Page 66 of The Trick of the Treasure
“He was the ship’s carpenter aboard theQueen of the Sea.”
“Was he?” Lloyd’s eyebrows flew up. “You suspect him of the theft of my treasure?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Well, have him arrested, man! I’ll go straight to the police station myself!” As if suddenly remembering the matter of his sister, he coughed. “Audrey would want the man caught and the treasure returned. If only nothing ill has happened to her. You haven’t told me how Mrs. Silver is.”
“She needed stitches to her head and the doctor is still concerned for her. Wounds of that nature are dangerous.”
“Terrible business. We’ll charge Clarke with that too.”
“I’m afraid we won’t,” Solomon said. “Clarke is dead.”
Lloyd blinked rapidly. “Dead? How?”
“Shot through the heart, by the look of it. The police surgeon will no doubt discover more details.”
“Good Lord,” Lloyd said faintly. “What on earth does this mean?”
“For you? That our chief suspect in the treasure theft has died without explaining how it was achieved, or what he did with the treasure. Perhaps the police will find it when they search the place for clues.”
“The police?” he said quickly. “The police are involved?”
“Of course. A man was murdered. Mrs. Silver could easily have been.”
“I just thought you would handle the matter, but I suppose… Do you think this Clarke might have attacked Mrs. Silver? And then someone else shot him for the treasure?”
“It’s possible. He might have had an accomplice aboard the ship who got greedy. How well do you know Captain Tybalt?”
“Known him for years. Good fellow. Never let me down.”
“So you said. He must be expensive to hire.”
Lloyd shrugged. “Not too bad. I’d rather have a man I can trust.”
“Then you trust Tybalt not to have stolen the treasure?”
“Of course! He’s a gentleman. Sort of.”
“What of the rest of the crew?”
“They’re Tybalt’s business. I had nothing to do with them.”
“Nothing?” Solomon said, raising his eyebrows. “Sir, you spent weeks—months—amongst those people. You must have noticedsomethingabout them. Their names, their friendships, their fitness.”
“Not really. Though we had to leave one fellow at Madagascar. Left him aboard another ship with a doctor on board.”
“Think about it,” Solomon urged. “You must have heard the captain giving orders from time to time, the men complaining or cracking jokes, talking to each other. Names must have been used.”
“I suppose so. Some of them had funny names. Like Squibbs.”
“And the men who carried your baggage, including the chest, off the ship in London?”
“Johnny,” he said after a moment or two. “And Squibbs. And Samuels, who tied up the chest. Not sure he carried anything, but he might have.”
“Did you trust them?”
“Certainly, while I was watching them!”
