Shadow of great britain

As a crime capital comparable to London, there were many famous prisons in Paris in the 19th century.

The most famous of them is naturally the symbol of the Revolution - the Bastille.

Secondly, there is La Concière Prison, where Queen Marie Antoinette was once imprisoned, and the Temple Prison, which once served as the French regional headquarters of the Knights Templar.

After these prisons, the one that scares Parisians the most is the Saint-Pélagé Prison.

This prison on rue Saint-Jacques in the 5th arrondissement of Paris was originally built as a religious women's prison. After the Revolution, it no longer imposed gender requirements on residents, no longer adhered to religious beliefs, and it did not even care about your specific political stance.

In the early days of the Revolution, the main prisoners here were royalists, many of whom had noble titles on their heads.

As the Revolution progressed, the prisoners in prison became more and more diverse.

Not long after, Mr. Camille Desmoulins, one of the initiators of the French Revolution, was imprisoned here because he was accused by the Jacobins of colluding with the remnants of the Girondins. However, he was only renting a short-term apartment in prison because It didn't take long for him to be guillotined.

The person who executed him was the old executioner in Paris, the father of Mr. Samson whom Arthur had met before.

During the period when the Directory was in power after the Jacobins were overthrown, Mr. François-Noel Babeuf, the leader of the Levellers, was honored to be given a room in Saint-Pélagé Prison because of his conspiracy to overthrow the Directory. Card. He stayed here for several months before being guillotined.

After the Bourbon Restoration, the two brothers, the writer Paul-Louis Courier and the composer Pierre-Jean de Bélanger, were famous for writing political satires and composing satirical government songs respectively. The prison has become a public job.

However, after the July Revolution, the number of people imprisoned for writing satirical articles and satirical songs has been greatly reduced.

Unfortunately, caricaturists, obsessed with drawing ducks and pears, quickly filled the void of writers and composers.

This is exactly what the saying goes, there is a Saint-Pélagé prison for every generation.

Because of this, it is still quite difficult to find a vacant room in San Perage Prison.

Fortunately, Arthur and Vidocq didn't come here to check in today, so they didn't have to worry about it.

Arthur looked through the car window at the Saint-Pelage Prison ahead, looking up and down at this heavily guarded old-fashioned building.

Thick stone walls stand tall, and the surface of the stone walls is rough and mottled. Moss and vines spread at the corners. If you look carefully, you can also find sword scars and bullet marks hidden under the moss and vines. These traces all show how many riots, robberies and revolutions this prison has suffered since its establishment.

Perhaps it is because it has experienced so many storms that its defense is no longer the same as in the early years.

The main entrance of the prison is a heavy iron door, inlaid with thick rivets the size of a fist and complex locks.

The stone pillars on both sides of the door are carved with simple patterns. Although they are blurred, the exquisite craftsmanship of the year can still be seen.

The windows were covered with thick iron bars, each of which was rusty and mottled, but still unbreakable. The windows are narrow, making it almost impossible to peek into the interior from the outside. Only the darkness and shadows inside can be vaguely seen through the iron bars.

At the entrance of the prison, you can still see many guards with live ammunition. It can be seen that since the assassination of Louis Philippe, both the prison guards and the Paris police have increased their vigilance. Not only do these guards have stern expressions, they almost never leave their posts, and they will take a vigilant glance at pedestrians passing by on the roadside.

But in fact, perhaps because everyone does not want to be exposed to the bad luck of the prison, there is not much traffic on this street, and there are almost no carriages. Apart from the vehicles riding on Arthur and Vidocq, the only carriages that would pass through this empty stone road were the prison carriages escorting prisoners. The sound of heavy wheels and the jingle of shaking chains blended together, making it clear that the person sitting inside was definitely not a simple person.

The carriage in which Arthur and Vidocq were riding was sandwiched between prison carriages and queued up. While waiting, Arthur lit his pipe and asked Vidocq about the dead forger.

"How did you and Maxi Franco meet?"

"Me? He and I are old friends."

Vidoc looked at the vehicle in front of him, raised his eyebrows, lit a cigarette, and took a long puff.

"It seems it's still early, so let me tell you a story."

"As you wish."

Vidocq coughed and recounted his early experiences.

"When I first became police commissioner, I was responsible for the area of ​​Avenue Saint-Antoine in Paris. This street has many courtyards, alleys, and cul-de-sacs extending in all directions. Most of them live in despicable people. Struggling in poverty and on the verge of starvation, they are eager to join in some trouble, or to act as an accomplice of robbers or violent elements.

In one of the alleys lived a man named Jean Monette. This guy had suffered a lot over the years, but he had survived and was still full of energy. He is a widower who lives on the fifth floor of a courtyard with his only daughter Emma. It is said that he has been engaged in business and gradually became rich, but he was reluctant to spend money and accumulated it year after year. He was able to save a large sum of money for his daughter before he died.

Emma was already very dignified and generous, and with this wealth, there was certainly no shortage of suitors. Emma thought that with the advantage of being the heir to her property, if she couldn't find someone who made her heart flutter, she would not simply make do and get married hastily. On the first Sunday in June, on this day, Emma received a special reward from her father - she was allowed to go with her friends to see the Fountain of Versailles in southwest Paris, and her father paid all the expenses.

The girl was overjoyed. She had a great time there with her friends, but what made her even more excited was that she met an elegant gentleman there. This gentleman, no matter who he is or what he is talking about, he speaks the truth clearly. He recognized this duke, that count, and other prominent Parisian figures. Not only that, he is also an approachable, well-dressed and trendy man.

Towards evening he insisted on riding home with Miss Emma in a cab, paying the whole fare himself. At this time, he gently pressed Emma's hand and asked her in a low voice to tell him, if possible, where he could see her again next time and have the opportunity to fall under her pomegranate skirt.

Although many people have pursued Emma before, this girl thinks that this time the feeling is different from the past. But no matter what, she couldn't give this gentleman her address. She felt a little embarrassed. How could she tell such a dashing gentleman that she lived in a place like St. Anthony Street?

No, it cannot. But the next Sunday night she arranged to meet him in the Summer Park and dance with him alone all night. So the girl met the gentleman again and again in the summer park, until her father became suspicious. She was often not at home at night. The old man thought this situation was abnormal and something must have happened to his girl.

The old man loves money, but he loves his daughter even more, because her daughter is the only link in life that can connect his emotions. In the past, he had always been passionately in love with his wife. But since the death of his wife, his daughter Emma has filled this empty space in his heart. Apart from money, this mother and daughter were everything he loved. Although the world strongly condemned his cruelty and greed, in turn, he extremely despised this despicable and shameless world.

Therefore, the old man felt very sad about Emma's behavior, and asked her in a subtle way where she had gone out frequently recently. But the answer he got was: She didn't realize there was anything abnormal about her behavior. This answer dissatisfied the old man, but it proved that his suspicion was correct, so he decided to find someone to monitor his daughter.

To do this, he turned to an old friend for help. This old friend euphemistically calls his profession a 'prosecutor', but his opponents call it a 'secret agent' or a 'secret agent'. But no matter what he or others call his profession, he knows exactly what he does. "

Upon hearing this, Arthur joked: "So this is the starting point of the Paris Detective story?"

Vidoc nodded proudly and said: "You can think so. After a few days, my surveillance began to bear fruit. I found that this young lady was often not at home to meet a man. However, no matter how proud I am However, after walking a certain distance, that man would always find a way to get rid of me.

This situation confused me. You can imagine how I felt at the time. I am employed by the government and engaged in a sacred cause like Argos. My goal is to become a famous detective - one who can successfully solve no matter how difficult and complicated the case is. But the contrast in reality is that he was frustrated by a trivial private entrustment - a private investigation.

I followed them to a corner, but when I turned around, they were long gone. Is this a big deal? It is unbearable! I planned to ask a brother to help me at that time. But then I thought about it, if I did this, wouldn’t it be equivalent to admitting my failure? I can tolerate other things, but I can't tolerate losing face.

So I decided to do it on my own, even though the case baffled me. Judging from my experience and what that handsome guy did to Emma, ​​he is definitely not a personable gentleman, but more like a wolf in sheep's clothing. There must be a problem here, and I must find the answer to the problem, but the question is: How should I find it? "

Having said this, Vidocq turned his attention to Arthur as if he was deliberately competing: "Brother, if you were in my position at that time, what would you do if you faced such a cunning opponent? "

Arthur replied without thinking: "For this kind of case, I think taking the initiative is more effective than following. After all, Mr. Jean Monette just wants you to find out where your daughter is abnormal, and this kind of conflict between men and women After talking about the matter, there is only a few things to do. Find a flower seller, give them three or two shillings, ask these boys to go up and sell them flowers, and make fun of them. All you need to do is observe. Miss Ma's expression and tone of voice changed, and the truth emerged. "

Vidoc laughed and said, "I think so now, but I had just entered the industry at that time and my methods were not flexible, so guess how I defeated them in the end?"

Arthur asked: "How did you find out?"

Vidocq said: "After I lost them, I planned to go back and talk to Mr. Jean Monette to see if he could give me some tips. But on the way back, the commotion on the street attracted me Attention. I blended into the crowd, hoping to catch the gangsters on the spot when they were doing anything wrong, because only in this way could I teach them a lesson and make them punished by the law.

Such a mood made me temporarily forget about the investigation mission entrusted by my friend. On the street, crowds of people gathered to watch the excitement. The cause of the incident was a disagreement between two professional grooms who looked like gentlemen over the right of way. In this situation, both parties often need to remain polite to show respect. After the polite words were exhausted, one of the parties drove away, leaving the road completely to the other party.

The two grooms did not fight, which disappointed everyone. The crowd began to disperse, and I followed the crowd. But the moment I turned around, I immediately saw Miss Monette in the crowd. She was currently nestling in the arms of her mysterious lover. The light from the street lamp shone clearly on the faces of Emma and her beloved lover.

And when I turned my gaze from Emma to the gentleman, the latter's whole face came clearly into his sight. I was so overjoyed by this discovery that I couldn't help but exclaimed: 'Yo! It turns out to be this kid! ’”

Arthur was not stupid. He asked at the right time: "Maxi Francos?"

Vidocq smiled and nodded: "It is this villain."

Arthur took a puff of cigarette: "I thought he was just a master of forgery, but I didn't expect him to do such a job of deceiving a little girl."

Vidocq shrugged and said: "If you just deceive the girls, it can't be called a crime. But Francos did this not for the love and body of the girls, but for money and profit. I immediately turned back and surrendered. Mr. Monette's house, and told him how lucky he was to have a friend like me - one who knew everything about everything and everyone in the area.

Then he told me all the information I knew: his daughter always went somewhere to date the most vicious and domineering people in Paris. This guy is extremely good at performing various counter-investigation tricks, to the point where even though the police know the motives of his crimes, they are still unable to grasp the handle of his criminal behavior and cannot bring him to justice. His unusually frequent disguises negated all the efforts of the Criminal Investigation Team.

Old Monette was frightened by my words. When we parted, the sad old father begged me: I must catch this villain and then invite him to prison to spend the rest of his life in isolation.

After Emma came back, old Monette told his daughter the news he had received, and cleverly avoided talking about the source of the news, saying that he knew that she had just separated from a man, and that this man would bring her to the brink of destruction. Finally abandoned her - like a child discarding a broken toy.

With tears in his eyes, he begged his daughter to promise never to see that man again. Emma was shocked by these words: her father could actually speak in such detail. The perfect incarnation in her imagination, with nose and eyes, was actually described like this.

Then the girl began to plead her case in the usual tried-and-true feminine way, and, with tears streaming down her face, she threw herself into her father's arms and promised never to see her admirer again, and, if possible, to destroy him completely. forget. "

When Arthur heard this, he sighed with his pipe in his mouth: "Listen to what you said, something big seems to have happened later? Is there a turning point in the story?"

"is not that right?"

Vidocq said: "Old Monet trusts his daughter, but he will never trust a girl who is passionately in love. He knows very well what his wife was like when he was passionately in love, so in order to ensure the safety of his daughter, he kept doing everything She didn't let her daughter leave the room on the fifth floor for several days. Emma was not an ignorant girl, but God knew what she was thinking at that time. Although the girl forced herself to forget that person, she always thought about being with that person again. The last time the man met.

The biggest obstacle right now is: she can't get out of the room. But that doesn't matter, as long as a woman is determined to do something, she will always use her creativity to find a way. She suddenly thought that although she couldn't get out, it didn't mean that he couldn't get in. The idea was made, and she thought of persuading the old woman who came to help her take care of the room from time to time to deliver a letter for her. This shouldn't be a difficult thing, right?

She said in the letter that her father had been in poor health for the past few days and usually stopped working early to rest. If dear Francos came over at 11 o'clock the next night, his father would have fallen asleep. She would pay close attention to a signal: Three gentle knocks on the door. The old woman completed the task brilliantly, and even brought back his oath: to be loyal to him forever, and she also promised to go to the appointment on time. "

When Arthur heard this, he couldn't help but curl his lips and said: "How could he break the promise? This has been the prey he has been eyeing for several months. Based on my understanding of this group of criminals, he must have been thinking about it at the time. As long as one You have to make the most of your time when you get there.”

Vidocq raised his eyebrows and said: "It seems that there is not much difference between the villains in London and those in Paris. You are right. With such good things, it would be a pity if any brother is let down. So, Fo Longcos hurriedly told his two accomplices of the plan, and in return for assisting him in carrying it out, he promised that each would receive a large share of the loot, and if any of them took an interest in her, so would the girl. It’s part of the reward.”

Arthur frowned when he heard this and said, "Did they succeed in the end?"

"Of course not, otherwise why do you think Francos was imprisoned in San Perage Prison?"

Vidocq said proudly: "Even though his plan was perfectly arranged, the intervention of a nosy detective caused a small accident. Ever since I discovered who this pervert was, I have tried my best to take all possible measures." Every effort will be made to apprehend this fellow, which will give me the distinction of successfully apprehending the 'elegant gentleman', and will also preserve Mr. Monette's property and the chastity of her daughter.

Like Mr. Monette, I did not trust women in love, and my distrust was a little deeper than he did, which helped me to make the correct judgment: Francos, the pervert, would soon be Visit Monette's house. As for the letter, I had actually read it before the old woman gave it to Francos, and had given it my full permission.

At ten o'clock that night, the other four detectives and I arrived at the control point in advance. This position allowed me to see Francos as he passed by. At about ten o'clock in the evening, Francos and his two companions started climbing the stairs on time.

After arriving at the place, the two accomplices had to wait for a while, because Franco had to find an excuse to open the door and let them in. After half an hour, they were called in, and we followed them up the stairs. I had a matching key, which old Monette had given me, so we went in very quietly, standing in the passage so as not to be seen by them.

A few minutes later we heard Emma screaming, and old Monette shouting: 'Kill! There’s a thief!’

So we rushed into the room and noticed that poor Emma was lying on the floor with several rips in her blouse and one of Francos' associates was trying to stop her by gagging or choking her. scream. Whether it was a gag or a chokehold, if we hadn't come in in time, she would have run out of gas in no time.

Old Monette was dragged out of bed, and Francos held a knife, trampled him under his feet and threatened him: if he did not tell where the money and treasures were, his life would come to an end. Seeing us, Francos wanted to make a final death struggle, but unfortunately, he did not get the support of his accomplices, so he had to surrender. The guy was extremely sorry that we weren't half an hour late, but if we were, nothing would have happened to us. "

Arthur applauded softly when he heard this: "A very perfect operation. The criminal's criminal evidence is conclusive, and there is no doubt in the case trial. Even if he is sentenced to life-long hard labor, Francos has no reason to be unconvinced. However, I Another question is, what will be the fate of Miss Emma and her old father after this case is over?

Vidocq said with satisfaction: "Of course everyone is happy! Emma married a man of good character soon after this incident, and old Monette's behavior this time was much more open-minded than we expected. My son-in-law is very satisfied.”

As soon as Vidocq finished speaking, the carriage began to rock and move again.

Arthur heard a good story and his mood improved a lot. He turned his head and looked out the window, and suddenly saw a poorly decorated open carriage driving out of the prison.

There was a thick sack on the carriage, and sitting beside the sack was a guy wearing the uniform of the Grand Paris Police Department.

In Paris, Arthur didn't know many policemen at all, but coincidentally, he happened to know the police officer sitting in the carriage.

That was the guy he had fought with outside the Breaux Detective Agency.

Seeing this, Arthur quickly tugged at Vidocq's sleeve: "Mr. Vidocq, what do you think that is?"