Michael Buckley - The Unusual Suspects

"You want to write her love notes," the little girl persisted. "You want to hold her hand in the park and look at puppies in the pet store."

"Is there an Off button for this one?" Charming asked Granny Relda.

The old woman grinned at the mayor. "You haven't answered the questions."

"All right!" Charming surrendered. "Snow has a knack for getting in trouble. I would sleep better at night knowing she is safe."

"Of course, we'll do what we can," Granny Relda assured him.

"What are you going to do for us?" Sabrina asked.

The old woman looked at the girl in horror. " Liebling,we would never take payment for helping folks."

"Granny, finding the killer is going to take a lot of time- time that we could use to find Mom and Dad," Sabrina argued.

"What can I do?" Charming said. "I can't exactly send Hamstead to search everyone's homes."

"No, but you have connections we don't," said Sabrina. "People willtalk to you. Maybethere is something we could use, something magical lying around we don't know anything about. Use your imagination, Billy."

Charming thought for a moment. "You have my word."

He raised his right hand.

"It'll have to do," Sabrina said as she raised her hand as well. Granny Relda and Daphne did the same.

"I do solemnly swear to protect and serve the inhabitants of…"

"What does inhabitantsmean?" Daphne interrupted.

"It means the people who live in a particular place," her sister answered, noting Charming's impatient face.

"Why didn't you just say the people,then?" the little girl asked.

"Let him finish, lieblings,"Granny Relda said.

"I do solemnly swear," Charming started over, "to protect and serve the peopleof Ferryport Landing to the best of my ability. I vow to protect the peace, secure the safety, and uphold the rule of law."

The Grimms repeated what he said, word for word, and then lowered their hands.

"You are now officially deputized under the laws of Ferryport Landing," the mayor said, as he pulled out a set of keys and handed them to Granny Relda.

"What are these?" Granny said, looking down at the key ring.

"Keys to the school," Charming said. "You'll need them to get inside."

Granny smiled and handed the keys back to the mayor. "I've got my own set, thanks," she said. Charming scowled and shoved the keys back into his pocket.

"Well, I'd love to keep this happy event going all night, but as you know, I can't stand you people," he said, leading them to the door. As his hand clutched the knob, he turned and looked the girls in their eyes. "Snow is important to me. I would appreciate you keeping a close eye on her."

"No problem, Billy,"Daphne replied, wrapping her arms around the mayor and hugging him tightly. "It's sooooo romantic!"

Charming sneered, opened the door, and forcefully shoved the family outside.

"You should really tell her that you love her," Daphne said, right before the mayor slammed the door in her face.

Sabrina had been to a lot of schools in the last year and a half, and they all had a few things in common. Every one of them had a couple of grouchy teachers, a bully, a bully's punching bag, a weird cafeteria lady, a bathroom that everyone was afraid to go into, and a librarian who worshiped something called the Dewey Decimal System. None of those schools, however, had a teacher-killing monster scurrying through its hallways. And they said New York City had everything.

Granny Relda was convinced that a monster-maybe working with the Scarlet Hand-had killed Mr. Grumpner. Not knowing exactly what the monster looked like or where it might be now was doing a number on Sabrina's nerves as her grandmother led the girls through the darkened hallways of the school. The long shadows cast by the setting sun looked like dinosaurs and invading aliens. Every little creak sounded like the tread of Bigfoot or a swamp monster. And worse, Grumpner's bloodless purple face appeared every time Sabrina closed her eyes. All she wanted to do was run back to the car and hide under Elvis's blanket, but Granny insisted they take another look at the crime scene. For once, the girl wished Mr. Canis was by their side, but the skinny old man had chosen to stay with the car and meditate in the freezing cold. Luckily, Granny had relented to Elvis's begging and the big dog now trotted down the hall beside them.

"Mr. Canis looks terrible, and for him, that's particularly bad," Sabrina said to the old woman as they crept along.

"In the past he has been able to tap into the Wolf's strengths without losing himself," her grandmother explained, "but this time he made a complete transformation and worse, he tasted human blood. It's been a very long time since that has happened and the Wolf is not going to be put away without a fight. Don't worry, children. Mr. Canis will win this battle."

"And if he doesn't?" Sabrina asked.

"He will. I'm sure he'll be happy that you are concerned for his well being."

I'm more concerned about waking up in his belly,Sabrina thought.

When they got to Sabrina's homeroom, the crime scene tape and Grumpner's body were already gone. The broken window had been replaced and all the cobwebs were cleared away. Even the blood-red hand painted on the chalkboard was gone. Other than some misplaced desks, there was no evidence of the gruesome scene they'd witnessed only hours before. Principal Hamelin had obviously cleaned the place up.

"Whatever it was didn't catch him by surprise," Granny Relda said, pushing a desk back into its row. "The way these desks are scattered it looks like Mr. Grumpner tried to fight back."

Sabrina shuddered as she imagined her teacher fighting off his attacker. Whether it was a giant spider or a thousand little ones, the fact was that the man's death had been a nightmare for him. Even a grouch like Grumpner didn't deserve to die so horribly.

"Why are we here now?" Daphne asked, as they walked into the classroom. "We'll never find anything in the dark."

"Some of the best clues are found in the dark," Granny said. She crossed the room and opened Grumpner's desk drawers. They were empty except for the bottom one. Inside was a picture of the teacher and a woman. They were on a pontoon boat enjoying an afternoon on the Hudson River. Grumpner and the woman each had a glass of champagne in their hands and were toasting each other.

"His wife?" Sabrina asked, as Granny showed her the picture. "I can't imagine that Mr. Cranky found anyone to marry him."

"He was probably a very different man at home," the old woman replied. "You told me once you thought your father was too careful, but the Henry Grimm I know threw caution to the wind. There are many sides to us all."

"His wife must be very sad." Daphne sighed.

Granny sighed, too. "I suppose she is."

"Well, we found a picture," Sabrina said, eyeing a shadow in the corner that looked like the boogie man. "Can we go now? This place is giving me the willies."

"Don't be scared," Daphne said. "I'm a police officer, ma'am. I'll protect you." She leaned down and struggled with her belt, then walked around the room mimicking Sheriff Hamstead's bowlegged gait.

Sabrina laughed so hard she snorted.

Granny reached into her handbag and pulled out a familiar pair of infrared goggles. "Don't worry, lieblings,I'm hurrying," she said as she put the goggles over her eyes and looked around the room, finally focusing on the floor. "Ah-ha! Children, come and take a look."

The girls hurried to their grandmother. Daphne took the goggles and looked down at the floor. "That is so punk rock!" she said.