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“That is convenient.”
“It is,” the constable replied, “especially since I am also running a business.”
Glancing over at him, Oliver asked, “What brought you to Whitstable?”
“I saw a newspaper advertisement announcing the sale of the mercantile, and I decided to purchase it.”
“Are you married?”
“Not yet,” the constable responded, “but I am courting a young lady in the village.”
“I wish you luck, then.”
“Thank you, milord.”
As they arrived at the footpath leading down to the beach, Oliver instructed, “We will need to go one at a time.”
It wasn’t long until they arrived at the sand, and the constable’s eyes scanned the beach. “You have yourself a nice little cove here.”
“It is rather nice.” Oliver started making his way down the beach as he shared, “We saw six smugglers come ashore by rowboat.”
“Six?”
“Yes, and they hoisted eighteen barrels over their shoulders as if they were nothing more than bags of feathers.”
“Delightful,” the constable muttered.
They continued walking down the beach until Oliver saw the crevice in the cliff’s wall. “It is not much further,” he shared.
He walked straight into the crevice and his heart dropped. It was empty.
The constable stopped at the entrance of the cave. “Where are the barrels?”
“They are gone,” Oliver replied in disbelief.
“All of them?”
Oliver turned to face the constable. “This entire crevice was filled with barrels last night, I swear it.”
“I believe you, milord,” the constable said, but Oliver could hear the doubt in his voice.
“My wife also witnessed the smugglers coming ashore,” Oliver pressed.
Constable Philmont placed his hand on the butt of his pistol. “Without any evidence, I’m afraid I have no choice but to stop investigating this case.”
“The smugglers must have been tipped off.”
“Who else did you tell about them?”
“No one.”
The constable gave him a look of pity. “Ifthe smugglers did return for the smuggled goods, then they are long gone.”
Oliver walked out of the crevice and saw booted prints in the sand. He followed the prints to a footpath that led up the cliff. He turned back towards the constable. “The smugglers must have taken this path up to the top of the cliff, where a cart was undoubtedly waiting for them.”
“That is for the best,” the constable said. “With any luck, the smugglers will stop using our shores.”
“Will you place patrols on the beach?”
