shadow of britain

Chapter 87
As a new type of police organization that has just been established, Scotland Yard not only lacks professional investigation detectives, but even struggles to maintain daily patrols.

Their main task is only to maintain the daily order of the streets and arrest crimes such as theft and robbery.

Unless there is a major case like a homicide case that attracts the attention of public opinion, cases with low social influence are generally released as long as they can.

If the case was placed in another police district, it might just be fooled around casually.

But for Arthur, who is committed to investigating and handling major cases to expand his influence, he certainly will not let this kind of case be easily let go.

As for such disappearance cases, the best way to start is, of course, to look for local snakes.

As for the few people who were active on the ground in Greenwich District, Arthur didn't say everything, at least he knew it well.

In this day and age, there is no highly organized criminal group like the Mafia. In the early 19th century, there were more groups with the nature of trade associations in the city of London.

Although the business they do is not illegal, it may not be legal if they are strictly pursued.

And in terms of well-informedness, Judd Martin, a businessman who specializes in selling counterfeit and shoddy products, must be one of the people with the widest sources of information in the Greenwich area.

For no other reason, the small street vendors in Greenwich basically rely on Judd Martin's counterfeit shop for supply.

Items sold by this person, including but not limited to pickles dyed green with copper,
Cream made of bad milk mixed with rice flour and tapioca flour,
Colorful candies made of sugar, starch and Guanyin clay,
Lemonade blended with tartaric acid,

Gloucester cheese dyed with red lead and annatto,

Vegetable sauce is made by mixing distilled wine, residue left after vinegar, walnut skin boiled soup, various spices, chili powder, pimento, salt and unsalable rotten mushrooms.
And all kinds of fake medicines that have a small probability of curing the disease after taking it, but a high probability of making the disease worse.

According to the standards of later generations, Judd Martin is an out-and-out criminal.

But in Britain in the 19th century, Mr. Martin's business was not illegal. The parliament basically turned a blind eye to counterfeiting and selling counterfeit goods, because many of the factories supplying fake goods were all over the UK. major taxpayers.

Moreover, no matter the Whig Party or the Tory Party, they all hold the position of economic liberalism, and some members of parliament will even take the initiative to defend these counterfeit factories and counterfeit dealers.

They say the counterfeiting has effectively lowered commodity prices and improved the quality of life for the poor.

Others say it's the government's greedy tax policy that has allowed fraud to flourish.

For most foreign imports, the UK has imposed high protective tariffs.

For consumer goods like tea, the protective tariff was even as high as 100%.

And drinking tea is an indispensable pastime in the life of the British people. From noble merchants to ordinary workers, everyone has to drink sweet tea at least once a day.

But in the face of such high tariffs and the high cost of long-distance transportation, the price of tea must remain high.

And those counterfeiters claim that in order to meet the tea drinking needs of the lower classes, they have to use the leaves of blackthorn bushes as tea leaves to fry and then sell them.

Therefore, making and selling counterfeit goods can basically be regarded as a common social behavior.

Although some social activists would stand up and criticize food and drug safety issues occasionally, they basically did not cause much trouble.

Frederick Accum, a chemical expert who exposed the British food safety problem, was framed one after another because he touched the interests of these adulterated businessmen, and was eventually expelled from the UK.

Of course, Arthur has no interest, and for the time being, he has no ability to fight against those big factory owners who make counterfeit goods.

But if he just wanted to pinch Judd Martin, he would be able to grab it. After all, the other party is just a distributor and primary manufacturer in the downstream of the counterfeit industry chain. Most importantly, Mr. Martin still has a lot of things to pinch. in hand.

Arthur took Tom and Tony into the alley of Christmas Road. At the end of the alley full of sewage, there was an open courtyard door, and a strong sour smell could be smelled from a long distance away. Creamy and creamy.

When he came to the gate of the courtyard, he saw a large pot of bubbling milk standing in the courtyard.

Two workers in coats full of pockets were stirring the milk with wooden sticks of the same height, and from time to time they would take a handful of colorful powder from the pockets of their coats and throw them into the pot.

With the stirring of the wooden stick and the addition of various raw materials, the sour smell became much lighter, and the flowing milk gradually became viscous, and its expression began to show a dark red luster.

Mr. Martin, in blue overalls and a dirty apron around his waist, was not idle either.

He first poured the sacks filled with Avalokitesvara clay and pepper powder beside him on the ground, and then reached out to stir the two evenly.

He was knelt on the ground stirring vigorously when he suddenly saw a pair of riding boots appearing in front of his eyes.

Martin looked up and immediately put on a smiling face.

He wiped his hands covered with pepper powder and Guanyin soil on his apron, then stood up, nodded and bowed, and said, "Officer Arthur? Why are you free to come to my place today? Why don't you come in and have a cup of tea? Definitely authentic tea, not like the ones I sell."

Arthur didn't want to talk nonsense with him, so he took out a notebook directly from his arms.

"Mr. Martin, we have received a report that the guests of an inn were all vomiting and diarrhea after eating Gloucester cheese bought from you, and were sent to the hospital for treatment. I plan to invest Arrest you in the name of poison, if it is convenient, come with us."

When Martin heard this, his expression changed. He said, "Sir, it's true that I sold Gloucester cheese, but I bought it from other factories, and I didn't make it!"

"Really? Then I'll change one."

Arthur turned to the next page of the notebook: "A lady complained to us that after she served the guests with the cream she bought from you, the guests all had a high fever. We suspect you..."

As soon as Martin heard this, he quickly raised his hand to signal Arthur to stop. He fumbled in his pocket for a long time, and then took out a stack of banknotes with a painful expression on his face, and handed it to Arthur tremblingly.

He said with a smile on his face: "Mr. Police Officer, this is my fault. You have been in office for so long, and I haven't congratulated you yet. For their sake, don't continue to entangle in this matter." Bar.

After all, you also know that these days, what is not mixed with some gadgets?As long as it doesn't kill people, it means it's fine.If people are eaten to death, it means that there is something wrong with their health.

You are an honest police officer, and the newspapers praise you for your youth and ability.How can I, a miserable and humble little businessman, be worthy of your efforts?Instead of wasting energy on me, it's better to take care of those thieves and murderers, don't you think that's the truth?

If there is anything you need from me, just ask, you don't need to be polite to me. "

Arthur stared at Martin for a while, with a smile on the corner of his mouth: "Mr. Martin, you really know the times. If that's the case, then I won't be polite."

He took out a portrait from his pocket, pointed to the curly-haired fat man on the portrait and asked: "The police station just received a report that this gentleman is missing. You can ask those itinerant vendors on the street for me, Have you seen him anywhere?"

As soon as Arthur said this, Martin smiled reluctantly: "Ask, I can ask for you, but if it's this kind of thing, I think it might be more helpful for you to go directly to the pier and ask the people in Cambridge Efficiency, after all, they seem to be doing this kind of business."

"Cambridge?" Arthur asked, frowning. "What do they do?"

(End of this chapter)