Page 48 of The Trick of the Treasure
“Where did you play?” Solomon asked.
“In my cabin, usually. Sometimes in Tybalt’s.”
Which certainly gave all the crew opportunity to go and inspect the chest in Barnabas’s quarters, but how on earth was it copied, and how had it been replaced?
Solomon clearly had the same idea, for he turned to Tybalt. “Captain, did you have a carpenter aboard?”
“Yes, we did. Very handy he was, too, replacing rotten planks and repairing cabinets.”
“Was he one of the crew you already knew?” Constance asked.
“No, actually. He was a bit older but happened to be around when I was recruiting. We were still short, so I took him on.”
“Did you know all the others?”
“Yes, I’d sailed with all of them before. Good men.” He glanced at Solomon. “Apart from Johnny, of course, who we picked up at Madagascar.”
“Maybe we should be looking more closely athim?” Lloyd said, scowling.
“Oh, we are,” Constance assured him.
*
As a gestureof courtesy, Constance instructed her coachman to convey the Lloyds back to wherever they wished to be. Tybalt, who had been instructed to help them as though he were an old retainer, hovered uneasily on the dockside.
“Would you mind accompanying us to interview the sailors?” Constance said, bestowing one of her smiles upon him. It had its usual effect. “We believe their trust in you will incline them to answer our questions with truth.”
“I’ll come with you, of course,” Tybalt said, “but I really do not suspect any of them.” He cast Solomon a look of dislike. “Is that the real reason you were looking for Johnny yesterday?”
“Actually, no. I was told he’d sailed.”
“He might have,” Tybalt said neutrally. He led them through a warren of filthy, busy back streets east of the dock until they came to a row of crumbling old tenements, where he hesitated, glancing at Constance. “Shall I bring them down?”
“I am happy to go up,” Constance said at once. Like Solomon, she wanted to catch the sailors unwarned.
Since he had told her the truth this morning, Lloyd’s case seemed to have merged more calmly in Solomon’s mind with finding David—if Johnny was indeed David. He had always known Constance could be more easily hurt than she pretended, but until now, he had not realized how much pain he could cause her by sheer thoughtlessness, by chasing his own agendawithout her. On top of which, she had reminded him of what he should have known—that men frequently lied to anyone in apparent authority, assuming they were always in trouble.
It was a good idea to bring Tybalt, as he realized as soon as they bumped into Jackson on the stairs.
He grinned in friendly surprise. “Captain! What brings you here? You’re not looking for crew again already, are you?”
Over Tybalt’s shoulder, he took in Solomon with irritation, and Constance with astonishment.
“Not yet. Any of the others here, Jackson?”
“Not just now. Kelly’s found a woman, God help her. What can I do for you?” He made way for a woman coming downstairs with a huge bundle of washing, and then for two arguing men coming up.
“Shall we talk outside?” Tybalt suggested.
They trooped back down again, and Jackson led them over to some disused steps. Constance perched on a low wall, with Solomon leaning beside her. Jackson and Tybalt sat on the steps.
“You told me Johnny had sailed,” Solomon said mildly.
Jackson grinned. “Figure of speech. Don’t know you from Adam, do I? A man’s got a right to choose who he talks to. I gave him your card. If he wants to, he’ll find someone who can read it.”
The air left Solomon’s lungs. “He can’t read?” Was this worse or better? Either seemed unbearable. And yet it wasn’t.
“Course he can’t read,” Jackson scoffed. “He’s African.”
