18 – The Opium Denizens of East End (1)
Professor Warren, one of the faculty members in the mathematics department at Oxford Christ Church College, was quietly traveling from Oxford to London in a first-class carriage with a colleague.
But the word ‘colleague’ barely defined their very tension-filled relationship. There was a significant age difference between them, and above all, their interaction was always a little awkward.
The reason Professor Warren was heading to London with Professor James Moriarty during the weekend was due to some personal, extremely private affair that needed to be quietly dealt with.
Warren cast morose glances at Moriarty, who was observing the world outside the window with a faint smile on his face.
Even though Moriarty was completely aware of his gaze, he blatantly ignored it. Yes, blatantly ignored.
‘This prick solely relies on his own abilities,’ was what Warren thought of Moriarty.
Not that this was a unique thought; most of the people in Moriarty’s faction within the university shared this sentiment.
Unlike Warren who was focused on maintaining his position, the young man was an up-and-coming talent, who was steadily growing influential within the university even though he had only been working there for three years—further massaging Warren’s disgruntlement.
What was more, the damned brat had stepped straight onto the lectern at a tender age of 21, without even a doctoral degree.
In any society or work environment, there always exists the haves and have-nots, and Warren aligned with the latter, standing opposed to this audacious youth.
Yet, even with this in mind, Professor Warren had joined Moriarty on this train to London for a very private endeavor—if an outsider were to look at them, they might think they were on friendly terms.
Reminded of a long-avoided thought, Warren struggled to hide the pallor that involuntarily filled his face.
Of course, Moriarty knew of his discomfort and responded by deepening his faint smile, ridiculing him.
Warren was completely unaware of this, too engrossed in the memories of that past tragedy. The guilt of his crime clouded his vision.
Nevertheless, his guilt mutated into fear of the judgment of others and, on regaining his senses, Warren checked whether anyone was watching him. Relieved to find no one interested, he tried to occupy his thoughts with different matters till they reached their destination.
Were his thoughts diverted to numbers due to his profession? Without realizing, his mind strayed to the cost of their first-class tickets to London due to jealousy towards his audacious young companion.
‘A first-class ticket to London…15 shillings per person…’
Professor Warren, who came from a low-ranking noble household and held a job that was social prestige itself, often traveled first class. The reason why he appeared flustered now had nothing to do with him being unaccustomed to first-class travel.
However, the job of a university professor was one where salary was inversely proportional to social prestige. Despite his long tenure, Professor Warren received an annual salary just shy of 700 pounds from the university.
In comparison to the wages of an ordinary worker, this was quite a decent amount; but people usually think too much of themselves. For Warren, a university professor’s salary was woefully insufficient.
So, when Moriarty nonchalantly purchased two first-class tickets to London without batting an eye, despite this substantial cost, Warren couldn’t help but be taken aback.
While affluent students may afford to frequently splurge on such weekend trips to London, he himself would usually choose the third-class carriage, sometimes preferring the second-class for the sake of his pride.
‘I guess the rumor that he’s fairly wealthy from his investments is true,’ Warren pondered.
Despite only being a Professor for three years, the young Moriarty frequently spent his weekends in London. During Warren’s youth, people of their age would typically stay and volunteer at the university over the weekend!
Furthermore, Moriarty often traveled to London even on weekdays.
Naturally, Warren had no choice but to calculate the amount the man was spending on train fares. Of course, this could simply be a case of Moriarty splurging on first-class to flaunt his wealth, but from the experiences Warren had gathered over the years, the audacious young man usually only ever traveled by first-class.
‘If round trip tickets cost 30 shillings, or about 1.5 pounds…he’s probably spending almost 80 pounds in a year on train fares alone…’
Speaking of which, even the clothes Moriarty was wearing—though ordinary at first glance—were, upon closer examination, all of high quality.
Hearing the rumors that the fallen country bumpkin from Ireland had made a fortune from his investments, Warren couldn’t help but feel the rumors weren’t totally baseless.
Although he himself was one of the very authors of those rumors, he didn’t pay much heed to such small details.
He was displeased. Naturally, if you weren’t fond of something, every single detail about it would likely irk you. Hence, Warren’s feelings were justified.
Therefore, he couldn’t help but chide himself for accepting Moriarty’s ’help’ and continually found himself ruminating over his past mistakes.
He felt as if he had been seduced by a snake. At least, that’s what he felt back then. He had been desperate, felt the necessity to preserve his lifestyle at all costs.
But regret was irrelevant now. After all, he was the one who had committed the crime. Yet, once again, just like the snake in the garden of Eden, Moriarty had slithered his way into Warren’s life prompting the two of them to share their weekend on a trip to London.
“Is this… are you sure this is the place?”
“But of course, Professor Warren. This is precisely the place people come to find M; I myself visit quite often.”
The place where Moriarty led him was outwardly a shabby tavern. Located in a sizeable building, it provoked reluctancy for one to step into.
It was somewhere in the West End, so certainly it was not a place one must avoid being close to as a gentleman, unlike the notorious slums of East End.
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But the slightly dirty streets, the multiple gazes that seemed to be observing the two as if they were potential prey. To the idle young men smoking and chatting idly by the door, it was a place repelling to a professor unaccustomed to the rough life of the outside world. Nonetheless, Moriarty pushed him from behind as if there were no choice but to enter the place. Hence, Professor Warren had no choice but to step inside.
“Ah, Professor! You’re early! I have something to tell you.”
“In a bit, Forlock. Let’s see to Professor Warren’s urgent matter first.”
“Ah, a colleague, is he? hehehehe, what drink can I get you?”
“A Mariani for me, and champagne for myself. Ah, get a better one for Professor Warren.”
There was a variety of people gathered there. It was like a small society.
Workers from the streets who appeared troublesome, individuals who seemed homeless, and sometimes they were as ordinary as shop clerks. Moreover, there were those who appeared to be leaders just like Moriarty or Warren.
Numerous people seemed to have gathered anticipating some event, each sitting at a table chatting or drinking.
Gambling was sprawled everywhere, and even suspicious smokes and tobacco smoke were present, intuition warning him to flee immediately.
However, Warren could not do anything in front of the serpent Moriarty. It was as if instinct prevented him from moving, and he was led upstairs guided by an employee.
Surprisingly, there was no one on the second floor looking down to the first, and only Moriarty and Warren could sit facing each other across the large table.
“Uh…uhm……. Where is this……. And what’s with……”
“Seems like you’re uneasy, why don’t you have a glass first. It’s Mariani wine, as you know it’s quite popular these days.”
“Uh… right…….”
With a trembling hand, Warren sipped the glass of wine brought to him by the waiter. He knew well that on a tense occasion alcohol gives a sense of comfort, so he seemed to have calmed down a bit.
Momentarily, the cheeky laughter and vulgar laugh of Moriarty, deliberately like a street vagrant, didn’t bother him.
“Lately, I use this to make money. I’ve been making a small venture abroad, and Italy seems to be a place responsible for our Englishmen’s ingredients, so I’m trying to build a better relationship.”
“Ah… is this… about the business you talked about?”
Moriarty glanced at his counterpart for a moment and then smiled.
“Well…yes… it’s a simple business. Discovering this was just a coincidence. It wasn’t widely known when it began to be sold in Italy this year. People are ignorant about drugs. The common ones on the market have 8% cocaine, but the Italian pharmacist who made this wanted the original to be stronger. That’s why the unofficial ones had a higher concentration of cocaine respecting the maker’s intent. People who drink it say it’s faster, of course, I haven’t tasted it. Sometimes you need a stimulus, but you don’t want to ruin yourself. I use the stronger ones when I really want to send them away.”
“Ah… that…… that’s so…….”
“Shouldn’t you use money when you have it, Professor Warren? I’m feeling it acutely these days. I didn’t care much before, but now I enjoy drinking a more expensive alcohol, or collecting an average painter’s paintings provide a simple pleasure. Professor Warren, you’re also quite wealthy, aren’t you?”
“Yes…yes……. That’s right……. It’s always been a problem…Money that is.”
“Why do you feel a guilty conscience now when you dealt with your wife as my advice? I can’t understand it at all.”
There was silence for a moment.
