"What are you doing here?" Jessie asked in English after a few moments spent embracing the new arrival.
"I'm here… it's for a personal matter." D'Artagnan replied. "And I decided to take advantage of my trip to visit an old friend. But I certainly did not expect to find you in California. What in the world are you doing in Los Angeles?"
"I'm the pueblo's doctor. I've been here since June and I did write to you about it a few months back! You'll probably get the letter when you return. Am I to assume you already know my colleague?" She then asked, gazing towards Diego.
"Colleague?" He questioned also looking at the caballero.
"And this is my husband." She then turned a smiling face towards the aghast Alcalde, also switching back to Spanish. "Ignacio, this is my first cousin, Charles D'Artagnan."
"Cousin?" He repeated in disbelief.
"Yes. Our mothers were sisters. We practically grew up together, until my parents relocated to Spain." She informed her husband. "I can't believe you are here!" She then stated, addressing the man still holding her in his arms. "I haven't seen you in… What? Twelve? Thirteen years? Last time you wrote you were in France and I was in New York!"
"Time passes fast! And I have stories to tell you!" The young man declared, also in Spanish, feeling rather strange to speak to Jessie in any other language than English, but also realizing it was only polite to do so. "However, before that, please tell me I have heard you wrong! This man can't be your husband!"
"No… He really is." Jessie stated with a smile.
"I can't believe that! Did he force you to marry him? Because that is cause for annulment, and I have no intention of leaving you at his mercy!"
"He didn't force me! It was my choice. Free will and everything. And the 'who is at whose mercy' part is the other way around, I assure you!" She stated with a chuckle. "Isn't that right, Ignacio?"
"Yes, Dear!" He answered instinctively, without even realizing what he was saying since he was still coping with the shock of the fact that the spy he was set on arresting turned out to be his wife's closest relative, thus a member of his family.
De Soto's answer, however, was not lost on the tavern's patrons. Jessie's request for D'Artagnan to move to their hacienda only ended up making the Alcalde look even more ridiculous, and he was inwardly grateful when Diego insisted that the young man remained a De la Vega guest for the time being.
ZZZ
"What a remarkable coincidence!" Don Alejandro chuckled a while later, as he and Diego were alone in the hacienda's library, just before turning in for the night. "I think the Alcalde will think twice in the future before arresting anyone else for being a spy!"
"Knowing him, I wouldn't be completely certain of that. He does seem to learn his lessons only the hard way." Diego mocked.
"True… But they do say life is full of surprises." Don Alejandro answered rather casually. "Diego, would you care to share with me those misadventures of yours while in France? The ones your friend was talking about earlier?"
The young don sat aside the book he was reading at the moment and stood up, pacing the room a little.
"There's really not that much to say, Father." He replied, stopping before the fireplace and facing Don Alejandro. "I went to Beaumartin, as you know, to visit the wineries there. Unfortunately, just as I arrived, I stumbled in the middle of a tavern brawl. I tried to keep myself out of it, of course. When the commotion was over, the owner of the tavern, Porthos, showed up completely drunk, and I helped his servant, Picotin, get him to a trough to get him sobered up. Right then a certain Viscount Jussac arrived mocking Porthos and the two fought, which ended up with Porthos, Picotin and myself arrested by the Viscount's guards. He interrogated me and had his men beat me up when I kept insisting I was just on vacation, trying to learn more about winemaking. Eventually, he did free me, leaving me unconscious next to the tavern. The next thing I knew, I was lying in a bed, cared for by a local widowed countess, who later proved to be the Viscount's mistress. In the meanwhile, Porthos and Picotin were freed and the latter revealed that he had written to the other descendants of the Musketeers asking for them to return and help claim back the castle Jussac had, in fact, stolen from them. That was how I met Athos and D'Artagnan, both having accepted the invitation. I helped them come up with a plan to recover a ring which was the proof of ownership of the castle, but I had to leave before they took action, since my ship for California was due to depart in only a few days. The rest of what happened, I only know from their letters."
"I see… And you didn't see it fit to tell your father that some French viscount had tortured you while on your trip?" Don Alejandro's words and body language were emanating anger, a fact which was not lost on his son.
"It was not so bad, Father. I merely fainted because I have a low tolerance for pain, as you must already know... " Diego tried to appease him. "Besides, by the time I returned I had all but forgotten everything about that!"
"Diego, sometimes I feel like I don't know you at all! That I don't know my own son. From time to time you do or say things… or someone else says things about you that are completely out-of-character and unexpected. So I want to be clear. If there are any more adventures, fights or secrets you have not shared with me, I want you to say so now, and I want you to tell me everything!"
"Father… Just because you don't know everything I did every day of my life, that doesn't mean that you don't know me. There may be some aspects to my personality and experiences which I don't normally share with others, not even with you, but we are both grown men who understand the value of privacy, is that not so? Besides, whatever may have happened to me that I… neglected telling you about, it's already in the past and it's not worth dwelling over." He stated.
Don Alejandro gave him a scolding look, then lowered his eyes. A few moments later, he returned to gaze intently at his son before nodding and wishing him a good night. Diego watched him leave, pondering on his father's words.
Moments later, he hurriedly made his way to the cave, changed into Zorro's clothes, saddled Tornado, left a note for Felipe informing him where he was going, then left, heading for San Pedro.
ZZZ
It was about 4 a.m. when a black shadow made its way towards the office of the San Pedro's port clerk, Señor Marineo. Checking to make sure nobody was there, he unlocked the door and make his way inside, where he started looking for the log.
Five minutes later, he found it hidden in a secret compartment of one of the desk drawers. Opening it, he sat at a table and searched for the name he was looking for, eventually finding it among the passengers which had arrived to San Pedro at the beginning of September. Taking a paper and a quill from the desk, he started writing down the names of all those who had disembarked in San Pedro on the same day as the young woman but, just moments after he had started, he felt a pistol against his back.
"Don't make a move, Señor, or I'll shoot!" He heard the voice of Señor Marineo. "What do you want, Señor Zorro?" The man proceeded to ask.
Surprised to have been caught off guard by a man at least thirty years older than him, he considered his options before answering.
"I just need is some information Señor Marineo." The black-clad man replied, slowly turning towards the old clerk.
For a few moments they both stared at each other, one trying to decide whether to press the trigger and collect the reward on the most renowned outlaw in California, and the other wondering what he could do to escape.
"I'd appreciated it if you'd put that gun down!" The masked man asked calmly.
"I can retire and live the rest of my life in peace with the money I'll get on you if I press the trigger instead." The man replied.
"Senor, we both know that, if you truly wanted to shoot me you would have already done so. Besides, you can only retire with the money for my reward if Alcalde De Soto gives it to you. Which, I doubt he will. Even if he does, we both know he'll find a way to tax it to the point where you'll be glad you won't have to return even more than you received." He told him. "So, in the end, if you pull that trigger, all you'll have is my blood on your hands."
The man looked intensely at him while Zorro did his best to appear careless and sure of himself. Eventually, Señor Marineo lowered the gun.
"Why are you here?" He wondered.
"I'm looking for some information you are not allowed to give to others." He told him, returning to his writing as if nothing had happened.
"I'm also not allowed to let a notorious outlaw peruse my log, but I seem to be doing exactly that." He said, rather resentfully, before taking a look at the list. "You're helping the young man who was here in the morning… Señor D'Artagnan. Aren't you?"
Zorro again found himself interrupted, wondering how the older man had made that connection. The fact that he remembered the name was not surprising to him, his friend having mentioned that only two other people disembarked with him in San Pedro, both of which remained in the port, waiting to catch the following day's coach to San Bernardino.
"What makes you think so?" He wondered.
"He said he was looking for someone who should be in my log and you are copying a list of names from it. I'm not stupid, Señor Zorro!"
"I know you are not." He answered with a smile, and continued writing. "All done." He said a minute later, closing the log. "I shall not impose on you anymore, Señor. Please forgive me if I have woken you up."
"You haven't. I wasn't sleeping. Who is he looking for? Your friend…"
"I don't believe I know what you are talking about! Buenas noches, Señor Marineo!" The masked man simply uttered as he made his way outside and disappeared among the shadows.
The older man shook his head and, after putting the log back in its place, then went back to bed.
ZZZ
"This is the list I managed to copy." Diego told D'Artagnan the following day, giving him a paper containing 21 names. "The girl is, indeed, on it. I know these four were hired as vaqueros by a friend of my father's," he indicated, underlining the names of the men in question. "They came by themselves, but could still have a clue as to where the girl might be. Then there are the Baros, who moved here in September. That makes ten. These eleven I've never heard of but at least a few of them are, most probably in the Baros' employment. Those who are not might have headed towards another part of the territory. San Bernardino, perhaps."
"So? Where should we start?" D'Artagnan wondered.
"I'd start with the vaqueros. If they can't help us, we can ask the Baros, even though I doubt they will be willing to help." Diego suggested.
ZZZ
Unfortunately, the first day of the search left them empty-handed since the vaqueros were all away on a cattle drive, only to return in a few days. Unwilling to waste another day, especially since D'Artagnan was hoping to return to Acapulco on the following ship which was scheduled to leave in a couple of weeks, Diego decided to accompany him to see the Baros.
Don Manolo was away when they arrived, so it was his wife to welcome them. She did so quite coldly, after ordering the servants to guide them to a large and sumptuously-decorated sala where her daughter and her maid were cross stitching.
"You are here to apologize, I believe…" She said as they all sat down.
"It is not I who owes an apology, Señora." Diego stated. "But we are here on a different matter."
"Really?" She asked, disappointment clear on her face.
Since they had attended Felipe's birthday celebration at the de la Vegas, which ended so disastrously for them, nobody in Los Angeles wanted anything to do with the Baros, so the Señora was hoping Diego's presence there might mean they were to be allowed into the local high society again. Realizing she was wrong, thus, contributed to further worsen her already foul mood.
"Yes… My friend here, Señor D'Artagnan, is looking for a young woman who has traveled aboard the same ship which has brought you here. We were wondering if you might be able to give us any information about her." The tall caballero informed her.
"A young woman? There was no young woman on the ship from what I remember, except for my daughter, myself and our servants." She replied.
"Then, perhaps, she is one of your employees. Her name is Angela de Marin." D'Artagnan informed her.
Isadora's maid dropped the embroidery she was working on and, as she picked it up, glanced fearfully between Doña Luisa and D'Artagnan, a fact Diego noticed with some puzzlement.
"Angela?" The Señora wondered, discreetly glancing towards her daughter and her maid. "No. I don't know an Angela. There's no one by that name in my employment."
"Are you certain, Señora?" Diego asked. "My friend has come a long way to find her. Perhaps your daughter or the señorita might know her." He then said, addressing the younger women.
"Of course, I am certain!" Doña Luisa uttered instead, glaring at him. "Now, if you don't mind, I have a few things to do." As she said that she rang a bell.
"Perhaps, if you don't know Angela de Marin, you might be able to -" D'Artagnan tried to insist.
"I can't help you in any way. Escort the señores out, Tomaso!" She ordered the man who answered her bell call. "Adios, Señores!" She ended the conversation as she stood up and left the room, her daughter and the other young woman on her heels. As they were exiting, Diego noticed that the maid turned her head to look at them with fearful eyes.
The two friends followed the servant out and the caballero tried to ask him the question he had asked the woman, but the man interrupted him to say that he was not allowed to discuss matters pertaining to the household with outsiders, then shut the door almost literally in their faces.
"I can see why you've hesitated to come here." His friend told Diego.
"The Señora knows something about her, but doesn't want to talk." The tall caballero replied. "And have you seen the maid? She might even be her…"
"You think? But why didn't she say anything then?" D'Artagnan wondered.
"I don't know…" He answered pensively as they both mounted their horses and headed towards the pueblo. "But she is the same age and has green eyes, just like the little girl in the portrait."
ZZZ
"Why did you lie to them, Mother?" Isadora asked as soon as the two men left. "And why is that man here searching for Angela when the real Angela de Marin is dead?"
"I know exactly why he is here!" Doña Luisa answered. "Do you want to tell her or should I?" She then asked the maid.
The young woman avoided looking at her mistresses. "Please, Señora!" She begged.
"I guess I'll tell her, then!" The woman uttered. "That man is here to bring Angela to justice. She is a murderess. That is why nobody can know she is here!" She told her aghast daughter.
"No! That can't be! Angela wouldn't hurt a fly!" Isadora objected.
"Then you clearly don't know her!" Her mother answered.
"I've known her all my life! Angela!" The teenager's eyes begged her friend to deny her mother's affirmations.
"It's true… What your mother says is true, Isa." The older woman confirmed.
"How many times do I need to tell you that you are only to address my daughter as 'Señorita Isadora'?" The doña asked, looking angrily at her.
"Who? Who is she supposed to have murdered?" Isadora wondered.
"Your father." The doña told her. "Happy now? This is what I have hidden from you for so long. Your maid… is the reason why you've never met your father." When her daughter shook her head in disbelief, the older woman continued. "It was not intentional, or, better said, at the time, I didn't want to believe it was" she recounted at seeing her expression. "She was very young and barely remembers it. It happened a few months after I took her in… and I didn't have the heart to leave her to her fate, as I should have!"
ZZZ
Returning to the pueblo, the two reached the conclusion that they needed to enlist Jessie's help because she was the one person who could make her husband do whatever she wanted him to do.
"So… You're detectives now…" Jessie concluded after listening to Diego and D'Artagnan's story. "Who's Antonia and who is Armando?" Diego stared at her, opening his mouth in disbelief as those names were not lost on him, but she mistook the expression on his face for puzzlement. "Someone I met in university and who is a famous detective…" She tried to explain. "Doesn't matter… I guess a joke is only good if people understand it…"
"We need your help." D'Artagnan uttered, as his friend seemed too stunned to say another word.
"And by my help, you actually mean Ignacio's." She uttered.
"Yes." Diego replied.
"Alright! I'll help. But only because I am quite intrigued… And I expect to be involved in your little case of the missing heiress." She replied.
ZZZ
About two hours later the pueblo's doctor, her partner and her cousin, as well as the Alcalde and two of his lancers were making their way towards the Baro Hacienda. Don Manolo had just returned home and was waiting for the party to arrive when his men spotted them, just a few minutes away from the house.
"Good afternoon, Don Manolo!" De Soto greeted respectfully.
"To what do I owe your visit, Alcalde?" The don wondered, refusing to acknowledge the others.
"We are looking for a young woman by the name of Angela de Marin, Señor, and… a source informed us she might be working for you." He answered.
"She's my stepdaughter's servant. What do you want with her?" Don Manolo inquired, unaware that his wife was trying to hide the young woman.
"So you admit she's here?" De Soto, who had not been convinced till that moment, inquired.
"I already told you she is." He replied.
"May we talk to her?" Diego asked as he and his friend dismounted.
The don ordered his men to get Angela and, just moments later, the young woman was brought to the door. She was dressed just as she had been earlier, in a white dress and an apron, but her eyes were red and it was clear to anyone seeing her that she had been crying.
"What did you do, you wench?" The Don asked her furiously, raising a hand to hit her.
"Nothing, Señor! I swear!" She answered fearfully as Diego rapidly headed towards them.
"We are not here because she might have done anything wrong, Don Manolo. On the contrary. All we want is to talk to her." Diego uttered, catching the don's hand just as he was about to slap the young woman.
The man stared at him with ire on his face then snatched his arm from Diego's grip.
"You are not welcomed in my home. If you want to talk to her, talk to her outside and be quick about it. She has duties to perform." The caballero retorted as he glared again at the intruders, then entered the house, slamming the door behind him.
The young woman remained near the entrance, looking intimidated by the men there.
"It's alright, Señorita!" Jessie said as she also dismounted, looking kindly towards her. "I am Jessie Kent, the Los Angeles doctor. You have nothing to fear. We just need to ask you a few questions."
Angela nodded and followed her, Diego and D'Artagnan on a short walk a few yards away from the house and the lancers whom Jessie thought she might find intimidating.
"We should start by asking if you are, indeed, Señorita Angela de Marin, born October 30thth 1803 in…"
"I am not." She answered, somewhat relieved.
"You don't need to fear. Nothing bad is going to happen to you." Diego assure her.
"I… My name is Angela, but I don't have a last name. Angela is not even my birth name…"
"I don't understand…" D'Artagnan uttered.
"It's the name of Doña Luisa's dead stepdaughter. She died when she was very small. I'm just an orphan… I was born in 1804, but I don't know the date, just as I don't remember my real name. My mistress, Doña Luisa found me when I was a toddler and raised me, naming me Angela de Marin so that I wouldn't be taken away from her and put in one of those horrible institutions where orphaned children are kept. I'm sorry, but I am not the person you are looking for." She replied. "I… I have to go back now."
"Are you sure? I have come all the way from France to find Angela de Marin, and you fit both her age and her description! Her grandparents have spent a long time searching for her." D'Artagnan asked disheartened as she turned away from them.
"Grandparents?" She asked with a melancholic face. "I'm sorry! I wish I was her… But I'm not. I'm sorry if you travelled all this way because I took her name…"
Diego, Jessie and D'Artagnan all glanced at each other.
"Just a moment!" Diego stopped her as she, again, tried to leave. Heading for his horse, he took out a flask, hurriedly wiped it without anyone noticing what he was doing and poured out the remaining water in it, then handled it to the señorita. "Would you mind getting me some fresh water?" He asked with an innocent smile.
She looked at him a little doubtfully, but agreed, took the flask and returned it filled with fresh water from the fountain.
"Thank you. And we apologize for any inconvenience we might have caused."The tall caballero uttered.
Angela nodded and headed inside.
"So it was all for nothing!" D'Artagnan uttered.
"Perhaps not." Diego replied, as he carefully placed the flask in one of his saddlebags.
"Can we go now?" De Soto inquired, rather impatient and resentful at seeing himself excluded from their conversation after being asked to inconvenience a friend of the governor.
"Yes, Alcalde. And thank you for your help." The tall caballero replied.