Chapter 23

"Well, y'all boys did a damn good job rescuing them girls from that there Mexican whore house!"

"Thank ya, Cap'n, but me an' Ezra been wonderin' what we could do 'bout them other two whore houses owned by Juarez. We know he had at least two more whore houses stocked with kidnapped Anglo women. We want to hit them, too."

Capt. Sanderson winked prodigiously at Sean and Ezra and said, "Well, ain't y'all got some vacation time saved up? Why don't y'all take it an' pay a visit to Mexico on yer own time? Ifen y'all git into trouble, I'm sure there's some fellers around here who would want to he'p y'all out."

"Say, that's a bully idee! What cha think, Ezra?"

"I'm all fer it. Let's go! We kin have some fun an' there won't be no paperwork! Too bad Ed Hopkins is laid up; he shore would want to go with us."

"Ezra, yer Spanish is a little more refined than mine, so you dress up as a snotty Mex Don and I'll be yer bodyguard. That way we won't attract as much attention. We kin go into cantinas an' you kin ask about the local whore houses without raisin' suspicions."

"'Nother good idee. It'll take me the rest of the day to find the right clothes and the right Mex tack, sos we kin leave in the mornin'."

The next morning they crossed the river into Mexico with the rising sun. Ezra looked very much like the grand Mexican Don and Sean looked like a disreputable Anglo tough who would hire his gun to the highest bidder. They headed for Tia Maria where they had been told that Juarez owned another brothel similar to the one they had just raided.

They rode slowly so that it was well into mid morning when they reached Tia Maria. They hitched their horses in front of what looked to be the best cantina in town and went in, with Sean going in first. He looked carefully around and then called to Ezra, in Spanish, "It's clear, Don Pedro." Ezra sauntered in, the very picture of Mexican haughtiness.

Ezra sat at a table and Sean went to the bar. "Your best tequila for the Don."

Sean carried the drink over to Ezra and then took his place standing behind and to the right of Ezra's chair, all the time keeping an eagle eye on the barroom looking for trouble. Ezra consumed his drink and crooked his finger for Sean to lean down. There were a few moments of conversation, and Sean nodded. He walked back to the bar and, when the bartender came up, said, "Don Pedro has had a trying two weeks negotiating business with the gringos in Texas and needs to relax. Is there a suitable pleasure house in this town?"

"Si, senor. Once there were two, but some recent unpleasantness has caused one to close. However, there is still an excellent house of pleasure not far from my establishment. It is down the main street in that direction. Go four blocks and you will find a house taking a whole block to itself. That is the place. Please mention my establishment when you enter."

"Gracias. Another tequila for the Don, if you please."

Ezra downed his drink and signaled to Sean, who went to the door and looked out in both directions. "All clear, Don Pedro." Ezra marched with an imperious air to his horse and mounted. Sean followed and also mounted. They rode off down the street toward the recommended pleasure house.

Sean and Ezra dismounted in front of the house and hitched their horses. Sean led the way to the front door and knocked. He knocked two more times before it was opened by a man in a butler's uniform. "Si, Senor?"

"Don Pedro Salazar wishes to be entertained. The bartender at Diego's cantina sent us."

"It's a little early for our usual customers, so we are not crowded. Please come in."

They were led into a large parlor-like room with a bar at one end and couches strategically placed facing a small stage. Don Pedro sat down and Sean moved in behind him. The butler asked Don Pedro, "Would you like a drink, Senor?"

"Yes, I'd like a beer. And bring one for my man, here."

"The butler returned with two beer mugs and asked, "Is the Don ready to see the entertainers?"

"Yes, if you please."

A few minutes later, seven naked women were marched on to the stage. They formed a line and each, in turn, stepped forward and slowly pivoted around so that her charms were fully exposed. None of the women were beautiful, but they were pretty enough for their job. Ezra was a little surprised to see that all seven were bare of pussy hair. He gave each woman due consideration and finally selected the one who appeared to be the oldest, about 22 or 23 years old.

Still naked, she came over and sat in his lap. She said in passable Spanish, "Hello, my name is Maria. Would you buy me a drink? I'd like to have a glass of champagne."

Ezra waved to the butler, who came over. "This woman would like a glass of champagne. Please bring two glasses and the bottle."

This was Ezra's first taste of champagne, so he knew nothing of its quality. All he knew was that it tasted like salty water from a desert pool gone bad. He preferred the taste of rotgut whiskey to this piss. He threw his glass into the fireplace and grimaced. The butler rushed over and Don Pedro said, "Is that the best you have? I have never tasted worse! Lead me to this woman's room. I hope her quality is better than the champagne!"

The butler led them upstairs to a room. Don Pedro and the woman went in and Sean took his place blocking entrance to the door. The butler left and the woman lay down on the bed. Ezra said, in English, "I'm not a customer, I'm a Texas Ranger here to rescue ya an' the other women. Do ya want to go?"

The woman burst into tears. "Oh, thank God! I've prayed for this every day for five years! When kin we leave?"

"My pardner an' I need some information, first. How many women are there, an' how many other people are in the house right now?"

"There are seven of us. Ya saw all of us downstairs. This time of day, there's the butler, who is also the manager, and one guard. There ain't no customers, right now."

"Good! We'll go right now! Kin you roust the other women while my pardner and I take care of the manager an' the guard?"

"No, I can't do nothin' 'bout the others. The doors are all locked, 'cept when we have customers. Ya'll have to git the keys from the butler."

"OK, I'll bet ya don't have no clothes, neither. We'll cut some holes in a blanket to make a simple dress fer ya. Jus' wait here 'til we git back."

Ezra went to the door and pulled Sean inside. "We got to 'liminate the butler an' one guard afore we kin leave.

"Honey, where's the butler an' the guard likely to be?"

"I 'spect the butler's in the manager's office on the first floor at the end of the hall. The guard's pro'bly standin' jus' outside of that."

"Honey, how do ya signal that yer customer's ready to leave?"

"I pull on that there bell cord an' the butler comes to the door. Ya're 'sposed to wait here fer him."

"OK, that's what we'll do. How much longer do ya usually take with a customer?"

"Usually we take 'bout half an hour, total. So we got 'bout 15 more minutes."

"While we're waitin', kin ya suggest a place we kin find a wagon fer transportin' you ladies back to Texas?"

"Ya kin see a barn from my window. There's a buckboard an' some horses kept there, sos we could use that, I 'spose."

"That sounds good. Now I got another question. The man what owns this place had three whore houses we know of, but we don't know where the third one is. Do you know?"

"Yeah, as the women git older, they git moved down in rank. I wuz jus' 'bout to be moved to the last house. It's in Mona Gomez, 'bout 12 miles from here."