Sophia Holmes and the Scandal in Belgravia *Completed*

Chapter Twenty Two - The Six Thatchers Part VI

Fortunately, the bridge is only a few minutes run from Cutler's place, but I stop a few meters away from it as I watch Rovito drop and smash the statue, then raise my eyes up to where John stands on the opposite side of the bridge, also out of site of our burglar.

Looking back down, I see a glint of silver by Beppo's feet - in the remains of the statue. He's seen it too. He bends over and his eyes dart over to the water flowing beneath him and he raises his arm.

"Oi!" John shouts, running forward and Beppo drops his arm and starts sprinting my way until he sees me. He holds his hand out, the blade of a penknife pointing at me but it's clear he won't use it. Trembling, he lets the knife fall to the ground and kicks it towards me. Picking it up, I notice his initials carved into the handle.
"I've called the police," John says, "they'll be here soon."

"I didn't mean to kill him," Beppo says, visably shaking. "It was an accident."

"How did it happen?" I question. "Why did you kill Pietro?"

"The statues," he says, shaking his head in disbelief. "I didn't like how they represented Dame Thatcher."

"So you killed him over some statues?" I scoff.

"We fought," Beppo continues. "I tried to grab one of the statues but Pete stopped me. One minute the knife was in my hand, the next, it was buried in his chest. I didn't mean to kill him. I didn't know what to do so I pushed the knife into one of the figures and sent them into the ovens. Then I staged the break-in - smashing the windows and the like, hoping no one would notice the smash pattern."

"Impressive," John says but I shake my head.

"You made your mistake by looking for the statues," I explain. "It's disappointingly simple once you realise that the murderer isn't keeping their head down. You should have left the knife where it was, then you wouldn't be here now." I turn my head and watch the police arrive. Lestrade gets out and walks over to me as two officers head to Beppo and handcuff him.

"I think there's surplus evidence for him to get a pretty hefty murder charge," I tell him, nodding towards the fallen knife. "You can take it from here." Lestrade nods and John and I walk back the way we came.