Chapter 366: Where is the Enemy?

Chapter 363: Where is the Enemy
London, Westminster, in a restaurant by Trafalgar Square.

In the far corner of the restaurant, there were four men wearing large brimmed hats dressed in a black suit.

If it was a few months ago, their deep and ghostly attire like this would definitely draw the attention of the other people in the restaurant.

But right now, in the midst of the cholera period, when everyone was wrapping themselves up tightly, even going so far as to wear all kinds of strange filtering respirators or other heavy protective clothing, a heavy black coat didn’t seem particularly unusual.

The gaunt-faced Mr. Bernie Harrison looked at the few Scotland Yard dignitaries in front of him, and barely managed to squeeze a smile out of his face as he handed over the menu on the table and opened his mouth.

“A few of you can just order whatever you want to eat, this meal today is all on me.”

Dumas lifted his chin and teased, “Mr. Harrison, are you trying to buy us off? Although Scotland Yard’s pay is not as generous as your cosmetics company, we can still afford to shell out for a meal.”

Harrison held his forehead and sighed, “Sir, please don’t misunderstand, I wouldn’t do something that stupid. Mr. Hastings has refused me an enthusiastic donation worth a thousand pounds before, and I don’t think a meal will buy him off.”

“A thousand pounds?” Dumas twisted his head and asked at Arthur beside him, “And this?”

Arthur sipped his tea, “I told you, Benjamin’s position as MP is more than fifteen hundred pounds, and long before he was elected, I had already incurred a loss of a thousand pounds or more.”

Dumas sniffed and realized, he looked at Harrison and said, “After all this, Benjamin’s seat as a councillor was originally supposed to belong to you?”

Harrison waved his hand with a bitter smile, “Let’s not mention the past. Since that incident, I have been completely abandoned by the Tory Party. Even if that position wasn’t reserved for Mr. Disraeli, it would have fallen into someone else’s hands. Alas, I’ve had bad luck all year this year, what do you mean by bad luck, this is called bad luck.”

Louis on the side coldly said, “In the end, it’s still your own carelessness that is to blame.”

As soon as Harrison heard this, he was furious, “I only made some insignificant little mistakes! When it comes to flower hunting, at least half of the upper and lower courtyards combined are unclean. I was just unlucky enough to bump into a Polish lady, and that’s why the Whigs used the Polish issue as a pretext to play up the issue, and that’s what completely and utterly tarnished my reputation!
Oh yes, I can’t exactly say it was a matter of luck, after all, Mr. Hastings is quite knowledgeable about the inner workings of the situation, and that Polish beauty must have been handpicked round after round, right? What favors did the Whigs give you that you were willing to go to such lengths for them, even going so far as to frame an upstanding British gentleman, a noble member of the House of Commons?”

In response to Harrison’s complaint, Arthur just put down his teacup and responded flatly.

“Mr. Harrison, although I understand your anger. But I still have to remind you that you should be thankful when you realize that a lady, not a gentleman, is lying in your bed. A lady would have only cost you your seat in Parliament, while a gentleman would have gotten you the death penalty.

Although the government is still pushing the subject of reforming the Blood Act, due to social attitudes and the support of the clerical community, I don’t think that inappropriate behavior between people of the same sex will be invited off the hangman’s list for as long as can be expected.”

Harrison blanched when he heard this, and even the hand pointing at Arthur trembled slightly.

“And you guys considered just getting me killed?”

Arthur didn’t answer him positively either, but instead politely prompted, “Aren’t you curious as to why the Tories didn’t even consider going cold turkey to save your parliamentary seat after the accident? Like you said before, having a lover or even harboring a few long-term concubines is not uncommon among the MP community.

Although your behavior is slightly out of the ordinary compared to others, it is not completely inexcusable. Therefore, you should know in your heart what exactly you have done that the Tory caucus finds unforgivable.

The Whigs wish to strike a blow at their opponents, and the Tories feel that traitors are unforgivable, and those words of yours, even when I, a policeman without any political stance, look at them, feel that they are really out of place. So, Mr. Harrison, having come to this point, you really only have yourself to blame.”

The more Harrison listened, the whiter his face became; of course he knew that Arthur was talking about his plot to bring down Sir Peel.

However, Harrison couldn’t figure out no matter how much he thought about it, how on earth did Arthur and the Tories know about this matter internally.

His lips trembled as he asked softly, “Someone leaked it to you? Can you tell me who?”

Arthur took a slice of bread and dipped it into the bowl of creamy gumbo, “Mr. Harrison, can you keep a secret?”

“Of course!”

Arthur smiled and shrugged, “Then so can I.”

Dumas nodded with his arms wrapped around him, “Mr. Harrison, you mustn’t take us for idiots. Even the cartographers in the Royal Navy know that MPs are like skeletonized carved windows that look as if they’re shut tight, but in reality can’t keep out any wind.”

“But I’m not a councillor anymore.”

“Whoa! That’s worse!” Dumas exclaimed, “It’s the defeated MPs who talk the most.”

When Harrison heard this, he was like a frosty eggplant, wilting so much that he could hardly lift his head.

For the past few months he had assumed that his misfortunes had all stemmed from the young Scotland Yard superintendent before him, and it was only now that he realized that the conspiracy went far deeper than he had previously suspected.

Harrison covered his head and desperately tried to remember the people who knew what was going on, but no matter how he thought about it, the only emotion that came out of his heart, besides anger, was powerlessness.

At this time, he sadly realized that there were few people who knew the inside story that he could afford to mess with.

Harrison’s expression was mixed, but Arthur didn’t even bother to look up, he just methodically cut the veal chop on his dinner plate.

As the table knife split the beef inch by inch along the grain, Arthur casually said with a smile, “Mr. Harrison, you know what? I am a person who likes to make friends, I have many friends, those who write poems, those who write novels, those who play the piano, those who play stocks, those who study animals, and those who are animals themselves, I like to make friends with these people who have different life experiences. But, among the various groups, the only one I would not choose to be friends with is a judge.”

Harrison suddenly frowned when he heard this inexplicable pickup from Arthur; he seemed to detect some flavor, but was not sure.

Harrison leaned forward and asked softly, “May I inquire as to the exact reason?”

“Simple.” Arthur put down his knife and fork and spoke, “It’s because those guys who are judges are used to enjoying the sense of domination over the fate of others. If he himself is a guy with a sense of justice, then he might be less affected. And if he himself is not strong-willed, then letting such a guy become a judge could be a bad thing.

Even a great man like Francis Bacon could be confused by the desire for money, not to mention ordinary mortals. Besides, although Bacon was corrupt and took bribes, one thing he still deserves to be recognized for is that he fought his way to the position of Chancellor on his own, not by selling out his family, especially his wife.”

Harrison’s eyes narrowed, “That’s right, Superintendent Hastings, there is indeed a reason why you have ascended to such a position at such a young age. Let’s see, if I remember correctly, Bacon’s starting point on the road to corruption and bribery started when he became the royal legal advisor, the deputy attorney general of Britannia, didn’t it?”

Arthur smiled and nodded, “There is indeed a reason why you were able to be elected as a councilor, you have a wide range of knowledge. Of course, Bacon’s path to success is not well replicated in the present day. Britannia’s appointment system is far more robust now than it was in the 17th century, not to mention the nation’s Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, even the candidate for Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions in the London District Attorney’s Office is appointed discreetly by His Excellency’s of the Whig Cabinet.”

Harrison leaned back in his chair with his glass of wine and carefully recalled Arthur’s words, and suddenly let out a sneer, “That’s no wonder. I thought before that he and Viscount Melbourne were really fighting an extramarital affair lawsuit, and after all that, it’s the unequal sharing of the spoils promise not honored!”

Knowing the ins and outs of the matter, Louis looked at Arthur with an odd expression, “Sir, are you serious?”

Unexpectedly, before Arthur could reply, Harrison had already spoken up, “What’s wrong with that? Mr. Hastings was merely talking to me about the principles of friendship.”

Arthur rolled up the napkin tied around his neck and wiped his mouth, “That’s right, Mr. Harrison, it seems we don’t have absolutely nothing in common. But after chatting about dating principles, shouldn’t we cut to the chase?”

When Harrison heard this, he just put his heart on the line, he had nothing to lose now anyway, even if he gave it all away it wouldn’t be a big deal.

Moreover, he had specially come to find Arthur today, originally to clear the suspicion on himself.

Harrison opened his mouth, ”Regarding the case before me, which was the accidental death of the maid at home, that was indeed an accident. But before I spill out the truth, I need you to promise me that you will not continue to pursue me in this matter.”

“As long as you can prove that you are not a murderer, and the other fine points, I can exempt you from the rest of the misdemeanor charges on behalf of Scotland Yard.”

“Really?”

Arthur nodded, “The Britannia Police are true to their word when they say it. You must not forget the Burke gang murder and body theft case that happened in Edinburgh two years ago. At that time, the Edinburgh police were suffering from the fact that they had been unable to find clues to Burke’s whereabouts and several other murders, so they made an offer to the other main culprit, William Hale, that as long as he was able to confess to the whereabouts of Burke and the several other corpses then he would be pardoned from the charge of hanging.

In the aftermath, although the police’s decision was questioned, and the citizens of Edinburgh even massively stormed the Edinburgh police station over the issue, they sent a special car to put Hale on a boat to leave the country. It’s still possible to keep a promise against a serial killer as guilty as Hale, and if you really weren’t involved in the murder, there’s even less need to worry about us reneging on our word.”

“This ……”

Harrison deliberated for half a day before hesitantly nodding, “Alright. In fact, the matter still has to start from that day I attended the banquet returning home in the evening, at that time my friend, Judge George Norton was drunk unconscious, so I let him and I ride back in the same carriage. Halfway home, I ran into two other servants sent by my wife, a footman to drive and a maid to bring me my coat. But Norton was really drunk that day, and he recognized my housemaid as his wife, and pointing at her, he began to curse and even hit her with the cushion on the car seat. The maid in my house was so frightened that she ran and fell into the river next to …… her.”

Arthur frowned when he heard this and spoke, “Mr. Harrison, are you going to tell me that the person drowned? If that were the case, we should have found quite a bit of sediment from the mouth, nose, and lungs of the deceased, especially in a place like the Thames, where this feature would have been more prominent.”

Harrison hastened to argue, “That’s not what I was going to say. If it was really this maid who died, then I wouldn’t have the guts to report it; after all, if this man died, it would be more or less connected with me.”

“Then who is the one who died?”

Harrison took a deep breath and spoke, “After my family’s maid fell into the river, I immediately sent my horseman to fish her out. But after we finished working hard to rescue the person, I realized that this Norton fellow was actually sleeping soundly in the car. I was about to lash out at him, but on second thought, this matter may be able to continue to make use of …… this maid in my house is new not long ago, while the last housemaid is because of her unclean hands and feet, and I’m considering whether or not to dismiss her.”

Dumas said with wide eyes when he heard this, “You don’t mean to say that it was this one maid who died, do you?”

Harrison nodded and said, “Indeed it was her, but the girl died a day before the murder. I was thinking about how I should inform her family to take her back and bury her, but after this incident, I thought I might be able to capitalize on it ……”

Arthur turned to ask, “If that’s the case, how do we account for the excessive amount of arsenic we found in the deceased’s body?”

Harrison said awkwardly, “Mr. Hastings, didn’t I say so earlier? This girl’s hands and feet weren’t clean, often stealing things from my home, especially those cosmetics that can beautify and nourish the skin. The fact that you were able to detect excessive arsenic from her stomach only means that my past guesses about her were all correct.

And if you don’t believe me, you can always ask a few other servants in my house to testify, I purposely gave them a gag order before, but it seems unnecessary now. Of course, my wife would certainly have been willing to come out and speak for me if there hadn’t been that earlier incident. But since the Times sent out that story, the two of us are now separated.”

Louis cupped his chin and asked, “So, in that case, the reason why Judge Norton filed a fake autopsy report before was because he mistakenly thought he had killed someone?”

“Half and half.”

Harrison pursed his lips, “Apart from getting off the hook, he was also thinking that he could regain the favor of all the bigwigs in the Tory party through this case and thus return to the House of Commons with honor. Only, now it seems that he should have completely died this heart, so he sold his friends to seek honor intending to go the way of the Whig Party to seek a London District Attorney’s Office Prosecutor’s Deputy Director of Public Prosecution position. Unfortunately! This asshole is ultimately called Viscount Melbourne fooled. From this, we can see that stupid people will always be fooled, and if he doesn’t learn from his mistakes once, he will have to be given another one.”

Louis sniffed and Dumas exchanged glances, how could they not expect that the case that had made Scotland Yard as close as it was was actually a farce that was improvised by these two idiots.

And the series of chain reactions triggered behind this case even almost affected the political stability of the Tory and Whig parties.

Arthur nodded slightly and said, “In that case, are you willing to accuse Judge Norton of perjury in court?”

“In this case, it depends on the situation ……”

Harrison didn’t dare to put words in his mouth either, as it was obvious that at the moment he had another, more damaging matter that needed to be clarified urgently.

Harrison spoke up, “Mr. Hastings, I could swear to God that I didn’t have a penny to do with the Liverpool assassination. The two of us have had a bit of trouble before, but it doesn’t affect personal feelings. Especially now, you and I can be a good pair of friends.

As for, that Polish chick you sent, I really didn’t have much contact with her back there. Of course, I mean that I haven’t taken the initiative to contact her, but she took the initiative to come to me, so you can’t put all the blame on me.”

(End of chapter)