Sophia Holmes and the Scandal in Belgravia *Completed*

Chapter Thirty Three - The Scandal in Belgravia Part XIV

What is the government's plan with a jumbo jet? In the living room, dad is attempting to trigger his memory by occasionally plucking the strings of the violin while I delve into my mind palace. The main one I can think of is suicide missions. Events like 9/11 which the government set up to pin down a chosen enemy come to mind. Is this the same kind of thing? If so, what have seat allocations got to do with it?

"Coventry," dad says eventually, jolting me out of my thought processes. I look across to John's chair and notice mum curled up in it, watching him closely.

"I've never been," she says as if we were in the middle of a conversation, yet the darkness of the room suggests we've been out for some time. "Is it nice?"

"Where's John?" Dad asks, looking around. Sure enough, John is nowhere to be seen.

"He went out a couple of hours ago."

"I was just talking to him," he says in confusion and mum smiles.

"He said you still do that. What's Coventry got to do with anything?"

"It's a story," I say, catching onto dad's train of thought, "probably not true. In the Second World War, the Allies knew that Coventry was going to get bombed because they'd broken the German code but they didn't want the Germans to know that they'd broken the code, so they let it happen anyway." I learnt about it in a small project I did after I found out I was related to Alan Turing. He was a brilliant man, in many ways just like dad. He was responsible for building a machine to break the German code and winning the war.

"Have you ever had anyone?" Is mum's response and I look back at her, startled.

"Sorry?"

"And when I say had, I'm being indelicate."

"I don't understand."

"Have you ever had sex?"

"Why would I have sex? I'm not even sixteen yet!"

"Never stopped us, did it darling?" She looks across to dead who frowns so she gets up and walks over before kneeling in front of dad. Mum puts her left hand on top of his right hand and curls her fingers around it. "Let's have dinner."

"Why?" dad responds.

"Might be hungry."

"I'm not."

"Good," mum replies and dad hesitantly sits forward and curls his own fingers around her wrist. I realise this is really not something I want to be watching so go to the window in time to see a car pull up outside.

"Sherlock!" Mrs Hudson calls after a figure steps out of the car and walks up to the door.

"Too late," I hear mum whisper.

"That's not the end of the world," dad corrects, "that's Mrs Hudson." But mum pulls her hand free and stands up, walking away from as Mrs Hudson comes in with Plummer, the man who drove us to the palace the last time.

"Sherlock, this man was at the door," Mrs Hudson explains. "Is the bell still not working?" She turns to Plummer and gestures to dad. "He shot it."

"Have you come to take us away again?" dad asks, tetchilly.

"Yes, Mr Holmes," Plummer responds.

"Well, we decline." Plummer reaches into his jacket pocket and passes an envelope over.

"I don't think you do." Dad snatches the envelope and opens it. Inside is a pair of Business Class boarding passes for Flyaway Airways in our names for flight number 007 to Baltimore, scheduled to leave at 18.30. I exchange a look with dad, who closes the envelope up once more and bites his lip.