The Unusual Suspects

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_{Chapter 7}

That's the best you can do, fat boy?" Puck shouted, spinning on his heels and transforming into a massive thirteen-foot brown bear. He roared so viciously that Sabrina felt it in her toes, but it did nothing to stop the rabbits. They dove onto Puck in waves, knocking his mammoth body to the ground and covering him from head to toe.

"Puck!" the girls shouted, terrified that he'd been killed. And for a brief moment it seemed as if their fears were true. But the boy soared out of the bunny pile, giant wings flapping, and into the sky. He dipped back down, snatched each girl by the hand, and began an awkward effort to fly out of the forest.

"Next time, why doesn't one of you tell me to shut up?" Puck cried.

Daphne and Sabrina looked at each other incredulously.

“I am so going to have nightmares about this," Daphne whined.

Puck sailed through the forest, barely managing to avoid the giant cedars and fir trees that seemed to appear out of nowhere. He ducked between branches and flapped fiercely to raise the girls over the brush and pricker bushes on the forest floor. One desperate effort to dodge a huge Chinese maple tree forced him to dive close to the ground, where one of the rabbits leaped up and sank its teeth into Sabrina's pant leg. She shook it off and it disappeared into the furry sea below.

"Head for the river," Sabrina cried. "They can't follow us over the water."

Puck frowned at her. "I know what I'm doing," he growled.

"If you knew what you were doing, we wouldn't have two million zombie bunnies chasing us!" she shouted.

"Guys," Daphne said, trying to get their attention, but her sister was too angry to listen.

"How was I supposed to know that kid was mentally unhinged?" Puck said.

"I don't know," Sabrina snapped. "Maybe when we found him running from a dead body?"

"Guys!" Daphne shouted.

"What!" Puck and Sabrina snapped.

"LOOK OUT!"

Sabrina looked up to see a fifteen-foot-high fence in front of them. Puck made a desperate swerve and narrowly missed smashing into it, but the near collision didn't slow down the argument.

"I don't know why I'm involved in this, anyway!" he cried. "I'm one of the bad guys!"

"The only bad thing about you is your breath!" Sabrina shouted. "All we ever hear about is Puck the villain! What kind of villain has creamed corn all over his shirt?"

The boy snarled, made a dramatic turn to the left, and looked Sabrina dead in the eye.

"You want to see how bad I can be?" he growled. "I'll show you what I'm capable of!"

He soared into the backyard of someone's home, a stocky senior citizen who was puttering around his yard. As the trio flew past him they heard the man shout, "Agnes! The rabbits have been digging up the yard, again. I swear, the next one I see is going to wish it hadn't been born!"

Puck howled with laughter as he led the bunnies right through the poor man's yard. By the time the old fellow saw them coming, it was too late. Sabrina caught a glimpse of his shocked face as the first wave of rabbits knocked him to the ground. "Agnes!" he cried. They hopped over him as if he wasn't even there.

"That was mean!" Daphne shouted at Puck.

Flapping vigorously, the boy flew across the street just as an old woman's car came to a stop at the intersection. She was a tiny old lady who could barely see over the dashboard. She must have been legally blind, too, because she waited patiently, unblinking, for Puck and the two girls to fly across the road, followed by a couple thousand rabbits. When her way was clear, she drove off as if nothing unusual had happened at all.

"People are going to see us! You've got to get us off the street," Sabrina insisted.

"Oh, you want me to get us off the street? Fine, your wish is my command," Puck yelled. He flew straight toward a house where a tall man had just opened his front door. As the man bent over to pick up his newspaper, Puck flew inside.

"No! Don't," Daphne cried as Puck sailed through the living room, into the dining room, and flapped awkwardly over the table. Below them, two small children were setting the table, oblivious to the scene above their heads. They were hungrily eyeing a glistening golden ham in the center of a dinner feast. Puck dipped lower and Daphne accidentally kicked the ham and a bowl of mashed potatoes onto the floor. The family's two hyperactive English springer spaniels then raced into the room and tore into the fallen food.

" Chelsea! Maxine! No!" the mother shouted, running in from the kitchen and desperately trying to drag the remains of the ham from their greedy mouths. "Bad dogs!" She didn't look up, but the children did.

"So sorry," Daphne shouted to the open-mouthed children as Puck flew into the kitchen. They found the back door. Sabrina opened it and they zipped outside. The rabbits had noticed their detour and now tumbled through the house, knocking over furniture and sending lamps crashing to the floor. They blasted out of windows and knocked the back door off its hinges and still managed to gain ground.

Sabrina looked up at Puck and saw the proud grin on his face.

"That wasn't funny," she snapped.

"Yes it was," he said.

"They're still coming," Daphne cried. "We have to go somewhere they can't go."

"We're on our way," Puck crowed. Soon they were out of the neighborhoods and flying back over acres of overgrown woods. In no time, the Hudson River stretched out before them.

"If we fly out over the river, they won't be able to follow," Sabrina said.

"Oh, we're going over the river all right, but not to save you from the rabbits," Puck cried. "We're going over because you questioned my villainy."

Sabrina looked up into his face. "You wouldn't dare!"

"That's another thing you shouldn't question!"

He flapped his wings hard and soon the three were soaring over the rocky cliffs, high above the Hudson. Sabrina watched as the rabbits raced to the cliff's edge and then abruptly stopped.

"Anyone ready for a swim?" Puck asked.

"Don't do it!" Sabrina demanded.

"Next time you talk to me, maybe you'll do well to remember that I am royalty."

But before Puck could dump them into the icy water, his body buckled as if he had flown into a brick wall. Sabrina lost her grip on him and dropped like a stone, landing hard in the freezing river below. She sank deep into the river then swam frantically to reach the surface in time to see Daphne splash down beside her.

"Daphne!" she screamed as her sister sank below the surface. Sabrina dived into the water and, after several moments of frantic searching, her already numb fingers found something soft and fluffy. It was Daphne! Sabrina wrapped her arms around her sister and pulled her to the surface.

The little girl gasped for air and started choking as a mouthful of water spilled from her lips.

"Where's Puck?" she asked, between painful coughs.

Sabrina scanned the waves nearby, but there was no sign of the boy.

"Puck!" she shouted. There was no response.

Sabrina turned her sister toward the shore. "Can you make it?" she asked.

Daphne nodded. Sabrina let her go and the little girl doggy-paddled toward land. Luckily, their father had taught them both how to swim at the YMCA near their apartment and Daphne had taken to it like a fish. She'd be fine.

"Puck!" Sabrina shouted again. She took a deep breath and dived back into the cold water, knowing she didn't have a lot of time. The water was so icy she was losing feeling in her feet. She moved back and forth, searching in the dark waters with her hands, but finding nothing. Finally, her lungs ached for oxygen, and she was forced to return to the surface.

Gasping for breath, she noticed something odd floating in the distance. When she looked closer she knew what it was-giant, glittery wings. She swam as hard as she could and found Puck facedown in the water. She turned him over. His face was blue. She wrapped her arm around his cold body and swam to shore as best she could. There, Daphne helped her drag the motionless boy onto dry ground.

"Please don't be dead, Puck!" the little girl cried.

"Stand back," Sabrina said. She tilted the boy's head and looked in his mouth for obstructions. She had taken life-saving lessons in school but had only tried CPR once on a rubber dummy-never on a real, live person! Worse, she remembered her teacher had given her a C-minus for the course.

She took a deep breath and placed her mouth on Puck's, blowing all the air she could down his windpipe. Nothing happened. She did it again. She remembered to press on his sternum to force air in and out of his lungs. She counted off fifteen compressions and then returned to blowing into his mouth.

Suddenly, his eyes opened and he shoved Sabrina away.

"I'm contaminated!" he cried, wiping his mouth.

"Puck, you're alive!" Daphne shouted and hugged the boy.

"Of course I'm alive," the boy said, crawling to his feet. His wings disappeared into his back. "I happen to be immortal."

"We thought… you were… I tried," Sabrina stammered.

"You thought you'd give me a kiss while I was vulnerable," Puck said indignantly. "I guess I'm going to have to stop taking baths if you can't keep your hands to yourself."

Sabrina was so angry she was sure steam was coming out of her ears.

"What happened to you?" Daphne asked.

"I forgot how close the old witch's barrier was. I slammed into it pretty hard." Puck laughed.

"You think this is funny?" Sabrina snapped. "We could have died out there."

"Children?" a soft voice called out from behind them. They spun around and found Ms. White standing on the banks of the river. "We need to get you out of this cold."

"Well, I knew something was strange. I'd never had a student ask me for a detention before," the pretty teacher said, winking at Daphne, who sat in the front seat of the car with her. Puck and Sabrina huddled in the backseat under a blanket.

"Knowing your father as I did, I figured the two of you were up to something, so I thought I'd better come down to the detention room and find out what was going on. When I got there, the Queen of Hearts was trying to fight off the monster with a chair," she continued.

The children were stunned.

"Monster!" they said in unison.

"Was it a giant spider or a frog-girl?" Sabrina asked.

"Neither!" Snow White replied. "This was more like a wolf or a Bigfoot. I think it ate Charlie. It was going after the queen next, but lucky for her, I arrived. I managed to distract it, but I knew I couldn't fight it by myself."

"What did you do?" said Daphne.

"Nothing. I didn't have to. Wendell saved us," the teacher continued. "He blew into his harmonica and it seemed to stop the monster, at least for a second, but then it jumped out the window and ran off. Wendell was chasing after it when you saw him. I suppose if he were older he could have stopped the thing all together. His dad has been known to halt elephants in their tracks."

"So Wendell can control things with his harmonica," Sabrina said, her voice full of suspicion. "Just like his father, the Pied Piper. How do you know he was trying to save you? Maybe he was trying to help that thing escape."

"Oh, no!" Snow White argued. "That sweet little boy had nothing to do with this."

"Ms. White, when we confronted him, he sent an army of rabbits after us," Sabrina said. "Besides, he's an Everafter."

"What's that supposed to mean?" the teacher said.

"It means he has secrets," Sabrina said. "All of you walk around here, hiding behind your magic and when something bad happens, you just make it disappear. Poof, and the problem is gone!"

"Sabrina, shut up!" Daphne cried.

"I'm not hiding, young lady," Ms. White replied coolly, as she pulled her car into Granny's driveway. "Everafters are not all alike."

Before Sabrina could argue, Granny Relda and Elvis came running out to meet them.

"Lieblings, where have you been?" their grandmother said, rushing down the driveway as the children climbed out of the car. Elvis was so excited to see Daphne, he accidentally knocked her down with a series of excited kisses.

"In the river," the little girl said. "It was fun but very cold."

"In the river?" Granny Relda asked. "Why were you in the river?

"The rabbits chased us there," Daphne replied matter-of-factly.

The old woman threw her hands into the air. "What are you talking about?"

"They've had quite an afternoon, Relda," Ms. White said as she got out of her car. "They could use some warm clothes and some soup."

"Thank you for bringing them home, Snow," the old woman said, taking the teacher's hand.

"My pleasure," Snow White said. She turned and went back to her car, but then, suddenly, she turned and eyed Sabrina. "I hope you'll think about what I said. You can't judge the many by the actions of the few."

Granny raised a curious eyebrow at Sabrina as the teacher drove away.

"Lieblings, we have to get you into the bath," the old woman said. "Daphne, you go first, and make that water good and warm."

Daphne nodded and rushed into the house, with Elvis at her heels.

"I think I'll go up to my room," Puck said, spinning around and heading for the stairs.

"Absolutely not!" Granny Relda commanded. "You're next in the bathtub."

The boy's face tightened as if he had just bitten into a lemon. "I've already had all the baths I'm ever going to take. We're not going to make this a habit. I have a reputation. I'm a master villain. What will people say if they hear an old lady is forcing me into the bathtub every ten minutes?" he demanded. "I'll be the laughingstock of every tree gnome, pixie, hobgoblin, and brownie from here to Wonderland."

"Well, everyone is just going to have to think a little less of you then, Mr. Master Villain," Granny said. "Now, rush upstairs and change out of those clothes and don't put on that ratty green sweatshirt and jeans. Put on something clean!"

Puck pouted, but Granny Relda didn't budge. After several moments of staring her down, he spun around and stomped into the house.

"You, too," the old woman said to Sabrina. "Run upstairs and put on a bathrobe and some warm socks and come back down. I could use your help with the soup."

The old "I need your help" routine, the girl thought as she plodded up the steps to change out of her dripping clothes. Nine times out of ten, when an adult asked a child for help with something, it meant they were planning a lecture. But Sabrina thought it best just to change and get it over with. Once she was out of her clothes and into a warm robe, she headed back downstairs, passing the bathroom door, where she could hear Daphne begging Elvis to get into the tub with her. A tremendous splash told Sabrina that the little girl had gotten her wish.

When she passed Puck's room, she heard a horrible smashing sound inside. Apparently, the idea of another bath was not sitting well with the Trickster King. She wondered what his garden paradise would look like after the fairy prince got through with his temper tantrum.

"Sabrina? Is that you, liebling?" Granny called from the kitchen.

The girl followed the voice and found the old woman had already put a pot of broth on the stove and was chopping carrots and celery into little pieces on a cutting board.

"What are we making?" Sabrina asked sarcastically. "Kangaroo-tail soup? Cream of fungus?"

"Chicken noodle," Granny replied. "Why don't you have a seat on that stool? I think it's time you and I had a talk."

Sabrina rolled her eyes, but sat down.

"You've got a lot of anger in you, child," said Granny Relda.

Sure she was angry! Who wouldn't be? She was tired of the secrets and the lies. Tired of the things hidden underneath, tired of the surprises that popped up every single day. No one in this town was what they seemed. One of them had her parents. Was she supposed to walk around making friends and passing out cookies?

"I get angry, too," her grandmother continued. "My son and daughter-in-law are out there somewhere and I can't find them. Every night, after you girls are asleep, I ask Mirror to let me take a look at them. In a way, it makes me happy that they are still there, sleeping so peacefully, not even knowing all the trouble that we're going through to find them.

"And I crawl back in bed and I want to scream," Granny said, tossing the chopped celery into the big silver pot. "I hate feeling helpless and I blame myself for not being able to find them. After all, there's more magic and books in this house than in ten thousand fairy tales combined, and yet I'm no closer to bringing them home today than 1 was six months ago.

"Sometimes I look around this town and wonder if the person responsible for all of our heartache is sitting next to me in the coffee shop," she continued. "Or maybe it's the lady behind me in line at the supermarket or the woman who styles my hair at the beauty parlor. Maybe it's the nice man at the filling station who pumps gas into the car. Maybe it's the paperboy or the mailman or that girl who sells cookies for the scouts."

Sabrina's heart began to rise. Granny Relda felt exactly the way she did. Why hadn't she told them her true feelings about the town? It would have kept Sabrina from feeling so guilty and confused about the place.

"You're looking at the wrong people," she said, feeling encouraged by the old woman's revelation. "You should be looking at the Everafters."

"Liebling, Everafters are people." Granny said, setting down her knife. "They have families and homes and dreams."

"And murderous plots, kidnapping schemes, and plans to destroy the town."

"You don't really believe they are all bad, do you? What about Snow White and the sheriff?"

"They're Everafters. We just haven't discovered what they're really up to yet."

"Sabrina!" Granny Relda shouted. "No grandchild of mine is going to be a bigot! Hatred can grow, child, into something terrible and beyond your control!"

"You're defending the Everafters? They took my parents away and you are defending them?" Sabrina cried. She jumped off the stool.

"Yes, I’m going to defend them and anyone else who people choose to discriminate against."

"How can you do it?" Sabrina screamed, on the verge of tears.

"Because that is what I choose to do," the old woman said. "Yes, there are bad people among the Everafters but there are bad people among us all. You can't blame them all for the actions of one. I know it is difficult when you don't know who is responsible, but the guilt cannot be everyone's."

Sabrina felt as if she were being suffocated. The kitchen suddenly seemed so small, as though there wasn't room for the both of them anymore.

"You can look at it any way you want," she said, taking a step backward. "But if they aren't all in on it, then they sure aren't stepping up to help. And every time you smile at one of them or shake one of their hands you are just making it that much easier for them to stab you in the back."

"Sabrina," Granny said. "You have to get a hold of your anger. If you cannot learn to control your hatred, your hatred will control you."

"I'll get a hold of my anger when my mom and dad are safe at home," the girl cried.

Sabrina spun around and rushed out of the room, up the stairs, and into her bedroom. She slammed the door and ran to her bed. Burying her head under the pillows, she broke into violent sobs. In two weeks it would be Christmas, the second Christmas since one of them-one of the Everafters-had kidnapped her parents. Why didn't anyone care about bringing them home? Why was she the only one who saw what was really going on in Ferryport Landing?

Sabrina awoke to a knocking on her bedroom door. She looked over at the clock on the nightstand and realized it was already seven o'clock at night. She had been asleep for more than three hours. Still in her robe and socks, she crawled out of the bed and crossed the room to open the door. Mr. Canis was waiting on the other side.

"The family awaits you in the car," he said.

"I don't feel like going anywhere," she responded. The thought of seeing Granny Relda and Daphne right now made her sick to her stomach.

"Child, this is not an invitation," Mr. Canis said. "There is work to be done. Get dressed now and meet us at the car."

"Where are we going?"

Mr. Canis took a deep breath before he answered. "The answer to that question will not change the fact that you are going there. We are waiting in the car."

"I'll be down in a minute," Sabrina said. She closed the door and got dressed, but the fresh clothes didn't do anything to hide the horrible odor coming off of her. She had slept through bath-time, and now she smelled like a slimy, bottom-feeding fish.

She hurried through the empty house, put on her coat and hat, and opened the front door. Granny was waiting outside with her key ring in hand.

"Feeling better?" she asked.

Sabrina nodded. Thankfully, the old woman wasn't going to keep harping on their conversation.

"Good, a nap can do wonders for a person. Hurry along. Everyone is in the car."

Daphne, Elvis, and Puck were in the backseat looking warm and well fed. The little girl and the dog both stared out the window when Sabrina got inside. Apparently, her little sister was back to giving Sabrina the silent treatment, and this time Elvis was joining her. Puck, on the other hand, looked at her and laughed.

"You are in so much trouble." He chuckled, sounding impressed.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"The sheriff needs our help," Granny replied.

They cruised through the country roads, heading toward the elementary school. Mr. Canis pulled into the parking lot. Sheriff Hamstead's car was parked nearby. When everyone piled out, the old man once again climbed onto the top of the car and sat in his meditative posture. Elvis whined when he realized he was being left behind again.

"Buddy, you can come in with us, but there's a criminal stealing blankets out of the backseats of cars," Daphne warned. "He might snatch yours while we're inside."

The big dog bit down hard on the edge of his blanket and eyed the windows suspiciously as the family went into the school.

They rushed to the principal's office, where they found the sheriff sitting in a chair taking notes while Mr. Hamelin paced back and forth.

"Relda, what are you doing here?" the principal asked.

"The sheriff asked us to come by," she explained.

"The Grimms are pretty good at finding people," Hamstead said awkwardly. It was obvious to Sabrina he was trying to be discreet about the family being deputized.

"We're happy to help," Granny Relda said.

"No offense, Relda, but my kid is freezing out in the cold somewhere. I don't need an old woman and two kids, I need the police department," Hamelin said.

"I've got the best tracking dog in the world in the car," Granny said. "I'd take Elvis over a hundred police officers any day. We'll find your boy."

The principal sat down in his chair and rolled it over to the icy window. "It's so cold out there," he whispered.

"My girls were chasing Wendell this afternoon," Granny said.

"I heard all about it," the man responded, without turning away from the window.

"Then you know he's involved with the deaths."

Hamelin spun around in his seat angrily and pointed his finger at the old woman. "He didn't do it," he shouted.

"I know that, Piper. In fact, 1 think he's been trying to stop what's going on in this school."

"He's so curious. One afternoon we watched an old black-and-white detective movie on TV together and he was hooked. Now, everything's a mystery. I should have known he'd get himself in trouble."

"He also seems to have picked up his father's flair for music. I hear he's using a harmonica to control animals."

"Relda, he's a good kid," Hamelin said.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and Mr. Sheepshank entered.

"Oh, hello, everyone. So sorry to interrupt," he said, pointing to the wristwatch on his freckled arm. "Mr. Hamelin, it's time."

"Counselor, my son is missing!" the principal shouted angrily. Sabrina turned to look at the rosy-cheeked man, who smiled nervously.

"Of course. We can talk later," he said. He closed the door and was gone.

Daphne took her silver star out of her pocket and pinned it to her chest so that everyone could see her badge. "Mr. Hamelin, we don't want you to worry. We'll find your son and bring him back to you."

Granny Relda smiled at the little girl.

"Why are you so eager to help me?" Hamelin asked.

"That's our job," Daphne said. "To protect and serve." The little girl reached down, yanked on her belt, and pulled her pants up. Sabrina almost burst out laughing, but quickly stopped herself when Sheriff Hamstead's angry face told her he recognized the little girl's impression.

"I know you've had a history with my family, Piper, but I like to think we're never too far along to start over," Granny said, extending her hand. Hamelin stared at it for a moment, then shook it firmly.

"All we need is his locker number."

The principal punched a key on his desktop computer and the screen lit up. He typed in a few strokes and smiled.

"He's number three-two-three. That's right around the corner, near the boiler room door," he said. "What should I do? Can I go with you?"

"Wait here," the sheriff said as he stood up from his chair. "We'll call you as soon as we know anything."

Hamstead and the family walked out of the office and down the hall until they found 323, right where the principal had told them it would be.

"Do you have some kind of magic that opens locks?" Sabrina asked, as she eyed the combination lock on the door.

Granny opened her handbag and pulled out a hammer.

"I wouldn't call it magic, exactly," she said, handing the hammer to Puck. The boy grinned and raised the hammer high over his head. He brought it down hard on the lock and it snapped in two.

"Can I do another?" he asked, but the old woman snatched the hammer out of his hand and placed it back into her handbag. Then she tossed the broken pieces of the lock to the floor and opened the locker. Inside was a winter coat Wendell had left behind. Granny pulled it out and tucked it under her arm.

"I really appreciate this," the sheriff said.

"Don't think twice about it," the old woman said.

Back in the parking lot, the Grimms and Puck found Mr. Canis still meditating on the roof of the jalopy.

"We're heading into the forest," Granny said, opening the back door and letting Elvis out. "Why don't you stay here in case Wendell wanders back to the school."

"Are you sure you won't be needing me?" the old man said.

"We've got this one handled," Granny Relda said.

"Can I ask you a question, Mr. Canis?" Daphne asked.

"Of course, little one."

"What do you think about when you're sitting on top of the car?

Mr. Canis thought for a moment, then looked up at the moon, now high over the nearby forest. "I concentrate on all the people I hurt when I was unable to control myself."

"And that helps you stay calm?" Sabrina asked.

"No child, it helps remind me of my guilt," he replied.

Sabrina didn't know a lot of fairy-tale stories. Her dad used to say fairy tales were pointless. When other kids were reading about the Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, her father was discussing the news with his daughters or reading them the Sunday comics using different voices for the characters. Sabrina and Daphne had done their fairy-tale reading on the sly or at school. Still, everyone knew the story of Little Red Riding Hood, and as Sabrina looked at Mr. Canis, a terrible realization ran through her. This man sitting on the car roof, who slept across the hall from them at night, had killed an old woman once upon a time. Only it wasn't a story, it had really happened. He'd tried to eat a child, too. How could Granny let him live in the house? No wonder her dad had forbidden even a copy of Mother Goose from entering their home. He was trying to protect them from the truth.

Granny was busy holding Wendell's coat under Elvis s nose. The giant dog took a deep lung full and was soon trotting across the school lawn, sniffing madly in the grass.

"Looks like he's got the scent, lieblings," Granny said. "Let's go find our Wendell."