Page 61 of The Trick of the Treasure
He shrugged. “It passes the time on long voyages.”
“Do you have others?”
She could see he was about to deny it. Then something kept him from saying the words. He was a stranger in a strange land, a man without a home. Like Solomon, who had a mere house and a very similar, chronic loneliness behind his eyes.
Without a word, he walked to the made bed, lifted the mattress, and withdrew several other pieces of crumpled paper, some torn scraps, some full sheets, printed or written on one side. He held them out to her and she moved to take them from him. He watched her steadily as she glanced through them with growing excitement.
One was of a girl, pretty and laughing. The next was Captain Tybalt, staring into the distance. Barnabas Lloyd glared at her, his arrogance visible, somehow, in every line. Then came a couple of strangers to her, although their faces were interesting and they obviously fascinated the artist. She glanced at the last, and her breath caught.
“Clarke,” she said. Clarke with a beard. But certainly the man whose sister Audrey Lloyd visited. The man who was not…
“Samuels,” the sailor corrected her. “Our carpenter on theQueen of the Sea.”
This changed everything! It had to.
“Thank you,” she said breathlessly, already dashing to the door. “Don’t forget to call on Mr. Grey! He truly wants to see you.”
*
Before she hurriedon to Clarke’s house, she took the time to tear a page out of her notebook and scribble,Samuels is Clarke. Sydney saw me at establishment last night—be prepared. C.She folded it and wrote Solomon’s name and the address of the office, just to be on the safe side. Then she cornered an urchin and asked if he knew how to find the address. When he nodded eagerly, she gave him a sixpence and told him he’d get another when he delivered it.
The lad sped off, highly delighted, and Constance, equally elated for different reasons, dashed on toward Clarke’s house. This was surely the connection they needed. Why should Clarke have used a false name on the ship, grown a beard that he had subsequently shaved off, unless he was up to something nefarious? Because Lloyd might recognize his real name? Or even his beardless face? He was the carpenter, likeliest candidate to have made the swapped chest currently in Lloyd’sstrong room, though exactly how the switch was made remained unclear to her.
Was she about to find the treasure itself? Not that Clarke-Samuels was likely to simply hand it over. Probably she would need to keep him talking until Solomon got here, hopefully with another strong man. Perhaps she should send for her own footmen…?
She could just observe the premises until then. It would be wiser and safer, although it went against the grain. Then again, if she bumbled in there, even if she got out again safely, she would not be able to arrest the man, only warn him they were onto him. He would flee with the treasure and they would be back to the beginning again.
Reluctantly, she came to the conclusion that she must merely observe. Unless he went out, in which case, she was prepared to either call on the sister or simply break in.
Her decision made, she had to rethink everything. For when she knocked on the familiar blue door, it creaked and moved under her hand. It was open already. She glanced at the windows, which were still shuttered, although it was light now. Unease crept over her.
She pushed the door again and stuck her head in. “Hello?”
Silence greeted her. She pushed again, meeting resistance, but finally stepped into the little hallway, which had a door on either side and a steep, narrow staircase leading to the floor above.
It was a moment before she saw what had impeded the door. The still figure of Clarke the carpenter lying on the floor. There was blood around his chest and on the floor, and his eyes were open.
In horror and pity, Constance threw herself to her knees and reached for his hand, seeking a pulse. His flesh was cold and lifeless. He had been dead for hours.
Behind her, the door slammed. Before she could even jerk around, something crashed into her head. There was blinding pain, and then the world went black.
*
Solomon, thrilled byhis growing closeness to Constance, entered the office with all the eagerness of an infatuated schoolboy.
“Good morning, Janey,” he said cheerfully as the girl appeared while he was removing his overcoat. “Is Mrs. Silver here yet?”
“Morning, sir, and no, not yet, but she shouldn’t be long. I know she was up early.”
Janey presented him with tea in his office and a new letter of inquiry. Before he could sit down to read it, the knocker sounded on the front door. Maybe Constance had forgotten her keys…
And maybe it was David.
He tried to remain calm, though his heart thundered so loudly, Janey should have heard it before she even entered the room.
“Mr. Sydney Lloyd, sir,” she said so firmly that he knew the young man had set her back up and she had only just prevented him from the impropriety of barging in unannounced. Very few people, he imagined, got the better of Janey. “Shall I show him in?”
“Yes, and tell Mrs. Silver when she arrives.”
