The magistrate's court was set up not far from Scotland Yard, so Arthur and his family had not walked long to get there.

But at this time, Tony has long lost the heart of work, and he is worried about the future days.

But he wasn't the most anxious of all the people present.

A nervous policeman was pacing slowly in front of the magistrate's court, his brow furrowed. Even from afar, Arthur could still clearly see beads of sweat on his sideburns.

Arthur raised his hand and greeted him: "Tom, are you in charge of escorting the suspect today?" ”

Officer Tom was moved to tears when he saw Arthur's familiar face.

"Arthur, you must help me!"

Arthur turned his head to look at Tony, who was lost behind him, and turned to Tom and asked, "What?" Is your child going to college too? ”

"Going to college? No, my wife has just become pregnant, so it's hard to say whether she will have a smooth delivery. ”

"Did you encounter any difficulties?"

"Not yet. But I've had two miscarriages before, so you'll have to save me this time. ”

Arthur shrugged his shoulders and threw his hands at him.

"Tom, you must be in a hurry. I'm just a cop like you, and I'm in charge of crime, not having children. If you want to help your wife give birth smoothly, you should give her more nutrition and find an experienced midwife. But neither of the above is my scope of work. ”

Tom's anxious palms were full of sweat, and he spoke: "I have contacted the midwife, and although I am not rich, I have tried to buy meat for her every day from my small salary.

Although everything seems to be going well now, my wife dreamed of God last night.

God said that the reason why she had a miscarriage was because there were too many sins in my hands as a husband, and I had to atone for my sins, or I would be stillborn this time. ”

"Atonement? Isn't that the job of a pastor? St. Margaret's Church is right behind me, you should go straight and turn left. ”

Tom covered his face and said incoherently, "This time, this time, I'm afraid the priest won't work." ”

"Doesn't work?"

Arthur pinched his chin and thought for a while: "Why don't you buy a ticket to the Ottoman Empire to find an imam to ask?" Or go to the East and ask for advice from a bald monk with advanced cultivation? Even if God doesn't look at the pastor's face, at least take care of the emotions of Allah and Buddha, right? If that doesn't work, I know a red-nosed clown who knows witchcraft, and I can ask him to help you see it. ”

Agareth's phantom flickered: "Arthur, I'm not a clown!" ”

Tom's eyes glistened with tears and he was on the verge of collapse.

"Oh! Arthur, it's all this time, don't make fun of me. There must be a reason why God chose to appear in my wife's dreams at this time. I thought about it this morning, and no matter how I thought about it, I thought that God must have said that it must be the case of little Adam. ”

"Little Adam's case?"

When Arthur heard this name, his mind sank.

Little Adam's fame is thunderous in the ears of the patrol officers in this area.

Although he is only a nine-year-old hairy child, Little Adam's criminal record cannot be written in a single page.

As an experienced thief, Little Adam's business ranges from breaking into homes and stealing handkerchiefs to walking fruit and snatching toys.

It's just that because the amount involved is small, his sentence is not too long.

As a result, he can be seen active in the streets of the parish of Saint-Gilloise every once in a while, but it will not be long before he is returned to prison.

Arthur takes the dossier from Tony's hand and quickly finds information about Adam Jr.

As he flipped through the relevant materials, he muttered, "I talked to that little ghost before, trying to get him to restrain a little. But when I learned about the situation in his house, I realized that it was impossible. ”

Tony asked, "Why can't it be?" Isn't he afraid of going to jail or being whipped? ”

Arthur closed the notebook and stared at Tony, "Adam told me that prison is more comfortable than his home.

Because he can take a hot shower when he goes in and get some clean clothes and socks.

Although they are sometimes bullied by other inmates inside, they are stopped by prison guards and some conscientious criminals.

And if he's outside, once he doesn't bring back the money from the outside, then his bastard parents will beat him up a lot more than the prisoners in prison.

Tony, we're just cops, and we can solve part of the law and order problem, but Adam's crime is a social problem, and there's nothing we can do about it. ”

Later, Arthur said to Tom, who was praying penitently, "If you feel guilty about little Adam, then you don't have to do that. Because for him, when you put him in prison, that's in itself doing good. God will not blame you for this. If you can arrange a better prison for him, God may reward you for your kindness. ”

"But...... But this time it's different, Arthur! ”

Tom wept bitterly and said, "This time he stabbed a big basket, I'm afraid he can't end the case by putting him in prison." To make matters worse, he was guilty of this time at the hands of Sheriff Willockx, who told me this morning that we must get this case to the bottom of the matter.

Because the Home Office just issued a new document the day before yesterday, which said that a low prosecution success rate would damage the social image of the London Metropolitan Police Force, so we should work towards a 100% prosecution success rate.

You also know the character of that old bastard of Willocks, and if we mess up and put a disgrace on his glorious honor book, we might be fired from him altogether.

My wife is about to have a baby, and I can't afford to lose this job. But I can't watch little Adam die! ”

"Sent to death? What crime did he commit this time? Murder or arson? ”

"None of them." Tom trembled and said, "He just stole a lady's umbrella." ”

Tony breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this: "Tom, can you not be startled when you speak." How much can an umbrella be worth? Most magistrates will sentence him to a year in prison, you just have to arrange a good place for him, it's not a big deal. ”

Tom shuddered, "No, Tony, it's a very delicate lace-trimmed parasol, worth seven shillings and sixpence. ”

"Seven shillings and sixpence?"

Tony exclaimed, "Damn! More than five shillings will have to go to the gallows! Even if the magistrate and the jury were to open up, he would have to be exiled to Australia for seven or eight years. A nine-year-old imp, exiled to Australia? He estimated that he would have to die on the ship before he got there. ”

Tom gasped for air, "What if...... If it really doesn't work...... I...... I'm just fighting with that old bastard of Sheriff Willockx! That's what God wills, I—I'm going to be fine. ”

Just as Tom clenched his fists and was about to go out for a fight, Arthur's hand was on his shoulder.

It was a warm, sunny smile.

And behind Arthur's smile, Agareth also showed a satisfied smile.

"Oh! Arthur, I seem to have seen your naked bad thoughts. ”

Arthur said, "Tom, leave the matter to me here, and you can go back to duty." I promise you, little Adam will be fine. ”

Tom looked surprised: "You have come up with the best of both worlds?" Oh! Oh, my God! I knew it! After all, the brightest minds in all of Scotland Yard are standing here! ”

He clenched his fists and swung them fiercely at the sky: "Arthur! Show them that your four years of college aren't for nothing! Oxford and Cambridge are also not worth as much as a leg of the University of London! ”

Arthur looked at Tom in excitement, but calmly took off the blue and white armband on his left arm and handed it to Tom's hand.

His deep voice sounded like a demon groaning.

"By the way, say hello to Sheriff Willocks and tell that unbred bastard, Greenwich Patrol Officer of the London Metropolitan Police Force, Arthur Hastings, isn't going to fucking do it."