III. May 23, 1848. London, England. 11:22 am.

"Look, they've come for us! They've come with their golden ship, and they are going to bring us home now! Home! Oh, look, a star! A goddess! Blessed Virgin, could it be?"

The girl who kept the entire asylum awake last night with her warbled singing has flown into a frenzy. She pounds at her walls and yells eternal gratitude that no one can hear. Of course, no one has come to save her.

The girl quiets for a moment, and three knocks break the silence.

"GLORY HALLELUJAH!"

Someone really is here; someone actually wants to enter the asylum of their own free will. It must be someone with a wrong address, maybe a wigmaker or a drunk who's mistaken the place for a pub. Those are the only people who ever knock on this door. She opens the door tentatively and almost slams it shut when she glimpses the visitor's face.

It is the most beautiful girl she has ever seen. Blond and graceful and exquisite. The girl smiles and swallows deeply. This place is surely below her. She must have high teas at illustrious botanical gardens and use phrases like "at your leisure" and "by your leave."

"Yes, miss?"

"Hello," the girl chirps brightly.

"How may I help you, miss?"

"Yes, right. Well, my name is… I mean… I was once…um… unjustly incarcerated at Fogg's asylum, and I was wondering if this asylum had recovered anything from Fogg's. You see I left my reticule there and it was the only thing my mother…"

"Come in please."

She leads the girl out of the doorway and into the administrative office of the asylum. She shuffles through various sets of keys until finding the right one. The girl looks on with her wide eyes, frightened and unsure of what to say

"We were able to clean out that asylum and recover most of the inmates' possessions. We keep them in a safe in one of the back rooms. If you can describe it for me, I can see if we have it," she says authoritatively.

"Well, can't I just take a look for myself?"

"No. We believe a few of the items we found may be potentially dangerous."

"Oh, well, then. It's a light gold silk with red beads on it. It was in my mother's family for ages, I think. Oh, and I haven't, um, introduced myself. Sorry. I'm Johanna. And you are?"

"I'll look for it in the back room. You can stay here. Please, don't wander too far."

"Of course. Um, thanks?"

She could laugh. Such a gorgeous little thing, and this Johanna can barely get out a proper sentence. Unjustly incarcerated? Technically, that gives her the right to reinstate Johanna in this asylum as an escapee of the fiasco at Fogg's. But she'll let her go if only because…

Wait. Fiasco at Fogg's. She was on the street trying to subdue the lunatics when she heard that some pretty little blond thing was the one to kill Fogg. It couldn't possibly be the same pretty little…

The reticule in question is located under a rather rusty pair of shears. It's real silk, and it would be worth quite a few quid indeed. She could lock up the girl and sell the reticule, even though the reticule is quite old and the girl seems sane enough. It would be heartless, certainly, but perfectly justified under the law. She could even prove this girl a murderer and send her to jail.

Splendid.

When she returns to the office, this Johanna girl is gone. Of course, anyone who does come in always wants to wander. She heaves a frustrated sigh and scans the hallways. The flash of Johanna's golden hair gives her away; the girl is kneeling in front of Tobias's cell.

"What about my father?" Johanna whispers, her voice nearly breaking with anticipation.

"Him and… and Mrs. Lovett. I think it was the chair. The chair, and the beadle came down and the judge…"

"My father!"

"NO! No, I did it. I was me… and it was three times. Because he kept saying something about her, about a lie, and ashes…"

"Wait, Toby, right? You mean to say Judge Turpin wasn't my father?"

"No. Yes. Todd. Sweeney. Oh, Mr. T and…"

"Mr. Todd? He… that Mr. Todd? Anthony said that he would hide us, and he killed fath—Judge Turpin. And a woman. And me. I mean, he would have…"

(She wants to gag Toby again and lock up Johanna and put an end to this. She wants to cut off Johanna's pretty yellow hair and hear her scream for her mummy and daddy. How dare this silly little twit talk to Tobias… when she can't?)

"Excuse me," she interrupts coolly. "I thought I told you not to wander."

"Oh, I… I'm sorry. He knew my name. He said 'You must be Miss Johanna.' And I was surprised because I didn't know him. He's been awfully kind to me."

"He spoke to you?"

"Yes…"

"I believe this reticule fits your description."

"Oh, thank you. Now, I best be off. My fiancé and I are hoping to leave London…"

"No, Miss Johanna, I was hoping to ask you a few questions. You were in Fogg's the night of the mass breakout, correct? Do you have any idea who killed Fogg himself?"

"Well, I…"

"She didn't do it!" Tobias spits out. "Please don't lock her up or hurt her! He used to talk about her, he did! Before… before… She's the only one left!"

"I didn't ask you, Ragg," she hisses.

"Toby… Call him Toby!" Johanna spits. "And I didn't kill Fogg, and I won't go back to another one of these places! That's what you want, isn't it? I can't stay here anymore! My father's dead, and I'm not even sure who he is! Tonight, I'm leaving, and you can't stop me! Good day!"

Johanna runs out. She stops, realizes she left her reticule, and turns around to claim it. When she finally makes it out the door, the sound of her sobs spill through the threshold and into the asylum.

Tobias grasps the bars of his cell and rests his head against the steel. She moves to gag him, but a few words escape him first…

"I'm fine, Johanna. Another good day, another red day. We learn, Johanna. Goodbye, Johanna."