Chapter 73: The Burial Journey
Chapter 73 The Burial Tour
Arthur leaned back in his chair in the Scotland Yard interrogation room.
On the opposite side of the interrogation room, there was a makeshift medical bed constructed out of wooden planks, and a few doctors with sweat dripping from their foreheads were carefully assembling and stitching up the tiny body in front of them.
The several policemen standing behind Arthur who were in charge of supervision saw this scene, and the knot in their throats fluttered up and down from time to time.
Even the police officers who were accustomed to seeing dirty environments and bloody scenes were somewhat unable to stand this scene.
Some of them couldn’t help but incline their heads, while others frowned and closed their eyes.
I don’t know how long it took, but the doctors let out a long breath, raised their hands and wiped the sweat from their heads, then pursed their lips and inclined their heads to look at Arthur sitting on the chair, then respectfully reported back.
“Mr. Hastings, the body has been stitched up.”
Arthur didn’t look up to see their faces, just stared calmly at the barred windows of the interrogation room, the only light in this dark chamber.
“I’ve heard that every medical school in England is required to recite the Hippocratic Oath when they enroll, do you remember what it says?”
The doctors looked at each other and the heads they had just raised dropped again.
“I remember …… for sure.”
“Can you recite it to me?”
The doctors were silent for half a day before someone finally spoke up.
“In witness of Apollo, Asclepius, Axel, the god of medicine, and the gods of heaven and earth, I respectfully swear to keep this covenant to the best of my ability and judgment. I will honor those who teach me their art as if they were my parents, and as a lifelong companion in the same profession, and I will help them in their dire needs.
I will do my best and use my judgment to abide by the creed of working for the benefit of the sick and to restrain myself from all depravity and harmful behavior; I will not give harmful medicines to others and will not instruct in them, nor will I give them to anyone even if they ask for them. In particular, I will not perform abortions on women. In this spirit of purity and sanctity, I wish to carry out my duties for the rest of my life.
Wherever I go, whether I meet men or women, nobles or slaves, my only aim is to work for the happiness of the sick, and to keep myself free from all kinds of harm and evil, especially from seduction.
I am willing to keep secret all that I have seen and heard, whether in business or not, which I think ought to be kept secret. And if I keep the above vows, I ask the gods to give me the highest honor in my life and in my medical skill, and if I violate them, the gods and spirits of heaven and earth will put me to death.”
Arthur nodded, “You should be glad that the people you swore to were Apollo, Asclepius, and Axel. If you had sworn to the devil, you would have gone straight to hell by now!”
Hearing this, the doctor couldn’t help but step forward to explain.
“Mr. Hastings, we really only purchased the bodies. The source of the corpses is not legal, of course we know that, but the corpses that are currently coming in from legal channels are simply not enough to fulfill the daily teaching needs, let alone start scientific research.”
“Since the Burke case in Edinburgh in 1828, there have also been some private agreements within the industry, and we usually only contact familiar gravediggers. Most of the bodies that come in from their side are from churchyards, and we don’t know that they’ve switched to the murder business!”
“If we were really involved in the killings, how could we possibly cooperate with the police investigation? We have already provided the facial features and personal details of the body sellers as requested by the police. Won’t you know who is right or wrong once you check?”
“We anatomists have not done anything wrong, it’s just that the officials and the public in this country simply don’t understand the social reality. Laws are meant to be used to sanction those who dare to fight against the public interest of the society, but autopsy operations help promote the public interest and should not be restricted.”
When Arthur heard this, he spoke, “I realize that your words are not entirely without merit, which is why you are still alive and standing here. If I get proof of your involvement in the murders, then I won’t speak so politely.”
As he spoke, Arthur also pointed at them and pointed at his coworkers behind him.
“Do you know why Scotland Yard arranged for these officers to be here? Do you guys think they’re here to protect me? No, they are here to protect you all. If no one else was there, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to resist slashing you all to death!
As for whether you are dissecting corpses for public interest or for personal self-interest, and whether these actions are in line with medical ethics, the House of Commons has already organized a special Investigation Committee on Anatomy Ethics, and the results of their review will be more professionally authoritative than my personal opinion.”
Saying this, Arthur rushed to the police officers beside him and ordered, “The families of the victims of the body theft case are all very emotional right now, order all police districts to arrange for doctors to complete the suturing of the corpses as soon as possible, and the sooner the victims’ corpses are returned, the better. There have already been several public rallies and protests in front of the Supreme Court and the Parliament building this morning.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has asked us to calm the situation down as soon as possible, and that murderers for whom there is sufficient evidence should be tried as quickly as possible and their cases closed as soon as possible.
All murderers should be tried and punished in the same way as in the Edinburgh Burke case.
After the criminals have been taken to Tyburn execution ground for hanging, the bodies will be hung for three days, and then Mr. Thomas Wakeley, a member of the House of Commons and a medical expert, will perform a public autopsy to appease the public.”
Speaking of this, Arthur suddenly turned his head to look at several doctors, “Speaking of Mr. Wakeley, you should have all heard of his great name, right?”
Cold sweat broke out on several doctors, “When …… of course, the founder of that Lancet magazine, our industry’s evaluation of him, quite divisive ……”
Arthur nodded his head, “For those doctors who truly have a clear conscience, I’d like to announce good news, while for those who talk about scientific progress, but actually do it for their own self-interest, I’d like to announce bad news.
Due to Mr. Wakeley’s hardened medical ethics, and the fact that his original intention of founding The Lancet back then was precisely to publish lectures on medical knowledge, to break the monopoly of some medical groups on the relevant knowledge, and to fight against their high profit-making by borrowing the lectures from the hospitals in the metropolis.
Therefore, this time, the parliament specially authorized him to be responsible for all the organizational review work of the Anatomy Ethics Investigation Committee.
If you all really have no problem with it, I don’t think you should be afraid of Mr. Wakeley conducting a reasonable investigation either.”
Several doctors’ expressions instantly produced a change.
Some were blithely calm, while others looked at each other in disbelief.
Arthur glanced at them, and before he could speak, the door to the interrogation room suddenly opened.
Officer Felder rushed in and spoke with a joyful face, “Sir! We have identified the exact location of the murderer of St. Giles Parish!”
Hearing this, Arthur hurriedly got up and asked after him, “Have you caught him?”
Sergeant Fielder said, “We raided their residence at noon today based on the information we received, and arrested two of them on the spot, and one said that he had gone back to his country home near London to visit his family two days ago. We have just dispatched officers to the area and believe it won’t be long before we catch him.”
Just as he finished speaking, Detective Field handed Arthur the document clipped under his armpit, which contained a rather detailed analysis of the case, with the three murderers’ social relations, address information, occupational history, and place of birth all in one place.
Arthur casually flipped through this dossier and suddenly tilted his head back to look at the sky and took a deep breath.
He saw Agareth, who was sitting on the ceiling chandelier and swaying.
The Red Devil grinned widely, “Visiting family? How dare this fool visit his family! If he doesn’t visit his family, he’ll just be executed by hanging and his body dissected. With this family visit, he probably won’t even be able to save his soul. Arthur, catch up with him and eat him up!”
Hearing this, Arthur covered his sore neck and twisted it, then stood up and walked towards the interrogation room.
Officer Felder was overwhelmed by Arthur and asked, “Sir, what are you going to do?”
Arthur loosened his collar as he pointed to the small, cream-colored casket he had prepared for Robin that lay in the corner of the interrogation room and spoke.
“Let the little girl sleep in it, it’s a tough job handing back the body of the deceased, and if something goes wrong with the tone or anything, it’s likely to stir up the nerves and excitement of the public. So let me personally go and return her body to her parents.”
(End of chapter)