The Shadow of Great Britain

63: Chapter 24 Study of Gases 63: Chapter 24 Study of Gases Wales Hotel, second floor.

The hallway outside the crime scene room was crowded with people, all guests of the hotel.

Per Arthur’s order, all guests were retained inside the hotel until the investigation of the crime scene was completed.

Policemen, who had arrived earlier, had already finished their inquiry work with all the individuals present; upon seeing Arthur’s arrival, they handed their investigation records to their superior.

“Chief, here is the information collected so far for your review.”

Arthur received the materials and instead of examining them immediately, he first glanced over the room’s layout.

It was a relatively narrow, irregularly shaped room with simple furnishings: a bed barely big enough for two people to lie down normally, a nightstand for miscellaneous items with an extinguished gas lamp on it.

Opposite the door was a wooden skylight draped with black curtains, and beneath the window sat an iron canister, about two inches high.

The two victims lay on the bed, their faces covered with white cloth, and the washed-out white sheets and pillowcases still bore traces of yellowish-white vomit.

Arthur sniffed lightly with his nose; there was indeed a faint whiff of gas lingering in the room.

Arthur flipped through the file in his hand and while doing so, asked, “Have the bodies been examined?”

The patrol officer nodded: “They have been examined.

There were no wounds found on the victims, and no signs of struggle at the scene.

Therefore, we initially deduced that they didn’t die from violent crime.

Plus, there was indeed a smell of gas at the scene.

You might not find it very obvious now, but when we first arrived, the room was filled with the scent, and it took quite a while to air the room out with the windows open.

Chief, I think we can wrap up the case – it seems to be just an accidental gas leak; there isn’t much to look into.”

No sooner had the patrol officer finished speaking than the guests standing at the door started to make demands: “Exactly!

Wrap it up quick.

We’ve been confined here for more than two hours already; everyone has their own matters to attend to!”

The burly middle-aged man standing beside the patrol officer also said with a smile on his face, “Yes, the guests all have things to tend to, and I need to get back to running my business!

Officer, you might not know this, but the rent on Central Street isn’t cheap.

My monthly earnings are merely equivalent to a few days of rent here.

Missing a day’s business could mean a loss for the month.”

Arthur looked up at the middle-aged man: “So, you are the hotel owner, Mr.

Wales?”

The middle-aged man took off his hat and held it against his chest, bowing as he nodded: “Pleased to meet you, Police Superintendent Hasting.”

Arthur closed the file and asked, “How do you know I am a Police Superintendent, and not a Chief Inspector?”

“Uh…” Wales hesitated, then immediately pointed at Arthur’s epaulette and said: “You have stars on your shoulders.

I remember Chief Inspectors have three V stripes, that’s how I figured it out.”

“Oh, is that so?” Arthur handed the file back to the patrol officer beside him: “I thought you heard it from my colleagues.

I didn’t expect you to be able to recognize the epaulettes of Scotland Yard.

What’s the matter?

Have you worked at Scotland Yard before?”

“Um…” Wales’s smile froze for a moment, but he quickly waved his hand and denied: “No, no, no, I haven’t worked at Scotland Yard before, but I had a nephew who did, and that’s where I heard it from.”

When Arthur heard this, he did not continue to inquire; instead, he just stared at Wales for a moment before walking into the room and lifting the white cloth covering the victims’ faces.

The victims’ faces were accentuated with pale makeup, and underneath the ghastly pale skin, one could see that their features had turned slightly purplish and bluish.

Arthur furrowed his brow and thought.

He suddenly remembered some knowledge about chemical gases he had exchanged in private with Faraday after a lecture the other day.

He extended two fingers to pry open the tightly closed mouth of the victim, brought his nose close to smell, and found a faint sweet scent in the victim’s mouth.

The onlooking guests, seeing this, couldn’t help but express their confusion: “What’s this about?”

“Officer, please hurry up; we’re all in a rush here.”

However, unbeknownst to the guests, hotel owner Mr.

Wales’s eyes had widened in terror.

Arthur paid no attention to them and walked straight up to hotel owner Mr.

Wales.

“Mr.

Wales, you stated in your testimony that the victims died from a gas leak?”

Arthur stood between the window and Mr.

Wales, filling the room with sunlight, but to Wales, all he could see was shadow.

Wales’s Adam’s apple moved slightly as he swallowed and nodded slowly, “Yes, I think they might have died from a gas leak.”

“Why do you think that?”

Hearing this, Wales’s eyes gradually widened, and he suddenly erupted in anger: “Isn’t it obvious?

People have died, and the room reeked of gas.

What else could it be but a gas leak!

Officer, do you even know how to investigate a case?

If you don’t, find someone who does!

With so many cops at Scotland Yard, can’t you find someone who knows how to handle it!

Why not just call the old Chief Inspector instead?

He did a good job; young people like you should learn more from him!”

“The old Chief Inspector?

Are you talking about Wilcox?” Arthur suddenly smiled: “How did he handle the cases?”

Wales, unable to contain his anger, spat vehemently: “How he handled it!

You’re a cop, and you’re asking me how to handle cases?

God damn it!

Efficient, fast, and it doesn’t disrupt business—that’s the kind of officer we poor citizens need!”

Having said this, he didn’t forget to cheer to the travelers behind him, “Don’t you all think I’m right?”

Agares, who had been watching the commotion from a perch on the window, couldn’t help but throw his head back in laughter, his tongue almost dragging on the ground.

The Red Devil mocked, “This idiot!

The words ‘I killed the person’ are practically written on his face.

Once his little trick is exposed, he flies into a rage.

I can’t find a better adjective to describe him than ‘incompetent’.”

The bystanders were equally perplexed by Wilcox’s sudden and seemingly uncalled-for fury.

Someone spoke up, attempting to mediate, “Officer, that’s enough, you see Mr.

Wilcox is getting angry.”

“It’s just a run-of-the-mill accident, nothing worth investigating.”

Upon seeing this scene, Arthur said nothing, but calmly instructed the police officer beside him, “Take innkeeper Wilcox back to the station.”

The officers were initially stunned, but when it mattered, Tom and Tony reacted swiftly.

They charged forward, one to each side, and wrestled Wilcox to the ground.

Wilcox flailed angrily on the ground, kicking Tony three inches below his navel, struggling to get up and flee.

Tony yelped in pain and rolled along the floor to the side, cursing as he went, “Damn it!

What are you waiting for, pin him down.

Shit!

I’m not even married yet…”

The other officers were now on the same page, and like a pack, they piled on top of Wilcox, pressing him down firmly.

With furious eyes, Wilcox roared, “What right do you have to arrest me?

I haven’t killed anyone!”

Arthur squatted down and asked, “Did I say you killed someone?”

“I…” Before Wilcox could finish his reply, Arthur’s words caught the curse that was about to leave his lips and stuck it in his throat.

The travelers were shocked by the sudden turn of events; they couldn’t understand how the previously peaceful situation had escalated so quickly.

“Officer, could you please explain what exactly is going on here?”

Arthur pointed to the two deceased lying on the bed and said,

“As far as I am aware, if the deceased died from gas poisoning, her mouth should contain a strong foul odor.

However, just now I did not detect any stench from the mouth of the deceased, but instead a faint sweet scent.

Additionally, there weren’t any cherry-red spots on the face of the deceased matching the symptoms of gas poisoning, but rather a slight bluish-purple discoloration, which doesn’t look like gas poisoning, but more like death by suffocation.

That is why I intended to take Mr.

Wilcox back to the station for further investigation.

But I do not understand why Mr.

Wilcox became so suddenly enraged, and that puzzles me as well.”

At this point, Arthur turned to Wilcox, “I have explained everything I needed to.

Now, can you explain why you lost your temper?”

Having heard this, the guests fell silent one by one, sizing up Wilcox with suspicious glances as whispers wove through the crowd.

“My God!

Does this mean it might be a murder case?”

“Did the innkeeper kill two prostitutes?”

“I…” Wilcox’s lips quivered, his mind was a mess, and his whole body shook: “I thought you wanted to arrest me, Officer.

This is all a misunderstanding.”

Arthur shrugged, “I too hope it is all a misunderstanding.

Until all the facts are known, I am inclined to believe you are innocent.

So, for the truth to come out, please cooperate as much as possible.”

He reached out his hand to Wilcox.

Wilcox managed a sickly smile, but before he could grasp Arthur’s hand, he heard Arthur’s voice rise once more.

“Immediately send someone to the Westminster London Gas Light and Coke Company regarding the gas cylinder sitting by the window with their label.

Find out when exactly this cylinder was delivered.

Furthermore, send someone to check with the nearby stores, inquire if they sell nitrous oxide.

If they do, obtain their ledger and see if anyone has recently bought it in large quantities.

Oh, and it goes by another name, ‘laughing gas’, and it has a slightly sweet smell.

Excessive inhalation can produce strong anesthetic effects, identical to the symptoms of the victims.

I suspect the victims might have inhaled too much of the substance, lost consciousness, and were then smothered to death with a pillow from the bed.

You did not scrutinize the scene diligently enough; two people staying in a room, yet there was only one pillow.

Why wasn’t this noted down in the investigation records?

And another thing…”

The more Wilcox heard, the colder he felt, his lips and teeth chattering, strength draining from his body as he slumped to the floor like a lump of clay.

Arthur glanced at him and asked with a smile, “Mr.

Wilcox, no need to worry, I still don’t know why the perpetrator would kill.

Are you familiar with this aspect?

Nitrous oxide isn’t cheap, and to squander a cylinder of gas as well.

By the way, you mentioned Superintendent Willock before.

You said he had investigated here before, too.

Has this inn experienced a similar case in the past?”