Hearing the voice of Judge Turpin calling his name from downstairs Sweeney moved to get rid of an obstacle on his path to revenge. Usually he would do it in a precise fashion but also with a savagery and speed of a striking serpent, not allowing a prey to escape or even realize the danger. Yet this time sweet vision of Judge's blood slowly dripping down his razor made Sweeney's hand tremble and the pathetic creature cackling and mumbling meaninglessly noticed the movement of a killer's arm. In the dim light of this chamber of death and deceit she probably hadn't seen the razor and was only fearing the hitting fist. With a shriek she jumped away and her jerky movement caused the dirty old thing she used as a head covering to fall off.
Sweeney cursed. The beggar now stood in a dark corner far from the trapdoor in a middle of the room. Unfortunately she didn't choose the corner with the big chest that once had been so useful for hiding Pirelli's body. She certainly couldn't be killed right where she stood.
'Mr Todd! Are you upstairs?'
The Judge! He started climbing the stairs!
Sweeney sprang into action. He seized the terrified woman by the arm, with the other hand he muffled her whimpers and dragged her protesting body close to the fancy barber's chair. Then he turned her around because, rush or no rush, he prided himself on the unfailing control of his instrument and because of that he detested a job sloppily done which he'd need to correct later. When it came to a squirming victim he found it easier to kill with one clean cut from face to face position than from behind. Poor beggar woman stood facing her attacker, trembling like a leaf because even with her weakened mind she realized that this man she had nearly remembered was mortally dangerous.
However the deadly weapon didn't rise, it remained unmoving in Sweeney's clenched fist. His whole body was still as statue while he stared with expressionless eyes at the face of his beloved Lucy, suddenly revealed by the beam of light from a spattered window. Sweeney Todd stood there silent and immobile, seeming even more dangerous than before when he had been barking angry questions at the scared woman or handling her roughly. Yet inside a wicked soul of a murderer Benjamin Barker opened his eyes and wept for the lost years.
'Are you there, barber? If that letter of yours was just a hoax...'
The door creaked open and in came Judge Turpin.