The sun was on its way toward evening when Diego and Bernardo pulled up to the walls of the Escobar rancho. Diego handed his horse off to one of Don Escobar's servants to be watered and another took him and Bernardo to the main house.
Diego had not been to the Felipe hacienda in many years. His father had, however, and said that Miguel's daughter, Maria, had the business sense and the people skills to keep the rancho running even after her father passed. Escobar was a good man, Diego knew, as he was led into the house's sala to wait for the Don, but it was a mystery to all as to why the Felipes had signed their land over to him.
A door opposite Diego opened and Don Enrique Escobar came into the room. He was a heavier-set man, a bit younger than Alejandro. He was dressed more casually than he had been on his ride probably because there is no one here to impress, Diego thought. He put on a smile and nodded respectfully. "Don Escobar."
"Diego de la Vega! It is a pleasure to have you visit. Please, sit. Would you like some refreshment?"
Diego took a seat in an overstuffed chair, and nodded to the pretty young woman with a tray and two glasses. She poured the both of them a glass of wine and bowed out of the room. "Gracias, senor," Diego said politely. The wine wasn't as good as the de la Vega vintage, but after a long ride, he would have taken a drink directly from the horse's trough.
"What brings you out this way?" Don Escobar questioned.
Diego swirled the liquid in his glass. "Well, I came at my father's request," he lied easily. "No doubt word has reached you about the man who died at the edge of your property last night?"
There was a flash of something in Escobar's eyes…and then it was replaced by a solemn nod. "Si, a terrible thing. I am glad our man found you, but I am sorry you had to be the one to see him like that."
"You knew him?" Diego questioned.
Escobar nodded. "I did. Dr. de la Cruz and I had been friends for a long time. He was a good man."
"Por favor," Diego said. "But I wondered…I have not seen Juan Felipe in a long time. Is he still working here?"
"He is," Escobar nodded. "Though I admit, he does not have the sense his sister, God rest her soul, had when it comes to horses and cattle."
"You know," Diego said casually, "your man last night was frightened out of his mind when he came to us. Kept prattling on about a ghost and a curse."
There. That flash again. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bernardo, who had been standing near the door out of the way, nod imperceptibly. He'd seen it too. Diego probed further. "I'm sure it's all nonsense, of course." He chuckled. "He really got to me, I must admit," he added. "I was sure I saw something in the hills last night. The holiday, perhaps. At least…" Diego leaned forward. "You have not seen anything unusual around your rancho, have you, Don Escobar?"
Escobar's demeanor changed from jovial to on edge in nearly an instant. "If you'll permit me, Don Diego, I have just realized I have some work I need to get finish to make the mail tomorrow." Escobar stood, gesturing to the door. "Please, give your father my regards."
"Of course," Diego assured him.
Escobar gave him a short bow. "Con permiso," he said, and left the room in the same manner he'd entered.
Diego met Bernardo at the door, and nodded that it was time to go. The two men made their way back out to retrieve their horses.
Out on the road again, the two waited until they were just off the Escobarproperty before pulling the two horses to a stop. Bernardo tapped Diego on the leg. He made a happy face and then a scowl just as quickly, and pointed back to the hacienda.
"Oh yes," Diego agreed. "He certainly changed his behavior quickly once I brought up the ghost. Let us return home and tell my father what we have discovered."
A branch snapped behind them, and both men whirled around.
There was no one around. Bernardo looked at Diego, wide-eyed, and wiggled his fingers with a wide-eyed stare. "Absolutely not," Diego said. "The wind, or an animal. I think all this talk of ghosts and spirits is getting to you, my friend."
He refused to admit that it had spooked him, too.