DEVIL ON THEIR SHOULDERS, PART TWO

by JoLayne

enyajo@aol.com

VS Episode #307

RATING: PG

CHARACTERS: Tessa/Queen, Marta, Montoya, Grisham, Vera, Gaspar, Mary Rose Guevara, Anton Guevara, OCs Lorenzo Mazar, Colonel Balthazar Alfonso, Eladio, Carlotta Mazar, Sofia, Senor Prado, Alberto, etc.

SUMMARY: While Tessa had trailed after the man who shot Mary Rose, Grisham's new alliance is found out, Mazar and Anton are jailed, Marta tries to find out what her tarot reading meant, and Gaspar rounds up the dons for a heroic quest.

DISCLAIMER: They're still Fireworks'. Just playing, here.

NOTE: Adapted for QoS-VS by Paula Stiles. Thank you so much, Paula, for your great retouching.

Continuation of Part One

~~~~~

Montoya smiled at Vera Hidalgo and patted her knee as they sat together on Grisham's sofa. "Do you feel better now, Señora?"

"Yes, Colonel. I usually do feel better after talking with you."

"As always, it is my pleasure. Next time we meet, let it be in a more pleasant surrounding like my courtyard, as opposed to Capitan Grisham's...abode. I will, of course, leave first so as not to draw attention when you leave."

"Gracias, Colonel. You think of everything," Vera said, as she slunk into the shadows and out of the room.

"Someone has to," Montoya mused aloud, as he opened the door to the bright sunshine.

When he entered the pueblo square, his thoughts of relaxing with an iced tea in the courtyard were shot to hell when he saw Perez on the driver's seat of what looked to be the Alvarado wagon. He walked, with authority, toward it and noticed Grisham riding his white steed, his eyes trained on the back of the wagon. The wagon stopped, and Montoya saw Marta and Maria Teresa Alvarado's foreman, Eladio, in the back with a large bundle under a tarp.

Marta instantly called out, "Colonel. Do not listen to your Capitan. Please listen to me as I relate what happened this morning."

Montoya lifted the tarp to see a dead man's leg and hand, and smiled. "I am sure you have quite a tale."

"Si, Colonel," Marta said, jumping down from the back.

"But will it be the truth?" He stopped her to say.

"Of course it will," Marta said with conviction.

~~~~~

Señor Prado raced by on a palomino, making Montoya wonder. The man was usually lumbering, at best. What was he doing, riding so fast?

Grisham dismounted. "I am interested in the truth as well, Colonel. I decided to allow them to explain the dead man in this wagon, that I found in Maria Teresa's stables, to you first." He pulled Eladio off the wagon and said, "But have him explain it. He doesn't seem to be as willing as Loose-Lips over there."

"Capitan, please," Montoya said, a bit of his amusement escaping. "Marta deserves respect."

"Thank you, Colonel," Marta said with pride, and casting an evil eye at Grisham.

"Besides, she would not dare lie to me. A dead body is a very serious matter." Montoya lifted the tarp completely off the body and saw the slash on his stomach. He tisked. "Murder, even more so. I must warn you, Señora. Speak wisely, tell me the whole truth, or you will most certainly hang."

He saw Grisham move behind Marta and noticed his eyes flicker to the dead man's face. "Do you know who this man is, Grisham?"

"No, sir," Grisham said, as he snapped his sole attention on Montoya. "But it looks like he died in pain. Certainly lost a lot of blood."

The townspeople had huddled around them at a discrete distance. When Montoya looked to them, each of them averted their eyes. "Let us cut to the chase, Marta," Montoya said. "Was this man alive when he arrived at your hacienda?"

"You could say that. But, he was...."

Marta was cut off by the crowd parting when another wagon rushed into the square. Some of the women grabbed the children in the way of it and screamed in fright that they would get run over. It went past the square and down the road. Montoya saw Mazar driving the horses and flashed red with anger. He shoved Marta to Grisham and said, "Put her in lockup until I have time to speak to her. The man, too."

"Colonel!" Marta argued, but Grisham took hold of her, shoved her to Perez and followed Montoya.

Montoya stalked down the road after the wagon, and saw Mazar park it at Doctor Helm's door. Helm and Prado met the wagon as it stopped. Another dead body, perhaps? With Mazar involved, Montoya wouldn't be surprised. He motioned for men to follow him. He heard Anton Guevara exclaim, "You must save her!" from the back of the wagon, as Mazar jumped down from the front.

Helm said, "I have supplies readied. Bring her in."

"Get him!" Montoya ordered his men.

"Which one?" Grisham asked, amused. "Both of them?"

"The pirate."

"I ask again, which one?"

Montoya glared at Grisham and said, "I do not have the time of inclination for games. Get a hold of Mazar!" he shouted at his men, and was gratified to see four of them hold Mazar so Montoya could look upon his nemesis.

"Mary Rose," Mazar said, struggling against the soldiers' hold. "Help her, damn you!"

Montoya sauntered up to Mazar and said, "I have been waiting years for this," right as he punched Mazar hard in the general area of the kidneys. "You are on my territory, now. You will regret coming here."

"He tried to kill my mother, Colonel," Anton said, as he, Helm, and Prado lifted Mary Rose from the wagon to the office.

Montoya was surprised to see the blood on Mary Rose, and felt bad that she was hurt. She had, after all, taken out the pirates who had kidnaped him and Maria Teresa Alvarado. She could be beneficial to his plans, but not if she were dead. He told Helm, "Make sure she lives."

"Oh, I did not think of that, Colonel," Helm snipped. "Thank you for reminding me of my duty."

Blasted Brits, Montoya thought. He turned to see Perez and another soldier bring Marta and Eladio toward them. "What part of 'put them in lock up' did you not understand?" Montoya told his sergeant.

"She said she had a vision."

"Someone is hurt and needs my help." Marta gasped when she saw the face of Mary Rose being carried into Helm's office. "Doctor!" she called out. "You need an assistant."

Anton waved her over. "Mother needs all the help she can get."

Montoya nodded to Perez. "Keep an eye on her." He told the other soldier, "You escort this one," he indicated Eladio with a sneer, "to the jail. Grisham," Montoya said, letting his eyes settle on the still-struggling Mazar. "Take this one to jail personally, and throw away the key."

"You have no grounds to hold me," Mazar argued as he tried in vain to hold off the by-now six men holding him.

Grisham ordered them to put Mazar in the back of the wagon as Grisham climbed up and took hold of the reins. Montoya gave an ironic salute as the wagon went past, with Mazar tackled in the back, arguing that he should be able to stay with Mary Rose.

~~~~~

Inside Helm's office, Prado and Anton laid Mary Rose on the table, then Helm pushed them back and motioned for Marta to come forward. He checked Mary Rose's eyes and put his ear to her mouth and nose. He didn't feel a lot of air expelled. "We have to work fast," he told Marta. "She is barely holding on."

"She has the will, but I am afraid she does not stand a chance," Marta intoned, now that she has seen the damage done by the bullet.

"Do not say that, or get out of here," Anton ordered her.

Helm held up his hand in warning to Anton. "Think positively, or you can get out as well."

"I had a vision, and the cards were not in Mary Rose's favor."

"Marta!" Helm said, irritated, as he opened Mary Rose's blouse to inspect the wound, "This is life and death, not the flip of some cards. Either help me or leave."

Marta quieted, dunked a towel into a basin of water and wrung it out for him. As she handed it to him, she said, "I am sorry, Doctor. I will, of course, do whatever I can."

"I will, too," Anton said.

"You will stay away," Helm told him, as he patted the damp cloth at Mary Rose's wound. "I will tell you she is fine after I am done, if, and only if, you give me the room and quiet in order to work!"

Prado shoved Anton to the door and said, "We will wait outside, Doctor Helm. Godspeed."

~~~~~

Tessa came to a stop on a cliff above the shoreline, where there was a regiment stationed with tents and a campfire going. The man whom she had been following joined up with them and sat with who Tessa determined was the officer in charge. She wished she had her spyglass, but hadn't thought she'd be investigating anything that day. All she had had in mind was a ride, to go over the death of that man with Mary Rose, and show her the watch and map to see if it meant anything to her. She had not anticipated following a man who had just tried to murder her hostess. Tessa dismounted from Escaldo and hid him in a copse of trees, then crept to the edge of the cliff and flattened herself in the underbrush in order to watch the soldiers covertly.

This was all too odd. Why would a colonel welcome a man who had just shot Mary Rose Guevara? Or was he supposed to kill Captain Mazar? Or, the most frightening option of all, did they know that she was the Queen of Swords and had she been the target? Were they also responsible for the dead man who had happened along near her hacienda? Was Marta right, and his death did mean danger to herself?

Tessa's mind was going back and forth, not knowing what to do. Should she ride down to the beach and act like she had just come upon them while on her daily ride, get to Santa Elena to see if Mary Rose was all right, go home and see to getting that dead man to Montoya, or just stay here and watch what happens?

~~~~~

Montoya walked into his jail and was pleased to see that Grisham had imprisoned Mazar in the smallest cell, with the least comfortable cot. Mazar growled out, "You have no right to hold me, Luis. Open this cell now!"

Montoya laughed as he pulled up a chair and made himself comfortable. "If I were to list the offenses you have never repaid to society, I am afraid we would both be far too old by the time I finish. Quit this foolishness of protesting innocence and tell me what you are up to."

"None of your business," Mazar spit out, pacing the small cell like a caged animal. "Let me out of here or so help me, you will regret it."

"I am so afraid of a man just hours away from a noose."

"I need to know she is all right! Have you not ever been in love?"

"Oh, yes." Montoya chuckled, as he clearly loved the current circumstance. "I have not tried your approach of shooting "my love' though. You always did have a strange way of showing love, not to mention gratitude."

"I owe you nothing." Mazar stopped his pacing when he reached the window and stood on the cot to peer out. "If she dies...."

"You will not have to try to kill her again? Tell me, and try for the first time to be truthful, why did you feel the need to shoot her? To get her out of the way before she could destroy you?"

Montoya looked over to see Eladio huddled on the cot in the corner cell. He had never imagined when he got up that morning that there would be a, perhaps two, dead bodies and his jewels gone missing, all in one day. Perhaps Mazar had something to do with his missing stash. Another crime to add to the list.

The door of the jail swung open and Anton burst in. "Get him out of there," the young arrogant man demanded, indicating Mazar with a finger that soon was wrapped tightly into a fist.

"As if you could order anything from me," Montoya said lightly, sighing at the haughtiness of his pueblo's denizens.

"Let him out so I can kill him!" Anton marched to Mazar's cell and banged his fists against it. Two soldiers hooked onto each of his arms. Montoya noticed that the only one with a cool head like his was the occupant of the fourth cell, the Pueblo drunk, Casson, who was just sleeping off a hangover and hadn't stirred from his inebriation since Montoya entered the jail.

Montoya tisked and said, "My, my, my. Tempers are certainly flaring today." Montoya soon joined the ranks of the angered when Anton took a swing at him.

~~~~~

Tessa was just about to make her way back to Santa Elena, for fear that Mary Rose was dead. She needed to check on her, and said yet another prayer for Helm to work fast and skillfully to save her. After watching the men do nothing but sip coffee and sit around, Tessa had had enough. There wasn't anything more to find here, unless she rode down to interrogate them.

Just as she was going to crawl back from her hiding place in the underbrush, a man on a white horse rode down the incline to her right to the beach. The one in charge stood up when the rider, whom Tessa was amazed to see was Grisham when she saw him turn around after dismounting, walked up to him and shook his hand. He wasn't wearing his uniform. Now that she looked at Grisham's white horse, she grimaced that she hadn't recognized him earlier. She had to have her wits about her at all times.

Grisham? What does he have to do with this? Well, Tessa surmised, he usually does have his hand in bad deeds.

Grisham handed the leader a note. The leader took only a second to scan the note, then invited Grisham to coffee.

Grisham, and, by extension Montoya, had ordered Mary Rose killed? Why? Why had Grisham not met this unit in uniform?

It wasn't until Grisham was invited into one of the tents that Tessa was able to see the occupant. The tent flap closed too quickly, but she processed what she had seen for only an instant. She was sure it was a young woman who was bound to the tent brace, her mouth gagged. She was obviously there against her will, as she had kicked out at Grisham and the leader when they entered.

Tessa wished she could have seen more of the girl, but she had seen enough. She didn't know who that female was, but somehow guessed that she wasn't in more immediate danger than being held against her will. Tessa was certain from the dead man with the map to Mary Rose's hacienda and Mary Rose's shooting that she wouldn't cull any more information here. She needed to get back to Santa Elena, to hopefully find out that Mary Rose would be fine, and talk to Montoya to gauge if he was hiding anything when she mentioned the shooting and asked where Grisham was. Maybe the captain was working outside of Montoya's control for his own gain. It had happened before. Maybe the colonel would be pleased if Tessa told him what she had seen.

As she mounted Escaldo and rode fast to Santa Elena, Tessa went through all her options. She wondered if Montoya could take Maria Teresa's information wrong, could conclude that she was, in fact, the Queen of Swords, if she shared that she knew Grisham was meeting with fellow military in civilian clothes. The most important thought in her head was hoping that Mary Rose was still in the land of the living.

~~~~~

After Anton had taken a swing at Montoya, he had ordered his men to put him in Mazar's cell. As Montoya was calming his anger, surprised by Anton's attack, he watched the boy and pirate fight each other tooth and nail. Montoya had noticed that the soldiers were enjoying the scene as well as they were making bets on who would come out the victor.

Both men were now collapsed on opposite cots, out of breath and both sporting bruises. Anton's eyes were slowing being rimmed with black, and Montoya knew that only meant that his nose was broken. Mazar was holding his right elbow, and Montoya hoped it was broken. "Maybe he will have to shot," Montoya mused as he considered Mazar less than a horse.

Mazar, probably seeing Montoya stare at him, stood and walked to the bars of the cell. He gripped the bars with both hands, which made Montoya knew that his arm wasn't broken. Damn. He wanted that bastard to experience as much pain as possible.

"Luis," Mazar said.

Montoya stopped him. "I am Colonel Montoya. I will be referred to as such."

Mazar's face softened from it's hard edge he carried since he arrived in the pueblo with Mary Rose. "Yes. I apologize, Colonel." He smiled when he said, "It is just that I have known you since you were born. I hope we are still friends."

"Being behind bars has not diminished your humor."

"Colonel," Mazar tried again. It worked. Montoya liked the sound of his nemesis using this title in a respectful manner. "I need to see Mary Rose. I love her. I am worried about her. We have to talk some things out."

"If she is dead, as you probably planned it, it would be a one-sided conversation."

"If my mother dies, it is all because of you," Anton seethed to Mazar as he tried to stand up, but pain while moving made him double up.

"Why would I try to kill the woman I love? I love Mary Rose more than anything or anyone, save my daughter, in my entire worthless life?" Mazar declared to anyone who would listen.

"That is the most intelligent thing you have said in years," Montoya said with a smile. He stood and walked to the cell. "You are indeed quite worthless."

Mazar punched out with his fist. If Montoya hadn't been standing farther away from the bars than Mazar's reach, he would have gotten his fist right in the nose. This time, Montoya hadn't even flinched. He had expected it. That was what had led to Mazar's downfall. Montoya always knew what Mazar was thinking. It was only because he couldn't trap him in the past that allowed Mazar to sail free all these years. Montoya said with pleasure, "And you will surely hang in the morning."

"You have nothing on me."

"I may not be able to prove you shot Mary Rose, but in this part of the world, a threat against a Colonel is a hanging offense. I have...," Montoya paused to count heads of all his soldiers in the jail. "Five witnesses, not counting the riff raff who does not really matter."

"Hey," Anton said, holding his stomach. "I pay taxes. I matter."

~~~~~

Helm stepped back from the operating table and took a deep breath and stretched after having been hunched over for so long. Marta handed him a fresh damp towel in order to cleanse his bloody hands.

"Do you think she will live, Doctor?" Marta asked. She had seemed to have had a dark cloud swirling over her since she arrived, and he knew it had to be more than simple concern about Senora Guevara's condition. Mary Rose had even kidnapped her once; they couldn't be the best of friends.

"I think she will pull through nicely," Helm said. "The bullet fragments didn't hit any major organs. She does have those two broken ribs. Bones heal as they heal. If she is not jostled, and is careful once she awakens, they should fuse together quite well."

Marta's eyes flickered to the soldier presiding at the door, then to the window. Helm knew there were more of Montoya's men outside. One would think the Queen was being operated on to institute such a response of security. Helm asked, "Do you care to tell me what happened?"

"I do not know what happened to Senora Guevara," Marta said, and then fell silent.

The soldier stepped forward. "But she does know about the death of an unidentified man. Come on," he said taking her arm and roughly moving her to the door.

"Hold on," Helm interjected. "She just helped me save this woman's life."

"She needs to be questioned by the Colonel." The soldier was military to a fault. There was nothing but his orders in mind, no thought of respect or shades of grey.

Helm couldn't argue the two soldiers who entered once the first had opened the door. He had told them that the surgery was over and the prisoner needed to be brought to the jail immediately. Sure there were questions; Marta would answer them, of that Helm was certain.

A soldier approached Helm. "Colonel Montoya requests your presence."

He looked back at Mary Rose still out on the table. The soldier said, "I will stay with her. The Colonel is at the jail."

"Do not wake Senora Guevara or jostle her, or touch anything in my office. Understood?" Helm ordered. He was tired of his office being ransacked looking for evidence of aiding and abetting the Queen.

The soldier just shrugged and said, "The Colonel awaits."

~~~~~

Tessa rode Escana full out into town and didn't stop her pace until she was in the pueblo square. Her heart had been filled with worry since Mary Rose had been shot, but it was nothing like when she saw two soldiers pulling Marta into the square towards the jail. "What is she doing here?" As she pulled Escana to a stop, she saw Helm walking from his office; blood was on his shirt.

Tessa ran to Marta and told the soldiers, "What is the meaning of this? This is my maid. Unhand her!"

"It is all right, Tessita," Marta said, but her eyes were full of the fear of the unknown. "They just want to ask me some questions."

About the dead man, Tessa finished Marta's sentence in her mind. Would it be prudent to claim ignorance about the corpse they had most likely found on her property?

A male voice called from the jail window, "Doctor Helm! How is Mary Rose? Is she-!" His voice was cut off and Tessa looked to the doctor as he neared them.

Helm nodded to Tessa and yelled to the jail, "She will live!"

"She will?" Tessa asked happily. "Mary Rose is all right?"

"She has been shot and has some broken ribs, but barring any unforeseen complications, she should be fine," Helm told her. He looked hospitably to Marta as he said, "I had competent help in saving her." He scowled at the two soldiers, "And they obviously hold no regard for my nurse."

"I said unhand her!" Tessa again growled at the soldiers, who did no such thing. They moved her to the jail just as Colonel Montoya was coming out of it.

"Montoya," Helm said. "I do not know what you have in mind with Marta, but she just helped me save the life of Mary Rose Guevara and should not be treated in this manner."

"She has information on a dead man," Montoya said, looking at Tessa. "On your property, Senorita. You will be questioned as well."

"I have no problem with that, Colonel. Of course, I will help in any way I can." Tessa got one of the soldiers to unhook Marta's arm and she took it protectively. "Together, we will tell you all we know."

"One at a time, Senorita." Montoya stood with his usual grandeur, but there was also a very pleased dimension to his carriage. "When we are finished with your maid, you will be called into my office." He looked to the soldiers, who brought Marta to the jail.

~~~~~

Tessa knew she couldn't do anything about Marta, and Marta could take care of herself, so all she wanted was to see Mary Rose for herself. When Tessa and Helm arrived at his office, Mary Rose was conscious, and about ready to fall off the table.

"Just lie still, Señora," Helm told her gently as he settled her back straight on the table. "You have much healing ahead of you."

"No," Mary Rose struggled with only her voice. Her body seemed to be limp. "I need to see Lorenzo."

Tessa moved to the table and took Mary Rose's hand. "Mary Rose, it is Tessa Alvarado. Do you know where the shot came from?"

"What?" Mary Rose and Helm asked at the same time.

Tessa peered up at Helm, whose green eyes were trained on her. "Capitan Mazar did not shoot you, did he?"

"No, I need to speak to him." Mary Rose tried to get up, but great pain made her body contract and she let out a yelp.

"You have to lie still," Helm informed her. "Would you like a sedative?"

"NO! I want to see Lorenzo!" Mary Rose said, with all the force she could muster, then collapsed back to the table.

Helm checked her eyes and then said, "I think she has fainted."

"That is good. She should rest and lie still." Tessa wanted her to get better, and was glad to know that the spirit that was Mary Rose was still there.

"Why did you ask whether or not Mazar shot her?"

"Because he is in jail for the offense, and I an pretty sure he did not do it."

Suddenly, Helm's hand was on her arm as he stretched over the table and pulled her to his living quarters, then drew back the curtain separating the two main rooms. "You didn't answer my question before. Just what do you know, Tessa?"

She needed to tell him so he could help her, but she had no idea who might be listening. "I was so afraid. A woman, my friend, was shot in front of me, and I do not want to get into trouble."

Helm rolled his eyes. "Save it, Tessa. I've sent all the soldiers out of earshot and my patient has been muttering the most interesting things about you. I don't think we are going to say much that she hasn't figured out, even if she does wake up. Now, get on with it."

Tessa said, "They were arguing on the porch and...."

As she related all she had seen and done, including seeing the man ride off in the distance and following him, and finding a military unit with a kidnaped woman, Helm got more and more enthralled by the story. By the time she had told him everything she knew, he declared, "Montoya! Of course he is behind all this. It did not make sense otherwise."

"No, I do not think he is involved. It was another unit, with a man wearing Colonel stripes himself."

He asked, "Another military unit? What is another Colonel doing on Montoya's domain?"

"That is the question, is it not?"

"What about the dead man on your property?"

"I do not know who he is. Marta saw him faltering on a horse and went to help. He died. He had a map to Mary Rose's hacienda and a gold watch on him. That is all any of us know. I did not have anyone tell Montoya about him because I did not know..." She hesitated, ashamed, "...if I would get in trouble."

Helm sighed. "You mean, if someone made a connection that you don't want. This is important information of not only one murder, but an attempted murder as well. I can't see how you can avoid telling Montoya. Not, and get Marta out of jail."

That was a first--Helm telling her to be honest with Montoya. "What should we do?"

Helm looked thoughtful. "I see no other option than to tell Montoya about it. He has men at his disposal to take care of the other Colonel, and hopefully no one else will get hurt."

"All right," Tessa said uneasily. "He will not turn all of this around to blame anything on me or Marta, will he?"

"I think he will be pleased you have told him of the other Colonel. We'll just have to hope for the best with your other problem. Maybe this little territorial dispute will distract him, though he does seem pretty fixated on you."

"What if he is working with this other Colonel?" Tessa asked, remembering Grisham going to see him while on the beach. But then again, Grisham wasn't wearing his uniform. He couldn't have been going in Montoya's capacity.

"We'll deal with that as it comes, if it comes. At least, if you tell him, it might force his hand. Now, go get my nurse out of jail."

"One more thing," Tessa said, as he was escorting her to the door.

"Only one? How many one-more-things will there be?"

"Just the one." She smiled as she told him, "Grisham visited the Colonel on the beach. So you see, I do not know who to trust."

"That son of a bitch? I should have known. Do you have any thoughts as to why he would have been...." Helm said, then he paused. "Never mind. Just tell Montoya what you know and we will think of how to curtail whatever is going on."

"But how am I going to persuade him to let Marta out?" she said plaintively, as he shooed her out the door.

"You're a resourceful girl, Maria Teresa," he said cheerfully. "I'm sure you'll think of something."

How she missed the time when he had thought she was silly and flighty--except that he hadn't been any more sympathetic back then, either.

~~~~~

As Montoya was readying his section of the jail, Marta had walked carefully to the cells. She saw Mazar standing at the window. Anton was sitting on one of the cots in the same cell, and the men were not even looking at each other. As soon as she was visible to Mazar, he rushed to the cell grate and pled, "Please, Senora. Tell me how Mary Rose really is. She will live? The doctor is not on Montoya's side?"

Marta, concerned about her tarot reading that someone would die, took Mazar's hand when he held the bar. His face flashed confusion, and this was pretty forward of her, but she had to know if he had something to do with Mary Rose's condition. She told him, "My name is Marta, I only want to help."

Maybe he knew that she was gitana and had the gift of precognition, because he allowed her to hold his hand as he held it out from the cell. She felt concern emanating from him, not regret of a job done badly, or manipulation. She didn't at all get the impression that he planned to kill Mary Rose. He was telling her the truth and was behind bars for no reason. She also saw that he would not die either. It was all so confusing to her. The tarot could not have been wrong. Mary Rose and Mazar would not be dead, as she was so certain someone would in this whole mess.

Just as a soldier found her and was going to take her back to Montoya, she said hurriedly, "The doctor would not lie. The Senora will be fine."

Mazar almost collapsed with relief as Anton stormed to the bars. "I demand to see my mother, Montoya! Get me out of here!"

Marta was almost carried out of the cell area, but she kept her eyes on the handsome pirate who clearly loved Mary Rose and wanted nothing but to get free and probably run away with her.

~~~~~

Mazar hadn't felt so relieved since he had stabbed that two-timing brute, Fox. For all the years he had known, and trusted him, Fox had always been unshakable. When he had found one of his notes that he was sending to Alfonso, indicating that he had Alfonso's watch and would be returning it for a reward, Mazar had seethed and stabbed him in the gut as you would any traitor. Fox had almost jumped atop his steed and rode off, but Mazar didn't bother following him. With that injury, he would be dead in no time. With his missing daughter and finding out that his right hand man had betrayed him, Mazar's mind had thought there wasn't any reason Mary Rose would turn against him as well. He had, after all, stolen Anton's 'prized' watch from his father. That boy would never believe what a thief his father truly was, as Andres had stolen it from Alfonso. Mary Rose thought she was friends with the bastard Colonel, but he had more than likely been planning on getting her ship and property out from under her for years.

Anton started being boisterous, demanding his release, when Mazar could hardly hear Montoya start to interrogate Marta. Why she had held his hand without asking had nothing to do with seduction. He knew that she had feelings to sort about in this mess, and he was more than happy to oblige. "Shut up!" he ordered Anton when he could no longer hear what was going on in the next room.

There was something about a dead man on the Alvarado property. Could Fox have made it that far? If he wasn't the dead man, there was a rash of murders lately. He wanted to know Marta's version of the story, if she told Montoya the truth, which might not be a possibility, so he had the whole story of what Fox might have truly been up to. Why would he ride inland and not to Alfonso, who Mazar knew was camped near the shore?

Damn! You can't trust anyone to do what they promised other factions. Everyone was playing by their own rules, not those promised. He might have to find another line of work. There were too many headaches wondering if you could trust anyone. The few he had let into his life had no treated him well. Sure, there were men that only worked for you for gold and silver, but Fox? And his daughter was in the hands of a corrupt Colonel who had revenge on his mind. Now that Mary Rose was safe, his mind filled with wondering if his daughter was.

If he had the men he could trust, Mazar would have stormed the beach where he assumed Carlotta was being held. As of now, it would only be a suicide mission and Carlotta could be killed as well. He had to know that Mary Rose hadn't betrayed him and sold his daughter to Alfonso, her good friend, or so she thought. How could he have been so stupid as to think she would have had a part of it? Mazar leaned his head against the bars as he hoped he could tell her how sorry he was, and to ask her help in getting his daughter back safely. If she would ever talk to him again. If she would be able to do anything to help. If she wouldn't be out out of commission for too long. Oh how he wished Carlotta was safe, Alfonso was dead, Montoya had swallowed his pride and set him free, how he could nurse Mary Rose back to health. Most of all, he wanted to sail away with Mary Rose and Carlotta and start a new life somewhere.

Anton shoved Mazar over in order to grasp the bars and yell once again to set him free. Yes, Mazar wanted to start a new life with Mary Rose, only without her son.

~~~~~

Gaspar's driver was going so fast along the El Camino Royale toward home that Gaspar was having trouble getting the crumpet from his plate into his mouth. He had just finished a meeting with three Dons from the north on how to make Montoya curb to their wishes from now on. Sure, Montoya supplies the security of the area, but the Dons produce the economy that trickles down to Montoya. How dare that Spaniard think he can toy with us and make us do his biding!

Trying once again to eat his snack, the wagon hit what Gaspar assumed had to be a boulder from the amount of the jarring. He dropped the crumpet with strawberry preserves and his tea flipped over. Gaspar turned and swatted Alberto on the back. "Slow down! We are not in a race!"

The wagon eased a bit as Alberto said, "You yourself said you wanted to get home as soon as possible, Don Hidalgo."

"I want to get home in one piece as well."

Gaspar looked at the road in front of them as he got to his feet and saw a horse rider coming from the shore. He put a hand on his driver to stop so he could squint at the man he thought he recognized, to see if his initial assumption was correct. Yes, it was Grisham. Not only did Gaspar recognize his white horse, but also his cocky manner as he held the reins. What was strange was that he wasn't wearing his uniform. What would Grisham have to do in the middle of the day at the shore not wearing his uniform?

Grisham was long out of sight by the time Gaspar decided to take a look at what Grisham could have been doing. He told his driver, "Ride to that cliff, careful of the edge, mind you." Gaspar was deathly afraid of heights. The needling worry that the wagon would go over the side with him on it was more than he could bear. "Be careful," he urged Alberto.

As the wagon was parallel to the edge, Gaspar stood again and saw down the cliff to a military unit on the shore. It looked to be that they were packing up a camp, ready to move on. The man in charge wore Colonel stripes, but it wasn't Montoya. What is another Colonel doing in Montoya's sector? Madre Dios, one Colonel is enough.

"All right, go home," Gaspar ordered his driver, and sat back down in the wagon. Wait a moment! Was that a woman screaming? Gaspar stood up again and reached to grab the reins from Alberto. "Stop." He could hear the audible exasperation of Alberto, but he said, "Did you hear that?"

They both paused as they watched below them. Gaspar about had a heart attack when he saw a young woman being roughly thrown into the back of one of the covered wagons. Not only was she screaming and kicking out, but her hands were bound behind her back.

"Who do you suppose that is?"

"No thought comes to mind, Senor," Alberto said.

Gaspar couldn't in all good conscience go back home as if he saw nothing. That woman needed help. He couldn't do anything about it himself. He was only one man. There were at least fifteen men down there. All armed. A plan formed readily in his mind. "You stay here," he told his driver as he pushed him from his seat. Gaspar had difficulty climbing over the back to take the seat and reins, but fortitude made him not stop until he had accomplished it. Taking gulping breaths, he told Alberto. "Take note of everything they do. I will get help and return."

The fear of the cliff be damned as Gaspar yanked the reins and got his team of horses moving. If anyone could figure out a plan to rescue that poor girl, it would be Don Hernandez. Gaspar actually hated the man, but he wasn't scared of using a gun and he was always thinking about how to get one over another.

~~~~~

As Tessa walked down the street, she saw Marta leaving the jail and cried out. She rushed over to Marta. Helm, hearing her cry, came out of his office. "Marta?" Tessa asked. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, Tessita," Marta said, seemingly grateful to be back in the good outdoors. "The Colonel would like to see you now."

Just then, Grisham walked up to them. He was now wearing his uniform. Tessa and Helm exchanged a look before Helm asked him, "What have you been up to, today?"

Grisham stood tall and said, "Taller than you," just before walking into the jail.

Tessa asked Marta, "What did you tell Montoya?"

"The truth," she said aloud, then whispered, "Except for the watch and the map."

Two soldiers walked out of the jail and waited for Tessa. "The Colonel will see you now."

Tessa looked to Helm, who took her arm to escort her and nodded comfortingly. When they got to the door of the jail, one of the soldiers pushed Helm back. "The Señorita, alone."

"I have to get back to my patient," Helm told Tessa. "You will be all right. Just tell him the truth."

"Of course. What else is there to tell?" Tessa snarled as the surly guard looked her up and down.

~~~~~

In the jail, Tessa could hear two men arguing, and figured they were Mazar and Anton. "Quiet down!" a guard yelled at them, hitting his dagger against the bars of the nearest cell.

Montoya looked downright regal in his office chair, which had been brought to the jail. He stood with a smile and offered her a cup of tea. "No, thank you, Colonel," Tessa replied to his offer. "It has been the most horrendous day. I do so hope I can help."

"Just sit down and tell me about the dead man, and you will help greatly, Señorita."

"One moment." Before she could be stopped by the Colonel, Tessa walked to the door to the cells and said, "Anton? Captain Mazar? I just saw Mary Rose and she will be fine."

Both men started again declaring that they would like to see her with their own eyes as Tessa was escorted back to a chair waiting near Montoya. "Señorita, why did you feel the need to rile them up once again?"

"Anton should know that his mother...."

"He already knows." Montoya lifted a piece of parchment with writing on it up to him, not letting her look at it, and said, "All right. Start from the beginning. Who is the dead man, how did you come across him, how did he die, and did your maid stab him?"

Tessa looked up at Grisham standing behind Montoya's right shoulder. "I can only tell you what Marta did, Colonel. I think it would more prudent if you and I have a chat. Alone," she said as she stared at Grisham.

~~~~~

Gaspar had collected the Dons that were still at Hernandez's hacienda, sharing a tumbler of brandy, who obviously didn't have wives as breathtaking as he had, as they weren't in any hurry to return home. It didn't take long after Gaspar told them of what he had found for them to all draw rifles and call for horses and charge back to where Gaspar had left his driver. With Gaspar driving the wagon with Dons and collected ranch hands piled in the back, all armed to the teeth, they arrived at the cliff, where Alberto had made himself comfortable under a mesquite tree for shelter from the sun.

As the wagon neared, Alberto rose and waved his position. Gaspar looked to the shore to see it empty. "You fool!" Gaspar declared. "Where did they go?"

"Up the plain, Señor," Alberto said, climbing into the seat next to Don Rodriguez who was seated next to Gaspar. "I followed them for a while, then, knowing they couldn't move too fast, I came back here in order to tell you where they went."

"Fine, fine," Gaspar said, a bit embarrassed. "Good work. Where are they?"

Alberto pointed toward Santa Elena. "I think they are going to the Pueblo."

"To kidnap more women," one of the Dons declared in anger. Another mentioned, "I wonder if Montoya knows about this!"

"There is only one way to find out," Gaspar said as he snapped the reins and the wagon took off again.

~~~~~

Marta scurried through the gathered citizens surrounding the jail, holding her head down and moving fast to the door. She had left so carefully that the soldier who had escorted her out of the jail hadn't noticed she had gone, as far as she could tell. Because she had done a head count while inside the jail during her interrogation, and she had seen that many, minus Montoya and now Grisham, leave the jail, she assumed that the only ones left in the jail were the prisoners.

Marta rushed around the jailhouse to the back door. She had thought of nothing but clearing Tessa for anything the Colonel could think up about the dead man, except for wondering if that Captain was as truthful as he claimed. Hoping it wasn't locked, she gave the door's cast iron ring a lift, then twist. To her amazement, the door opened, having not been locked. She walked inside the jail and hid herself in the corner, waiting to see who was around. She could hear the conversation between Tessa and Montoya in the other room, but couldn't make out what they were saying. From the bit she heard of Tessa's voice, she wasn't distressed, so it must be going well. Marta just hoped she could keep the Colonel's attention long enough to settle her own mind.

Her psychic ability had been so taken by the tall pirate behind bars with the son of his lover. His love for Señora Guevara had shone through. Even though Marta hadn't held any esteem for her after being kidnaped and referred to as just a 'gypsy cook', Marta couldn't believe Mazar would have tried to kill Mary Rose. But, he might know who had. When she took a step, she alerted Anton and Mazar, who both ran to the bars of their cell, but kept mercifully silent. She took off her shoes and then tiptoed to them. "Give me your hand," she said to Mazar, but Anton stuck his out of the bars.

"Get us out of here," he whispered forcefully.

Marta walked past Anton's hand and looked to Mazar. He stuck his hand out to her and she grasped it. Almost immediately she was getting impressions. The same impressions she had before of his innocence of the attempted murder, and his feelings of love for Mary Rose, flipped through her mind, but there was also a black cloud. She asked him, "Did you have anything to do with Señora Guevara's injury?"

"No, Señora. Not directly," Mazar whispered in return. "Mary Rose getting shot was put into implementation before I even met her."

"You--" Anton said, but both Mazar and Marta gave him the evil eye and he shrank back.

"Quiet in there!" Grisham was heard shouting from the other room, but he did not come.

Marta said in a whisper, almost to herself, "The Tarot could not have been wrong. There will be a death." Marta looked up at the powerful man, who had a flash of surprise on his face. "Did you have anything to do with a dead man on the Alvarado property?"

Mazar paused and took at least three comfortable breaths, gnawing his teeth, before he replied, "Was he a large man?"

"Yes."

"His name is Fox. Yes, I stabbed him."

Anton reacted again, but kept quiet. For Anton's benefit as well as Marta's, Mazar said, "He was a traitor. He was more guilty of Mary Rose's shooting than anyone but the man who actually pulled the trigger."

"I will set you free," Marta said, "But, you have to promise me that you have told me the truth."

"Señora, I swear on the life of my daughter," Mazar pledged, "that I had nothing to do with the plot against Mary Rose."

"Your services to justice will be more useful outside than in here." Marta let go of Mazar's hand, totally convinced of his innocence, and went to look for the keys to the cell. After opening Mazar and Anton's cell, she turned to Eladio, who was hopeful in his own cell in the corner. "I am sorry, Eladio. Montoya cannot hold you, and you will be freed. If you escape, it will only make him want to keep you."

Eladio nodded and stepped back from the bars. Marta looked to Casson, who was still sleeping off his hangover, then followed the men out the back door of the jail.

~~~~~

Mary Rose stirred, feeling pain in her body throughout her body as she focused on the ceiling, trying to determine where she was. It didn't take long to realize she was in Dr. Helm's office, as the cabinet of potions and powders was in her sight. This was not what she had in mind when she had thought to pay the good Doctor a visit. The events of not only the day, but also of the past three months, replayed in her thoughts. She had been so sure that Lorenzo had double-crossed her, but he had no reason to come to explain. Whoever was after him had to have missed him and hit her. Good thing she was tough. She was proud of the fact that she had a life to live for, and she was fighting for it now as a wave of pain washed through her when she tried to move on her own. If only she could sit up, she would feel so much better. She lifted her opposite arm from her injury to feel the wound. It had been covered with a cloth, and she lifted it tenderly. The skin where she surmised the bullet went in didn't hurt half as much as inside of her. She must have a broken rib or two, and hadn't felt that kind of pain since she birthed Anton.

If she could only sit up and get the pressure off her bones, she would feel better. She tightened her right arm over her wound and rolled to her left side, holding her breath. Thankful she was thin, she rolled over on the narrow table and lifted herself up with her left arm, then let her legs fall over the side. After straightening her body, keeping her right arm tightly and protectively over her wound, she actually started to breathe easier.

When the process of the events replayed in a different light, now that she no longer deemed Mazar the cause of all unhappiness, a wave of nausea hit her and she couldn't stop herself from vomiting. The cause of her trauma came with the thought that her dead husband's 'old friend' Balthazar could have had something to do with all this. She had never known where Andres had gotten that gold watch, but he was certainly proud of it, and made it seem to Anton that it was a treasured possession, as if it had been in the family for generations.

As she tried to wipe her mouth of her sickness, she thought more of Alfonso as less than friendly than she and Andres had considered him. Madre de Dios! she thought, as she realized that Alfonso could be in the neighborhood to settle all old scores, and Maria Teresa could be next.

~~~~~

Helm was standing among the citizens of Santa Elena, waiting for something to happen. Señora Guevara seemed to be resting comfortably, so he had gone out to check up on the latest situation. Vera sauntered up to him and waved her fan. "My, my, it was a hot day, was it not?" she asked.

For the first time, he noticed that the sun had begun its downward motion and could no longer be seen over the rooftops of the Pueblo. "And today was different than other days in what way?" he asked in response, but with a smile. Poor Vera. She deserved some compassion, right now.

"It was quite different, Doctor," she said coyly. She did know how to use those eyes of hers, as they seemed to be bigger than usual. "It is not every day a woman comes to realize and appreciate what she has. A woman should not feel bad about having it all, should she?"

Helm had no idea what she was talking about, but as he looked to the jail where he knew Grisham was inside, he could take a guess. "Why not, as long as it is not hurting anyone?"

There seemed to be a bit of a frown that passed her lips before smiling once again. "I really am not hurting anyone. Not really." Switching the subject quickly, she asked, "Have you seen Tessa?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, she is inside talking to Montoya," Helm said, pointing at the jail. God help her.

"Really? Whatever for? In the jail?" Vera was completely taken by surprise, or seemed to be.

"It has been quite a day, Señora. I am surprised you have not heard all about it."

"I will have to talk with her. And Marta. She was the one I wanted to see. Is she here, as well? I went out to Tessa's hacienda, and neither was there."

Helm looked around. "Yes, Marta was just here." He scanned all the faces of those around them, and the soldier who had escorted Marta out of the jail. He was now sharing a smoke with another, and Marta was nowhere to be seen. Hmm. Something was up.

~~~~~

Mazar, with Anton close on his heels, was thankful for the magic hour of the day. It was easier to make their way on side streets to Helm's office. He stopped at the corner before his destination and told Anton, "Get the wagon."

"Why?"

"Because I said so. Just get it."

"I want to see mother."

"We are going to get her out of here. She is not safe. Go...Get...The...Wagon...Now!"

"She is safe away from you. I should have my head examined for not killing you where you stand."

"As if you could," Mazar scoffed. "I will get Mary Rose, you get the wagon, then ride her to safety, anywhere but here and at her home."

"Why?"

"Just grow up and listen! That bullet was meant for her, not me. I will explain it to you later, with drawings, if necessary. Just go!"

It wasn't until Anton was on his way and there weren't any people anywhere in sight before Mazar made his way to the doctor's back door. He ducked under the window and peered inside to make sure there weren't any soldiers inside. When he didn't see anyone in what had to be the doctor's living quarters, Mazar tried the back door, and it opened even without a squeak. He picked up a letter opener that was on the desk as he made his way quietly to the door to the adjoining room. He didn't hear anything but a soft cry. He opened the curtain to see Mary Rose, alone, sitting on the table.

"Querida," he sighed and rushed to her. "You should not be sitting up."

"Lorenzo? Oh, I needed to talk to you," she cried out even more and wrapped her left arm around his neck.

"You are going to do more than that, my love. Hold your breath; you are getting out of here." As soon as she took a breath, that clearly pained her, he slid her into his arms. Careful not to move her too much, he asked, "How do you feel?"

"Like I got shot." She smiled up at him as she pulled herself into his arms higher. "Ready for a party."

Mazar kissed her as he walked to the back door once again. Mary Rose opened the door as she said, "I have to get word to Senorita Alvarado--"

"You need to be on a ship sailing to the Caribbean," Mazar cut her off.

"But she is in danger. I just figured it out. It was Alfonso who had me shot. Right?"

"Yes. I will take great pleasure in watching him bleed to death for that."

As he opened the door, Mazar saw a man standing at the head of the alley, and froze. It was Dr. Helm. He stood there, hands in his pockets. Mazar went for his pistol, then hesitated, afraid of attracting attention with the noise. Then, Helm shrugged, looking disgusted, turned and strolled back out into the square. Mazar considered that medical permission for Mary Rose to leave.

Mazar stepped slowly down the steps as Anton only had one of their horses hitched to the wagon and drove it to the door. Mazar slipped Mary Rose in the back, and she had to choke back a wail from the pain while doing so. As she situated herself on her side in the back, Mazar climbed in and the wagon moved down the street. Mazar lay behind her, putting his arm over her. Mary Rose gasped in pain, so he took his arm away, hoping he could take the pain for her. As soon as they cleared the Pueblo, Mazar yelled for Anton to go to the shore.

Anton didn't even slow down as he yelled behind him, "No way. We are going home to pack up and then getting far away from here and not ever looking back. I hate this Pueblo!"

"I need to get my daughter!"

"Carlotta," Mary Rose said, as if she had suddenly remembered his daughter was kidnaped.

Mazar brushed Mary Rose's blond hair back and kissed her temple. He declared, "I will find her. You have to go with your son to safety and we will be together again."

For a moment, Mazar thought that Montoya and his men were after them, as a caravan was moving swiftly not far from them. It was just paranoia, he determined, when he realized that they were rushing to Santa Elena, not toward them. A father could always spot his offspring, no matter how far away or how dark it was getting. A woman's head was in the back of one of the wagons and Mazar stood up, holding onto the back of the seat, to take a better look.

The woman reacted to seeing him and yelled, "Papa!"

Mazar hit Anton across the back of the head and yelled, "Stop!"

He jumped from the back of the wagon, as Carlotta was tugging at the driver of that wagon and yelling, "Stop! That is my father!"

The wagon holding his daughter slowed, the rest of the wagons pulling away from them before they slowed as well. Mazar's heart was beating fast as Carlotta was helped down from the back of the wagon by two men who wore extremely nice clothes for being kidnappers. When he saw that they were holding rifles, he was leery, but couldn't stop running to his daughter. They had, after all, let her go.

Carlotta ran, full-out, to her father's arms, and Mazar held her for all he was worth, not knowing for sure that he would ever have seen her again. The wagons started off again toward Santa Elena, as Mazar kissed his little girl and pulled her to their waiting wagon. "Are you all right? Did he hurt you?"

Mazar lifted Carlotta up the back of the wagon and climbed in after her. "I am fine, Papa," Carlotta said as he inspected her.

"Who were those men?" Mazar asked as Anton made the horse ride once again.

"They saved me. I do not know who they were, but they were not wearing uniforms and did not introduce themselves. They asked me for my name, but I did not tell them anything, just as you taught me."

Mazar laughed as he pulled his daughter close. Carlotta looked up at him. "Papa, one of those men, a very large one, came into the tent I was kept in and killed the soldier guarding me. He slashed his throat. I was so scared, but he was a nice man. He saved me. He said his name is Gaspar."

"Gaspar Hidalgo?" Mary Rose asked incredulously.

"Yes, that is it." Carlotta answered her, but looked at Mary Rose laid out holding her side. "What happened to you?"

Mazar kissed Carlotta's forehead again and said, "We have the rest of our lives to fill you in."

Mary Rose reached over to take Mazar's hand, her face filled with a smile as her eyes drifted from him to Carlotta. Mazar moved closer to her so she could lie back and relax as much as possible in a moving wagon. She welcomed him when he put his arm under her head and she kept hold of his hand. "Why did you take the watch?"

"I explained it in the note your brat destroyed." Mazar called to Anton, "Did you even read it before you burned it?"

"Why should I?" Anton muttered.

"I will have a talk with Anton about that later," Mary Rose said. "For now, ease my mind. Why did you take the watch?"

Mazar could see that Anton was leaning back in his seat to eavesdrop, so he told both of them, "Your father stole that watch from Colonel Alfonso years ago."

"He did not!" Anton yelled with anger.

"Anton!" Mary Rose stopped him. "Andres probably did."

"I was going to take it back to him," Mazar told her, "as a friend would. Maybe he would ease off a bit. I could only deal with Lafayette at the time, I could not deal with the military as well."

"Balthazar really tried to kill me," Mary Rose said shaking her head. "I was so stupid. I should have known."

"I will kill Balthazar Alfonso. Neither of us will have to worry about him again," Mazar promised. "Then, we will sail with the winds, wherever they take us."

Mary Rose groaned after the wagon was jarred roughly, then curled up against Mazar. "That sounds like Heaven," she purred, hoping they would be close to a bed where she could rest soon.

~~~~~

Gaspar Hidalgo charged his lead wagon into Santa Elena, wanting to kick up as much dust as possible in order to make the proper entrance after what he and his fellow Dons had accomplished. He had been quite alarmed by Rodriguez's attack plan to storm the unit and save the girl. During the midst of it, though, Gaspar had never felt so alive as when he killed the girl's abductors.

The only downside of the whole storming of the unit was that they had lost Don Cruz and Gaspar's driver, Alberto, in the scuffle. In exchange, the casualties were heavy on the Colonel's side. Only Alfonso and his sergeant were still alive. Don Rodriguez wanted to execute them along with the others, but a cooler head by the name of Señor Prado had insisted that Alfonso face Montoya. "Cold-blooded justice is only an instant's pleasure. He must face his crime and suffer the consequences."

So, they were bringing the Colonel to another Colonel for justice, and Gaspar hoped that justice would be served. Montoya would also have to thank the Dons for their duty, and maybe tensions between them would ease. As they came to a stop in the square, after the citizens had scattered, Gaspar could see soldiers with their rifles trained at them, and shouts of 'The Queen' were heard. "The Queen of Swords is here?" he asked Maria Teresa Alvarado when he saw her in the crowd, not far from where Montoya stood ordering his men to find her and bring her to him.

"Someone broke two men out of jail," she said, shrugging. "It certainly was not me."

Gaspar saw Vera walking toward the wagon and he smiled proudly as he stood, and almost fell off the seat when one of the horses moved forward. He even almost forgot about that bastard Grisham. He held onto the wagon as he climbed down carefully, into Vera's arms. "What is happening, Gaspar?"

Don Rodriguez marched past him toward Montoya, and Gaspar pulled away from Vera's embrace so as not to miss this.

~~~~~

Grisham didn't know how Mazar and Anton were let out of jail, but now all hell broke loose. He ordered his men around, and had walked through the jail to find only the Alvarado ranch hand and Casson still in residence. The key to the cell door was still on the hook on the other side of the hall. "What did you see?" he ordered Eladio.

"Nothing, Capitan. I was sleeping. You woke me up."

He was going to open that cell and pound the truth out of Eladio when the ruckus outside occurred. "I'll be back," he told Eladio, with a stern look and a pointed finger. "You will tell me why you didn't make a sound while the Queen was breaking men out of jail. She must have thought you were not worth it," he chuckled as he walked to the door.

Outside, he saw Gaspar Hidalgo standing on his wagon, offsetting its balance, and couldn't help but let out of laugh. The bite of jealousy hit him when Gaspar was welcomed by his wife's open arms. One day, she wasn't going to pretend to be happy with that dumpy excuse for a man when he could afford her.

Grisham hurried to Montoya's side as Don Rodriguez marched to him. Don Ricardo was pulling a man in uniform off the back of one of the three wagons and Grisham about fainted when he recognized the man as Alfonso. No respect! What's going on?!

The crowd of people circled them as Rodriguez, with Hidalgo stalking up and grabbing Alfonso's other arm, faced Montoya. Grisham wanted to know first-hand, but to be so obvious near Montoya might make Alfonso say something that would be best left unsaid. "Montoya," Rodriguez said. "Colonel Balthazar Alfonso."

"I know who he is," Montoya spouted. "What is the meaning of this? Unhand him."

"He is a kidnapper," Hidalgo said.

The crowd gasped as Grisham saw Vera standing next to Maria Teresa and Marta, as well as that British twit on the sidelines. "Kidnaping? Who?"

Hidalgo cleared his throat and said, "We do not know her name. We let her off with her father."

"They will all be held--and not only for accosting an officer, Montoya," Alfonso declared. "They murdered my unit!" He struggled against the men who held him, and thankfully had not noticed Grisham as of yet.

During this struggle, he faced Señorita Alvarado, who was pushed into the circle from a soldier coming late to the party. Before she stepped back, Grisham noticed a look on her face that could only have meant concern and anger for the man. She said, "I know he kidnaped a girl. I saw her." She didn't glance at Grisham, so it must have been when he hadn't been there, thank the Lord.

The crowd gasped again and all looked to her. "Today, after Señora Guevara was shot, I followed the real gunman to his camp along the shore."

"Really, now?" Montoya said with amusement. "Why is this the first I have heard of it?"

"I did not think you would believe me, Colonel," she said, bowing her head, "considering that it was another Colonel that I was accusing."

"He did it," Rodriguez said, and was immediately backed up by the rest of the Dons and ranch hands who had rescued the girl.

Montoya looked to Alfonso, whose eyes were trained on Señorita Alvarado. "Who are you?" Alfonso asked forcefully, pulling against the men holding him, who now numbered four.

"Maria Teresa Alvarado," she replied with pride.

Alfonso laughed, then said, "Chismosita, you are just like your pig father, sticking your nose into everything. Montoya, enough of this, let me go!"

Tessa stepped forward. "What did you say?"

"You are Rafael's daughter?" the Colonel asked, sneering while using the name of her father.

"Yes," she responded, her head held high.

"He is roasting in Hell as we speak."

Tessa's eyes flashed and Grisham was really enjoying this, but not for long. He was scared that Alfonso could be so angry at his treatment that he would spill all sorts of beans. He was one to get riled easily. Grisham was surprised to see that Alfonso had actually held a sense of decorum until now.

"My father is not!" Grisham had never seen Maria Teresa so angry. Her eyebrows were curled, her face tight, her eyes flared. He really wished he could do something to make cooler heads prevail here. He looked to see a sergeant under Alfonso's command being pulled from the back of another wagon. This was the last subject that Grisham wanted to hear discussed in public. Everyone who was a witness to Don Alvarado's death was either dead or reassigned, each having sworn their confidence as Grisham had pointed out that if he went down, they would as well--except for that one sergeant. What sweet things had the man been whispering in Alfonso's ear? Alfonso might not have known about Alvarado's execution, but he must have heard enough 'stories' about some of Grisham's activities to seek him out and recruit him. Grisham hoped that his name wouldn't come up in the heated conversation that was being exchanged between Maria Teresa and Alfonso. He didn't need Alfonso to put ideas into anybody's head, especially Helm's. The Doc hated Grisham and would happily see him hang. And if anybody ever did hang for old Rafael's death, it would most likely to be Grisham.

Montoya was just standing with amusement watching the exchange. It figured.

"He died squealing like a pig," Alfonso said. "And it was not a moment too soon." He began to laugh.

Just then, a shot rang out. Alfonso stopped laughing and fell. The crowd scattered. When the smoke cleared, Tessa was holding a pistol she had obviously taken from the soldier next to her and fired. Helm took it from her shaking hand, as Tessa stared with horror on her face at the now-dead Colonel.

Marta rushed to her, but Tessa pushed her back and held her head high. She put her wrists together and walked to Montoya. "I am guilty of murder," she said, her voice cracking. "Arrest me."

All was silent as the Dons and Montoya all stared at each other. The sergeant looked like he could be next on the agenda, and was taken away. Grisham made a note to arrange an 'accident' for him later on. He had to give Señorita Alvarado points for courage. She didn't even blink when she told Montoya, "Arrest me! I killed him. Everyone saw it."

Marta cried out as Vera held her. Helm stepped forward and said, "I did not see anything."

"Neither did I," Gaspar stated quickly, shaking his head.

Don Ricardo shrugged. "No one will miss that criminal."

Don Rodriguez nodded his agreement and told Montoya, "Colonel Alfonso was killed during the rescue of his kidnap victim."

Grisham looked to Montoya, who had the life of a landholder in his hands. If he wanted to convict, there really could not be any reason why the Viceroy wouldn't believe Montoya's eyewitness account over the Dons'. The Viceroy sided with Montoya over the Dons all the time. If Montoya convicted Maria Teresa Alvarado, there wasn't anything to stop him from obtaining her land. Oh, what a quandary...

Montoya looked down at Alfonso's body and then cleared his throat to speak to the interested ears. "Tragic," he said. "He had everything, and he did not know how to use it."

"What are you going to do, Montoya?" Rodriguez asked sharply. "If he had insulted my father in such a way, I would have castrated him with my dagger."

All eyes were on Montoya, who was clearly debating both options. Then, he shrugged. Grisham glanced around covertly. The mob was too big to control, and he just bet that Montoya knew it. "Oh, the paperwork." Montoya shook his head. He took Señorita Alvarado's hand and patted it. "Go home, Señorita. As we all agree, none of the events of the last few moments ever happened."

Marta instantly took Maria Teresa into her arms and walked her away. Helm seemed to nod his thanks to Montoya as he turned and followed the women. Grisham, relieved that his part in the matter hadn't come to the fore, asked, "Colonel? What would you like me to do?"

"Get rid of this filth," Montoya said, indicating Alfonso's body. "Señors," he told the Dons, "you are, of course, welcome for a nightcap...while you explain all that transpired this evening."

"With pleasure," Rodriguez said, patting Montoya's back. "The good brandy, Montoya, not your usual substandard vintage you try pass off on us."

"I would be unwise indeed to try to get anything over you in the future."

Grisham could tell that Montoya was pleased beyond belief about the events. He not only had Señorita Alvarado owing him, but maybe the rest of the Dons as well. Grisham was pretty happy, as well. His name hadn't been brought into it. There was only the matter of that sergeant, who was being pulled to the jail by officers under Grisham's command. Definitely time for him to meet with a sudden, fatal accident.

~~~~~

Epilogue

Marta was a godsend. For the years since Marta had come to work for her father, she had been a surrogate mother, advisor, and friend. Now more than ever, Tessa loved Marta and was thankful for her presence. After killing Alfonso in cold blood, Tessa felt like falling down a deep hole, not believing what she had done. It was only as Helm was driving their wagon back home and huddled in the back with Marta and Eladio did Tessa start to feel something again.

They had returned home without the usual fanfare of welcoming workers, as they probably were retired for the evening. Marta had thanked Eladio for all his help that day, as she helped Tessa down from the wagon. Tessa fell into Helm's arms when her feet hit the ground.

He had examined her face quickly and asked, "My diagnosis is that you need a sedative. Marta, do you have something that will help her sleep?"

"Of course," Marta had replied and they walked her into the sitting room and deposited her on the sofa. Their voices seemed as though they were coming from another room even though they were both close. Helm had sat with her, holding her hand, while Marta disappeared, probably to whip up spiked hot milk.

"Do you think worse of me now?" she asked him, as he had always been abrasive whenever the Queen had injured or accidently killed someone.

"You reacted as any loving daughter would." His voice was gentle and comforting.

She dared look at him and didn't see blame or disappointment. "Why do you think that Colonel Alfonso insulted my father like that? Do you think that Alfonso killed him?

A strange look came over his face. "No," he said, after a moment. "How do you feel?"

Tessa could only shake her head numbly. She was speechless. Ever since her return to California, she had had suspicions that her father was murdered, and at times, hadn't thought she would ever find out the truth. And she had killed a man in cold blood, deliberately, just as she had killed Raoul the deserter, the only witness she had ever found to her father's death, with a pitchfork, and for the same reason. But she had killed Raoul on her own lands, and had buried him in secret. Alfonso, she had killed in front of all the Dons. And with him had died the evidence of whatever Grisham had been doing at Alfonso's camp. Her hands were shaking as it all came to her, then a rush of shivers went through her body.

Helm lifted her into his arms and carried her to her bedroom. The suddenness of his motions took her by momentary surprise, but then she went dead again inside as she laid her head against his strong shoulder. He set her down on the bed and said, "You will feel better after a good sleep. I will get Marta to care for you."

"You do not want anything to do with me," she surmised.

He stroked her hair. "That could not be further from the truth, Tessa. I will return to check on you in the morning. Sleep well."

After Helm left, shutting the door behind him, she sat up in bed and finally knew how he had felt during this time in the war. He had talked about how he had shot men at close range. Because he had to never made it easier. The violence had made him turn his back on it all and turn to medicine.

Tessa went to her bureau, needing comfort from her family, and pulled out her mother's brooch and hair comb that she had recovered from Montoya's drawer. She pinned the brooch on her neckline and pulled up one side of her hair to put in the comb. Looking at herself in the mirror, she saw Marta open the door and come in with a mug of white liquid with visible steam.

She stared at herself in the mirror, wondering how her parents would have reacted to what she had done. As the Queen, she could pretend that the deaths were not real, but as Tessa, she had no such shield. Tears came to her eyes as she said, "Papa. I have killed." Marta's hands on her shoulders gave her comfort. "I am so sorry that I killed, but I avenged your honor."

"You did what you had to do." Marta's forceful words made Tessa cry.

"But does that make me any better than Grisham or Montoya?" she asked Marta, looking at her in the mirror.

Marta nodded with a smile.

Tessa asked, "So, do I still need to ride as the Queen?"

"You must do what is in your heart, Tessita."

Tessa knew she didn't have to decide anything tonight. For now, all she wanted as to get out of her dirty riding habit, crawl into bed, and drink that hot milk that she hoped would put her right to sleep.

THE END