Sophia Holmes and the Scandal in Belgravia *Completed*

Chapter One - The Scandal in Belgravia Part I

Recap

We get back to Baker Street to find the door slightly ajar and dad and I both push past John to check it out.

"Oh I'll pay then, don't worry," John calls after us, but we ignore him.

"Ooh dear!" I hear Mrs Hudson say as we climb the stairs two at a time. "Thumbs!" The door to the kitchen closes as we turn the corner on the stairs.

"The door was ... the door was ..." I hear someone pant, before a loud thud. Client.

Chapter One

I set out the dining chair so that it's in the usual position while John struggles to heave the man from the kitchen and onto the chair. Dad is pacing in front of the sofa.

"Hm," the man groans as John eases into the chair, grimacing under our client's weight. "Where am I?"

"You're in 221B Baker Street," John tells him gently. "Who are you?"

"Phil," he replies, almost as if he's in a daze. "Phil Becket. Is Sherlock Holmes here?"

"Yes," dad says, walking over to the fire.

"I saw something you might be interested in," he says and I walk over.

"Of course you do," I say. "You clearly aren't a reporter, but our recent coverage has caught your attention."

"So tell us from the start," dad says sternly. "Don't be boring."

"I was on my way to a business meeting - somewhere in the middle of nowhere, I doubt you'd know it - and my car broke down."

"What time was this?" John asks, digging around on the dining room table for his notepad.

"Sometime around noon, I should imagine," he replies. "I tried to restart the engine, but it wasn't happening, so I got out to look under the bonnet. I'm no mechanic, I'd no idea what I was looking for, so I began to look around - checking for traffic or what have you so I could ask for help. I saw someone standing in the field beside the road, but he was too far away -"

"Describe this field," dad says.

"I dunno," Becket shrugs. "Like any other field. I think it might have had a river at the bottom. Anyway, this guy was looking over the river at something in the sky, some birds I think, so I didn't bother him. I got back in the car to try and start it again, but it backfired." Becket starts to shake slightly. "I looked back over to see if the guy had heard, but I could see him lying on the ground. I got back out again, and went to see if he was alright, but when I got to him I could see he was dead."

"Did you get close enough to see the wound?" I ask, but he shakes his head.

"We'll take the case," dad says. "I trust you've told the police?"

"Yes," Becket confirms. "Just after it happened."

"Then knowing the speed of reaction of most police forces, they'll set up tomorrow morning," dad says, thinking out loud before turning around and pointing to Becket.

"You can go," he says, and spins around to face John and I. "And we'll check the scene tomorrow, but for now," he says, gently steering me towards the bedroom, "you need to get some sleep."

"I'm fine!" I argue.

"You solved a case today, pretty much single handedly - you need rest." Sighing, I wish John a 'goodnight' before trudging off to bed.