SWEENEY TODD

SWEENEY TODD

THE AFTERMATH

The Murder of Judge Turpin

Anthony Hope is just away from the barbershop when suddenly he hears the ghastly scream of Mrs. Lovett. Frightened and frozen he turns around and sees Mr. Todd running down the steps into the room where the pies are made. He seems to be so worked up that he doesn't even notice Anthony when he runs right by him. Todd's clothes are drenched completely in blood. Anthony is afraid and begins to wonder if the blood on Mr. Todd may belong to his beloved Johanna. She was the only person in the room.

When this thought comes to his mind Anthony darts up the creaky stairs and slams open the door to the barbershop. There is a lot of blood in the room but to his relief Johanna is sitting safely in Mr. Todd's large red barber chair. She is as pale as a ghost with fear in her eyes. It looked as though she had just seen a ghost.

"Johanna, what happened? Where did all this blood come from? What did Mr. Todd do?" he asked with his voice in a shaky panic.

Johanna did not reply right away. She was obviously in shock.

"JOHANNA! WHY IS THERE BLOOD EVERYWHERE? DID YOU SEE WHAT HAPPENED!?" he asked again, his voiced raised now, though not in an angry manner more than a fear for the safety of his good friend, Mr. Todd.

When Anthony had given up on trying to figure out what was going on Johanna finally moved her lips and whispered two words that were barely audible.

"A hero…"

Anthony thinks on this for a moment. After witnessing his former companion covered head to toe in blood he was afraid to go anywhere near him. He thought of whose blood could have possibly made Johanna refer to Todd as a hero and suddenly it came to him.

"Turpin" he whispered.

He knew now what Johanna had witnessed. Sweeney Todd had murdered Judge Turpin. This meant now that Anthony and Johanna could live together safely without fear but it also meant that they were going to be chased. Anthony had come into town with Sweeney Todd and therefore the murders may be traced back to him. Judge Turpin was one of the most powerful men in London. This would not be good news for him. When the Beadle found out he would surely have the entire British police after them. Anthony knew what he needed to do. He needed to grab Johanna and leave England. He could sail away to France with her and start a new life.

Anthony grabbed Johanna by the hand and pulled her quickly outside. However when he ran by the cellar he had to stop and think for a moment. Mr. Todd may have been a murderer but Anthony knew surely enough that he would have murdered Turpin himself if it came down to it. Anthony then decided that he was going to take Mr. Todd with him to France.

He quickly turned to Johanna and spoke quickly.

"Johanna, can you please fetch Mr. Todd's journal and razors for me? I am going to take the three of us to France to start a new life."

Johanna nodded and ran up the stairs and into the barbershop and out of sight.

The cellar door was left open and Anthony pulled the door open slowly. It made a loud creaking noise. The second Anthony opened the door he saw a small boy with scruffy black hair holding a razor, seconds away from cutting Sweeney's throat.

Anthony wanted to scream but was frozen. By the time he managed to get anything out Sweeney Todd was already dead, blood dripping from his throat onto a fair skinned blonde woman. The boy dropped the razor and stood silent, watching the monster before him die.

Anthony then ran in and shoved the boy to the ground violently.

"WHY DID YOU DO THAT!?"

Toby just stared up at Anthony, his face was pale and ghastly. He had just experienced the cruelty of the world. In a soft voice he sang to himself although it seemed as though he was singing to somebody who was nonexistent in the room.

Nothing's gonna harm you
Not while I'm around…

No one's gonna hurt you
No one's gonna dare…

Just whistle I'll be there…

While the boy continued to sing to himself Anthony walked over to the furnace and creaked it open, only to find a burning female's corpse. The body was disfigured but he could tell that it was the body of Mrs. Lovett. He glanced around. The room was filled with bodies… it was not an appealing sight for the eyes. On the ground Todd was crouched over the blonde woman who Anthony recognized as the homeless woman who was near Johanna's house weeks ago. Both of their throats were slit. In the corner lay Judge Turpin with multiple stab wounds to his neck, face, and throat. His arm was stretched out as though he was trying to beg for help. Beside him the Beadle lay dead with a slit throat and his skull cracked on the pebbled ground. Anthony then looked into the meat grinder and saw tons of random people's bodies. Anthony ran to the back corner of the room and threw up. Mr. Todd and Mrs. Lovett had turned the city of London into cannibals, and the customers of the barbershop into pies!

He then grabbed Toby by the arm and quickly rushed him out of the cellar. He was quiet now, looking into the distance while Anthony was crouched, staring him in the eyes.

"Listen up child… When the police learn that we are connected to the death of Turpin and the Beadle they will come after us with brutal force and we will be executed… I am going to take you and Johanna on my boat and we will set sail to France and start a new life. We must forget all about who we were before. For now on my name will be William Jackson and you will be my son John. Johanna shall now be named Alice Jackson and she is your mother. Do you understand? We can't be having anyone trace us back to these murders…"

Toby nodded his head but refused to speak to either Anthony or Johanna. The next morning the three set sail for France and they were convicts no more. They had a clean slate as a kindhearted Scottish Family by the name of Jackson.

To Be Continued