## Chapter 65: Special Authorization
In the office of the Home Secretary, Arthur sat in a chair, his police uniform soaked with rain, water droplets dripping from his hair. His lips looked slightly blue, and the hands clenched into fists on his knees trembled slightly.
Sir Peel, observing Arthur’s solemn expression, sensed something amiss. He exchanged a glance with the Duke of Wellington, who was leaning against the sofa and savoring a glass of sherry. With a gentle smile, he asked, “Officer Arthur, what’s the matter?”
Arthur took a deep breath and said directly, “I hope you can authorize me and my subordinates in the Greenwich Police District full investigative powers regarding the missing persons cases in the parish of St. Giles.”
“Missing persons in St. Giles?” Sir Peel pondered for a moment, vaguely remembering that Scotland Yard had reported such an incident. Though he, as Home Secretary, was responsible for overseeing Scotland Yard, he had been preoccupied with the two-party struggle lately and had not paid much attention to this matter.
Now that he remembered, he hurriedly searched through several thick files on his desk. After searching for about two or three minutes, he pulled out a report from a stack of thick documents. Quickly glancing through it, he placed the report in front of Arthur.
“Is this what you’re talking about? A report from two months ago, about several missing prostitutes and beggars in the St. Giles parish.”
Arthur lowered his head and glanced at the report. His mind, which had calmed down after being drenched in the rain for a long time, suddenly heated up again. He seemed to slowly understand why Agareus had previously forbidden him from investigating the case.
The Red Devil’s words echoed in his ears.
—Arthur, guess why Scotland Yard isn’t investigating this case?
—Listen to me, don’t touch it. If you’re not careful, you could be crushed to pieces!
—Some things are better left unknown!
—You don’t have the capacity to know.
These bastards!
Arthur took a deep breath. His mood was like a still well, nothing could stir his heart except for the drowning of a few people.
“Sir, I must inform you that the missing persons cases in the St. Giles parish are not just about a few prostitutes and beggars. This involves at least forty-five people. The scope of the case is not limited to London’s West End. The day before yesterday, a murder related to the missing persons case occurred in my district. According to the confession of an accomplice, these missing persons are all related to ‘murder and selling corpses’, and the modus operandi is highly similar to the Edinburgh ‘Burke Gang’ that shocked the entire Britain two years ago. Now, London citizens are still under the threat of death. The body of a new victim was just discovered at St. Thomas’ Hospital at King’s College this morning. If we don’t bring these criminals to justice soon, I fear that as the number of missing persons increases, the related information will soon be exposed by the media, and the subsequent negative impact will be immeasurable.”
Hearing this, Sir Peel frowned, glanced at the report in his hand, then looked at Arthur, and asked, “Are you sure everything is true?”
Arthur took off his hat, touching the Scotland Yard badge and swearing, “I swear by my honor and conscience that everything I said is true.”
Hearing this, Sir Peel slammed the report on the table and shouted at the door, “Immediately send someone to No. 4 Whitehall Street! Tell those police superintendents at Scotland Yard, who are lazier than Belphegor, to come see me immediately! I want to ask them, how come, with such a major case, the report on my desk is still two months old!”
Just as Sir Peel was furious, the Duke of Wellington suddenly stood up. He casually took the bottle of sherry from Andalusia from the cupboard, poured himself a little, and poured another glass for Arthur.
Arthur was startled by the goblet that suddenly appeared in front of him. He turned to look at the unfamiliar brown-haired old gentleman and asked, “What is this?”
The Duke of Wellington pointed at the goblet, “Have some, young man. You look like you just came off the battlefield.”
Hearing this, Arthur was stunned for a moment, then forced a smile. “I do look like I just came off the battlefield. Maybe only on the battlefield can one see such a tragic scene.”
Hearing this, the Duke of Wellington couldn’t help but ask, “What did you see?”
“I…”
Arthur paused, “I saw a very good friend of mine die beside me, and I was powerless to stop it. I could only stand there silently and watch, but I couldn’t do anything. I’m a policeman, I thought the existence of police was to prevent these things from happening, but they keep happening one after another. It’s my dereliction of duty, I feel very ashamed, and also… very sorry…”
Hearing this, Sir Peel suddenly remembered what Arthur had said earlier.
“You just said a victim was found at St. Thomas’ Hospital this morning… Could it be…”
Hearing this, the Duke of Wellington suddenly asked.
“Young man, as a policeman, it’s indeed shameful to be unable to stop crime. And you just said you want to be responsible for the entire investigation of this case. But I remember St. Giles parish belongs to London’s West End, which shouldn’t be under your jurisdiction, right? You’re overstepping your authority. If this were the army, it would be considered insubordination.”
Hearing this, Sir Peel slowly closed his open mouth. He just smiled and looked at everything in front of him.
Arthur took a deep breath and stood up. He knew the final test was coming.
“I don’t think it’s insubordination.”
The Duke of Wellington swirled his glass, “Give me a reason.”
Arthur said, “Duke, time is of the essence. I don’t want to lose half the battle before it even starts!”
Hearing this, Wellington was stunned, because Arthur’s words were exactly the famous quote he left behind when he disobeyed the War Office’s orders during the Peninsular War.
He was surprised, “How do you know who I am?”
Arthur calmly said, “Being able to sit comfortably in Sir Peel’s office means your status is not low. Being able to freely take wine here means your relationship with him is close. You mentioned the army, which means you were once a soldier. Based on your age, this wavy hair and blue eyes, plus your well-tailored casual clothes, I can only guess you are the one who was nicknamed ‘The Dandy’ in his youth, the Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, who won the Battle of Waterloo.”
Hearing this, Sir Peel couldn’t help but stand up and applaud for Arthur, “Officer Arthur, that’s a beautiful deduction.”
The Duke of Wellington also nodded rarely. He raised his glass and clinked it against Arthur’s, “Young man, it seems you do have the ability. You figured out my identity in just a few words. It seems this case won’t be a problem if it’s left in your hands.”
“So…” Sir Peel smiled and looked at the Duke of Wellington, “Duke?”
The Duke of Wellington nodded, “Mr. Hastings, you’ve earned this opportunity. We grant you special authorization.”
Arthur asked, “Is this a special authorization from the Home Office?”
“No, no, no.”
The Duke of Wellington took a pen from his coat pocket and a piece of paper from Sir Peel’s desk. He scribbled a few words on it, then folded the paper and tucked it into Arthur’s pocket.
“Go to Scotland Yard and tell them that the special authorization comes from the former Commander-in-Chief of the British Army, the current Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Arthur Wellesley.”
The Duke of Wellington watched Arthur leave the office, still savoring Arthur’s deduction with relish.
“Robert, you know, this young man named Arthur seems to have some real ability. He figured out my identity in a few words. It seems this case won’t be a problem if it’s left in his hands.”
Sir Peel couldn’t help but chuckle. He said, “I’ve always trusted Officer Arthur’s ability, but not because of his deduction this time, but because of his amazing eloquence.”
The Duke of Wellington was puzzled, “Eloquence?”
Sir Peel nodded, then pointed at his chest, “Duke, next time you want to ask someone’s identity, you should put away the pocket watch with your name engraved on it that you’re wearing.”
(End of Chapter)