Juan Felipe did not know he was being watched. A figure in the shadows watched as he stumbled around with a young senorita in a poor imitation of dancing. If the news of the deaths of Dr. de la Cruz and Senor Sanchez had reached him, he did not appear to be bothered in the slightest.
That would change. The figure in the shadows turned to Alejandro de la Vega and, they assumed, his servant. Alejandro had come out of Senor Sanchez's office earlier, and spoken to his servant. If he has discovered something…perhaps la fantasma will have to pay him a visit as well.
Diego tied Tornado's bridle to a post back behind the inn, leaving his cape attached to the saddle. Then, he made his way around the building, the sounds of the celebration in the plaza getting louder with each step. He kept his eyes peeled for la fantasma , his father, or Juan Felipe.
It was his father he spotted first. Diego inched around the corner, trying to get into Bernardo's eyeline. After a moment, Bernardo caught his eye, and Diego gestured to the two of them. Bernardo tapped Alejandro on the shoulder, made the sign of the 'Z', and then pointed behind them. Alejandro turned, spotting his son as he ducked back around the corner. He got up and adjusted his jacket before following Bernardo around behind the building.
Diego explained everything Don Escobar had told him, and the predicament he'd left him in. Alejandro's face grew red in the lantern lights as Diego relayed the information about the night Don Miguel Felipe had died. "I cannot believe it. That poor girl. And Don Miguel, Dios mio."
"We have to find Juan Felipe," Diego said. "I fear he is the final victim of la fantasma ."
"This all makes sense," Alejandro said, reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a note. "I found this in Senor Sanchez's office, crumpled on the floor. It is the same note Don Escobar received from la fantasma ."
"I do not think Maria Felipe is dead, Father," Diego shook his head. "Somehow, she has managed to play this game for an entire year, and tonight the final pieces will fall into place."
"I do not think she is dead either," Alejandro agreed. "And so we must find her."
"Or her brother," Diego added.
Bernardo waved a hand to get the two men's attention. The de la Vega men stopped their conversation, and Bernardo pointed urgently.
Both men saw a black shadow moving across the alleyway toward them. Though, as it grew closer, Diego could make out the thin silhouette of a woman, shrouded in dark riding pants and a skirt, black boots, and a thick black shawl. A veil covered her face and hair, dark gloves enveloped her hands.
"You should have stayed out of this, Alejandro de la Vega," she intoned.
Diego stepped in front of his father. "Maria."
The woman stopped, craned her neck slowly, appraising him. " El Zorro ," she realized. "So, you know my secret as well."
"I cannot let you harm your brother, Maria," Diego said, thankful he still wore his mask. His hand hovered near his rapier.
"You should be helping me," she said. "Do you not defend the innocent? Do you not right injustices?"
" Si," Diego agreed, keeping himself between Maria and his father. "But you have killed two men, and I cannot allow you to kill two more."
"They ruined me, Zorro. Those men betrayed my father. I would not be surprised if they killed him to set the entire plan in motion!"
"There is proof of the betrayal, Maria, but not of murder," Alejandro spoke up.
Maria stopped moving forward, an arm's length from Diego. She looked at them. "My father is dead. I am dead. And tonight, Don Escobar and my brother will join us both!"
She lunged at Diego without warning, not giving him time to draw his blade. She plowed into him, fury and rage driving her like a wildcat. She knocked Diego to the ground, and he gasped as the wind was knocked out of him.
"You should have minded your own business, Don Alejandro!" Maria flew at Alejandro, clawing at him with her hands. Alejandro managed to grab one wrist but her other hand caught him across the face in a muffled slap. The blow surprised him, and he let go. It was all the opening Maria needed. She reached up, both hands around Alejandro's throat, driving him back against the wall of the inn. Bernardo ran at her, trying to pry her off of him, but she kicked backwards and caught him in the leg, knocking him to the ground.
Diego got to his feet. Knowing that threatening to run her through would do little, he instead grabbed her wrists bodily from behind, prying her hands off his father's throat. Alejandro slid to the ground, coughing, as Diego wrestled her away, pinning her hands behind her back. In the commotion, her shawl and veil fell loose, revealing a petite woman of eighteen with dark black hair and piercing blue eyes set in a pale face. Her eyes glowed like sapphires in the dark, in sharp contrast to her face.
"I will kill you all !" Maria threatened.
"No, senorita," Diego objected. "I would say your time haunting the pueblo has come to an end."
"What is going on?" Corporal Reyes had come around the corner, his eyes widening at the scene in front of him. "Zorro!"
"I have captured you a ghost, Corporal. Have caution; this ghost is very real and very angry," Diego smiled. He shoved Maria toward the Corporal, who struggled to hold her still. "Also, you may want to have Sergeant Garcia send some lancers to the home of Don Escobar. He will have quite the tale of murder most foul for you."
A few days later, Diego and Alejandro rode horses to the edge of the Escobar property. Sergeant Garcia had rounded up Juan and Don Escobar, and the two men had confessed to the entire plot. Maria had told him the entire story of her haunting of Escobar, Sanchez, and de la Cruz. "Maria was right," Diego noted, as they looked out over the landscape. "This is the end of Rancho Felipe. With Escobar and Juan in prison, the land goes to no one."
" Si, they will sell off the cattle, and the vaqueros will move on, find work elsewhere."
Diego shook his head. "A tragedy."
Alejandro nodded. "Perhaps the most haunting of all."
The two men leaned on their horses in contemplative silence.
A branch snapped behind them, and the horses whickered. Diego and Alejandro both turned, hearts pounding.
Bernardo waved to them both from astride a second horse. The de la Vega men looked at one another, breathing heavily.
Bernardo cocked his head, and motioned between the two of them, wondering why they were so frightened, a smile on his face.
Diego eyed his friend. "My friend, I hope that little joke of yours was worth it, because it is going to be the last you ever tell!"
Bernardo's smile faded. He turned his horse and ran back for the hacienda , Diego and Alejandro close behind.