tavern. The pueblo hasn't been the same since she left."

"What do you mean, Sergeant?"

"The tavern was the only place where you could get food outside the barracks. Now, my men and I have to eat at the garrison all the time, and it's very bad food. The alcalde is also in a bad mood because he used to eat in the tavern as well. I think by now he has realized what he has done by running Victoria off. Victoria was an excellent cook, and the tavern was a well frequented place, not only for eating but also for meeting friends and having a drink. Nobody expected the tavern to stay closed after Victoria left."

"I will see what I can find out from Don Alejandro, Sergeant." Ramon turned around to leave the pueblo at the northern exit. As a soldier he was used to walking, and he didn't mind the two miles to the de la Vega hacienda, though he would have liked a break with a cool drink on the porch of the tavern.

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