Page 49 of The Trick of the Treasure
“So am I,” Solomon said. “Canyouread?”
Jackson’s gaze flickered over his face. He was too wily to betray any likeness of features he might have perceived. Or perhaps there was none, except in Solomon’s imagination.
“Nah,” Jackson said indifferently. “Never needed to read. You ain’t do-gooders, are you?”
“No, I told you yesterday. I work for Mr. Lloyd. And I need to know where everyone was during that last afternoon, from when the customs men came aboard until Mr. Lloyd stepped into his waiting carriage.”
“Blimey,” said Jackson. “He going to dock our pay ’cause we weren’t busy enough while waiting for the revenue men to poke about?”
“You’ve already been paid,” Tybalt pointed out. “I doubt we could get much of it back if we tried. You were on deck some of the time, shouting insults at old friends.”
“I was,” Jackson admitted. “Showing Johnny some landmarks, too.”
“Then you didn’t see the revenue men inspecting the treasure chest?” Constance asked quickly.
“Nah. Seen it before. So’d Johnny.”
“I saw it,” Tybalt said. “There was only Mr. Lloyd and me and a couple of revenue men, one to poke about and write everything down. Presumably they’ll send Mr. Lloyd the bill when they’ve worked out what it is.”
“Was this all in Mr. Lloyd’s cabin?” Constance asked.
“It was.”
“Was young Mr. Lloyd not there?”
“To start with. Then he wandered off,” said Tybalt.
“And when the customs men left the ship, did you escort them?” Solomon asked.
“I did.”
“What did Mr. Lloyd do? Did he come up on deck with you?”
“No, he stayed with the treasure, as far as I know. In fact, he got Samuels—the ship’s carpenter we spoke of—in to tie it closed for transporting.”
“When did either of you next see the treasure chest?” Solomon asked.
“Quarter hour later?” Jackson replied with a shrug. “Whenever it was, Johnny and Squibbs lugged it up on deck. Which was when the gents got off the ship. His nibs—Mr. Lloyd—supervised its journey into his waiting carriage. Then we went off to the pub, me and Squibbs and Johnny.”
“Where were the rest of the crew?”
“Already disembarked,” Tybalt said. “I shook hands with the Lloyds, watched them leave, and then took my own trunk and went home.”
Solomon frowned. “Did Mr. Lloyd—either of the Mr. Lloyds—come up on deck with the treasure chest?”
“They were already on deck,” Jackson said. “Arguing about something. They did that a lot.”
Tybalt frowned at him but didn’t tell him off. The man was considerably more forthcoming than yesterday.
“How long before the treasure chest were they up on deck?” Constance asked.
“Couldn’t say precisely,” Jackson said. “More interested in getting to the Crown and Anchor.”
“You carried Squibbs’s and Johnny’s kits off the ship as well as your own,” Tybalt said. “You must have been in a hurry indeed.”
“Had quite a thirst,” Jackson admitted.
“So there were other chests or trunks standing on deck at the same time as the treasure chest?” Solomon asked.
