Heirs of the Body(86)
“When you reached Kingston and found Martha gone, did you write to her?”
“No.” A guilty glance at his wife, who smiled forgivingly.
“Sammy’s not much of a letter writer.”
“I would have, but I thought I’d be here as soon as a letter. Then I looked further into the legal business and I got caught up in sorting that out.”
“Sorting it out?”
“I had to go back north, to Cockpit Country in St. Elizabeth Parish, to dig up some information for the lawyer.”
“Were you successful? What information did you obtain?”
“Mr. Pearson told me to keep it to myself until he gets here.”
“Mr. Pearson didn’t foresee that I’d have to switch over from being a guest and relative by marriage to my rôle as a copper.”
“Sorry. What’s the good of getting advice from a lawyer if you’re going to ignore it?”
“You have a point,” Alec admitted. “I’ll try to contain my curiosity. On that point. When did you leave Jamaica again?”
“My ship sailed from Kingston on the tenth.”
“It’s a pity you didn’t bring your little girls.” Daisy said, ignoring Alec’s frown. She had ceased to find those dark eyebrows intimidating long ago.
“If I’d had to pay for the passage, I would have. As I was first officer, it just wasn’t practical. They’re quite happy with their aunt and uncle, though they miss their mama.”
Martha’s eyes misted over.
“It shouldn’t be too much longer before you see them, darling,” Daisy said hurriedly, to avert a storm of tears. Whether the family would be reunited in England or in Jamaica remained to be seen.
“The tenth of July?” Alec took up his interrogation. “And what date did you arrive in England?”
“The thirtieth.”
“That’s a slow passage, isn’t it?”
“For an old tub like the Julianna it’s a pretty good time!”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Alec said. Pending enquiries, Daisy thought. “Which port did you arrive at?”
“Plymouth. Our cargo was mostly rum, so it had to be unloaded into a bonded warehouse. My contract included helping to supervise the unloading. That took all day Saturday. I spent the night in a rooming house in Plymouth—”
“Address?”
Sam shrugged. “I have no idea. One of my mates took me there. I slept late, then went to catch a train to London without looking at the house number or street name.”
“I suppose you didn’t keep the ticket stub.”
“Good lord no. I travel light, don’t stuff my pockets with odds and ends of paper. What’s this all about? Why do you want to know when I got here? Look here, if you don’t believe me, you can ask the harbour authorities. They’re supposed to keep the crew manifest.”
“I don’t disbelieve you. But I may—let me stress may—have to check. Would the Julietta still be at Plymouth?”
“Julianna. No, she was due to sail Monday for Clydeside, to deliver the rest of the cargo. Sugar. It’s not easy to sell rum to the Scots!”
“I imagine not. Is Julianna equipped with wireless?”
“The owner stuck in a second-hand set, but most of the time it doesn’t work.”
“All right, let’s move on. You took the train to Paddington and went straight to see the lawyer?”
“It was Sunday. Maybe I’m a fool, but not fool enough to look for a lawyer on a Sunday! I found lodgings, then I walked up to Hampstead—Martha’s letters had given me your address. Nice house you have! You weren’t there and the maid couldn’t be coaxed into telling me where you’d gone or when you’d be back. So I went to see the sights. When I got back to the lodging house, I found out that the next day was a bank holiday. Still no hope of seeing Mr. Pearson!”
“So you did some more sightseeing.”
“I did. I can’t wait to take the girls to the zoo and Madame Tussaud’s. There’s plenty to see in London.”
“‘When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life,’” Alec said.
Sam was quick to pick up his tone. “A quotation? Who said that?”
“Dr. Samuel Johnson, your namesake.”
“Never heard of him. I haven’t got much book learning, excepting the navigation manual.”
“‘A man’s a man for a’ that,’” Daisy murmured.
Alec gave her a look. Sam gave her a questioning glance but turned back to Alec.
“Monday was a bank holiday, yet you went to see Mr. Pearson? At home?”
Sam grinned. “I got impatient. I found his address in a telephone directory and I thought I might as well give it a try. At least he might give me an appointment for the next day, so I wouldn’t turn up at his office and find him gone.”