Once Upon a Crime (The Sisters Grimm, Book 4) (2 page)

"Do you know why I pulled you over?" he said. "Were we speeding?" Mr. Canis asked.

"Oh, I didn't pull you over for speeding. I pulled you over because this… this tank you're driving is violating at least a hundred different environmental and safety laws. Let me see your driver's license."

Mr. Canis glanced at Granny Relda and then turned back to the policeman. "I'm afraid I don't have one."

The policeman laughed, seemingly in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me. OK, folks, everyone step out of the car."

"Officer, I'm sure we can--"

The officer bent down. His smile was gone. "Step out of the car.

Granny turned in her seat to look at the girls and Mr. Hamstead. "OK, let's get out of the car."

Daphne was still sound asleep, so Sabrina shook her until the little girl opened her eyes.

"Whazzabigidea?" Daphne grumbled.

"Get up, we're going to jail," Sabrina said, helping her out of the car.

They were parked on a bridge and the wind coming off the water below was brutal. The cold air froze Sabrina to the bone as she watched cars and trucks whiz by. It was a terrible day, and the dark clouds hanging in the sky warned that it was going to get worse.

"Officer, if I could be of any assistance," Mr. Hamstead said as he tugged his pants up over his belly. "I happen to be the former sheriff of Ferryport Landing and--"

"Where?"

"Ferryport Landing. It's about two hours north."

"Well, as a former sheriff you should know it's against the law to ride around with someone who doesn't have a driver's license, let alone someone who is driving around in this menace." The policeman poked his head back into the car and spotted Puck. "Who's the kid?"

"He's my grandson and he's not feeling very well. We're taking him to a doctor," Granny said.

"Not in this thing, lady," the policeman said. "I'm impounding this vehicle for the good of humanity. I'll call an ambulance and have him taken to Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital."

He reached down to the walkie-talkie strapped to his waist and brought the device to his mouth. He barked an order for a tow truck as he watched the family suspiciously.

"If Puck is sent to a hospital, they're going to discover he's not human," Mr. Hamstead mumbled to Granny Relda.

"The boy needs a special kind of doctor," Canis growled to the cop.

"And the devil needs a glass of ice water," the officer snapped back. "You should be worrying about yourself. You're going to be lucky if you don't spend the night in jail. Does anyone have any identification?"

"Of course," Granny Relda said as she reached into her handbag. "I know I have my ID in here somewhere."

But the police officer was now focused on Mr. Canis. A big brown tail had slipped out of the back of the old man's pants and was blowing in the wind. The cop studied it for a moment, unsure of what it was, and then walked around Mr. Canis to get a better look.

"Is this a tail, buddy?" the policeman asked.

Sabrina looked anxiously at the old man, who was sweating in the icy air. His expression was nervous and angry. She'd been seeing this expression more and more lately. It was the look he got when the transformation came over him.

"Stay calm," Sabrina urged Mr. Canis, but he didn't seem to hear her. The change had already begun. Canis's nose morphed into a hairy snout and fur grew on his neck and hands. His body expanded, filling out the oversized suit he always wore. Black talons sprang from the tips of his fingers. Fangs crept down from his upper jaw. He was changing into his true form--that of the Big Bad Wolf, the carefully suppressed beast everyone feared would someday come out and never go back in.

The cop stood bewildered for a moment, then reached for his weapon.

"Oh, here it is," Granny said. She pulled her hand from inside her purse, opened her fist, and blew a puff of pink dust at the police officer. He froze, looking a bit befuddled, and then his eyes went glassy.

"You know, some days, being a policeman can be downright boring," Granny said.

"You're telling me," the officer said in a sleepy voice.

"Why, you didn't hand out a single speeding ticket today."

"Yeah, today was real dull."

"Now, get back into your car and have a great afternoon," Granny said.

"Will do," the officer said, obeying. Moments later he hopped into his squad car and drove away.

"Lucky I brought the forgetful dust," Granny said. She rested her hand on Mr. Canis's shoulder and immediately the transformation stopped, then slowly reversed. The old man shrank back to his human state.

"Relda, I am sorry," he said. "It has been a struggle as of late. Any little thing seems to set it off."

"No harm done," the old woman said. "But for the rest of this trip I suggest you hide your tail."

The old man nodded and did his best to tuck it into the back of his trousers.

"Wait a minute!" Sabrina cried as she watched the squad car drive away. On the back, painted in bright white letters, was NYPD. "That guy was a New York City cop!"

"Well, of course he was," Granny said as she pointed beyond the side of the bridge. Off on the horizon massive buildings reached upward along the skyline, as if competing for heaven's attention. Airplanes and helicopters flew above them. It was a scene Sabrina had witnessed many times before and her throat tightened as she fought back happy tears.

Daphne squinted out at the sparkling metropolis. One building stood taller than all the rest, tapering at the top into a fine silver point. She grabbed her older sister's arm and pointed at it.

"That's the Empire State Building!" she cried, quickly placing the palm of her hand into her mouth and biting down on it. It was one of Daphne's many quirks--the one that signaled that she was happy and excited.

"We're home!" Sabrina shouted back. "We're in New York City!"

The girls jumped up and down, chanting the sentence over and over again, louder and louder.

"Well, I'll be," Mr. Hamstead said as he approached the bridge railing. Pants were always a problem for the big-bellied gentleman, and he tugged on his now until they were hoisted back over his gut. Satisfied, he leaned on the railing and soaked in the view. The girls noticed his eyes well with tears.

Daphne rushed to his side and wrapped him up in a hug. "Don't cry, Mr. Hamstead. You'll make me cry."

"They're happy tears, Daphne," he said. "I never thought I'd see this place. I've been trapped in Ferryport Landing for a long time."

"You're going to love it! The city is the best! There is so much to do and see and eat! Oh, I can almost smell the hot dogs from here."

"Hot dogs!" Hamstead cried as his nose morphed into a runny, pink snout. Hamstead rarely slipped out of his human form, but when he got very excited his true identity as one of the Three Little Pigs was revealed.

"What did I say?" Daphne whispered to Sabrina.

"Hot dogs are made from pigs," Sabrina whispered back.

Daphne cringed. "I mean, uh, I would never, uh, eat a hot dog, you know… they're… uh, gross. What I meant to say was pepperoni pizza!"

The little girl looked at Sabrina for reassurance, but Sabrina could not give it to her. "Pepperoni, too."

It is?

Sabrina nodded.

Daphne cringed, again. "I mean broccoli. I can't wait to get a big piece to chew on. There's nothing like walking around the city with a big ol' head of broccoli."

"Oh yeah, New York is famous for its broccoli," Sabrina said.

Daphne stuck her tongue out at her sister.

"Wolf, you should see this!" Hamstead said, shaking off the girls' culinary suggestions. Mr. Canis joined him at the rail and gazed out at the marvelous city.

"Look at what we've missed," Hamstead whispered.

Canis leaned forward in wonder.

The two men stood in silence. The significance of the moment became clear to Sabrina. The whole world had kept on spinning while the Everafters were stuck in Ferryport Landing. Cities had risen, diseases had been cured, men had walked on the moon, and Canis and Hamstead had missed it all.

"Wait? Why are we here? I thought we were going to Faerie to save Puck," Daphne said.

"We are, liebling.

The fairy kingdom is in New York City," Granny Relda replied.

Sabrina felt her face grow hot. The pavement seemed to shift and she fell forward. For a moment there was nothing but blackness and then she was on the ground looking up at her family.

"Liebling, are you OK?!" her grandmother cried. Mr. Canis lifted Sabrina back onto her feet but the girl still felt dizzy and slightly nauseated. "You must have fainted."

"You didn't tell us there were Everafters in the city!" Sabrina said as she struggled to stand on her own.

Granny frowned. "Sabrina, Wilhelm's barrier didn't go up until twenty years after the Everafters arrived in this country. Some of them moved to other--"

"How many?" Sabrina demanded.

"How many what, child?" Granny Relda said.

"How many Everafters live here?"

"I don't know, Sabrina," the old woman replied, turning to Mr. Hamstead.

"Probably ten fairies and maybe five dozen others," the portly man said, after a long pause. "When Wilhelm was alive we kept in better contact with them but…"

Tears gushed out of Sabrina's eyes and froze on her cheeks. She prided herself on being strong, not a weepy girlie-girl, but she couldn't help herself. This was a shock. Ever since Granny Relda had taken them in, she had imagined that one day Daphne and she would return to the city with their parents and resume their old lives. They would look back on their time with the Everafters as a bad dream. Now she knew there was no escape from them.

"Sabrina, what's the matter?" Daphne asked.

Sabrina said nothing. Instead, she turned away from her family and stared out at the city skyline. The initial joy at seeing her home had disappeared. Now it seemed alien to her.

"It must be all the traveling," Granny said, rubbing Sabrina's back affectionately. "You girls are hungry and exhausted. We need to get you something to eat. Maybe some hot soup would help."

There was an uncomfortable silence among the group until Mr. Canis spoke. "First we must find Puck's people. Where is this Faerie?"

Granny sighed. "Unfortunately, the family journals are a bit thin on the Everafters that settled here. I do know Faerie is hidden somewhere in the city." She fished in her handbag and pulled out an envelope with some writing on it. "And a contact I have sent me this years ago."

Daphne took the envelope and read aloud, stumbling over some of the words.

Mrs. Grimm,

I'm sorry for your loss. Basil was like a father to me. It breaks my heart that I cant be there for Henry or you, worse that I am partially to blame for the tragedy. I hope you know that Jacob and I never believed that my escape from Ferryport Landing would bring anyone harm. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.

I've found Faerie, which is hidden in the Big Apple. I've been invited to stay until I am settled. Oberon is very busy with his kingdom, and Titania, well, I'm sure you've heard the stories about her. Once I've found work and made a little money I'll be off to explore this big world. Until then, if you are ever in

New York City, drop by the park and tell Hans Christian Andersen a knock-knock joke.

Love,

G

"Who's G?" Daphne asked.

"An old friend of your father's," Granny said. Sabrina and Daphne shared a knowing look. Their father had been in love with an Everafter before he met their mother, though everyone was tight-lipped about who the Everafter was.

"Can't we call this G person and get another clue?" Hamstead asked.

"Perhaps one that makes sense," Canis said.

"Is there anything else in the envelope?" Daphne asked.

Granny Relda looked inside. It was empty.

"We don't have time for this," Mr. Canis grumbled.

"It's all we have to go on," the old woman replied.

"Well, let's go find Hans Christian Andersen," Daphne said.

Granny shook her head. "Daphne, Andersen wasn't an Everafter. He just wrote about them. He died a long time ago."

"You know that, silly," Sabrina said. "We read it on his statue in Central Park."

"There's a statue of Hans Christian Andersen in Central Park?" Granny cried. "Sabrina, you're a genius. Can you take us there?"

Sabrina nodded reluctantly.

Once they were on their way again, Granny turned in her seat and handed the book she had been reading to Sabrina.

"You and Daphne should probably go through this," she said. "It's going to tell you everything you need to know about Faerie."

Sabrina glanced down at the book. It was a play by William Shakespeare, entitled

A Midsummer Nights Dream.

Daphne snatched it and flipped through the pages. "What language is this?" she asked.

"It's English," Mr. Hamstead said. "Old English."

Minutes later they were over the bridge and cruising through the city's grid of streets and avenues. Book temporarily forgotten, Daphne gawked at the passing sites, pointing out her father's favorite diner and the playground their mother had taken them to on Sunday afternoons. Sabrina wanted to look out the window, too, but her old home was spoiled for her. There were few people who would describe New York City as normal, but now that Sabrina knew Everafters were crawling all over it, it seemed tainted, ugly.

Traffic was especially bad that afternoon. Christmas was only days away and everywhere shoppers were rushing into the streets carrying huge bags, slowing the family's progress dramatically. But they eventually made their way south through the city, and after much searching, Mr. Canis found a parking spot a few blocks from the park. As the family got out of the car, it rocked back and forth, angrily protesting with a series of backfires and exhaust clouds that caused some of the neighborhood residents to peer out their windows, apparently fearful there was a gun battle going on in the street. The family bundled Puck up in as many blankets as possible and trudged down a snowy sidewalk.