The Shadow of Great Britain

498: Chapter 266: Pretend to Be Confused (4K7) 498: Chapter 266: Pretend to Be Confused (4K7) The cold wind, the pouring rain, lightning, and thunder.

Rainwater trickled between the bricks of the street, gathering into a babbling brook.

Louis Bonaparte stood under the shade of a tree, his black cloth umbrella raised as he looked up at the rain-drenched camphor tree overhead, lush with leaves.

Through the gaps in the foliage, he could see an apartment not far away that offered a direct view over the Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park.

The apartment’s windows were wide open, and there stood a man savoring a biscuit with his London evening tea, despite the rain.

Although his hands were wrapped in bandages, twined round and round like he had been severely hurt, this did not seem to affect his appetite.

Louis shook the water from his hair and, stepping in his boots, approached the attic below; he strode through a garden filled with onions, garlic, and other spices, and entered the apartment, ascending the staircase to the second floor.

Arthur’s room door was ajar, intentionally left that way for Louis.

Louis entered the room and saw that in this small space there was only a bed, a table, a tea set, a phonograph, and a few books.

Arthur, looking at Louis with his shoulder soaked with raindrops, asked with a smile, “How does it feel to take charge of the Criminal Investigation Department on your first day?”

Louis chuckled bitterly, “This job is harder than I imagined, with all kinds of documents, case investigation reports, and countless miscellaneous tasks.

When you said a dog could do this job, I actually believed you.

Looking back now, you were just being modest, weren’t you?”

Arthur poured a cup of tea and paced over to hand it to him, “You only find it difficult because you’re not yet familiar with the procedures.

Do as I’ve told you, and I guarantee you’ll have an easy and pleasant week while I’m off work recovering from my injury.”

“I knew there had to be some tricks,” Louis put down his teacup and pulled out paper and pen, ready to take notes, “Arthur, what are they?”

Arthur leaned against the table, arms folded, “To do this job well, it’s mainly about knowing how to pick the right people for the right tasks.

For case investigations, leave it to Police Superintendent Charles Field.

He’s proficient in chemistry and on-site investigations, has a flexible mind and meticulous thought processes, and in the realm of detective work, there is no one in all of Scotland Yard better than him.

As for matters of procedure that need to be strictly adhered to, such as arresting suspects whom Field confirms are guilty, and detaining the debtors who are charged—those tasks should be handled by Tom.

Tasks that are more about going through the motions or can be sloppily dealt with, or ambiguous cases with uncertain outcomes, like the campaign to reform the sex industry that the department has recently taken up, should be left to Tony.

Of course, since most of the criminal cases come from the East End, we sometimes need to coordinate with the local police district for investigation assistance.

As everyone knows, there are a lot of scoundrels in the East End, including some responsible for its security.

As the acting chief, I bet they won’t take you seriously.

Therefore, before that, you need to first give a heads up to Police Superintendent Jones in Tower Hamlets, telling him I need his full cooperation with your work, because I don’t want to come back after a week to find a mountain of backlog in my inbox.

Occasionally, the department or other senior officers need us to take care of some dirty work in the East End that can’t be openly discussed.

If it’s reasonable, you can agree to it.

But for this kind of task, you need someone smart, tactful, and capable.

In the Whitechapel police station in Tower Hamlets, there’s a young fellow named Ledley—an up-and-comer.

Assign the task to him and you’ll soon have a satisfactory answer.”

At this point, Arthur took a sip of his tea, “Those are essentially the tasks of the Criminal Investigation Department.

If something arises that’s beyond their abilities—any special situation—just come to me.”

Louis Bonaparte, frowning and biting his pen cap, looked up and said, “Then what do I need to do?”

“What do you need to do?” Arthur wrapped an affectionate arm around Louis Bonaparte’s shoulder, ushering him to sit, “Indeed!

Louis, your job is very important, more important than all of theirs combined!”

Louis asked, “Really?

What should I do?”

Arthur cleared his throat and began, “You should know that this fiscal year is coming to an end.

When spring arrives next year, Parliament will review the public budgets of all departments.

So, the Home Office will define the departmental budgets before the opening of Parliament next year.

And Scotland Yard, as a branch of the Home Office, needs to submit our needs before the Home Office sets the budget.

To be precise, Scotland Yard will finalize the budget request report before mid-December.

So, Louis, in this week, you have many meetings to attend.

Your task sounds simple, but it is quite difficult.

I want you to cry poverty at every meeting: to Police Superintendent Rowan during internal meetings, and at the senior police meetings called by the Home Office.

You must tell them about all the significant work we’ve done this year, how many cases we’ve cracked.

Tell them that without the Criminal Investigation Department, London would become a charnel house, with arsonists and murderers rampant in and out of the city.

We need better equipment, more manpower, higher quality training, and ultimately, we need more funds, that is, money.”