Chapter 370: Master of Assassination

Chapter 366 – Assassination Master
“It seems that Mr. Vidocq has indeed been having a hard time lately, when you go back you can tell him for me that as long as I’m still in Scotland Yard for one day, my promise to him will always work. Whether it’s from the perspective of policing my juniors, or from the perspective of being an admirer of him as a legendary European detective, my admiration for him has never changed.”

Coconut Tree just buried his head and stirred the cup of coffee in front of him with his spoon, the creamy milk melting with the strong black coffee as he stirred, tinting the pure black color into an indefinable brown.

“Mr. Hastings, I actually heard about that incident you had in Liverpool. Although the head honcho also said that you were very much to his liking, it’s still too early to talk about jumping ship at a time like now. Just because you’re lucky enough to leave Liverpool safely doesn’t mean that the boss is lucky enough to leave Paris safely.

At this sensitive time, the moment the chief’s letter of resignation is placed on the desk of the head of the Paris police department, his head will not be allowed to move that night.”

Hearing this, Arthur just rested one hand on the back of his chair and looked at the rain color outside the window and laughed, “I almost forgot, the assassins in France can be much more professional than those in Britain.”

“True.”

Coconut Tree bristled, “You know the first thing I thought of when I read about that case in the paper? Those guys did a downright amateurish job!”

Arthur raised an eyebrow in interest and asked, “Can I hear your high opinion?”

As someone who had lived through the tumultuous years of the Revolution and had followed Vidocq in the Security Department for quite a long time, Coconut Tree could not talk enough about assassination.

He spoke, “First of all, using guns in an assassination is a very foolish act. Perhaps for a frontal battlefield, a pistol is a very convenient and lethal weapon, but for an assassination, a pistol is a very inefficient weapon. If there is anything good about it, it is that it has a very high propaganda value.

Only the frothing fools who liked to make a splash and attract attention would choose something like this. If this case had been handed over to Security, we’d have ruled out the possibility of it being a well-planned political murder at the first opportunity, and the people who did it would have been a bunch of no-good muckety-mucks.”

Although Coconut Tree’s speculations differed in detail from the Criminal Investigation Department’s analysis, the guesses as to the gang’s composition coincided.

And having the approval of the veteran agent from the Security Department made Arthur’s level of trust in his earlier reasoning deepen.

But apart from analyzing the case, what Arthur wanted to know more was still – if the Liverpool assassination case had been run by professionals, what would have been done.

After all, as a Scotland Yard policeman living in the turbulent nineteenth century, even if the assassination Arthur encounters this time is amateurish, he still has plenty of chances to run into professional killers later.

Arthur opened his mouth and asked, “So …… if this Liverpool assassination case was handled by the security department of the Grand Paris Police Department, what kind of team would you send?”

Coconut struck a match and took a sharp sip from his cigar.

As he gulped down the smoke, he spoke eloquently, “Originally, we usually keep these things to ourselves. But seeing as this restaurant’s kosher is done in a rather French style, I’ll talk to you about our French masterpieces.”

Arthur smiled back, “That’s why I value veteran Parisian security agents like you so much, you know all these things that Scotland Yard has never experienced.”

Coconut Tree smiled back, “Mr. Hastings, you are too modest. To put it bluntly, I’m just a bit older than you, so I joined the profession a few years earlier.

First of all, like I said before, if we really wanted to take out a person, we definitely wouldn’t choose to use a pistol. This is because although a pistol has the ability to shoot at long distances, it also means that it is not able to hit 100% of the shots.

You, as a living case of failed assassination, should have a deep understanding of this point. You didn’t even get a shot, and even if you did get a shot, you might not really die. I was shot in the shoulder when I was in the French Army, but look at me now, I am still alive and kicking.
Besides, the use of explosives for assassination is a stupid choice. Because in our experience, explosives in most cases kill not the target but the assassin, as you saw in Liverpool.

The use of small and medium explosives is unreliable, while the use of large explosives tends to injure innocents and raise moral issues. This can make an assassination unsympathetic in the court of public opinion, undermining public relations and thus defeating the goal of a perfect assassination.

It’s like the aftermath of the Liverpool assassination, you see, most of the newspapers and magazines in Britain are condemning the murderer, which is almost completely counterproductive.”

Arthur nodded slightly and said, “It seems that the Security Department does have a lot of experience in this area. Have you practiced it yourselves?”

“That’s not for you to ask.”

Coconut Tree turned his words around and said, “All you need to know is that a truly professional team often chooses simple but effective tools. For example:- a hammer, an axe, a wrench, a screwdriver, a pair of fire pokers, a kitchen knife, or maybe a lamp base.

All in all, anything that is hard, weighted, and easy to carry is a good choice. You must not despise these weapons because they are simple and crude; at least, in our opinion, they have two advantages which a pistol does not possess.”

Arthur tilted his head in thought and guessed, “First, all of these weapons have the ability to be obtained anywhere. Second, it is because of their commonness that they also have the ‘apparently innocent’ feature. This is very important for an assassin to avoid the danger of being searched before or after an operation.”

With a narrowing of his eyes, Coconut Tree pinched the stubble on his chin and laughed softly, “You are certainly perceptive. I didn’t believe the chief when he said you were a formidable figure before, but now it seems that I did underestimate you before.”

Speaking here, Coconut Tree suddenly turned to ask, “Do you know about The Death of Mara?”

“Of course I know.”

Arthur put down his teacup and said, “On July 13, 1793, Marat was assassinated by Charlotte Corday, a supporter of the Girondists, in his residence in Paris. This was more than a famous painting, it was a big deal. Many say that it was Marat’s death that caused Robespierre, who had lost a close comrade, to start a liquidation spree against the Girondists, and the Revolution spiraled out of control.”

Coconut Tree returned, “If only from my personal standpoint, Mara deserved to die; even if he had been lucky enough to escape the assassination, there would have been a guillotine waiting for him behind him. When he was chopping off other people’s heads for fun, he should have thought that he would have to do the same.”

Arthur raised an eyebrow, “Are you talking about his closing down the Paris Academy of Sciences and executing Lavoisier in a personal vendetta?”

“No, I don’t know anything about science, and the slogans he shouted such as ‘The Republic has no need of scholars’ are none of my business. But he caused me a lot of grief as a child, and that’s something I’ve always remembered.”

Coconut Tree took a sip of her coffee and added, “I forgot to tell you, my father was a Gileadist.”

“That’s pretty unfortunate.”

Coconut Tree shrugged his shoulders, “But that’s all in the past, so let bygones be bygones. Of course, I mention Mara’s death to you today, not because I know so much about art and history, much less to reminisce about my childhood, but to talk to you about some of the maneuvers employed in this assassination.

As a classic case of successful assassination, Ms. Corday killed Mara with a simple but efficient weapon, a small, unassuming knife. Also, the gender of the assassin is noteworthy. You are so intelligent that you must know what I am referring to. Yes, the assassin was a tender lady.

You may not believe me, but in the opinion of the agents of the Security Department, ladies are far more suitable as assassins than gentlemen. They’re delicate, beautiful, and seemingly non-threatening, so it’s easier for them to bypass inspections and get close to their targets. And in the Security Department’s evaluation system, closer proximity means a higher assassination success rate.”

Saying this, Coconut Tree suddenly gave a start as he crossed his legs and spoke, “This is also the major reason why we chose to cross-dress en masse when we wanted to kidnap Mr. Zhongma in the first place. Believe me, having a lady’s identity makes things easier in many situations. The chief even used to travel as a nun during his early years of exile.

Farmers in the countryside are usually reluctant to take in an unidentified man of stout years, but a suffering nun can make them hospitable. And more than that, that farmer even arranged for the headman to sleep in the same bed as his two daughters. You know, Mr. Hastings, big men don’t have such good treatment.”

Hearing this, Arthur just snickered, “It seems that you have had a similar experience?”

“Me? No, I was more unlucky.” Coconut Tree laughed to himself, “Perhaps it’s because my disguise is more beautiful than the guv’nor’s, and I usually attract the same characters as your friend. Of course, London is your territory, so I have to be polite. If this was in Paris, I guarantee he would have been in the special cell of the Security Department that night enjoying the usual Mara treatment.”

When he thought of that day’s encounter, he was still a bit indignant, “Mr. Hastings, please forgive me, even if it is a man’s nature to be horny, your friend’s nature is a bit too innocent, isn’t it?”

Arthur didn’t take Coconut Tree’s complaint seriously, he just returned with a nonchalant remark. “Actually, Elder laying his hands on you after crossdressing is still quite comforting to me.”

Coconut Tree was alerted at his words, “What do you mean by that?”

Arthur took a sip of his tea, “Because it means two things; first, he does like the opposite sex. Second, he is still by and large interested in the same species, and the reason for certain special circumstances is purely due to necessity. Before he just didn’t have a choice, if he was given another chance he would definitely choose human, female.”

The amount of information revealed in Arthur’s passage shocked Coconut Tree halfway through the conversation.

After all, even an agent of the Security Department who came from the street gangs of Paris could hardly compare to the casualness with which the Royal Navy chose their mates.

And while Coconut Tree was in a daze, Arthur also flipped through the documents that Coconut Tree had brought today.

As Talleyrand had promised Arthur earlier, the French Embassy had pretty much pulled out every bit of information they had that pointed the finger at the Russian Embassy as the culprits behind the murder in order to gain Britain’s support on the Polish issue.

But the beauty of it was that Arthur didn’t know if this was all the information the French had or not.

Thanks to France’s close ties with Poland, the French had not made much progress in their investigation of the case, but they had dug up the backgrounds of the three Polish gunmen who had committed the murder.

One was Kovalchik, the husband of Ms. Delfina, who was known to have served as secretary to Napoleon’s illegitimate son, Walewski.

As for the other assassin, Dabowski, who had been in hiding for maliciously wounding people at the docks, had been confirmed to have indeed served in the Polish army, and Talleyrand had been able to contact Dabowski’s troop superiors directly through the leader of the Polish exiles, Prince Czartoryski.

But interestingly, according to the Polish captain, Dabowski had contacted a number of his old comrades after the wounding.

It was not known where the kid had heard about the success stories of Fred, the former underground king of the East End. Perhaps it was because of the overwhelming victory over the London hooligans in the dockside brawl that made this brain-deficient Polish big-headed soldier think that he could replicate Fred’s path to success back in the day – relying on a bunch of ex-soldiers to fight their way through the East End with both fists.

And according to the Captain’s confession, Dabowski did achieve some results initially, which is why he rose to the ambition of dragging his old superiors into the fold after having some success.

But the captain, who came from a family of landowners, apparently did not despise the low-end trade of the landlubbers.

And as a young officer who aspired to the restoration of Poland and had maintained a certain degree of contact with Prince Czartoryski, the Captain was not happy to get this kind of black history on his person until he was at the end of his tether.

In the light of subsequent developments, the Captain’s decision was undoubtedly the right one.

For it wasn’t long before Dabowski’s little gang was simply drowned en masse in the Thames by an enraged local gang.

If ordinary parishioners had gone missing by the dozen at once so unannounced, the local vicar would surely have been the first to notice and report it to Scotland Yard.

But the problem was that all of those who died were Polish exiles. Many of them had no place to live, and because of their Catholic status, they didn’t usually attend Anglican churches for services.

As for Dabowski’s old superior, the Polish captain, although he knew about it, the captain, as one of the components of the Polish government-in-exile, thought first of all of keeping the matter quiet.

The Polish exiles were quite aware of their situation; there were people within the British community who were not happy with them, and if the news broke that the exiles had formed a street gang to fight with the local hooligans, it would only worsen the situation for the others.

Therefore, although these people have been vaporized for more than a month, as a result of this case actually did not have the slightest rumor.

As for why Dabowski came back from the dead in Liverpool, although Talleyrand didn’t explicitly say so in the document, the meaning of the words could be seen in the old crippled man’s hints that Liverpool’s Dabowski had been replaced.

His reason for daring to make this hint lay in the third hitman, Victor Novak.

Nowak was also a soldier of the Polish Insurrection, and he had shared an apartment with Dabowski when he came to London.

There was rather little information about Novak in Arthur’s handwritten material, and Talleyrand’s papers gave specific reasons why.

Unlike the knowledge-starved Daborski, Novak was a senior intellectual with a secondary school degree.

Perhaps it was because of this layer of educational experience that he had a significantly better time after arriving in London than Daborsky, who carried bags on the docks.

He first got a job as an errand boy in a London accounting firm, and after Parliament passed the Bankruptcy Bill, the accounting firm’s business increased exponentially, and Novak, who possessed a certain degree of numeracy, was able to become a temporary accounting employee.

But even though he was only a temporary accountant, he earned enough to move out of the cramped little apartment he shared with Dabowski. And naturally, after he moved out of the exile ghetto, it wasn’t easy to find out about him locally.

And that was as far as Talleyrand’s record of information about Novak went.

As to why Talleyrand had dared to conclude, through Novak, that the assassination had something to do with the Russians, the question also lay with the accounting firm that had hired Novak.

If not for Arthur’s previous investigation of the assassination case to re-examine the various records and documents of the assassination of Prime Minister Percival back then, he would never have recognized what was so special about this accounting firm called ‘George Wilkinson & Company’.

This was exactly the place where John Bellingham, the assassin who had accomplished the feat of assassinating the Prime Minister, had worked, and it was also the source that had triggered the assassination case.

If they hadn’t sent Bellingham to Russia to work in the import/export clearing business, Bellingham wouldn’t have gotten into a feud in Russia that led to seizure and bankruptcy, and naturally, Bellingham wouldn’t have had the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the rest of the ministry kicking each other in the back causing him to get the idea to assassinate the Prime Minister.

Even leaving aside the Bellingham part, a company whose Russian part of the business was so large that it needed to send a commissioner on a permanent basis as far back as forty years ago is a real cause for concern.

At this time, Coconut Tree also finally returned from his thoughts on the Royal Navy’s complexity fetish, he looked at Arthur who was in deep thought and opened his mouth to ask, “Actually, Mr. Talleyrand also asked me to bring a document over today, but since he was afraid that it would be difficult for you, he asked me not to take it out yet. However, if you are sure you want it, you can also take it away at any time.”

Arthur closed the document in front of him and opened his mouth to ask, “What is it?”

Coconut Tree set his satchel on the table, “The shareholding structure of the George Wilkinson Company.”

(End of chapter)