The Shadow of Great Britain

59: Chapter 20: A Baffling Case 59: Chapter 20: A Baffling Case Funeral Mutual Aid Society?

Arthur stepped out of Old Fagin’s house, staring at the muddy street before him, his mind still pondering the key terms he had just mentioned.

According to Old Fagin, in the poor communities of London, such funeral mutual aid societies were very popular.

Although the British Isles had entered the industrial age, many traditional customs had not disappeared with the medieval era.

Funerals, as significant ceremonies in Christianity and British culture, still held an important and unique place in many people’s hearts.

In the St Giles Church parish, every poor family had an unwritten rule in common.

Every week they had to save three pennies for the father, two pennies for the mother, and one penny for the child, but this money was not to improve their lives but to prepare for their funerals.

In the traditional beliefs of the Britons, regardless of how poor the deceased had been in life, they all deserved a dignified and solemn funeral, as this could be the only dignity they enjoyed in their lifetime.

Thinking about this, Arthur felt a sense of familiarity and yet a touch of sadness.

Due to cultural differences, he often found it hard to understand some of the local customs.

However, the emphasis on posthumous vanity reminded him of the land he had dreamed of countless times.

Only now did he understand why the elders were so persistent about the funeral rites before burial—it was only those who had suffered throughout their lives who could understand the true meaning of this ceremony.

Perhaps it was a bit old-fashioned, but it was also their way of proclaiming to the world that they had once lived, the last trace they left on this world.

“Arthur?” Officer Tom called him softly, “Are you alright?”

“It’s nothing,” Arthur relit his extinguished pipe and asked, “Are there many of these funeral mutual aid societies among London’s poor nowadays?”

Tom, holding Adam with one arm and scratching the back of his head with the other, replied, “There should be quite a few.

My wife has mentioned them to me, not just funeral mutual aid societies but also medical aid societies, women’s reading clubs, textile workers support societies, and a whole bunch of other messy associations, some of which I can’t even name.”

Tony frowned as he listened, “What kind of associations are these?

They wouldn’t happen to be radical Jacobin organizations like the London Corresponding Society and the Sheffield Constitutional Club, would they?”

Upon hearing this, Tom hastily waved his hands to deny, “No, no, they are just simple mutual aid associations.

For example, the women’s reading club is a society where ladies gather to read and study together.

Each member pays a few pennies a week and can borrow reading material for free in their library, and if a member falls ill and is unable to work, the society even provides a part of their financial support until they recover.

As for the medical aid society, it is about families who cannot afford a doctor pooling together to hire a long-term doctor to serve every member.

Of course, the membership fee is also based on the number of family members, the more members, the more they pay.

This is how poor people come up with solutions when they have no other choice, not an organized Jacobin group.”

Arthur took a drag from his pipe, “Even if they were, it wouldn’t matter.

They are now allowed to associate freely, and we would just closely monitor them.

As long as they don’t create big news like the 1820 Cato Street Conspiracy, planning to assassinate Cabinet members, we’ll just turn a blind eye and let them be.”

After all, I wouldn’t want to hear about the Army deploying in the city of London again, as it would not be good for either side.

If one day there were such mutual aid organizations everywhere in and around London, I believe the world would become a much better place, at least better than it is now.

By that time, maybe us police officers from Scotland Yard wouldn’t have to walk around with clubs all day, and I could buy a one-penny newspaper.”

Hearing this, Tony shook his head with a smirk, “Arthur, you’re thinking too optimistically.

I don’t expect them to sell me a newspaper for a penny; I just hope those street vendors will stop spitting at us in uniform.”

Dickens pulled out the notes he had taken during his talk with old Fagin earlier, reading them over and over and asking, “According to Mr.

Fagin, there are people nearby taking in vagrants and then deceiving them into claiming burial assistance funds?”

Arthur nodded slightly, “Although that’s what was said, if you think about it carefully, it doesn’t explain everything.

It doesn’t explain the reason for everyone’s disappearance.

Looking at the data we currently have in hand, it’s not just vagrant children and frail women who are disappearing; many robust vagrants are vanishing too.

Moreover, many among them were recently released from prison.

I specifically went to Scotland Yard and the Home Office a couple of days ago to check their criminal records, and some of them were charged with violent crimes.

Those who profit from death would hardly find it easy to coax this group to willingly go to their demise.”

After pondering for a moment, Tony suddenly asked darkly, “Arthur, are you saying that old man didn’t tell us the truth?

I’m going back to him right now!”

But before Tony could step away, Arthur held him back.

“He probably told us all he could, but what he said isn’t what we were looking for.

Instances of killing family members to claim burial assistance possibly exist, but they haven’t appeared on a large scale yet.

Otherwise, the first ones to call the police should not be the Duke of Sussex but other families involved in the funeral assistance society.

After all, if a strange family just joined the society and then started dying off in large numbers, any sane person would find it suspicious.”

Arthur flipped through the missing persons list in his hand and said, “While I was talking with Mr.

Fagin just now, I reclassified the missing data in my hands and discovered a very interesting issue.”

Tony eagerly asked, “What issue?”

Arthur replied, “The disappearance pattern of young and middle-aged men has been quite uniform.

In contrast, the disappearance ratio of women, older men, and vagrant children has been climbing in these two months.

According to the Duke of Sussex’s report, there have only been nine women disappearing in the last half year, but six of them occurred in these two months.

The numbers for older men and vagrant children have also surged in these two months.

Don’t you find that interesting?

What does that indicate?”

Red Devil, who was listening by, suddenly covered his mouth and sniggered, “Oh!

My dear Arthur, I didn’t expect you to realize something was off so quickly.”

Dickens was stunned for a moment, but he quickly caught on, “Arthur, are you saying that the disappearances actually involve more than one case?”

Arthur took a deep drag on his cigarette, “No, it’s not just more than one case involved; it’s possibly more than one type of case.”