"It seems that Mr. Vidocq has had a hard time lately, and when you get back you can tell him for me, that my promise to him will always work as long as I am at Scotland Yard for a day. My admiration for him, both from the perspective of a junior policing officer and from the perspective of an admirer of his legendary European detective, has never changed. ”

The coconut tree just buried his head and stirred the coffee cup in front of him with a spoon, and the milky milk blended with the strong black coffee as he stirred, dyeing the pure black color into an indescribable brown.

"Mr. Hastings, I have actually heard about what happened to you in Liverpool. Although the boss also said that you have a very good appetite for him, but at this moment, it is too early to talk about changing jobs. Just because you're lucky enough to leave Liverpool doesn't mean you're lucky enough to leave Paris.

At this sensitive time, the moment the chief's letter of resignation was placed on the desk of the director of the Paris Police Department, his mind was about to move that night. ”

When Arthur heard this, he just put one hand on the back of his chair, looked at the rain outside the window and smiled: "I almost forgot that the assassins in France are more professional than those in Britain. ”

"That's right."

The coconut tree pouted: "Do you know what the first thing that came to mind when I read about that case in the newspaper?" These guys are just too amateurish! ”

Arthur raised his eyebrows and asked with interest, "Can I hear your opinion?" ”

As a figure who lived through the turbulent years of the Revolution and worked with Vidocq in the Ministry of Security for a considerable time, Coconut Tree is nothing short of when it comes to assassination.

"First of all, it's very stupid to use a gun in an assassination," he said. Perhaps a pistol is a very convenient and lethal weapon for a frontal battlefield, but a pistol is a very inefficient weapon for assassination. If there's anything good about it, it's that its promotional value is very high.

Only those stunned boys who like to stand out and attract attention will choose this kind of thing. If this case had been handed over to the Ministry of Security for investigation, we would have ruled out the possibility that it was a well-planned political murder at the first time. ”

Although the speculation of the coconut tree differs from the analysis of the Criminal Investigation Department in terms of details, the speculation about the composition of the gang coincides.

And the recognition of the old agent of the security department also deepened Arthur's trust in his previous reasoning.

But in addition to analyzing the facts of the case, Arthur wants to know more about what it would be like if the Liverpool assassination was carried out by professionals.

After all, as a Scottish Yard policeman living in the magnificent nineteenth century, even if Arthur's assassination was an amateur, he still had the opportunity to meet a professional killer later.

Arthur asked, "What about ...... If the Liverpool assassination was carried out by the security department of the Grand Paris Police Agency, what kind of team would you send? ”

The coconut tree struck matches and took a sip of a cigar.

While swallowing the clouds and spitting out the fog, he talked eloquently: "Originally, we usually don't pass on these things. But for the sake of the restaurant's croissants, I'll tell you a little bit about our French specialty. ”

Arthur smiled and replied, "That's why I value you so much as an old detective of the Paris Security Department, you know all these things that Scotland Yard has never experienced. ”

Coconut Tree smiled and replied, "Mr. Hastings, you are too modest. To put it bluntly, I'm a little older than you, so I just started the industry a few years earlier.

First of all, like I said before, if we really want to take out someone, we definitely don't choose to use a pistol. Because although the pistol has the ability to shoot from a distance, it also means that it cannot be shot 100%.

You, as a living case of failed assassination, should be well aware of this. You didn't even eat a gun, and even if you did, you wouldn't really die. I was shot in the shoulder in my early years in the French Army, but don't you see how alive I am?

In addition, the explosives used in assassination are completely stupid choices. Because in our experience, explosives kill not the target, but the assassin in most cases, as you see in Liverpool.

The use of small and medium-sized explosives is unreliable, while the use of large explosives often injures innocents and raises moral concerns. This would make the assassination unsympathetic in the public opinion circles, undermine public relations, and thus defeat the goal of a perfect assassination.

It's like the aftermath of the Liverpool assassination, you see, most of the British newspapers and magazines condemn the murderer, which is almost completely counterproductive. ”

Arthur nodded slightly: "It seems that the security department is really experienced in this area. Have you practiced it yourself? ”

"Don't ask."

Coconut Tree said, "You just need to know that a real team of professionals often chooses simple but effective tools. For example: a hammer, an axe, a wrench, a screwdriver, a pair of tongs, a kitchen knife, or a lampholder.

All in all, anything that is hard, weighty, and easy to carry is a good choice. Don't look down on these weapons because they're simple and crude, at least in our opinion, they have two advantages that pistols don't have. ”

Arthur looked up and thought about it, and guessed, "First, these weapons are available everywhere. Second, it is precisely because of their ordinariness that they also have the characteristic of being 'apparently innocent'. This was very important for the Assassin to avoid the danger of being searched before or after the operation. ”

The coconut tree squinted, pinched the stubble on his chin and laughed softly: "You really have understanding." I didn't believe you when I said you were a great person, but now it seems that I did underestimate you in the past. ”

At this point, the coconut tree suddenly turned to ask, "Do you know 'The Death of Marat'?" ”

"Of course I do."

Arthur put down his teacup and said, "On July 13, 1793, Marat was assassinated in his residence in Paris by Charlotte Corday, a supporter of the Girondists. This is not only a famous painting, but also a big event. Many people say that it was the death of Marat that caused Robespierre, who had lost his close comrade-in-arms, to start a frenzy of liquidation of the Girondists, and the Revolution went out of control. ”

The coconut tree replied: "If from my personal standpoint, Marat is innocent of death, even if he narrowly escapes the assassination, there will be a guillotine waiting for him later." When he was excited to cut off other people's heads, he should have thought that he would have such a day. ”

Arthur raised his eyebrows and said, "Are you saying that he closed the Academy of Sciences in Paris and announced the death of Lavoisier for personal vendettas?" ”

"No, I don't know much science, and the slogans he shouts like 'the republic doesn't need scholars' are none of my business. But he made me very sad when I was a child, and I always remember that. ”

Coconut Tree took a sip of coffee and added, "I forgot to tell you that my father was a Girondin." ”

"That's unfortunate."

The coconut tree shrugged and said, "But that's all in the past, let the past be in the past." Of course, I am talking to you today about the death of Timara, not because I know art and history, nor because I am reminiscing about my childhood, but because I want to talk to you about some of the techniques used in this assassination.

As a classic case of successful assassination, Miss Corday's murder weapon against Marat was a humble knife, simple but effective. Moreover, the gender of the assassin is also noteworthy. You're so smart you know what I'm referring to. That's right, the killer is a weak lady.

You may not believe me when I say this, but in the eyes of the agents in the Security Department, ladies are far more suitable for assassins than gentlemen. Delicate, beautiful, and not in the least threatening way, they are also more likely to bypass checks and get closer to their targets. In the Ministry of Security's evaluation system, the closer the proximity to the higher the success rate of the assassination. ”

Speaking of this, the coconut tree was stunned, and he crossed Erlang's legs and said, "This is also an important reason why we chose to disguise themselves collectively when we wanted to kidnap Mr. Dumas. Trust me, having the status of a lady makes things easy in many cases. In his early years in exile, he used to travel as a nun.

Farmers in the countryside are often reluctant to take in an unidentified man in the prime of life, but a hard-working nun can make them hospitable. And not only that, the farmer even arranged for the head to sleep in the same bed with his two daughters. You know, Mr. Hastings, a big man doesn't get that treated. ”

When Arthur heard this, he just quipped, "Looks like you've had a similar experience?" ”

"Me? No, I'm unlucky. ”

The coconut tree laughed at herself, "Maybe it's because I'm more beautiful than the leader, and I'm usually attracted to someone like your friend." Of course, London is your territory, so I'll have to be polite. If this had been in Paris, I guarantee that he would have been in the special cell of the Ministry of Security that night and treated like a horse. ”

When he remembered what happened that day, he was still a little resentful in his heart: "Mr. Hastings, please give me all due diligence, even if it is a man's nature to be lustful, but your friend's nature is inevitably too innocent, right?" ”

Arthur didn't take the coconut tree's complaint seriously, he just replied in a salty and nonchalant manner. "Actually, I'm quite pleased that Elder did it to you after cross-dressing."

When the coconut tree heard this, he was alarmed, "What do you mean by that?" ”

Arthur took a sip of tea: "Because this shows two things, first, he does like the opposite sex. Second, he was still interested in the same species in general, and the reason why certain special circumstances arose was purely out of necessity. He just didn't have a choice before, and if he was given another chance, he would definitely choose humans, women. ”

The amount of information revealed in Arthur's words shook the coconut tree for a long time.

After all, even a security agent from the streets of Paris would hardly be able to match the Royal Navy's randomness in choosing a partner.

And while the coconut tree was stunned, Arthur also flipped through the documents that the coconut tree brought today.

As Talleyrand had promised Arthur earlier, the French embassy had pulled out almost all the information they had about the Russian embassy in order to win the support of Britain on the Polish question.

But the fly in the ointment was that Arthur did not know if this was all the information that the French had.

Because of France's close ties with Poland, although the French did not make much progress in the investigation of the case, they did dig up the background of the three Polish gunmen who committed the murder.

One is known to have served as secretary to Napoleon's illegitimate son, Valewski, and Kovalczyk, the husband of Miss Defina.

As for the other killer, Daboski, who had been hiding at the docks for malicious wounding, had been confirmed to have served in the Polish army, and Talelan contacted Daboski's superiors directly through Prince Chartorysky, the leader of the Polish exiles.

But interestingly, according to the Polish captain, Daboski had contacted many of his old comrades-in-arms after he was wounded.

I don't know where this kid heard about the success story of Fred, the former underground king of the East Side. Perhaps it was the overwhelming victory over the London hooligans in the dock fight that the brainless Polish big-headed soldier thought he could replicate Fred's path of success – relying on a group of veterans to punch out the East End.

According to the captain's confession, Dabosky did achieve certain results at the beginning, so it was only after certain achievements that he had the ambition to recruit his superiors.

However, the captain, who came from a family of landlords, obviously looked down on the low-end industry of ruffians.

Moreover, as a young officer who was interested in recovering Poland and maintained a certain degree of contact with Prince Czartorysky, the captain was not willing to make such a black history for himself until the point of exhaustion.

Judging from the subsequent developments, the captain's decision was undoubtedly correct.

Because Dabosky's small gang was drowned in the Thames by the angry local gang not long after.

If an ordinary parish resident had disappeared a dozen people at one time so quietly, the local priest would have found out as soon as possible and reported it to Scotland Yard.

But the problem is that all of these dead were Polish exiles. Many of them are homeless and, because of their Catholic status, do not usually go to Anglican churches for worship.

As for Daboski's old superior, although the Polish captain knew about it, as one of the components of the Polish government-in-exile, the first thing the captain thought of was to suppress the matter.

The Polish exiles were well aware of their situation, and there were people within British society who did not like them, and if news broke that the exiles had formed street gangs and local gangsters were merging, it would only make the situation worse for the others.

Therefore, although these people have disappeared from the world for more than a month, as a result, there has been no news of this case at all.

As for why Daborski came back from the dead in Liverpool, although Talleyrand did not say it clearly in the document, but the meaning of the words can be seen that the old cripple is hinting that Liverpool's Dabosky is a substitution.

The reason why he dared to make this hint was because of the third killer, Victor Novak.

Novak was also a soldier of the Polish rebels, and when he arrived in London, he shared an apartment with Daboski.

In Arthur's sources, there is rather little information about Novak, while Talleyrand's documents give a specific reason.

Unlike Daboski, who lacked knowledge, Novak was a high-level intellectual with a secondary school degree.

Perhaps it was because of this level of education that he had a much better life after coming to London than Daboski, who was carrying bags on the dock.

He first got a job as an errand boy in an accounting firm in London, but after the passage of the Bankruptcy Bill in Parliament, the firm's business increased exponentially, and Novak, who had some computing power, became a temporary accounting employee.

However, although he is only a temporary accountant, his income is enough to move out of the cramped small apartment he shares with Dabosky. And after he moved out of the exile's settlement, it was not easy to inquire about him from the local area.

That's all Talleyrand's record of information about Novak.

As for why Talleyrand dared to conclude through Novak that the assassination was related to the Russians, the problem was also that the accounting firm that hired Novak was also the one.

If Arthur hadn't gone through the various records of Prime Minister Percival's assassination in order to investigate the assassination, he would never have recognized anything special about this accounting firm called the 'George Wilkinson Company'.

This is where the assassin John Bellingham, who accomplished the assassination of the prime minister, once worked, and it was the source of the assassination.

If they hadn't sent Bellingham to Russia to engage in import and export clearing business, Bellingham would not have made enemies in Russia and led to seizure and bankruptcy, and Bellingham naturally would not have had the idea of assassinating the prime minister because of the foreign ministry and other departments kicking each other's balls later.

Even leaving aside the Bellingham part, a company that was already so large in Russia as early as forty years ago that it needed to have a permanent commissioner is indeed worth noting.

At this time, the coconut tree finally came back to his senses from thinking about the complexity of the Royal Navy, he looked at Arthur, who was deep in thought, and asked, "Actually, Mr. Talleyrand asked me to bring a document today, but because I was afraid that you would be embarrassed, he asked me not to take it out yet." However, if you're sure you want to, you can always take it with you. ”

Arthur closed the document in front of him and asked, "What is it?" ”

Coconut Tree puts his satchel on the table: "The shareholding structure of George Wilkinson's company. ”

(End of chapter)