## Chapter 85: Diplomatic Incident
The Greenwich Police District’s 34th police meeting of the year was in session. Inspector Arthur Hastings, accompanied by four sergeants and a handful of undercover officers, were present.
Arthur glanced at the documents in front of him and began, “Alright, let’s get started. As per the instructions from the Home Office and Scotland Yard, we’ll continue to deploy officers undercover at rallies this week. You’ve all received the pay raise notification. Starting this week, all officers will receive a 25% increase in their salaries.
The Prime Minister and the Home Office are very satisfied with our work. Due to the district’s successful investigation of the major missing persons case in St. Giles parish, we might receive a special bonus.”
A smile spread across the faces of everyone present.
Arthur turned to Sergeant Jones, “Jones, you’ve done a remarkable job. You’ve only been here for a short time, and you’ve already busted several grave-robbing gangs. In terms of ability and mission completion, you are undoubtedly the most outstanding officer in this district.
Frankly, your work ethic is far superior to my old supervisor, Willox. In this year’s work report, I’ll consider giving you a higher rating. Once you’ve accumulated enough years as a sergeant, my letter of recommendation for your promotion will be on its way.”
Jones, startled, quickly stood up and saluted, “It’s all thanks to your guidance, sir!”
The Red Devil leaned against the window, his eyes narrowed, “Arthur, this kid is fishy. Didn’t your missing persons investigation report show it clearly? The grave-robbing gangs he’s uncovered are all linked to those missing persons who vanished without a trace.”
Arthur, of course, knew Jones was suspicious. He had been retracing the internal cases that had recently occurred at Scotland Yard.
Starting with Willox’s gun theft, then the missing evidence from the district, and now the St. Giles parish missing persons case.
Coincidentally, Jones was linked to all these cases. He took over Willox’s position as sergeant in the Greenwich Police District.
Furthermore, when Arthur looked into Jones’ background and promotion records, he discovered that this young man was actually recommended by Superintendent Clemens, the officer in charge of St. Giles parish.
This high degree of overlap in his career history made it impossible not to suspect him.
If you followed this line of reasoning, it meant that everyone in Clemens’ faction within Scotland Yard had problems.
Although Scotland Yard had only been established for a year, it was already rife with cliques.
Most of the mid-level officers in Scotland Yard were all former low-ranking officers from the army.
But despite being from the army, they had formed several factions based on their different branches and regiments.
Those who had served in the cavalry stuck together, those who served in the infantry formed another group, and of course, there were the noble Life Guards, and the Grenadiers who looked down on everyone else with their noses in the air.
Every Monday, when Arthur attended the mid-level police meeting at Scotland Yard, he would often hear the inspectors make jokes about each other’s regimental nicknames.
For example, the inspectors from the 15th Foot Regiment were often mocked as ‘Blank Shooters’.
This name originated from the Battle of Brandywine during the American Revolutionary War, where three battalions of the 15th Foot ran out of ammunition. They distributed the remaining bullets to their best marksmen. To avoid embarrassment, the rest simply loaded their muskets with gunpowder and fired blanks, hoping to boost morale.
The 1st Foot Guards, who held the prestigious titles of ‘Grenadiers’ and ‘Life Guards’ and had defeated the French elite Grenadiers at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, earning the Royal prefix and becoming the Royal Foot Guards, couldn’t escape the mockery either.
The inspectors never mentioned the regiment’s ‘Royal’ status, nor ‘Grenadiers’ or ‘Life Guards’. They simply called the inspectors from the 1st Foot Guards ‘Coal Miners’.
The reason was simple. The regiment’s commander had rented out the soldiers to haul coal to raise money for renovations at the St. James’s Palace officers’ mess.
Of course, the infantry weren’t the only ones to be mocked. Former cavalry officers were also subject to ridicule.
For example, the 11th Light Dragoons were called ‘Cherry Thieves’ because they had been caught stealing cherries from an orchard and were attacked by French troops, forcing them to fight on foot.
Then there was the 14th Light Dragoons, nicknamed ‘The Emperor’s Maid’, because they had achieved numerous victories at the Battle of Vittoria and captured the chamber pot of Napoleon’s brother, Joseph Bonaparte.
And the 17th Light Dragoons, known as the ‘Naval Horse Marines’, were so named because they had been assigned to the Royal Navy for a period.
Clemens’ faction was the Life Guards, nicknamed ‘The Piccadilly Butchers’ for their involvement in suppressing the riots in London’s Piccadilly district.
Considering that Willox was also a cavalryman, his connection to Clemens didn’t seem too far-fetched.
Arthur glanced at Agareus, who was leaning against the window. He seemed to understand why the Red Devil wouldn’t let him investigate this case.
If it was connected to the Life Guards, wouldn’t that mean involving the War Office?
But the War Office was entirely under the control of the Duke of Wellington. The current Secretary of War, Henry Hardinge, was Wellington’s long-time deputy and loyal subordinate.
Besides, the Secretary of War earned a hefty salary of 5,000 pounds a year, with plenty of other money-making opportunities. If things got tough, he could always repeat his old trick and rent out the Life Guards to haul coal. Why bother with the money of indentured servants and those few dozen guns at Scotland Yard?
After all, Scotland Yard’s annual budget was only about 300,000 pounds. How much could they really squeeze out of it?
Arthur couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard he tried.
Since he couldn’t figure it out, he simply stopped trying.
He cleared his throat and continued, “Now, let’s report on this week’s work. Is everything normal within the district?”
“It’s the usual, minor crimes happening all the time, but not much violent crime.”
“The protest rallies are all within the designated areas. It’s clear that these rallies are well-organized, and they haven’t crossed any boundaries.”
“The surveillance activities on the key organizations and associations within the district are also running smoothly. So far, there’s no indication of them planning any criminal activities.”
The sergeants and undercover officers reported on their work for the week one by one. Arthur listened and took notes. Soon, the meeting was nearing its end.
He organized the documents on his desk, “One last thing, the Home Office has assigned officers from this district to assist the Liverpool City Government next week to ensure the successful launch of the Manchester-Liverpool railway. Also, if anything happens in your respective areas, remember to report it to me immediately.
Although this French Revolution seems to be progressing rapidly, and according to news reports in the newspapers these past two days, it seems that Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orléans, has secured the throne, and the domestic situation in France is stabilizing, with the revolution seemingly nearing its end.
But Scotland Yard still requires us to closely monitor the situation in London. After all, no one can be certain about the repercussions of this French Revolution.
The entire Cabinet is on edge. Don’t make any mistakes at work during this time, or it won’t be a simple resignation that can fix it.”
“Yes, sir!”
Arthur finished organizing his documents and was about to go out for a stroll when Tom knocked on the open door. “Arthur?”
Arthur looked up and asked, “What is it?”
Tom glanced around and put his hand over his ear, “Someone came to the station to report a case.”
“Just log the report as usual. Why do you have to specifically inform me?”
Tom looked distressed and chuckled bitterly, “It’s not that, sir. This case seems a bit tricky. The reporter said that his friend went missing, and he suspects kidnapping. But the most important thing is, his friend is French.”
(End of Chapter)