Chapter 74 – The Judge from Monterey

The same as Don Alejandro, Victoria was glad the wailing was over. She was in her room, alone, because her eyes were sore and red with all the tears she was shedding and she didn't want to see anybody, nor let them see her in that state. She needed to be on her own for a while before she could regain control, before she could come out with a casual smile plastered on her face to take care of her son and Sofía, as she had done since Cristina had passed away.

Diego had gone mental. Witnessing his bizarre reaction down at the secret cave had been a frightening, disturbing experience for Victoria, and she was too shocked to carry on as if nothing had happened.

As she had Cristina's blessing —or maybe not a blessing, but at least she could call it permission— over the last few days Victoria had fantasized about a future with Diego, a future where they all would live happily ever after as a big family, but that dream was looking more and more like an unreachable utopia, and she feared it could never happen.

Victoria thought she was not worthy of him. Not after rejecting Zorro to marry Juan, and not after what happened with Roberto. But, above all, because she felt mortified and fazed about finding out Diego had been Zorro all along, right under her nose, from the very beginning. It was too humiliating. She wanted to be angry at him for not telling her on time before she got married, but the deep shame she felt didn't let her. Besides, she couldn't be angry at him now, anyway, when he was suffering so much. That would be inhumane. She could only hope he would never get the courage to tell her his secret, and that he would remain in love with his deceased wife now that he could remember their past together, so she could pretend she didn't know about Zorro, somehow keeping her pride intact, at least with him.

With determination, she wiped her tears and at that very moment she decided she would keep her promise to take care of Sofía, but she would never make a move with Diego, no matter what her devious heart would tell her. She was too embarrassed, and she felt she would never get over that deeply annoying and mortifying feeling. Ever.

Every time she remembered all those vile comments she had made about him when she was in love with Zorro, but not with Diego, made her feel utterly stupid. How could I be so blind and callous back then? And then marrying Juan… and then shortly after telling Diego she loved him when it was too late, when she was already pregnant with another man's child, of all things… He probably thought I was a fool, the most annoying woman on Earth, coming back to him when I was married and he was about to marry Cristina. She covered her face with her hands when she thought about that passionate kiss they had shared shortly before he got married, the sense of embarrassment too overwhelming to bear. And then, finally, her outrageous behaviour at the hacienda, fighting for him with his wife when he suffered from amnesia… How low was that? No wonder Cristina despised me. She shook her head, trying to get rid of all those humiliating and upsetting thoughts, but they would not go away, as they were stuck in her mind and would return over and over, much to her chagrin, no matter how much she wished to break the cycle and get free of the shame.

No, she would never be worthy of his love, and she would never seek it. The only thing she could do was taking care of them, as she had promised to Cristina, but never trying to get involved in a relationship. She would deny her own feelings if she had to, to herself and to others. After all, she had been in denial all her life, so she could carry on fooling herself just as before. No big deal.

She stood up and walked to the door, ready to face the situation. The most important thing at the moment were not her erratic feelings, but to get Diego back into a positive frame of mind to prevent him from harming himself again. The thought that he could commit suicide was unbearable but, after all, possible in his current state of mind, and she could not allow that to happen.

ZZZ

Imanol Rivera was delighted when the recently appointed Judge arrived from Monterey in the afternoon. The alcaide at the presidio in Santa Bárbara had been at a loss since he had arrived at Los Angeles, having to deal with a dead alcalde, accused of being a murdered himself by Zorro, and the aftermath of the tragic events at the hacienda De la Vega.

Initially, soldiers had stayed in the house, but Imanol ordered them to withdraw to leave the family grieve in peace, monitoring the situation at the hacienda from the distance, because Don Alejandro, Don Francisco and Don Diego were still fugitives from justice until proven innocent on a second trial, and should not be left unsupervised. Imanol knew Don Alejandro, and he knew he could trust him to cooperate with the judge when he would take charge of the investigation, because all the issues about him escaping from jail would have to be clarified, so he left him alone at that difficult time.

Then he wasn't sure about Sergeant Mendoza's status. Was he a hero or a vindictive villain? Mendoza was still in jail, as he didn't know what to do with him. He had killed the alcalde in cold blood and that was, from any point of view, unacceptable, regardless of the real identity of the man he had killed, who now was dead and could not answer any questions to clarify the situation. And then, he had to deal with that soldier they found unconscious in Doña Cristina's bedroom, bleeding from a nasty wound on his smashed face. When the fatally wounded woman was taken to her bed, they moved that man to another room, but he died before he ever regained consciousness, such was the force of the blow he had received, presumably from Zorro. Nobody knew where he had come from, other than he was recruited by Gabriel Salamanca together with four other men, who were nowhere to be seen, as they all had deserted the Army. Even the alcalde's secretary had disappeared.

And finally, on top of everything else, Don Alejandro had mentioned a possible plot to buy all the land in Los Angeles with some mysterious purpose, and he hadn't got to the bottom of it. In fact, he hadn't even started to scratch the surface.

Yes, Imanol Rivera was delighted. He was a military man, not used to deal with complicated investigations of any kind, and now he could leave everything in the Judge's capable hands and go back to Santa Bárbara to rule the Presidio, a much easier, straight-forward task for him.

ZZZ

The Judge got out of the stagecoach in the middle of the plaza. He looked around, blinking under the glaring, early afternoon sun. Everything looked exactly the same as the last time he had been there. He was hungry, and glanced at the tavern longing for a meal, craving the delicious sopa de albóndigas he remembered so well. However, with a strong will, he headed for the alcalde's office instead, his first priority. The soup could wait.

At the office, he met the alcaide of the presidio in Santa Bárbara, who told him everything he knew about the situation in Los Angeles, looking too willing to wash his hands of the matter. The Judge showed him an old, aged and discoloured paper displaying a search order and a drawing of Roberto Malpartida, and the alcaide identified him as the deceased alcalde.

"Yes, that's the man. A bit older now, obviously, but the resemblance is outstanding. That's a very good drawing," the alcaide said.

"Yes, it is. Apparently, one of the citizens in this pueblo drew this a few years ago, in Madrid, or so I was told. I believe he is a gifted artist."

"And who is that talented painter?"

"Don Diego de la Vega."

"That man is not taking very well the death of his wife, I'm afraid, not at all. What a shame. I believe he is losing it. His father is afraid he may commit suicide."

"Is he? Well, in that case I should hurry up and visit the hacienda de la Vega as soon as possible," the Judge said. "Sergeant Mendoza sent for me to repeat the trial that declared Don Alejandro and Don Francisco guilty of murdering alcalde De Soto, and also one of their neighbours and his daughter. Where is he?"

"That's another complicated issue. Sergeant Mendoza is in jail. He killed Gabriel Salamanca in cold blood. I mean, the alcalde, that man you call Roberto Malpartida."

"Why is he in jail?"

"I'm not sure. But I didn't know what to do with him until your arrival."

"I better talk to him then and get him out of there. After all, he is a hero, not a felon. He stopped one of the most dangerous criminals from Spain."

"Can I leave everything in your hands now and return to Santa Bárbara this evening?"

"Is there anything else I should know?"

"No, not really. I told you everything I know."

"In that case, I don't know why you should stay here any longer. Thank you for your intervention and your help in this complicated matter. I am going to see the sergeant now. Goodbye, señor Rivera, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you to. Adiós," Imanol said, shaking hands with that man before he disappeared through the back door to check on Mendoza, followed by his alguaciles.

ZZZ

"Good afternoon, Sergeant Mendoza."

Mendoza was sitting in the hard, uncomfortable bench in one of the cells, looking bored. He lifted his head to check on the man who had addressed him, recognizing him.

"Good afternoon, señor Sauras. What are you doing here, back in our pueblo?" Mendoza said, standing up to get close to the bars and the short man standing behind them, the naval auditor from Monterey, Ernesto Sauras.

"I have been promoted by the Mexican Government. I am the new Judge from Monterey, with powers to deal in military as well as civil matters in the whole of California. You sent for me."

"You are the Judge?" Mendoza said, with his jaw dropped.

"Open the door, please," Ernesto ordered to the soldier guarding the cells, who comply willingly, as he felt sorry for the sergeant. "I am going to have a meal at the tavern. Would you like to join me, and tell me everything you know in an informal manner?"

"Really? Thank you, señor Sauras. The food I ate here in jail during the last week had nothing to do with the delicious meals from the tavern," Mendoza said, coming out of the cell, rubbing his abdomen with anticipation.

"Come on then. You have a lot to explain, and I am keen to listen to the whole story."

ZZZZZ