He Opened A Matchmaking Agency In 18Th Century London [EN]: Chapter 148

148. The End of the Truth Game (2)

Upon confirming the scar from his infancy, Olga embraced Rio and wept for a long time.

After she had calmed down, she confessed to the crimes she had hidden for over a decade, one by one.

“I was tempted by the promise of freedom from slavery and a large sum of money if I killed Lord Dylan’s entire family.

So… while preparing dinner, I received the poison… and put it in the food.”

Olga said she committed the terrible act because she wanted to live with her child, who had been sold off.

“Sob… I think the devil possessed me at that time.”

She hesitated until the last moment before poisoning the food because Lord and Lady Dylan, the farm owners, had always treated her like family and with kindness.

However, she couldn’t stop, unable to bear the thought of her child’s suffering.

Olga doesn’t know how many tears she shed while mixing the poison into the food that day.

She vowed to accept any punishment the world could offer.

“After the act… I ran away frantically, seeing them all lifeless. I took my child, fled far away, forged an emancipation certificate, and have lived like this until now. Sniff-”

The South Carolina state government suspected the runaway maid and pursued her, but never found her.

Moreover, the toxicology tests of the time were basic, so they couldn’t obtain decisive evidence from the food or the bodies of the Dylans. Eventually, the search for the maid was halted after only a few days.

However, Olga’s life was not happy.

As if punished, she was no different from a living corpse, merely breathing.

The constant guilt made it impossible for her to live a proper life.

However, she had to live fiercely to protect her beloved son.

“Who gave you the poison and instigated you to kill Lord Dylan’s family?”

At Theo’s question, Olga slowly turned her head and looked at Mr. Fisher.

“This whole thing… was done under the instructions of Hogarth Fisher!”

Hogarth Fisher immediately protested.

“Have you ever seen such a liar! No! That woman is afraid of being exposed, so she’s making up stories and slandering me!”

Pointing at Rio, he shouted.

“And that person claiming to be Rio Edwards is also suspicious! He’s different from the Rio I knew. That person is not Lord Dylan’s son! Lord Dylan’s son was killed by that lying woman!”

Rio sneered at his claim.

Hogarth Fisher had been startled and avoided eye contact when he first met Rio’s gaze.

Theo could clearly feel Hogarth’s lies.

Tuk-

Chief Townsend threw several documents in front of Hogarth Fisher.

These were the sales documents of Dylan Farm that Lord Rio had brought, evidence that Mr. Robinson had painstakingly obtained from North America.

“This is the sales record showing you transferred Lord Dylan’s property to another person. According to the sales record, you were Lord Rio’s property manager?

According to testimony, after Lord Dylan died, Rio had no relatives, and you were the closest neighbor and claimed to have lived like brothers, so you decided to take care of Rio.

In the end, after Lord Dylan died, you took all of Lord Dylan’s property as a property manager, and these official documents prove you sold it using lawyers and forged documents, isn’t that right?

But you falsely testified in the investigation a few days ago that you knew nothing about Lord Dylan’s land, right? That means your statement can no longer be trusted. You should know that makes your punishment that much easier!”

Ttok- Ttok-

Thud-

Detective Runners opened the door and said.

“Chief, someone is here to see you. They say they urgently want to meet you now.”

“Can’t you see I’m in the middle of an important interrogation? Tell them to come later.”

“But, they said they know Lord Rio well.”

“Know Lord Rio well?”

“They said they have decisive evidence about Lord Rio’s true identity?”

Chief Townsend looked at Theo with a puzzled expression.

Theo nodded.

“Let that person in here.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Shortly after, a large, elderly man pushed open the door to the chief’s office.

Lord Rio seemed the most surprised by Captain Cook’s appearance.

Hogarth Fisher was busy trying to remember who he was, looking startled.

Rio approached the captain.

“Captain? How did you get here?”

Unlike Rio, who was surprised and pleased, Captain Cook had a somewhat apologetic look on his face.

“Ah, Rio… Rio is here too. Yes, it’s been a long time.”

Chief Townsend asked the captain.

“How did you find this place? I heard you brought decisive evidence for the investigation?”

“Yes, there’s been a lot of talk about this case lately. I’m a former slave ship captain, and I’ve watched Rio grow up in Jamaica since he was about 9 years old.”

“Could you briefly explain how you came to know Lord Rio?”

“At the time, I bought slaves who couldn’t endure the difficult plantation life in Jamaica and sold them to North America. Conversely, I bought young and strong slaves from North America and brought them back to Jamaica to sell.”

At this time, the labor intensity of the Jamaican colony was known to be high even among the colonies.

So, when black slave ships moved from Africa, the youngest and strongest slaves went to Jamaica a lot.

However, some slaves could not adapt to the strong labor in Jamaica, and those slaves were resold to North America.

The captain pointed to Hogarth Fisher and said.

“I bought a young white boy as a slave from the man sitting right there.”

Hogarth Fisher’s face turned white.

He never thought he would be recognized.

Hogarth Fisher shook his head violently and denied it.

“That’s ridiculous! I’ve never seen you before! When did I ever hand over a child to you?”

“I only saw you once when I traded Rio, but I still remember your unique appearance. Besides, I remembered you when I heard that the suspect sold Rio to a slave ship.

Actually, I wondered if I would remember after all these years, but seeing you like this today, I recognize you at once.”

“No… that’s not true! I have no memory of meeting someone like you! None!”

The captain scoffed and carefully took out an old document from the leather bag he was carrying, handing it to Chief Townsend.

“I have brought evidence that that person handed Rio over to me.”

“What is this?”

“It’s Rio Edwards’ slave trade contract. If you check it, you’ll see the truth of my words because there’s that person’s signature here.”

Hogarth Fisher was rolling his eyes, not knowing how things were going.

Chief Townsend compared the signature on the slave trade contract with Hogarth Fisher’s signature recorded in various documents.

“Well, there’s nothing to see. The handwriting when disposing of Lord Dylan’s property and the handwriting on this slave contract perfectly match Fisher’s.”

However, Chief Townsend, who was carefully examining the sales contract, tilted his head.

“But Captain? The name ‘Rio Edwards’ isn’t on the slave trade contract? There’s only the name Tommy Clark.”

Captain Cook nodded.

“Yes, of course, that’s the only way it can be.”

“……?”

Captain Cook looked at Lord Rio with pitiful eyes and continued.

“I’m really sorry for Rio, but I think it’s right to tell the truth. The real name of Rio Edwards, who is here now… is Tommy Clark, as it says in that contract.

If you look at the back, there’s also a document attached to confirm Tommy Clark’s identity.”

“Then? Are you saying he’s not Lord Dylan’s son?”

“Yes, the ‘Rio’ I know is ‘Tommy Clark’, a child who came to North America as a slave after being deported for criminal activity.”

Captain Cook looked back at Rio and sincerely advised.

“Rio, no… Tommy. Stop here now. The more time passes, the bigger things will get.”

Rio only smiled an unknowable smile without answering.

Theo, who had been listening quietly, thanked the captain and guided him out the door.

“Thank you, Captain. I think the message has been delivered sufficiently. It was really helpful in revealing the truth of the case. You can go back now.”

“Yes, Detective. Please be lenient with Rio.”

* * *

After Captain Cook left the chief’s office, Chief Townsend asked Rio for the full story.

“Lord Rio, what’s going on? Why does the captain know you as Tommy?”

Rio, who had been watching the pressing Chief Townsend for a while, opened his mouth with a sigh.

“I wanted to live. I was always worried about when I would die from the harsh beatings and starvation if I stayed in Mr. Fisher’s house, so I was always thinking about running away.”

Rio, suffering from hard labor and hunger in Hogarth Fisher’s house, secretly welcomed Fisher’s proposal to sell him as a slave to Jamaica.

“He threatened me that I would have to live as a slave named Tommy in Jamaica for the rest of my life. I said I would definitely do that.

Even on the ship being sold as a slave, I was afraid that if it was revealed that I wasn’t Tommy, I would be sent back to Fisher’s house. So, until I arrived in Jamaica, I pretended to be the child named Tommy written on the document.

But when I went to Jamaica, I insisted on using my original name again so I could use it again.”

Then Theo shouted loudly as if to be heard by Hogarth Fisher.

“Ah, I see now! Mr. Fisher, greedy for Lord Dylan’s farm, instigated the maid Olga to poison him!

When the instigation was successful, he applied to be a property manager, claiming friendship with Lord Dylan, and after monopolizing the property, he disguised Lord Rio as a slave named Tommy and sold him to Jamaica! You bad guy!”

“Ah… no… that’s…”

Chief Townsend, as if agreeing with Theo’s actions, drove Hogarth Fisher fiercely with a scary face.

“This case is being watched by the British people and His Majesty the King! You will not be able to avoid the death penalty! You should know that you will be hanged right away with just this circumstantial evidence! I’m also very annoyed by this case that the public is focused on! It’s over if I just execute you!”

Hogarth Fisher turned pale and shouted.

“Exe… execution? That doesn’t make sense! Why am I being executed?”

“Isn’t it because you delivered poison to Mrs. Olga and instructed her to kill her to take Lord Dylan’s property?”

“Instructed to take the property? How much is Lord Dylan’s property worth? There wasn’t much left even if I sold it.

And, if I was trying to take the property, I shouldn’t have even thought about killing Rio in the first place, right? I became the property manager because Rio was alive.

But Olga clearly said that I ordered her to poison all of the Dylan family. In fact, everyone knew that Rio was dead at the time.”

Theo and Chief Townsend’s plan was working.

Hogarth Fisher was trying to unravel the truth he had been hiding.

“Then it wasn’t for the purpose of property, so why did you try to kill even the young child Rio? There must be a reason, right? Did you have a grudge?”

“Neither property… nor grudges, nor anything else.”

“Then what made you do such a terrible thing? You’re the one who planned everything!”

“I planned this? I’m not a guy with that kind of brain or courage!”

Chief Townsend, receiving a signal from Theo, got up abruptly, losing his temper.

“What nonsense are you talking about! Ah- that’s enough! I don’t want to hear any more lies from your mouth! Anyway, with this much evidence, there’s no problem imposing the death penalty, no matter how much you say no! I also have a headache with this case that the public is focused on! It’s over if I just execute you!”

Thud-

Townsend, bursting open the chief’s office door, shouted to the detectives to empty the office.

“Hey! Take this guy away and detain him right now! It’s been revealed that this guy is the murderer of the Dylan family!”

“Really?”

“Yes! He killed them all to take Lord Dylan’s property. Dirty guy! Put him in Newgate Prison [a notorious London prison] and tell them to prepare the gallows!”

It was then.

Hogarth Fisher cried out in a self-deprecating voice.

“Wait a minute! That’s not it! I didn’t do it! I just did what someone told me to do!”

Everyone held their breath.

Theo asked with a cold face.

“What do you mean? Are you saying you were instigated by someone too?”

“Yes! Yes! That’s right… One day, a strange gentleman from England came to me. He said if I poisoned the Dylan Edwards family to death… he would give me a lot of money. So… so I fell for that temptation and gave the poison to Olga. Sniff-”

“England… gentleman?”

“Yes…. At that time, I had too many debts, the corn harvest was bad, and I was in so much financial trouble… even though I knew it was a really bad thing… that’s why I did it! Sob-”

Hogarth Fisher’s lips were torn and bleeding from how much he had bitten them.

“Really, I just did as I was told, as that English gentleman ordered me to do.

That gentleman gave me 3,000 pounds [a significant sum of money at the time] for the first time along with a poison that would never be detected, and promised to give me 5,000 pounds more if I killed all three Dylan family members. But he said he couldn’t give me a penny more if even one person survived.”

“But Lord Rio didn’t die, did he?”

“Yes, he survived dramatically. But the British gentleman said that he would only give money if all the Dylan family died unconditionally, and that there had to be a definite official document. But I couldn’t bring myself to kill the surviving young Rio.

So, I handed over false official documents to make it look like everyone was dead.”

“With so much money, could that gentleman have so carelessly believed the forgery of official documents that you did?”

“I was strangely lucky. First, articles appeared in several newspapers that all three Dylan family members had died. It was misinformation based on the initial autopsy results.

In addition, when the doctor examined the bodies, all three were dead, so the initial autopsy record stated that all were dead.

But when they were about to hold a funeral at the church, Rio suddenly woke up breathing, causing a big commotion.”

Fisher said he handed over to the gentleman from England the local newspaper article reporting the death accident and the initial autopsy record regarding the death with the names of the Dylan couple and Rio.

“Because Rio came back to life, the funeral was only held for the Dylan couple. So, only the names of the two couples were on the funeral-related records. But when I received the funeral record for guardians from the church, I secretly added Rio’s name to it with my own hands. It was to make it look like he had a funeral and get the money for sure.”

Hogarth gave the data to the gentleman and received the rest of the money.

“Then what is the identity certificate of the child named Tommy? Who the hell is Tommy?”

“He was a slave child in my brother-in-law’s house. One day, I heard that the child had run away, and I thought it was a good thing, so I received the child’s documents and pretended that Rio was that child and sold him to a slave ship.”

“Do you know anything about the identity of the gentleman who instigated you?”

“Nothing. I only knew that he came from England, and he hid the rest thoroughly so I couldn’t know.”

* * *

After sending out the suspects, Theo and Chief Townsend discussed what to do next.

“First, we have to find that gentleman who came from England.”

Theo objected.

“That gentleman is just an intermediary anyway. Even if we find him, it will be difficult to reveal the relationship with the real culprit. Instead, why don’t we search Duke Garrett’s house right away?”

“Olga and Hogarth Fisher both know nothing about Duke Garrett. It’s not easy to search and seize against the Duke, who has no connection. No matter how urgent it is, we can’t help but follow the procedure.”

“Still, I think we should raid unexpectedly when the investigation situation has leaked out less, so we can secure decisive evidence.”

“The handwriting on the letter that Mr. Fisher received from the English gentleman is said to be very unique. He said that he would have Mr. Fisher’s son, who followed him to London, bring the letter tomorrow.

Then, if we search all the ship lists that entered England from North America around the date of receiving the money with that handwriting, we might find a clue.”

“Will there still be passenger lists from 15 years ago?”

“There will be. When investigating, we also checked the list from 20 years ago.

Wouldn’t it be possible to find a person who has a deep connection with Duke Garrett that way?”

“It would be great if that were the case, but I’m worried we’re wasting time.”

“It won’t take that long. Let’s wait a little bit.”

“Chief, then the investigation must be done secretly.”

“Of course. I will select reliable informants and investigate secretly so that the story does not get to Duke Garrett’s side.”