The Shadow of Great Britain

58: Chapter 19 Fagin’s Intelligence 58: Chapter 19 Fagin’s Intelligence Almost at the same moment the door opened, Tom and Tony took a brisk step forward.

Tony clenched the edge of the door tightly, making an effort not to let it close.

While Tom was the first to lift Adam, who was at the door, and retreat to the back.

Inside the door, the thief leader Fagin’s face changed dramatically.

Without even thinking, the man in his sixties immediately pulled out his right hand, which had been behind his back—it was a gleaming meat cleaver.

Just as he was about to deliver a ruthless cut to Tony in front of him, a hand as strong as iron tongs seized his wrist.

Fagin winced in pain, and the knife in his hand clattered to the ground.

Arthur, wearing a bowler hat, tipped up the brim and with his other hand, opened his coat to reveal the flintlock pistol tucked at his waist.

Arthur began, “Don’t trouble yourself, Mr.

Fagin.

We mean no harm, we just want to have a brief chat with you.”

No sooner had Arthur finished speaking than Tony and Tom behind him also opened their coats, revealing the pistols they too had concealed inside.

Seeing this, old Fagin reluctantly raised his hands slightly to show he had no intention of resisting.

The bald old man widened his eyes and took a deep breath, “Okay, it seems today is not my day.

You’re here to settle accounts, are you?

Please, come in, gentlemen.

Shall I make you a cup of tea?”

Arthur raised an eyebrow, “Settle accounts?

Do you owe a lot of money to someone?”

“You’re not here to settle accounts?”

Old Fagin looked them up and down in surprise, “Then are you men of Fred?

Has his conscience finally struck him, and he’s decided to pay off the goods he’s owed me for months?”

Tom and Tony exchanged glances, and Dickens was about to reply but was stopped by the two of them.

Arthur pondered for a moment, licked the corner of his mouth with his tongue, and leaning against the doorframe, he smiled crookedly.

“Mr.

Fagin, is there not something important you’ve forgotten?”

“Something important?”

Fagin’s eyes darted around as he scrutinized Arthur back and forth, suddenly squinting, “If there’s something, just say it straight.

No need to beat around the bush with me.

If you’re really a brother from the streets, you should know the rules.”

At that, Arthur didn’t say much, he just drew the pistol from his waist and pressed it against Fagin’s head.

“Sorry, old man, I’m new here, I don’t know the rules of this place.”

The moment the gun was placed on Fagin’s head, it frightened the old man so much that he raised his hands again which he had just lowered.

He cursed loudly, “Damn it!

I hate you rookies!

All you know is violence, nothing else!”

Adam, seeing this, spoke with pity in his voice, “Mr.

Hastings, you— you promised me.”

Fagin glanced at Adam, who was held in Tom’s arms, “Adam, you actually believe their lies?

What benefits did they give you for you to betray me like this?

Wasn’t I decent to you?

When your parents kicked you out, who took you in?

Who taught you all those delicate tasks?

At most, I just took a cut from the things you stole.

You shouldn’t think that my forty percent is too much; there’s the risk of losing my head for it.

I’m just trying to earn some retirement money!

Ask around in St Giles; which middleman doesn’t pay you half the price?”

Listening to this, Adam felt a bit distressed, “Mr.

Fagin, they mean you no harm.”

“Mean no harm, with a gun to my head?!”

Upon hearing this, Arthur could only sigh helplessly, turned the muzzle of the gun around, and pulled the trigger against his own head.

There was a click, but nothing happened.

Arthur tucked the pistol back into his waist and spread his hands towards old Fagin, “Mr.

Fagin, as you’ve seen, it was just a little joke.”

Old Fagin took a handkerchief out of his upper pocket, wiped the sweat off his chin, and glared, “Who jokes like that?

You nearly scared the life out of an old man!

What exactly are you?”

Officer Tony took out the Scotland Yard badge from his upper pocket and displayed it in front of Fagin.

“As you can see, we are policemen.”

“Policemen?” old Fagin, clutching his aching heart, hunched back, “Officer sirs, I—I am sure there must be some misunderstanding here.”

He fumbled inside his coat for a moment, shaking, and pulled out a nearly new gold pocket watch, which he stuffed into Arthur’s coat pocket.

“For the sake of our mutual acquaintance with Adam, please accept this small token of appreciation.”

Arthur watched the old man’s repeated transformation act with resignation, and could only helplessly return the gold watch back to him.

“Mr.

Fagin, you know I’m a policeman, how can you still be doing this?”

Before Old Eugene could reply, Adam, who was being held by Tom, spoke up weakly: “That’s right, Mr.

Fagin, you have to give it privately.”

Tom’s eyes widened in astonishment as he scolded: “Adam!

Who did you learn that from?

You can’t give it privately either, Arthur wouldn’t accept it even if you did, he’s not short of money now.”

Adam nodded thoughtfully, blinking his sparkling eyes, and said to Fagin: “Then…

Mr.

Fagin, please give it to my father, our family is in need.”

Dickens, standing beside them, was stunned and asked Tony: “Are all the policemen from Scotland Yard like this?”

Tony curled his lip and shrugged: “You find this everywhere, but at least we don’t do that.”

Old Fagin was flustered by their actions, and just as he was at a loss for what to do, Arthur stepped in.

“Let it be, Mr.

Fagin, let’s go inside and talk.”

Now that Fagin knew who they were, he didn’t dare to delay and quickly led them inside the door.

“Please come inside, officers, I’ll go make some tea for you.”

“There’s no need for tea.”

Arthur entered the room, surveying the living space with its newspaper-plastered windows and water-seeping floor.

The walls blackened from the wood smoke, the table missing half a leg and covered in chalk-drawn graffiti, and on the table, a half-eaten loaf of rye bread beside a wax-covered cup and a teapot missing its lid.

And in a small hole in the corner filled with straw, a lean black rat was sound asleep.

Faced with this scene, Arthur couldn’t muster up an appetite whatsoever.

Old Fagin could see that the officers seemed uncomfortable, and with an embarrassed flush said: “Officer sir, my house is considered quite decent around here.

The landlord told me this used to be a nobleman’s house, a Baron and his wife lived here, each wall filled with classical and elegant tastes.

It’s just that it has lacked maintenance for a long time, so you might not be able to tell at this moment.

Don’t disbelieve me, just look here…”

As Old Fagin spoke, he eagerly rubbed the banister leading to the second floor with his greasy sleeve.

“Look at the engraving on this handrail, it’s definitely of a master’s taste.”

Arthur raised his hand to stop his motions: “Mr.

Fagin, we can discuss matters of taste another time.

I’ve heard from Adam that you’re a well-connected figure around here, in possession of much information unknown to others.

Thus, I am here today to consult you on some issues.

I’ve received reliable intelligence stating that there have been numerous disappearance cases in St Giles Church parish recently; do you have any knowledge of this?”

“Disappearance cases?”

Old Fagin’s gaze shifted uneasily as he moistened his dry, puckered lips: “Well, that kind of thing is not uncommon in St Giles.

After all, you should know the situation here.

People come and go every day, a few missing is normal.”

“But I’ve heard that the missing ones are all familiar faces on the street.

Adults and children, men and women.

With your network in St Giles, you must have caught some wind of it, haven’t you?”

With that, Arthur threw a list onto the table: “Can you read?

If not, I can read it to you.”

Old Fagin was sweating profusely: “There are things…

I can’t speak too clearly about, or I’ll be in trouble.

Everyone is making their livelihood this way; I would be cutting off their means.”

At this point, Arthur threw down another document: “Mr.

Fagin, this is a criminal charge against you.

Considering the amount of your fence operations and your incitement to crime, you are facing multiple charges.

It might not be enough for a hanging but certainly enough for transportation, and at your age, there’s little difference between transportation and hanging.

However, if you’re willing to cooperate with our investigation, I can withdraw these charges right away.

After all, St Giles Church parish is not within my jurisdiction; I have no need to meddle in these trifles.”

Hearing this, Fagin hesitated for a moment, but when he saw Officer Tony pull out handcuffs, he finally bit the bullet.

He began: “I can’t say I know everything, but I’m willing to tell you all that I know.”

Upon hearing this, Arthur immediately tossed the charging document into the dirty hearth fire.

“Please go ahead.”

Fagin took a deep breath and asked: “Officer sir, do you know about the burial assistance society?

The kind where a family pays a few pennies each week, and if a family member dies, they can receive some funeral assistance from the society.”