Armada led Lucas to the one place he could think of where they wouldn’t be seen by anybody in town. El Peñon rose up in front of them as they approached it. The seas had become stormier over the course of the day, and the waves thrashed themselves against the vertical cliffs on the western side, creating great echoing thunderclaps and the spraying of sea mist everywhere.
“Where are we going, sir?” he heard Lucas ask between waves, but didn’t answer. The boy would soon see.
It had been something he’d noticed that day he’d come to visit Enrique Talavera; a cave entrance, just behind some rock face on the western side, overlooking one of the many deep pools that the waves had carved out over the millennia. It looked small, but big enough for both of them to get into. And because the entrance looked out over the cove to the west, it couldn’t be seen by the townspeople nor by any of the farmers working on the delta nearby.
Armada and Lucas stepped their way gingerly over the stones until they reached the entrance. Armada was the first to crawl inside. It was damp, and the ground was quite stony and jagged. The roof was quite low, forcing them to bend over or kneel down in order to fit. But it was long enough for them both to find a spot to curl up in for a bit of sleep that night. And more importantly, it was a place they knew that Bresson knew nothing about.
“I could sneak back to the room, sir, and grab some supplies. Some food, at least.”
“Yes, I was hoping you would, Lucas,” Armada said. “We’re both going to be quite peckish soon.”
“How long do you reckon we’ll have to stay here?”
“We don’t have much time, I’m afraid. It won’t take Bresson very long to discover my sherry in the room and finish it off. And at that point, we’ll have no choice but to return.”
Armada smiled at Lucas to help relax him. He had to show Lucas everything was under control, even if clearly it wasn’t.
“What about the case, sir?”
“The case…the case…” Armada said, letting his thoughts drift. “The case seems to revolve around this Cristina Lopez. Her land getting stolen seems to be at the heart of this somehow, although I’m not sure how yet. And I would give anything to speak to her.”
“Why not go to Motril then, sir? It would get us away from Bresson. I could steal the cart back tonight, and…”
“No, Lucas. I can’t in good conscience leave Miguel to be found by that baboon. Bresson would have him hanged and be on his way back to Granada before we ever got back. No, I must stay. I have to frustrate Bresson’s efforts at finishing this case, if only to buy us a little more time. And hopefully I can find Miguel before he does. Besides, I want to know more about what Jose meant when he told Amparo to ‘leave the past in the past.’ It just seems to me the past is playing a very large role in this case, so I need to learn more about it.”
Lucas was quiet for a moment, as they both contemplated the next moves. From the mouth of the cave, they were treated to a spectacular view of the sun as it made its way west, where it would eventually settle behind the hills. The waves continued their assault on the rock, the sound echoing off every bit of the cave, and promising to continue its symphony of violence long into the night.
“I could go to Motril, sir,” Lucas finally said.
“You? I don’t think so, Lucas.”
“Why not?”
“You’re much too young. You’re hardly able to travel by yourself safely.”
“I’ve been travelling around with you for years, sir. I know how to do it.”
“Yes, but alone? That is far too much responsibility for such a young boy.”
“Sir, I know how to do it. I could find Cristina Lopez. If she’s there. I’m good at finding people.”
Armada knew that was true, but he couldn’t bear the thought of sending Lucas alone to a city as shady as Motril.
“I know you think I’m too young, sir. But I’m fourteen now. I can handle myself. And what if I can do it? What if I can bring her back with me? Or at least talk to her? What about the case?”
“Lucas,” Armada said. “I’m not letting you go and that is the end of it!”
Lucas went quiet, but it was a rebellious quiet. He had not acquiesced. Far from it. Armada could almost hear Lucas forming his next argument in his head. Why wasn’t Armada’s word good enough anymore? Why couldn’t Lucas just listen to him? Why did everything these days have to be such a fight?
“Besides,” Armada said, trying to diffuse the tension. “Who would speak to you? Who would answer your enquiries? You have no authority. You’ll simply be ignored.”
“Not if I was wearing one of your shirts, sir.”
“No one would believe a fourteen-year-old was a constable.”
“I could say I was an apprentice. All they have to believe is that I’m somehow connected to the Brotherhood. They’ll be too afraid not to speak to me.”
Armada had tired of Lucas’ reasoning. The boy could make anything sound logical with enough time to argue it.
“Lucas, what I would prefer you do is head back to our room at the inn and see if you can steal back some of blankets along with our provisions. I have a feeling these caves will get cold tonight.”
“What about the case, sir? Can you solve it without talking to her?”
“That’s not for you to worry about,” Armada said with an angry tone. “All you should be concerned with now is doing as I have told you. And not enraging me further!”
Lucas shot to his feet, barely able to bring himself to look at Armada. His body tensed, and he hunched his shoulders as he always did when he became frustrated. Armada felt himself tense as well as his mind continued their argument on its own. Why was Lucas so ungrateful lately? Had he not provided Lucas with clothes? Food? Wages? And yet when he asked the boy to do something that was an expected part of his job, why did he resist?
Strangely, as Lucas began to slowly make his way along the slippery, wet rocks that would lead him to the beach, Armada felt his anger drain, as if the haze of rage suddenly subsided and allowed him to see things clearly.
Perhaps the boy had a point. Could he solve the case without talking to Cristina Lopez? What if he never found out what had happened to her? Could he still piece this altogether? There was a chance she had little to do with this, but the timing of everything just coincided too perfectly.
And it was the timing of it all that bothered Armada more and more. All the important events in the past seemed to have happened simultaneously. Twenty years ago, the balance of power in Salobreña had gone through a seismic shift, the reverberations of which eventually led to Amparo’s murder. Everything was connected, all the way back to a single point twenty years ago, a point where Cristina Lopez was at the centre. This was a case about the past, about history that had bubbled up somehow into the present, and a failed attempt to bury it once again.
And that past seemed to start and end with Cristina Lopez.
“Lucas,” Armada said just before Lucas slipped out of view.
Lucas stopped, but did not turn around.
“If you can manage it, try to grab my extra shirts, and a few loaves of bread from the bakers.”
“Why, sir?”
“Because you’ll need something to eat if you’re going all the way to Motril. It’s half a day’s ride. You’ll get hungry. And the shirts, well…”
Lucas turned around and stared at Armada in shock.
Armada still felt reluctant, but now that he’d said it, realised there was little he could do to take it back.
“Get going!” Armada said.
Lucas smiled, then nipped out of view, leaving Armada alone at the cave entrance with his thoughts. Thoughts that, without sherry, would probably hound him throughout the night.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Miguel was in the middle of a dream when the shouting started. A woman, with long blond hair, tied back with a scarf and wearing a blue and grey dress, had slipped through the cane. She was less a vision, and more a glimpse from the corner of his eye. And
he tried to hold on to that image as his sleep became interrupted and he was dragged back to reality.
This took a while, as Miguel found he had been sleeping quite deeply. After a few nights in the stable, he had moved the hay around until it made a sort of bed in the corner. The mule, after some initial nervousness, had gotten used to his presence and had actually formed a bond, preferring to kneel down at night and sleep on its side in order to be closer to Miguel.
It had been a quiet few days like this. Miguel subsisted on whatever he could steal at night from the nearby orchards, and occasionally sneaking into town for a bucket of water. Then he spent much of his time locked away in the stable, waiting for news that the case was over and he could go home. Although he felt badly that Armada didn’t know his whereabouts, Miguel also felt safe, and that was the most important right now. He would check in with Armada soon, and see if it was all right to return home.
It was sometime before sunrise when he was awakened by the sound of approaching footsteps, crunching over the loose soil and pebbles toward the stable door. Something deep within Miguel knew he should quickly hide himself, but it was too late. A moment later, he was discovered by a startled old farmer, who began shouting at him.
Miguel and the mule both scrambled to their feet while the farmer found a large stick and waved it at Miguel. Miguel made his way out of the stable to the sound of the old farmer’s shouts of morisco and ladron. Miguel couldn’t understand why the farmer thought he was a ladron; he hadn’t stolen anything.
Once Miguel was out of earshot of the man, he realised he was hungry. He had no money and no way of getting any. He considered begging, but thought of his father, who was a very proud man and had taught Miguel never to beg, it being beneath a man’s dignity. There was always a way to eat if one was hungry. Then Miguel thought of Armada and his page Lucas, who seemed like decent people. Perhaps they could spare a bit of bread.
Miguel began making his way up the hill back toward town. He kept his head down, not wanting to catch the gazes of the farmers who were just starting to come down the hill, their shoulders loaded with farming implements and large cutting knives, ready for another day’s harvest.
Instead he kept his focus on the weeds that lined his path. They grew just on the edge of where the path had been worn into a smooth, hard crust by years of farmers walking it every day. Many months ago, these weeds would have been green and lush, bursting with life, with bushes of little purple-and-blue flowers that were Miguel’s favourite. But the summer heat had killed them off weeks ago, as it did every year, and they now waited for the spring rains that would come in a few months to bring them back to life again.
Miguel reached the main plaza, but saw it was still quite early. He didn’t want to wake the constable quite yet. But he knew that the longer he stayed, the more he risked being noticed by the townspeople who were now crisscrossing the plaza as they went about their morning business. It was mostly farmers on their way down to the delta, but there were also a few of the wives holding large baskets of linens on their way to the lavadero and giving him cursory sideways glances as they chatted to each other. A couple of the more elderly men in town were already sitting on the wall next to the fountain, which was where they sat every day, as they were far too old to work and hobbled about town leaning heavily on walking sticks. Every town had a collection of these men, who would greet people they knew as they passed through the plaza, and complained amongst themselves about the changing face of the pueblo, or the sorry state of the kingdom as a whole.
These men now eyed Miguel as he stood in the plaza, feeling ill at ease and unsure what to do. His stomach rumbled again and he knew he had to eat. Seeing no other choice, Miguel went to the fountain and dipped his hand into the pool of water under the rusted iron spigot where the water perpetually trickled out from some unseen underground spring.
The water was sweet, and quite cold. Miguel took several handfuls and continued drinking, ignoring the glares of the old men. He could hear them whispering “morisco.” It wasn’t fair. He hadn’t asked for any of this. He’d just come to Salobreña to work. And now he was being treated like a criminal, though he had done nothing wrong.
“Miguel!” came a voice from behind.
Miguel whipped his head around to see Jose.
“How are you?” Jose asked.
Miguel didn’t know what to say. He did not express anger well. It was an emotion that didn’t fit him, like a pair of shoes that were too small. But he was angry with Jose. It was because of him that he’d been locked away in that castle. He would have preferred to hide his anger, but it was impossible. Jose was too smart.
“You can hit me if you like,” Jose said. “I deserve it.”
Miguel considered the possibility, but couldn’t work up the nerve.
“You wouldn’t be the first today,” Jose said, cautiously stepping closer. “Esme slapped me so hard this morning my cheek still stings. I told her I was innocent, but she started screaming about the children and how could I let everything get so out of control. I’ve never seen her so angry. So, I guess I’m staying in the cortijo for a while.”
Miguel still felt thirsty and went back to drinking from the fountain, not knowing what else to do. Jose sat next to him, staring off at the horizon.
“I want to apologise, Miguel. You didn’t deserve to be accused like that. It’s my fault. I was a coward. When Amparo was killed, I thought the Brotherhood would come here and start stomping around that field and they would figure out what we were doing out there —you understand why I got worried. But I still shouldn’t have done what I did.”
Miguel felt his anger toward Jose start to melt away, but didn’t want to quite let it all go. Not yet. The memory of those long nights in the castle were still too fresh. He said nothing.
“I was impressed with you, Miguel. All those nights spent in the castle, and you didn’t say a word. Just like I asked you. Most men don’t have that kind of courage, especially when they’re sitting in a prison cell. And because of that, not all is lost. The Brotherhood still doesn’t know anything, and we can still take care of this situation ourselves, the way it ought to be done.”
Miguel was intrigued enough to let himself make eye contact. Jose had a twinkle in his eye, a realisation that he’d finally gotten Miguel’s attention.
“Let’s get something to eat,” Jose said. “You must be famished. Come on, I’ll buy us a couple of menu del dias.”
And before Miguel knew it, he was walking with Jose to the tavern, sitting at a table across from him, eating a plate of food Jose had paid for. He felt his anger subside, gradually replaced with the more familiar desire for Jose’s respect. Miguel wondered if he should stay angry with Jose. Perhaps never talk to him. He’d seen feuds between families back home that went on for years over much less than this. Is that what he was supposed to do here? Was he disrespecting his family by talking to Jose again?
At the tavern, they both gobbled down their meals. Jose talked about his wife and how unfair it was that she still refused to speak to him. Miguel heard about the early, turbulent times in their marriage and how Jose felt Esmerelda judged him too harshly. When the children came along, it only added to the pressure, as well as to the pressure of making money with his one field. Miguel felt privileged that Jose chose to confide such personal things, but it also frightened him. His mother had told him for years that he should take a wife of his own. Yet from the sound of it, marriage was hard even at the best of times.
After nearly an hour, the only other men in the tavern had paid for their ales and departed, leaving Miguel and Jose alone, with only the barman who seemed distracted with counting something in the back. Jose then went quiet, his mood darkening.
He leaned over the table.
“Tell me honestly, Miguel. Did you tell anyone else what you saw when Amparo died? Anyone at all?”
Miguel shook his head. He was becoming nervous now.
“Good. Then I think it’s time we did
something about it, don’t you?”
“But I told you, I didn’t see their face,” Miguel stammered.
“It doesn’t matter. We both know who it was, don’t we?”
Miguel just wasn’t sure. And he worried about what Jose was planning to do. That horrible day when Amparo had died, when he’d reached the edge of the clearing, his first glance had been to Amparo. Lying on his back, the knife having just been sunk into his chest, and gurgling his last breaths.
Out of the corner of his eye, he’d seen the dress. Blue and grey. Worn by someone with long blond hair, disappearing into the cane like a flash, too fast for Miguel to have seen anything else. Then the shock of seeing Amparo dying had sunk in, and things got blurry, including that horrible moment when Jose thought Miguel had done it.
It was only days later, when Jose had come to see him in the castle, that he told Jose what he’d seen.
Say nothing, Jose had said.
Not even to her.
Back then Jose had seemed so sure of who it was. But he’d said he wanted to find out on his own what it was all about. He had to know before they said or did anything. As long as he and Miguel were the only two who knew what the killer had been wearing, they had control of the situation. They could keep it within the pueblo, which was all that mattered.
Then the constable had shown up and made everything complicated.
Only I can protect you, Jose had said.
Now Jose was staring at him, his efforts to find out more having come to nothing. That part of it all seemed over now and Miguel could tell he had something more sinister in mind.
“It’s time we took care of things.”
“But we don’t know if it really was her. Why would she kill her own husband?”
“You don’t know Madalena like I do. Amparo warned me about her. He told me what she was like, that she might try something like this. She is cunning, he’d said. Very cunning. But I didn’t think she had it in her to do such a thing.”
Miguel realised he had a difficult choice to make. No one he’d ever known had ever faced such a dilemma. And now, with nothing to guide him, Miguel had to choose whether to run away and try to get back home as quickly as possible, or to stay and help Jose. This could mean hurting someone, but doing it to protect others.
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