Shadow of great britain

Because it was still early and the jury was not all present, Arthur did not directly attend the hearing after entering the magistrate's court, but walked straight along the carpet.

At the end of the corridor is a dark and poorly lit stone staircase. Going down the stairs is a small waiting room used to temporarily hold prisoners.

The bailiff who was responsible for guarding the prisoners was already familiar with Arthur, and he said hello as usual.

"Hey, isn't this Arthur? It's you who is representing Scotland Yard in court today? They might as well send you to stay in the court. Why do they have to ask you to make a trip every time there is a prisoner?"

Arthur smiled and nodded: "I don't want to take this job either. But there is no way, the team is short of manpower, one person has to be broken into two parts. You also know that our turnover rate and dismissal rate are both double High. Of the newcomers who joined me at the same time last year, only one-third are left."

The bailiff also sighed: "Everyone's life is not easy. What, are you here to interrogate criminals temporarily? Who are you looking for?"

"A child named Adam Evans. There are some situations that we didn't ask clearly before, so we need to recheck."

"You work so carefully, brother! Let me see, Adam Evans... He is in Room 4, do you need guidance?"

"I've been here so many times. Even if I'm a donkey, I should know the location by heart."

The bailiff laughed when he heard this. He took off the fist-sized key chain from the hook on the wall and threw it to Arthur with a wave of his hand.

"Then please do it."

Arthur took the keychain and went to the waiting room No. 4 by familiar means.

He inserted the key and opened the heavy iron door. A dazzling light shot through the gap in the dark railing of the skylight. Under the light, the dust flying all over the sky could be clearly seen.

In this narrow waiting room, which is less than half a meter long, there is only a wooden board fixed with iron chains as a seat.

Little Adam, wearing a faded coarse cloth coat, sat quietly against the corner of the wooden board. His two small hands held the cold iron chain tightly, and his thin torso leaned against the moss-covered wall tiles, as if he wanted to To make yourself sit more stable.

He heard the sound of the iron door opening, and his blank eyes met Arthur's face.

"Mr. Hastings?"

Arthur closed the iron door smoothly and put a finger between his lips: "Shh! Keep your voice down, just call me Arthur."

Adam couldn't help but become excited, his little face turned red, and even though he had deliberately lowered his voice, it was still easy to detect the joy in his tone.

"It's really you! Looks like my trial is about to begin, right? I can go to jail and live and eat for free again!"

Arthur looked at Adam's innocent face and was about to tell him the truth.

But before he could speak, Agares' figure appeared again.

Unfortunately, due to the narrow space of the waiting room, Agares' entire face could only fit into the gap between the iron window bars.

The red devil held on to the edge of the iron railing with both hands, pulling his head outwards while yelling.

"Damn it! What the hell is this place? Our prison cells in hell are more spacious than this! Arthur, can't you go somewhere where people should go?"

Arthur selectively ignored Agares's complaint and said to Adam, "Do you know how much trouble you got into this time?"

"Of course I know."

Adam jumped down from the board, patted his chest proudly and said, "I could tell at a glance that the umbrella was valuable, otherwise I wouldn't have stolen it. This time I will definitely be sentenced to ten or eight years. When I come out of prison, I will be a young and strong boy. If I go to work in a factory at that time, the evil factory owner will not even think of paying me half of my salary. I will also be paid the price of an adult."

Arthur's heart sank, and he touched Adam's head.

"I'm glad you went to jail with such a noble goal. But Adam, I have to tell you bad news. This time, you may be sentenced to death."

"death penalty?"

Little Adam, who had been full of joy just now, was frightened by this word and his face turned pale.

His lips were trembling and he asked, "Sir, are you really not trying to scare me?"

Arthur said with a serious face: "I rarely scare others, and I never scare children. And based on our friendship, do you think I would lie to you?"

Little Adam was silent for a while, and then he slowly said: "Most of the police are bad people. They hit me on the head with a stick and called me a little bastard and a little villain. The sergeant with the hooked nose saw me. And he'll kick me in the butt.

But you, and Officer Tom, you two are good people.

You gave me a shilling and talked to me.

Officer Tom took me to his house for dinner. Officer Tom’s wife was also a very kind person. She mended my torn pants.

By the way, she sent me home, but I don't blame her for that. Because she didn't know that my parents didn't want to see me at home. "

After hearing this, Arthur finally understood what Mrs. Tom's dream was about.

Maybe she simply wanted to save little Adam, or maybe she wanted to accumulate some good karma for her unborn child.

But what she didn't expect was that her act of kindness almost drove her husband crazy.

Little Adam saw that Arthur hadn't spoken for a long time, so he asked cautiously: "Sir, if I don't want to die, what should I do now?"

Arthur started to feel scared when he saw him, and his heart was half relieved.

He comforted: "As long as you listen to me, everything will be fine.

Remember, when the court begins later, you must first say hello to the judge and the ladies and gentlemen of the jury.

Although I will do my best to defend you, the final decision is not in my hands, and the verdict will most likely depend on how they feel about you.

So you have to leave a good first impression on them, which is crucial to the final outcome of the trial. "

Little Adam nodded slightly: "Besides these, do I need to do anything else?"

"If the magistrate says something outrageous to you, don't refute, don't talk back, don't get angry because you are wronged. You must sincerely admit your mistakes and show a good attitude of admitting guilt.

Other than that, don't say anything else. If the judge asks you a question and asks you to answer it, all you have to do is repeat your confession and repeat what I said. It would be better if I could squeeze out a few tears.

I just got today's jury list, and it's full of married women who treat you like their own child. So the harder you cry in court, the farther away your neck will be from the gallows. "

Adam blinked, as if rehearsing the crying scene.

But after trying hard for a long time, he couldn't squeeze out a single tear. He replied with a sad face: "But sir, I really can't cry for an umbrella."

"Then think about your parents." Arthur took a deep breath and said, "Adam! Think about how your parents beat you."

As soon as Arthur finished speaking, Adam started sobbing softly.

His tears fell like broken beads on the damp waiting room floor, and the noise they made also attracted the attention of the bailiff.

"Arthur, what's going on?"

Arthur quickly covered Adam's mouth, looked at his face seriously, and warned him again and again.

"Adam, I know it's hard for you, and it's hard for me too. But in order for your neck to not be hung on the hinge, you have to hold back your tears now. This thing is more precious than gold now, and you can't use it up right away. "

Adam's eyes were slightly red, and he sniffed sharply. His throat was dry and astringent and he could not speak normally, but he still nodded firmly at Arthur.

Arthur could only return Adam's trust with a heavy hug.

There was a reddish light shining in his deep black eyes, which was Agares smiling.

"Fuck, Adam, you have to be worthy of me, worthy of Tom, worthy of Mrs. Tom, and worthy of those of us who still care about you. You must behave well! As for the rest, it's up to me! I, Arthur "Hastings, in the name of the devil, I will fucking get you back alive from the magistrate's court!"