Chapter 22: Time for Farewell?
In front of the grand and spacious Parliament Square, Arthur, clad in a wrinkled coat, stood out like a sore thumb amidst the elegantly dressed crowd.
Although Willocks’s attack hadn’t injured him, it had left a few tears in his coat. The surrounding gentlemen and ladies cast curious glances his way. They couldn’t understand why this seemingly clean and tidy young man would wear such a tattered and dirty coat.
But Arthur paid no attention to their stares. He walked as he always did, with his familiar stride, as if he were patrolling the narrow alleys of London’s East End.
Agareus walked beside him, the red devil laughing incessantly, constantly commenting on the ladies’ avant-garde attire.
“Look at that! What’s she got stuck in her head? Two feather boas? Is she trying to be a peacock?”
“Damn, can’t she use less perfume? It smells stronger than the Thames!”
Arthur, perhaps exasperated by the red devil’s incessant chatter, stopped and took a deep breath.
“Agareus.”
The red devil, hearing Arthur’s call, leaned in with wide eyes.
“What is it?”
“About today, I apologize.” Arthur glanced at the police officer’s knife he held in his hand. “I shouldn’t have been so brutal. I should have left him alive, forcing him to surrender his soul. Sorry, I ruined your lunch.”
Agareus’s lips stretched almost to his ears at these words.
“Oh, Arthur, my good brother! Why are you being so polite? I’m a devil, I want souls to torment them and please myself. And what you did today made me very happy!
You wouldn’t believe how delighted I was when I saw you take that piece of shit police chief’s life! It felt like it wasn’t you standing there, but me. That scum on the ground wasn’t Agareus, it was Beelzebub!
Damn, I was so happy! One day I’ll do the same thing, that bastard Beelzebub will die by my hand!”
Seeing the red devil’s tail actually wagging in delight, Arthur finally believed he wasn’t lying. He let out a long sigh.
“I don’t know if what I did was right. But I’ve taken a life after all. Thankfully, with Agareus dead, the internal investigation can’t continue. There are no witnesses left, how can they investigate Tom and Tony?”
Agareus chuckled, raising his eyebrows. “Tom and Tony are safe, but what are you going to do next?”
Arthur looked up at the sky. The gray clouds were parting, and a hint of bright sunlight could be seen through the gaps.
He shielded his eyes with his palm, squinting, and said, “One step at a time. If all else fails, I’ll take a ship to America. Don’t people who can’t make it in the UK usually go there?
Some go to North America, some to South America. I can roam the Amazon jungle or herd sheep on the Pampas.
Speaking of which, I heard those roughnecks in the North American colonies are doing some westward expansion. I wonder if they found any gold mines there.
If they did, maybe I can sell water during the gold rush.”
Agareus looked puzzled. “Arthur, what’s wrong with your brain? Everyone goes to the gold rush to find gold, why would you go sell water?”
Arthur shrugged. “I don’t know, but that’s what I learned from a textbook when I was young. It said that selling water during the gold rush could make you rich and become a business tycoon. I want to see if it’s true or not.”
Agareus looked at him with disdain. “Don’t bother, you’ll only make a few pennies selling a bucket of water. Besides, isn’t it good to stay in Britain?”
Arthur sighed helplessly. “I have to stay, don’t I? After I see Tom and Tony at Scotland Yard, we can prepare to buy a ticket to America this afternoon.”
“Do you have enough money to get to America?”
“I’m different from Tom and Tony, they have to support their wives and children, and the other one is about to get married. I’m a single, carefree man, so I save money pretty fast. To be honest, with the academic scholarship I won during college, I’ve saved up a whopping ten pounds.”
A playful smile crossed Agareus’s face.
“Oh, that’s a lot of money! I hope you can really go.”
Arthur stared at Agareus’s face for a long time, sensing something amiss in the red devil’s expression.
“Agareus, are you hiding something from me?”
“Am I?”
Agareus pulled out a file and started filing his nails, saying, “Actually, I’m hiding quite a few things from you, which one do you want to hear?”
“Just tell me from the beginning, oh, and don’t start from King Solomon.”
Hearing Arthur’s request not to mention King Solomon, Agareus threw the file to the ground in a fit of rage.
“Arthur! Then I have nothing to say!”
Arthur looked surprised and apologized. “Sorry, Agareus, it’s my fault. I thought your devil life would be very exciting.”
Agareus, fuming, disappeared into thin air in a flash.
Arthur sighed and rubbed his face, hoping to make himself look more refreshed. Then he walked towards Whitehall Street.
No. 4, Whitehall Street wasn’t far away. He arrived soon.
Looking at the imposing headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, Arthur felt strangely unfamiliar.
Although he had been here many times, this was the first time he had visited as a civilian.
He pushed open the door, and inside, it was the same hustle and bustle as always. The London police officers, who were busy organizing documents at their desks, raised their heads involuntarily when they heard the sound of the door opening.
For the first time, Arthur felt how awkward it was to be watched.
He looked down at his civilian clothes, then at the uniformed London police officers, and raised his hand awkwardly.
“I’m looking for Tom and Tony. I heard they’re under house arrest and being investigated.”
His gaze swept across every police officer present, but whenever his line of sight was about to meet theirs, they would all lower their heads and bury their faces in the newspapers in their hands.
In the crowded office, no one responded to his request, no one even acknowledged his question.
Everyone just went about their own business, as if he were invisible.
His presence didn’t make the world a better place. His absence wouldn’t make the world a worse place.
Arthur’s hand on the doorknob trembled slightly. After a moment of silence, he finally let go of the doorknob and prepared to leave the place that no longer belonged to him, and he no longer belonged to.
However, as he turned, a gentle, deep voice sounded softly behind him.
“Excuse me, are you Officer Arthur Hastings?”
(End of Chapter)