With dawn the villa returned to life. There was another shift change, and Silvio Ordonez was at the gate to ensure that no one who he had not approved was allowed to enter. Silvio was in charge of security for the compound, and second in authority only to Eligio Infante himself.

As the day shift people spread out through the compound to begin their morning chores, Silvio began to hear excited mumblings coming from the back quarter. He glanced that way, and saw a group of workers standing near the storage shed, whispering and gesturing to one another.

Peering more intently, Silvio saw that the shed door was open. This was the shed where drugs were stored! It was never left unlocked! Instantly alarmed, Silvio began walking briskly in that direction. The workers noticed his approach and scattered.

When he reached the shed Silvio saw the padlock lying open on the ground near the door. The deadbolt too was unlocked. Who could have been so careless as to leave the shed unlocked? There were only a few who had access to the keys.

He looked inside, and what he saw then chilled his blood. Drug packages had been pulled off the shelves and were scattered everywhere, torn open, their contents spilled across the floor. He wanted to fly into a rage, but he controlled himself and looked more closely. There were footprints in the white powder, but they were not human. They were the tracks of dogs.

Silvio stepped back outside the shed and closed the door. He picked up the padlock and closed and locked the hasp. He looked down at the ground. There were traces of powder, and more dog tracks.

"Hector!" he bellowed. "Hector Gonzales!"

"Here, boss." Hector had spotted the commotion and was already on his way. He was in charge of the perimeter guards for the day shift.

"Hector, it looks like someone left the door of the shed open and a dog got in." 

Hector looked at the tracks on the ground. "Not a dog, boss, a coyote. These are coyote tracks. Two of them. Pretty good size."

"Dogs, coyotes, I don't care. Whatever they were they made a mess of things. I want to know who left the shed open."

"Right, boss. I'll try to catch Jose before he leaves, see if he knows anything." Jose Manuel was in charge of the night shift.

Eligio Infante did not try to control his anger. Instead he indulged in it. This was his way of reminding himself and everyone around him of his ultimate authority here. When Silvio told him what had happened, he immediately stormed out of the hacienda and marched straight to the shed, fuming and ranting the whole way, forcing his personal bodyguards to hurry to keep up with him.

When he saw the mess inside, he turned on Silvio in a rage. "Where was the night watch? How could this happen and they not know of it? They are fired! And if a single package that was in here can't be accounted for, they are dead!"

Jose Manuel had explained to Silvio that the guards had been watching the perimeter as was their duty, had never even looked toward the shed. They had seen one lone coyote on the hill, but none nearer.

Silvio believed him, but he knew better than to protest to Eligio. He told Hector and Jose that the guards who had been on duty had to be replaced, at least temporarily. And he wanted a guard posted by the shed.

Silvio learned that it had been one of Eligio's personal bodyguards who had been the last to visit the shed. The man swore he had left it locked. Silvio did not believe this, but understood why the man would not admit his carelessness.

Eligio would not let go of it so easily. He raged at the man, slapping his face repeatedly, humiliating him with sarcasm. The man continued to swear that he had not failed to lock the door. Silvio might have believed him if there was any other explanation. What he did believe was that, after this, the man would never make the same mistake again.