"Once upon a crime" - читать интересную книгу автора (Buckley Michael)

Chapter 4

Sabrina had never seen anger in a persons face like she saw in Titania's. The queen's rage seemed to pour out through her eyes and spill onto the crowd like acid. Everafters fell backward just to avoid her gaze.

"One of you killed my husband!" Titania cried, rising to her feet with clenched fists. "Who is responsible? Who has blood on his hands? Will no one come forward? Then I'll avenge my beloved by killing you all." The queen's body underwent a terrifying metamorphosis. Her already pale complexion turned bone white. Tar-black veins curled in all directions just underneath her skin, weaving along her arms, legs, and head. Her hands grew to three times their normal size, and long, jagged nails, several feet in length, shot out of the fingertips. Her hair blazed with actual flames, and long, blue cables of electric energy crackled and popped in the air in front of her eyes. Her wings sprang out of her back and flapped so hard they seemed to shake the room. She rose above the crowd, opened her mouth, and sprayed the room with a fiery liquid. Anything it touched was quickly engulfed in flames and reduced to cinders.

Everafters shrieked and stampeded toward the door, knocking the smallest in the crowd to the ground. Mr. Canis snatched the girls up, tucking them under his arms like footballs, and ran.

"We have to get out of here," Granny Relda shouted as she was shoved aside by Tony Fats and Bobby Screwball, who ploughed through the crowd, desperate to escape Titania's wrath.

"Wait," Hamstead called to the old woman, turning and rushing back toward the queen.

"Ernest, are you crazy?" Granny Relda called after him, but he didn't stop.

From Mr. Canis's grasp, Sabrina looked back to see the portly man run to the side of the blonde singer he had sat next to at dinner. Bess had been knocked to the ground and was cowering before Titania's murderous gaze. Her boyfriend, Tony Fats, had left her to die.

"No!"

Hamstead cried as he grabbed a heavy chair and used it to fend off Titania. The queen shrieked and ignited the chair with her fiery breath. If Hamstead was afraid, he didn't show it. He tossed the flaming chair at the queen and then turned to help Bess to her feet. Together they raced out of the room just behind Canis and the Grimms.

When the group reached the main room they paused, and Hamstead asked Bess, "Are you OK, ma'am?"

"Ma'am is a name for old ladies," she said as she tried to catch her breath. "You can call me Bess, cowboy."

Hamstead blushed.

"We need to keep moving," Mr. Canis said.

"We can't leave without Puck!" Daphne cried.

Mr. Canis snarled and set the girls down. "Hamstead, take Mrs. Grimm and the girls to safety. I'll join you once I find the boy."

"I'm coming with you," Sabrina said. Canis shook his head.

"It's my fault Puck got hurt in the first place. He's my responsibility," Sabrina said, hoping that the old man could see she wasn't asking for his permission.

"Stay close," he said, shoving back through the crowd.

Sabrina followed at his heels, struggling against a tide of panicked Everafters. She craned her neck in hopes of spotting Cobweb, the fairy who was tending to Puck, but he was nowhere in sight. He and Puck had to be in one of the rooms that lined the back hall. Canis cleared a path through the main room to the hallway.

"Maybe Puck's in there," Sabrina shouted to Canis over the melee, pointing to the first closed door. She rushed over and turned the knob, but it was locked tight.

Canis turned the knob himself. It fell off in his powerful hand, and he pushed the door open. It was a broom closet filled with mops and bottles. Sabrina rushed across the hall to another door, also locked. Again Canis crushed the knob. They found Moth pacing a room in which sat what looked like a giant eggplant. It had deep purple skin with green veins running through it. Next to it was a small table covered in potions and powders. When she saw them, the fairy girl ran to the eggplant as if to protect it.

"How dare you invade my room!" she cried.

"Where's Puck? We have to get out of here," Sabrina said. Canis closed the door behind them. "Titania has gone crazy. She's trying to kill everyone."

"Titania won't hurt me."

Mr. Canis let out a loud growl. "Because I'll get to you first!" he barked. "Where is the boy?"

The fairy girl's eyes grew wide with fear and she gestured at the eggplant. "He's right there!"

"That's Puck?" Sabrina said, incredulously.

"He's in a cocoon stage as his wings heal," Moth explained.

Just then, something heavy slammed against the door, nearly knocking it off its hinges.

"She's coming," Mr. Canis said.

"How are we going to get out of here?" Sabrina cried.

Mr. Canis searched the room for other exits but found none. He turned to Sabrina and for a moment she thought she saw worry in his face. Then, his body grew in size. His face seemed more wolflike, as if he were somewhere between the old man she knew and the wolf she feared. He stepped over to the far wall and pounded it with his enormous hand. It crumbled and a small hole appeared. He smashed the wall again, this time making the hole big enough to step through.

"Girls, come with me," he growled, and though Sabrina was afraid of his appearance, she was more afraid of the monster trying to get into the room. She raced over to the cocoon and snatched it in her arms. It was surprisingly light and had a horrible smell like moldy pickles.

"Who are you, Everafter?" Moth shouted at Canis.

"He's the Big Bad Wolf," Sabrina explained.

"The murderer?" the fairy girl shrieked. "I'm not going anywhere with you!"

Just then, the door to the room blew off its hinges. Titania appeared in the doorway, her mighty wings vibrating the air. She roared like a lion and shot a stream of fire right at them.

"Suit yourself," Sabrina said, tightening her grip on the cocoon. She turned and ran through the opening in the wall with Mr. Canis following close behind. Moments later, Moth came flying frantically after them, her pink insectlike wings keeping her aloft.

They were back in the park where Daphne had first told the knock-knock joke that had revealed the Golden Egg. The restaurant had disappeared again. Sabrina had left her coat inside, and now she was freezing. She hurried alongside Canis, doing her best not to fall in the slippery snow, but it wasn't easy. She turned her ankle and almost lost her hold on Puck's cocoon. Moth landed in front of her and snatched the cocoon out of Sabrina's hands. "You have no right to touch His Majesty's healing vessel," she said indignantly.

"Fine! Keep the stinky thing!" Sabrina said as she scanned the area. Where could they hide?

Suddenly Titania appeared behind them, as if out of thin air. She soared overhead, preparing to strike.

Mr. Canis rushed over to one of the lamps that lined the park paths and pulled it out of its concrete mooring. There were several loud pops as the electrical wires inside were ripped apart.

Canis swung the lamp like a bat right at the queen and hit her hard. She was hurled into the pavement with enough impact to create a smoking crater. Canis stood over the hole, waiting for Titania to crawl out.

Granny, Daphne, Hamstead, and his new friend Bess appeared nearby and rushed to join Sabrina. Granny looked worried. "We should go," she said.

"Haven't I been saying that all day?" Sabrina cried.

No sooner were the words out of her mouth than Titania rose out of the crater and screamed like a banshee.

"Any suggestions?" Canis asked.

Sabrina turned to Moth. "What should we do? She's going to kill us all."

"She won't kill me," the fairy said. "I'm a princess."

Sabrina scowled. If they survived, she needed to remember to introduce Moth to her fist. Just then, Mustardseed and his fairies appeared in the sky and surrounded Titania. They threw long, thick ropes around the queen, binding her as she fought and screamed. Mustardseed's men dragged her toward the spot where the Golden Egg had been and disappeared once again into the invisible restaurant.

Mustardseed landed next to Granny. "You must leave here," he said. "I will take my brother."

"Forget it," Sabrina said. "Puck stays with us."

"I'm not arguing with you, child," Mustardseed said angrily.

"Then don't. I'm not letting him anywhere near your mother," Sabrina said.

"I'm confused," Granny said to Sabrina. "You're talking as if Puck is with us."

"He is," Sabrina said, pointing at the cocoon Moth was holding.

"This is Puck?" Daphne said, placing her hand on the cocoon's skin. A sticky trail of goo clung to her fingers when she pulled it off. "Oh yeah, this is Puck all right."

"Mustardseed, as Puck's fiancee I will look after the crown prince," Moth said.

"Fiancee?" everyone cried.

Mustardseed thought about this for a long moment, seeming to weigh his options, then nodded reluctantly. "You may take him," he said to Granny, "if you take Moth, too, and keep them both safe. But do not take Puck from the city."

"Sorry, buddy. We're out of here now!" Sabrina cried.

"Do not leave the city!" Mustardseed roared.

Granny Relda nodded. "We'll stay."

The fairy looked relieved. "I must go to my mother," he said, and he turned and flew back toward the restaurant, disappearing in a blink.

Granny took the opportunity to usher everyone out of the park. When they were several blocks away, she stopped to catch her breath.

"We should go back to the car and drive away from here as soon as possible," Sabrina said, shivering. "We have Puck. There's no reason to stay. If we stick around, someone is going to get hurt."

Mr. Canis removed his suit jacket and wrapped it around Sabrina to keep her warm. Daphne, who was also without a coat, squirmed inside, too, wrapping her arms around her sister.

"I agree with the girl," Canis said.

"We can't go! This is a mystery," Daphne said. "They might need our help solving it."

"Another good reason to leave!" Sabrina said.

"Daphne's right," Granny said. "We'll check into a hotel. We all saw the mark on Oberon's chest. The Scarlet Hand is behind his murder."

Before Sabrina could argue, Tony Fats buzzed the group and landed next to Bess.

"I'm glad you got out OK, Bess," he said.

"No thanks to you," she replied. Then she sighed, turned to Mr. Hamstead, leaned in close, and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thanks, cowboy," she said. "What do they call you?"

"My name's Ernest," Hamstead said, as he turned pink.

Tony Fats grumbled, snatched his girlfriend by the wrist, and dragged her back down the street as Hamstead looked on wistfully.

Granny raised her hand and a taxi pulled over. "We need to find a hotel with a parking lot for a car," she said to the driver. He shook his head and told them if they had a car to leave it where it was. "Parking is insane, lady," he explained.

Granny shrugged and helped Sabrina, Daphne, Moth, and Puck's cocoon into the back of the cab, then climbed into the front passenger seat. She rolled down the window and said to Mr. Canis and Hamstead. "Can you two find your own cab?"

"Relda, I believe I'll walk," Canis replied. He looked shaken and out of sorts. "The winter air will help my condition. I can follow your scent."

"I'll go with him," Hamstead said. "I'd like to see as much of the city as I can before we have to head back. I'll see you at breakfast?"

Granny nodded. "Take care." She rolled up her window and the cab pulled away.

"Is that the thing that is stinking up my cab?" the driver asked, looking at the purple orb in his rearview mirror.

"It's a school project," Sabrina lied. "Science fair stuff."

"What's the project? How quickly can you make a full grown man lose his lunch?"

"Hey, it's no rose garden back here, either," Sabrina said. "You ever clean this cab?"

The driver grumbled and turned his attention back to the road.

Soon, the cab pulled up outside the Fitzpatrick Manhattan Hotel and the women clamored out. The hotel was a tall, old-fashioned building with an emerald-green awning. The smell of tobacco drifted from inside. A doorman invited them into the warm lobby where several tourists sat in front of a crackling fireplace, looking out the window at the falling snow.

"My goodness," one of the tourists cried as she pinched her nose. "I think the sewers are backing up."

"Ugh, it smells like someone died," another complained.

Granny ignored the reaction to the cocoon and approached the front desk, requested three rooms, and asked that sets of keys be left for Mr. Hamstead and Mr. Canis. A bellhop looked at the family with an odd expression when he was told they had no luggage. He took them up to their room on the fourth floor. Inside they found two queen-sized beds, a bathroom with a marble tub, and a pamphlet on the sights and sounds of the Big Apple.

"This is unacceptable," Moth said before they had even turned the lights on. "I am royalty and accustomed to refinements. We need to find a more suitable room for the prince and I! One that is private!"

Sabrina rolled her eyes and flipped on the light switch.

"Hello, Mrs. Grimm," a voice said from across the room. The women let out a shriek and nearly fell over themselves. There, sitting in a chair by the window was Mustardseed. Oz stood behind the fairy prince. "I hope that none of you was harmed this evening," Mustardseed said. "I'm sure you can understand that my mother's actions were due to stress and heartbreak."

"Well, she nearly flame-broiled us back there!" Sabrina cried.

"Yeah, she's a jerkazoid!" Daphne added.

Oz stepped forward. "But she was the only one of us who was thinking clearly at the time. Her only choice was to run everyone off. She had to allow the killer a chance to escape."

"Escape?" Granny cried. "Why on earth would she want to do that?"

"To protect the new king," Mustardseed said. "Otherwise, the killer might have hurt the heir to the Faerie throne."

"What's an heir?"

Daphne asked.

"Someone who inherits something from a relative," Sabrina explained, then turned back to Mustardseed. "But I thought there wasn't a Faerie anymore."

"Faerie exists in our hearts and hopes," Mustardseed explained. "Some day we will find a way to rebuild it. Then we will need our king."

"So you're saying your mom was trying to barbeque us so she could protect you?" Daphne said.

"You are confused," Mustardseed said. "I am not the heir to the crown of Faerie. That honor falls to Puck."

"Puck is the new king?" Granny said, astonished.

Mustardseed nodded. "Protecting Puck was my mother's greatest concern. I knew you could be trusted to keep my brother safe. After all, you brought him here."

"Well, I hope Titania doesn't think we killed Oberon," Granny said.

Oz nodded. "We know that. Oberon was poisoned."

"With a concoction only a fairy could make," Mustardseed added. "It takes something very powerful to kill an Everafter. The ingredients for this particular poison came from the original fairy homeland and the recipe is one passed down within our kind. Only fairies and a few Everafters know it."

"And do you have any suspects?"

Mustardseed shook his head. "My father had many enemies."

"We suspect it was a fairy, or someone aided by one," Oz said.

"Unfortunately, whoever it was is now free on the streets of New York City. We know your reputation as detectives. We could use your family's help in finding the murderer."

Sabrina tried to wrap her head around this task. New York City had over eight million people living in it. It encompassed five different boroughs, linked by hundreds of miles of subway lines. Sure, Sabrina had grown up here, but there were so many streets and neighborhoods, no one could know them all. This wasn't Ferryport Landing, where they knew everyone. They didn't know these urban Everafters or even where they lived in the city. The job seemed impossible.

"This is not going to be easy," Granny said, obviously sharing similar thoughts.

"If you are half as resourceful as Veronica, I will have no worries at all," Mustardseed said.

"Folks, I'm afraid we've got one more favor to ask," Oz said. "Puck might be the killer's next target and after today's fiasco, we're pretty confident that you people can handle just about anything, including guarding him. He won't be safe at the Golden Egg."

"Of course, he's like one of my own grandchildren," Granny said.

Mustardseed rose from his seat. "Moth, you will stay with the Grimms. You will watch over your betrothed and assist the Grimms in any way they might need."

"As you wish, Your Majesty," the little fairy said with a deep bow.

"Oh, this is just getting better by the second," Sabrina said sarcastically.

Mustardseed turned to Granny Relda. "I want to be kept abreast of every development. I will be quite busy, so you can report your findings to Oz at the store in which he works." He bowed deeply, then turned to the window, opened it, and leaped out into the night. Above the howl of the wind, Sabrina could hear the sound of mighty wings flapping. Oz turned and closed the window tight.

"Any idea where we should start?" Daphne asked him.

The Wizard shook his head. "We don't exactly have an Everafter phone book."

"Then how did you get them all to meet at the Golden Egg tonight?" Sabrina said.

"I use the Empire State Building as a signal," Oz explained. "You may have seen them light it up for holidays. On Christmas they use red and Saint Patrick's Day it's green. When we need to see everyone we use bright purple."

"Perhaps we should try that," Granny said.

"I doubt anyone would show up after Titania's fit. I can tell you this much: I know the dwarfs live in the subway system and I believe Sinbad lives somewhere down by the docks," Oz said. "We Everafters keep to ourselves here in the city."

"That's it? That's all you know?" Sabrina cried.

"I'll ask around about the others and let you know if I find out anything else," the little man said. He apologized, said his good-byes, and moments later he left the room.

"We're in the middle of a mystery!" Daphne clapped, nearly bouncing in anticipation. "Where do we start?"

"Let's make a list of our clues so far," Granny Relda replied. "Sabrina, could you find us an ink pen? I bet there's one in the desk."

"No," Sabrina whispered. "I don't want anything to do with this. We should all just go home."

The room grew quiet. Daphne and Granny Relda stared at her as if she were some kind of algebra problem with no solution. Sabrina had rarely felt so alone. Couldn't Granny see that ever since she and Daphne had gotten involved in the detective business, they had been like two human wrecking balls, causing death and destruction over and over again? They had survived the Jabberwocky by the skin of their teeth and now they were jumping back into the fire. What if someone got hurt again?

What if their luck finally ran out? The sting of tears filled Sabrina's eyes and she quickly turned and ran into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She sat on the side of the tub in the dark and tried to catch her breath.

After a few minutes, there was a knock on the door and it slowly opened.

"Liebling?"

Granny Relda said as she flicked on the light and entered the room. She sat down next to Sabrina and put her hand on the girl's shoulder. Sabrina pulled away.

"I don't want to do this," she said to her grandmother.

"Sabrina, these people asked for our help. It won't hurt us to look around and ask some-"

"No… I'm not talking about this mystery. I don't want to be a Grimm."

Granny sat quietly for a long time and Sabrina prepared herself for a lecture about responsibility and doing the right thing. "You don't have to, Sabrina," Granny finally said. Sabrina was stunned.

"You were deposited into this life against your will. I thought that after some time you would get used to being a Grimm and see what a rewarding life it can be. But I realize now that I'm forcing you to do it and that isn't fair. You do have a choice and I should have explained it. Many in our family have walked away from their heritage. If you've ever read any of Douglas Grimm's journals, he often wrote about how miserable he was; even your Opa Basil had his doubts. Obviously, your own father made a choice to pursue a different life. You can do the same if that is what you want."

"Sure, and you'll be disappointed with me. You'll give me that look you give me when you're angry," Sabrina said.

"I'll miss sharing the time with you," Granny said. "And I truly believe you are becoming an excellent detective, but you can retire if you want. Perhaps it is best if you stay at home from now on and keep an eye on your parents."

Sabrina wondered if her grandmother was pulling a trick on her, but the old lady just smiled and kissed her on the forehead.

"I can still help find a way to wake up Mom and Dad?" Sabrina said.

"Of course," the old woman said.

Sabrina felt like the sun had come out and was shining just for her. The gnawing pain in her belly subsided for the first time in months.

"I can't wait to tell Daphne we don't have to do this anymore," Sabrina added.

Granny frowned. "Sabrina, you get to make your choice and you have to let her make one for herself."

"She's only seven years old," Sabrina argued. "And you're only eleven, but I'm trusting your decision," the old woman said. "But-"

"Now, unfortunately, we're in the middle of a case to which I have committed us all. So, let's make a compromise. When we get home you'll be done with being a fairy-tale detective, but right now, we have a mystery to solve. Can your sister and I count on you for one more case?"

Sabrina nodded. Still, she was happy; in fact, she was grinning from ear to ear. She hadn't expected her grandmother to understand her choice, let alone support it. She could walk away from the Grimm family legacy. No more Everafters, monsters, and lunatics. Now all she had to do was convince Daphne to make the same decision.

Granny Relda kissed Sabrina on the top of her head. "Let's go join the others."

The two women got up and left the bathroom. They found Mr. Hamstead had arrived. He explained that Mr. Canis wasn't feeling well and had gone to bed.

"Ernest," Granny Relda said. "I'm afraid we're going to be staying through tomorrow at least. Mustardseed has asked us to find his father's killer."

"Of course we'll help," Mr. Hamstead said.

Daphne clapped her hands. "What's the plan?"

"The plan, Daphne, is to get some rest. Tomorrow we're going to track down a killer."

"Where are we going to start?" Sabrina asked as she looked out the window at the massive city.

"At your old apartment," Granny replied.

The plan for the morning was to split up. Hamstead would search the lower part of the city and the Grimm family would handle the upper part. Mr. Canis was staying at the hotel for the day. When they had knocked on his door, he'd opened it just a crack and told Granny Relda that he needed time to meditate. She agreed that he should rest. Sabrina wondered if she'd noticed the new wolfish whiskers on the old man's chin.

When the group finished breakfast and met in the lobby, they were surprised to find they had a visitor. Bess was sitting in a chair by the fireplace. She had on a long winter coat and a silver backpack. She also had the coats Sabrina and Daphne had abandoned at the Golden Egg.

"Care for a little help?" Bess asked as she smiled at Hamstead.

"Of course," Hamstead stammered. "But won't this cause some waves with your boyfriend?"

Bess winked. "Ernest, I don't have a boyfriend anymore."

"We're happy to have the help," Granny said, shaking Bess's hand. "Why don't you team up with Ernest?"

"An excellent plan," the blonde woman said.

As the group stepped out of the hotel, they found that two feet of snow had fallen in the night, turning the city into a winter wonderland. Hamstead and Bess went in one direction while Granny, the girls, and Moth searched for a cab. After ten minutes without success, they caught a bus that took them uptown to the girls' old neighborhood on the Upper East Side. Unfortunately, where Moth went, Puck's smelly cocoon went, too. No one wanted to sit next to the slimy thing, which had begun to leak a funky gas not unlike rotten eggs, so the family spent the trip avoiding the angry looks of other passengers.

"Well, it seems as if your mother had a secret life," Granny Relda said as the bus headed up Madison Avenue. "Several of us have gotten into the family business through marriage. I'm a very good example, myself. So, if Veronica was working with Everafters like every other Grimm since Jacob and Wilhelm, she probably also wrote down what she was experiencing."

"You mean a journal? Do you think she kept one?" Daphne said. It was the family tradition to write one's adventures down so that future descendants might learn from them. Sabrina had a journal, too, though she rarely kept track of what she had encountered. Writing it down made it real. Daphne on the other hand was working on her second volume.

"I bet she did," Granny said. "And I suspect Veronica kept her activities secret from your father. When he left Ferryport Landing, he was dead set on building an Everafter-free life. If she had a journal she probably hid it. So it might still be in your old apartment."

"Is this place nearby?" Moth groaned. "The constant jostling of this vehicle is upsetting my delicate constitution."

"What did she say?" Daphne asked her sister.

"She's complaining," Sabrina explained. "Again."

After several stops, they finally reached the corner of Eighty-eighth Street and Madison Avenue and started walking east, toward York. This was a quiet little nook of the city filled with families, dogs, and older people. As Sabrina looked around, a wave of memories flooded over her. There was the little deli that sold the roast beef and gravy sandwiches her father snuck out to buy late at night. Down the street was Carl Schurz Park, where her family had spent many afternoons looking out on the East River or playing with the puppies in the little dog run. Across the street was the luxury apartment high-rise their mother often dreamed they'd live in one day. Sabrina spotted Ottomanelli's

Italian Eatery with its amazing meatball pizza, the dry cleaner where the Cuban lady always gave her lollipops, and the magazine store owned by the guy who let his three cats sleep on stacks of the

New York Times.

Sabrina could even smell the world's best brownies from Glaser's Bakery a block away. Little had changed, except that the old skateboard store was now a manicure shop.

They walked up Eighty-eighth Street, past a group of five-story brownstones, and quickly reached their old apartment building at number 448. It had recently been painted a gray-blue in place of the dirty yellow she remembered.

"We can't get in," Sabrina said, as they climbed the freshly salted steps. "The police took our keys when they sent us to the orphanage."

"Sabrina, those old keys wouldn't work anyway," her grandmother said. "There's a new family living here and I'm sure they've changed the locks."

Sabrina stifled a cry. She had never imagined that strangers might actually be living in their home.

"So someone else lives here?" Daphne whispered. Sabrina could hear her own dismay echoed in her sister's voice.

Granny nodded as she pushed on the buzzer that rang their old apartment.

"Hello, who is it?" a voice crackled from a speaker.

"Um, yes, so sorry to bother you, ma'am, but my name is Relda Grimm. I'm here with my granddaughters, who used to live in your apartment."

Suddenly, a buzzer sounded and the door unlocked. The group stepped inside the building and walked down the hall to the girls' old apartment. Halfway there, they were greeted by an excited woman with huge red glasses.

"I'm so thrilled to meet you," she said.

"I hope we aren't imposing," Granny Relda said. "We were in the neighborhood."

"Nonsense, I've always wanted to meet the previous owners," the woman said, holding out her hand. "My name is Gloria Frank."

"I'm Relda Grimm. These are my granddaughters, Sabrina and Daphne… and Moth."

"Hello, peasant," Moth said, awkwardly hoisting Puck's cocoon onto her shoulder.

Gloria Frank looked confused but smiled. "Please, come in," she said, ushering them down the hall and into the apartment.

For Sabrina, stepping into the living room was a shock. Their once colorful home was now painted in drab shades of wheat. The hardwood floors had been redone, stealing all their old charm and personality, and many of the antique light fixtures had been replaced with austere, modern lamps. All of the furniture Sabrina remembered was gone. Their big puffy couch had been replaced with a sleek chocolate-brown sofa that looked more like a work of art than something to sit on. Every photograph of her family was gone. Even Daphne's finger paintings were no longer hanging on the refrigerator.

Just then, a teenage boy walked out of one of the bedrooms. He was a lanky kid wearing a rugby shirt and carrying a handheld video game. He had curly blond hair and a pair of headphones in his ears. When he saw the visitors, he took off the headphones and regarded the group curiously. "Mom? What is that awful smell?"

"His Majesty's healing vessel gives off an unusual scent but it is not by any means awful," Moth said. "You should be honored to have found its aroma in your nose, you undeserving wretch."

"I'm so sorry," Granny said, stepping between Moth and everyone else. "My granddaughter is in a play and she's been practicing her lines nonstop. Unfortunately, they're using some unusual props and she feels its best to carry one with her."

"She's a method actress. How delightful! My son is an actor, too," Mrs. Frank said as she turned to her son. "What was the last play your school did? You were incredible in it. What was it called?"

"A Midsummer Nights Dream."

"He played Puck. Do you girls know that play?"

"We're living it," Sabrina murmured as the cocoon gave off a particularly noxious blast of gas.

"Phil, these girls used to live here," Mrs. Frank said, waving her hand in front of her nose, and then seeming to realize that this might be rude, pretended to smooth her hair instead.

"Wassup?" the boy said,

"You have my old bedroom," Daphne said, quietly.

Phil raised his eyes and nodded, then put his headphones back on and wandered out of the room.

"I'm sorry. Since we bought him that game we can't get it away from him," his mother said. "Can I take your coats?

"We can't stay," Granny said. "We just wanted to come by and see who lived here now."

"Oh, we really love the apartment. I hope you think we're taking good care of it," Mrs. Frank said.

Sabrina didn't answer. She kept glancing around the room, trying to find something she recognized. The whole experience was making her dizzy.

"Mrs. Frank, there is one other thing. We were wondering if you happened to find anything in the apartment when you moved in, say, for instance, a journal or a book of stories about fairy-tale characters?" Granny said. "The girls' mother may have kept one and we'd love to get our hands on it."

"Oh, we found a few things when we redid the kitchen and the closets," the woman said. She rushed out of the room and returned with an old shoebox. "My husband told me I was crazy to keep this stuff. He says I'm a pack rat, but they seemed personal and, well, it felt wrong to throw them out."

Sabrina took the box and flipped open the lid. Inside were a few yellowing love letters their father had written their mother, some scattered pictures of Sabrina and Daphne in the bathtub when they were little, and a ladies' wallet with pink roses sewn on the front.

"No journal," Daphne said with a sigh.

"Oh, dear, it's not here," their grandmother said. "Do you think you might have overlooked it?" she said to Mrs. Frank.

Gloria Frank shook her head. "We did a lot of work on this place when we moved in. If there were a journal, we would have found it. I'm sorry."

"Well, we appreciate you hanging onto these things," Granny said. "We should probably be going."

"It was so nice to meet you," Mrs. Frank said. "Don't worry, we'll take good care of this place."

Granny and the girls waited at the bus stop until the next bus came. They climbed inside and found a seat in the back. Moth chattered on about how ignorant human beings could be, but the Grimm women were silent. Sabrina sat by the window, watching her neighborhood disappear.

Back at the hotel, the little group waited for the elevator. When the doors opened, they were startled to see Mr. Hamstead and Bess inside, locked in a passionate kiss. When the couple finally noticed everyone staring, Hamstead's face went pink and his snout popped out. He quickly put his hand over it, eyeing Bess nervously as if he didn't want her to see. Bess on the other hand was grinning from ear to ear and holding him in her arms like they were lost at sea and he was a life preserver.

"Uh, hello," Granny said as the couple stepped out of the elevator. "Is Mr. Canis awake?"

"Yes," Hamstead said, his face still pink. "He's in his room and wants to speak with you. I asked him if everything was OK and he nearly bit my head off, literally." He blushed even more brightly when he noticed that Daphne was giving him playful winks.

"We just stopped by for some hot cocoa," Bess said. "Wall Street was a bust. It's incredible how fractured our community is. We live such separate, secret lives. We're going to try SoHo and Chinatown next." The blonde lady turned to Hamstead and gave him a big, over-the-top smooch on the cheek. "Sugar dumpling, I'm going to go freshen up. Mind if I borrow your room key?"

"Not at all," Hamstead said. He dug into his pocket and handed the key to her. A moment later, she was back inside the elevator and on her way upstairs.

"Mr. Hamstead, I do believe you are smitten with her," Granny said.

"What does smitten mean?" Daphne asked.

Sabrina turned to answer but then noticed something unusual. The little girl was asking Granny Relda instead of her.

"It means he's got a huge crush on her," Granny said.

"Which is a huge problem," Mr. Hamstead said. "When she finds out who I am… what I am-"

"Ernest, she's an Everafter, too, obviously," Granny Relda said.

"A human Everafter," Hamstead said. "I'm a pig. There's a big difference."

"But there are lots of mixed-Everafter couples. You're forgetting Miss Muffet and the spider."

"Miss Muffet is a crackpot," Hamstead said. "Bess is beautiful and funny and the most amazing woman I've ever met. She's not going to be interested in me when she discovers I'm just an unemployed pig from upstate."

Granny smiled. "I'm sure that Bess likes you for who you are."

"If this pointless conversation is over," Moth complained, "I'd like to get His Majesty back to the room."

"Of course," Granny said. "I'm going to pop in on Mr. Canis. I'll meet you soon."

The girls went up to their room and closed the door. Moth climbed onto one of the two queen-sized beds and propped the icky cocoon onto a pillow. "I need silence, humans," she announced.

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said turning to her sister. "I need to talk to you." She gestured to the bathroom and Daphne followed her inside.

"Daphne, Granny and I have talked and we've come to an understanding-"

"I know all about it," Daphne said, stiffly.

"Then you know I'm not going to be involved in this detective stuff anymore."

"I know you're quitting."

"I don't want you to do it, either. We should be trying to find out how to wake Mom and Dad up, anyway. Once they're back to normal, we can move somewhere normal and be a family again. Doesn't that sound good?"

Suddenly Daphne burst into tears. They streamed down her face and onto the shoebox Gloria Frank had given them, which she still clutched in her hands.

"Why are you crying?" Sabrina said, dismayed. "Don't you want to get back to normal?"

"No!"

Daphne yelled. "This is our destiny."

"You don't even know what the word destiny means." For the first time in Sabrina's life, she saw rage in her little sister's eyes. Before Sabrina knew what had happened, Daphne set down the shoebox, opened the door to the shower, turned on the water, and shoved Sabrina inside.

"You little-!" Sabrina sputtered. "I'm trying to protect us."

"No you're not! You're trying to protect yourself. You haven't once asked me what I want. You're a… jerkazoid and I don't need you. I'll be a fairy-tale detective all by myself!" Daphne turned and stomped out of the room, slamming the bathroom door behind her.

Soaked to the bone, Sabrina climbed out of the shower, took off her clothes, and put on one of the fancy white robes the hotel had left hanging on the back of the door. She wrapped her head in a towel and thought about what her sister had just said. Daphne was mad, but Sabrina would make her understand. She was doing this for both of them.

The little girl had left the shoebox sitting on the toilet tank. Sabrina picked it up and opened the lid. The photos were the embarrassing bathtub shots that parents love to take and kids wished would be lost in a fire. But they made Sabrina smile. They represented happier times. She flipped through the yellowing love letters, tied in a small red ribbon, and then opened the pink wallet. Inside was her mother's driver's license, some expired credit cards, a couple of pictures of her father, and a photo of Veronica sitting with her daughters. Sabrina and Daphne had their faces painted with stars and rainbows and were smiling. Sabrina remembered that day clearly. Her mother had taken them to a fair held at the South Street Seaport-it had been a good day.

It was odd to hold something her mother had owned. The girls didn't have a single item from their old lives; even their clothes were gone. Sabrina lifted the wallet to her nose and sniffed deeply, hoping to find some hint of her mother's perfume, but all she could smell was old leather.