Michael Buckley - Once upon a crime

We couldn't get along long enough to make anything work. But if you want to know about stuff like this you should take it right from the horse's mouth-Oberon himself."

"Old man, did we not just tell you the king is dead?" Mr. Canis snapped.

"You read the sign on the door, right? You people aren't getting it, are you? Here, take my hand," Scrooge said, snatching Sabrina's in his own. "Now, close your eyes. We have to concentrate to get Oberon's attention."

"Is this going to give me nightmares?" Daphne cried, taking Scrooge's other hand.

"Depends… was his head chopped off or anything like that? They often come back looking the way they did when they died."

"He was poisoned," Granny Relda said, sounding a little uneasy.

"Should be OK. He might be a little green. Still, I have to warn you. Even if we see Oberon he'll be difficult to understand. I think it has something to do with the energy they use to become full-torso apparitions. They trade the body for the language but we'll do our best-sometimes I can make out what they want to say by having them play charades. Now, let's concentrate. Oberon? Oberon, are you there?"

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "You're just going to call out his name? It's that easy?"

"Fine, if you want the whole shebang there's no extra charge," Scrooge said as he flipped a switch on the wall. Rays of light shot out of the crystal ball, speckling the tapestries with shimmering suns, moons, and stars. The sound of a powerful wind came from speakers mounted on the ceiling. Scrooge reached under the table and pulled out a huge swami hat. It was bright purple and had a shiny red ruby in its center. He plopped it on his head. "This authentic enough for you?"

Sabrina scowled.

"Oberon, King of the Fairies. We call on you. Come forth and reveal yourself," Scrooge continued. Unfortunately, his request went unanswered and the family sat waiting for several minutes.

"I'm sorry. Dead people can be a bit shy," the psychic said nervously. His former confidence seemed to fade. "Oberon, come out, come out wherever you are. That's right, Your Majesty, we're having a party and you're invited."

"This is ridiculous," Sabrina said, leaping to her feet. She was fully prepared to march out of the room when an odd chill crept up her spine. She felt as if she had a horrible head cold. In fact, her whole body felt weird, almost as if it were filled with stuffing, like she had become a giant teddy bear.

"Granny, what's going on?" Sabrina cried as she watched the hair on her arms stand on end.

"I think he's here," Scrooge said, sounding relieved. "Oberon, is that you?"

Sabrina's mouth opened on its own and a ghostly voice echoed out of it. "Where am I?"

"Hey! Did that come out of me?" Sabrina cried, looking at her sister, who stared at her with eyes as wide as moons. Even Moth looked a bit freaked out.

"Wowzers!" Scrooge said to Sabrina. "You're a natural medium. Ghosts feel comfortable talking through you. Your mother had the same ability!"

But Sabrina couldn't respond. The ghost had full possession of her now. "Where am I?" the voice said. This time Sabrina's arms flailed around as if she were angry.

Scrooge bit his lip. "Oberon, I have some bad news for you. Are you sitting down?"

"I don't know," Oberon's voice said. "Hey! Where's my body?"

"Yeah, that's the bad news. You're dead."

There was a long silence but Sabrina could still feel the king's presence inside of her. Suddenly, her mouth opened again and a single frustrated word came out.

"Fudge."

"I know. It's a real bummer. Right now, you're stuck in limbo and you're going to stay there until your killer is brought to justice.

Luckily, we've got some people here who want to help you out with that inconvenience."

"King Oberon, it is I, your loyal subject, Moth. I have been caring for Puck since you have departed," the little fairy bragged as she hefted Puck's cocoon onto the table. "He is here with me."

"I know, I can smell him from the astral plane," Oberon groaned, then forced Sabrina's body to walk over to Puck's cocoon. Sabrina felt her hand move over it, caressing the cocoon lightly. She could feel a wave of regret pour over her, an odd sensation considering how Oberon reacted when he discovered Puck in his office. Hadn't he called his son a traitor? Sabrina also felt Oberon's hold on her body weaken. She took the opportunity to wrench back control.

"Get out of me!" she demanded.

"Sabrina, don't fight him. We need to ask him some important questions," Granny said.

"Easy for you to say. There's only one person in your body," Sabrina cried.

"Oberon, do you have any idea who killed you?" Granny Relda said.

"Cobweb!" the voice bellowed as Oberon took control again. "He poisoned me. He brought me a glass of wine to celebrate the arrival of Veronicas girls. A moment after he left I felt faint and collapsed. Then there was a terrible pain and blackness."

"I knew it!" Moth cried.

The family looked at her in disbelief.

"Well, I did!"

"Do you know why he wanted to kill you?" Granny asked Oberon.

"No," the king said. "He's the last person I would have suspected. Oh, I am so angry! I had Rangers tickets this season. What a waste!"

"Are you sure Cobweb acted alone?" Mr. Canis said. "Perhaps he was working with another person who wanted you dead."

"Like who? Everyone loves me!"

"We saw you fighting with your wife," Granny replied.

"Titania? Impossible! She wouldn't kill me. Sure we fight, but you try being married for five thousand years and see if you don't bicker."

"Did you know that Cobweb was a member of the Scarlet Hand?" Granny asked.

"The Scarlet what?" Oberon asked. "I've never heard of any Scarlet Hand. Listen, you've got to find Cobweb and bring him to justice."

Suddenly, the chill in Sabrina's body disappeared and a new-voice came from her mouth. "Please insert fifty cents for ten more minutes."

"Sorry, we've lost the connection," Scrooge said.

"Well, get him back!" Moth cried. "We need to know if Oberon suspects anyone else!"

"I'm sorry. He's gone. I hope it was helpful," Scrooge said.

Granny stood up. "It was more than helpful. We now know who killed Oberon and all we have to do is track down this Cobweb. If only detective work were always this easy."

"Forget detective work," Scrooge said. "Sabrina could make a bundle as a psychic."

Sabrina cringed.

The group thanked Scrooge for his help and then exited the room, where they found Tim struggling with his desk, again. They helped him set it upright and then paid Scrooge's fee.

"Satisfied customers, eh? Well, well, that's good news," Tim said as he counted the bills. "The guvnor tends to get a lot of bad connections these days. I was a big fan of your mother, by the way. She was good people."

Daphne rested her elbows on his desk and smiled brightly. "Would you say it for me?" she asked.

"Say what?"

"You know! The line," the little girl begged.

Tim frowned, rolled his eyes, and took a deep breath. "God Bless Us, Every One," he grumbled.

Daphne clapped her hands and giggled like she'd just stumbled into a surprise party.

"I should start charging for that," Tim muttered.

"So we know who killed Oberon. What do we do now?" Sabrina said when the group stepped back out into the street.

"Mustardseed said to report everything to Oz," Granny said as she raised her hand to hail a cab. One quickly pulled over.

"Where to, folks?" the cabbie said.

"Macy's department store," Granny said, as she helped the girls into the taxi.

"I'm feeling tired," Mr. Canis said from the sidewalk. "I believe I could use some time alone. Do you think you can manage without me?"

Granny nodded. "Do you need a ride?"