The Fairy-Tale Detectives (The Sisters Grimm, Book 1)

by Michael Buckley

Sabrina focused her attention on the rubble. What was so unusual about it? Nothing, really, except maybe for the large area of sunken ground that surrounded it. "The earth is mashed around it," she said.

  "And what could cause something like that to happen?"

  "I don't know. What do you think?" Sabrina said, after running through the possibilities.

  "I think a giant stepped on it," Mrs. Grimm answered. "Find a giant beanstalk leaf and you'll probably find a giant."

  Daphne began to laugh but Sabrina was horrified. The old woman was getting crazier by the second.

  "Well, I better go down and have a second look," the old woman said as she climbed to her feet. She walked back down the hill and joined Mr. Canis at the pile.

  "She's funny." Daphne giggled.

  Funny in the head, Sabrina thought.

  "I want to ride on the tractor!" Daphne cried.

  She jumped up and pulled her sister over to it. Sabrina lifted the little girl onto the seat, who then grabbed the wheel and turned it, making vroom vroom sounds as she pretended to drive.

  "Look at me, I'm a farmer," she said in a goofy voice. Sabrina looked up at her sister and laughed. Daphne was the funniest person she had ever met.

  "What kind of food do you grow on this here farm, Farmer Grimm?" the older girl played along.

  "Why, I grow candy on this here farm." Daphne laughed. "Bushels and bushels of candy. Just sent my crop to market last week. Got me a pretty penny, I did."

  Sabrina smiled, but then a shadow covered her heart. Why did the old lady have to lie about who she was? Why did she have to make up crazy stories? Why couldn't she be normal? Her house was warm and comfortable and as long as Sabrina kept an eye on Mr. Canis they might just be OK. If the old woman wasn't a lunatic she'd make a perfect grandmother.

  "Sabrina, look at the house," Daphne whispered. She had stopped playing and was staring at the pile below.

  Sabrina looked down at the clearing but saw nothing new.

  "Do you see what I see?" Daphne cried, pointing.

  "What? What do you see?"

  "Come up here, you have to see it from up here."

  Sabrina crawled up onto the tractor and stood high on its hood.

  Do you see it:

  And then Sabrina saw what her sister was so excited about and her heart leaped into her throat. The indentation surrounding the broken-down house had a shape.

  "It's a footprint," she gasped.

  Chapter 3

  rs. Grimm and Mr. Canis were pulling a prank on them. It explained why Mrs. Grimm talked to the house and served her crazy food and why Mr. Canis said so little and acted so weird. They were trying to make the girls look stupid, which made Sabrina furious. And worse, the joke didn't seem to end. They spent the rest of the day traipsing over the field for more "clues," until Mrs. Grimm looked at her wristwatch and said they'd better get home for dinner.

  At the house, Mrs. Grimm prepared a huge plate of meatballs for the girls, complete with purple gravy, the recipe for which she claimed she'd gotten from a Tibetan monk. Too hungry to resist, Sabrina cut a meatball in half to make sure there weren't any poison pills inside and, finding none, took a bite. It tasted like pizza. She devoured the plateful and was working on seconds when Mrs. Grimm joined them, placing a weathered old book on the table.

  "So, we've got a mystery on our hands, lieblings. We should do some research. A good detective always does her research. Let's see. Giants. What do we know about them? Oh, here's one, 'The Tailor and the Giant,'" she said as she flipped through the pages.

  "OK, you've had your fun," Sabrina said fiercely. "Don't you think we're a little old to fall for your joke?"

  Mrs. Grimm looked up from her book in astonishment.

  "You can't really think it was a giant!" Sabrina cried.

  "Well, of course I do," the old woman replied without blinking.

  "Granny, there's no such thing as giants," Daphne said between bites of meatball.

  "Oh dear, I knew your father wanted to distance himself, but I never imagined he wouldn't have at least taught you the basics," the old woman said. "No wonder you two have been looking at me like I'm crazy."

  "What are you talking about?" Sabrina cried.

  "I'm talking about this," Mrs. Grimm said as she flipped the book to its first page.

  "Grimms' Fairy Tales," Daphne read aloud.

  The old woman flipped to the next page. On it were portraits of two very ugly men. "Do you know who these men are?" she asked. The girls looked at the portraits but said nothing. They didn't look familiar to Sabrina. "These men were Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, also known as the Brothers Grimm. Wilhelm was your great-great-great-great grandfather," said the old woman as she pointed to the portrait of a thin man with a large nose, tiny eyes, and long hair.

  "Grimms' Fairy Tales! The fairy-tale guys?" Daphne cried.

  "Yes, liebling, the fairy-tale guys. But there is nothing in this book that's a fairy tale. This is a history book. Every story is an account of something that really happened."

  The girls looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

  "Back when Jacob and Wilhelm were alive, fairy-tale creatures were still living among people," Mrs. Grimm continued. "You could still wake up and find a giant beanstalk on your farm or pixies in your barn or see a group of knights fight a dragon. But things were changing. For a long time, a tension had been building between humans and fairy-tale creatures. Everafters were being persecuted, even arrested or forced into hiding, just because they were different. Magic was banned and dragons were captured and caged. The brothers realized that the age of fairy tales might be coming to an end, so they set out to document as many stories as they could, for posterity's sake. Some of the things they wrote about in their book happened hundreds of years before they were born, while others Jacob and Wilhelm witnessed themselves. Naturally, as they collected these tales, they made a lot of friends of Everafters."

  "What's an Everafter?" Daphne asked.

  "That's what fairy-tale creatures call themselves. After all, fairy-tale creature implies that they are all some sort of monster or animal. Many of them are human, or once were, before a spell changed them. They can be quite touchy about it.

  "So, like generations of poor and persecuted before them, many Everafters decided to move to America. Back then so much of this country hadn't been settled that for a group of folks trying to keep a low profde it seemed like the ideal place to live and thrive. Wilhelm acted as their ambassador. He found ships and used his connections to buy five square miles on the Hudson River. The Everafters built this town on the land, more Everafters came here from all over the world, and for a long time everyone lived together in peace. But inevitably human beings started to move into Ferryport Landing, and soon the Everafters felt endangered again. Wilhelm tried to convince everyone that there was nothing to worry about, but a small and vocal group of rebels argued that it was just a matter of time before they would be persecuted again. They saw humanity as an infestation that needed to be rooted out at the source, and began tormenting the humans who had once been their friends."

  "That's not nice," Daphne said.

  "I agree, but fear can make people do terrible things. Wilhelm tried everything he could but the rebels' popularity and numbers were growing. It wasn't long before a plan was discovered by Wilhelm to conquer Cold Spring—the next town over-—and make it part of Ferryport's territory. Desperate to prevent what would surely be an all-out war between Everafters and humans, Wilhelm went to the most powerful witch in town, Baba Yaga. Together they cast a spell on the town, preventing any of the Everafters from leaving."

  "And then what?" Daphne asked. Sabrina watched her sister's widening eyes. She seemed to believe every word the old woman had said, and even if she didn't really, the little girl was happy enough here to want to believe.

  "Then the problems really began . . . especially for Wilhelm," the old woman said. "You see, to get Baba Yaga to cast such a powerful spell, Wilhelm had t
o sacrifice something of his own. Magic always has a price and what the old witch wanted was what Wilhelm had taken from the Everafters—his freedom. It's a price that hangs over our family to this day. A Grimm must stay in Ferryport Landing, just like the Everafters, as long as the spell is intact. It's the reason I couldn't come to the orphanage and get you myself."

  "Isn't there something that could break the spell?" said Daphne.

  "Yes, there is," Mrs. Grimm said as she shifted in her chair. "The spell will be broken when the last member of this family is dead. When there are no more Grimms, the Everafters will be free."

  "What a bummer," Sabrina said.

  "Indeed," Mrs. Grimm said, ignoring Sabrina's sarcasm. "But we make the best of it, and so do most of the Everafters. They keep a low profile, buying homes and starting businesses. Some have families and have even given up their magical powers and possessions in hopes of living more normal lives. And, with a couple of exceptions, things have been pretty peaceful in Ferryport Landing between humans and Everafters. But just a look through Jacob and Wilhelm's book, and the books of Hans Christian Andersen, Andrew Lang, Lewis Carroll, Jonathan Swift, and countless other chroniclers of Everafters shows you how fragile the peace is, and that trouble could be right around the corner. So, like Wilhelm, we have the responsibility of keeping this pot from boiling over. We watch the town, investigate anything strange or criminal, and document what we see, so that when we are gone our children will know what we went through. Think of us as detectives. Someday I will pass all of this on to you, as your Opa Basil passed it on to me when he died. It is your destiny. We are Grimms and this is what we do."

  "But why didn't you pass it on to Dad?" Daphne wondered.

  "Your grandfather lost his life because of our responsibilities," the old woman said as she lowered her eyes. "Henry wanted something else for his children, so when your mother became pregnant with you, Sabrina, they left Ferryport Landing. He wanted to protect you and give you normal lives. Even if it meant telling you I was dead."

  "Don't talk about my mom and dad like you knew them!" Sabrina shouted. The rage inside her was bubbling over. "I've sat here and listened to your silly story, but you're not going to tell a fairy tale about my parents."

  The old woman was startled and tried to stammer out an answer, but Sabrina wouldn't let her. She had Mrs. Grimm on the ropes and she wasn't going to let her up.

  "You are not our grandmother!" the girl raged. "Our grandmother died before we were born! My dad told us so."

  "Your dad lied to you, liebling. Henry tried to run from his destiny. He didn't want this life for you, but it is your destiny as well. Your being here is evidence enough that it is impossible to escape. You will see the truth soon enough, and when you do we will prepare you for what lies ahead."

  "My father never told a lie in his life," Sabrina cried.

  The old woman laughed as she got up from the table. "It sounds like he hid more from you than the family history. I'm sure you need some time to let this sink in, and I have some things I need from upstairs. We're going to the hospital to see the poor farmer who owned that house. He might be able to tell us more about what he saw."

  She left the room and went up the stairs, where the girls could hear the jangling of keys and knew she was opening her secret room.

  "That woman is a lunatic," Sabrina whispered.

  "She is not!" Daphne cried. "What's a lunatic?"

  "A crazy person. She thinks people live in the woods, she's nailed all the windows shut, she talks to the house, and now she thinks fairy tales and giants are real. We can't stay here."

  "What if I don't want to go?"

  "You don't get a say. Mom and Dad put me in charge when they weren't around, and you have to do what I tell you to do."

  "You're not the boss of me." Daphne crossed her arms in front of her chest and huffed indignantly.

  "We're out of here as soon as I see a chance," Sabrina declared.

  • • •

  After dinner, they were off to the hospital, with Mr. Canis driving again. Asking the old woman questions was pointless, as the car was as loud as ever. Once they had arrived at the hospital and Mr. Canis had turned off the engine, Mrs. Grimm said to the children, "OK, let's review what we know so far, so we don't get confused. It's important for detectives to review their clues."

  The previous night was catching up with Sabrina. She was so tired she didn't even have the energy to argue.

  "First, a farmhouse was destroyed by what appears to have been a giant's foot. A footprint surrounded the destruction," Mrs. Grimm continued. "Second, a giant beanstalk leaf was found at the scene, a definitive sign of a giant. And it has been touched by a giant."

  "How do you know that?" Sabrina asked.

  "Because Elvis smelled its scent on the leaf."

  "How does Elvis know what a giant smells like?"

  "Because," Mrs. Grimm said, pulling the brown fabric out of her handbag that she had held under the dog's nose that morning, "he smelled this. It's cloth from a giant's trousers. Take a sniff."

  Daphne smelled the piece of cloth and looked as if she might be sick. "E-gad!"

  "Everything has its own particular scent, but giants are really stinky," the old woman explained. "Everybody and everything they touch will stink like them, too. I knew Elvis's nose would help us find a clue."

  "This is nonsense," Sabrina said with equal amounts of scorn and exhaustion.

  Mrs. Grimm ignored Sabrina's protests. "Of course, there's also the lens cap from a video camera we found on the hill overlooking the farm. My guess is the criminal wanted to videotape the giant when he arrived. And lastly, Mayor Charming showed up and he's ..."

  "Is Mayor Charming Prince Charming?" Daphne asked.

  "Why, yes, liebling."

  The little girl squealed in delight. "We met a celebrity!"

  Mrs. Grimm chuckled, and then broke into a full laugh when she noticed the scowl on Mr. Canis's face.

  "As I was saying, Mayor Charming showed up and tried to get us to give up our investigation," Mrs. Grimm continued. "If this were just an accident, he wouldn't have bothered to come by and check on it."

  "When he first arrived, he was angry that someone he called the Three hadn't done a good job cleaning up the place," Daphne offered.

  "The Three isn't a person, they're a coven of witches; Glinda the Good Witch of the North, Morgan Le Fay, and the gingerbread house witch, Frau Pfefferkuchenhaus. They work for the mayor. He calls them magical advisors, but they really just sweep whatever trouble there is under the carpet."

  "I thought you said that Everafters gave up their magic," Sabrina said, hoping she had caught the old woman in a lie.

  "No, I said some of them did, and in most cases, it was voluntary. I'm sure there's plenty of stuff hidden away in closets and attics all over Ferryport Landing," Mrs. Grimm replied. "Including, apparently, a magic bean I wasn't aware even existed. Let's go inside."

  FerryportLandingMemorialHospital was tiny, at least small compared to the giant skyscraper hospitals Sabrina was familiar with in New York City. It had only two floors and no ambulances in front of the emergency room door. They left Mr. Canis in the car and, as they headed inside, passed a short, squat man and his two huge companions waiting by the hospital door. They were impeccably dressed in expensive suits, perfectly tailored to fit their extreme frames. The short man stared at Sabrina, sending a flash of heat to her face.

  We look like idiots, Sabrina thought as she tried to tug her high-water pants down a little.

  Inside, doctors and nurses rushed around the brightly lit hallways. The place smelled of cleaner and antiseptic, which tickled Sabrina's nose. The three Grimms managed to maneuver through the chaos and approach the information desk, where a portly receptionist sat talking on the phone. He had a large, round face and a toothy grin, and when he saw them, he put the phone to his chest and smiled.

  "Can I help you ladies?"

  "We're here to see Thomas Applebee. He
was in an accident recently," Mrs. Grimm said.

  "Oh, yes, the man whose house blew up. He's in room 222," the receptionist replied. "Popular fellow, he just had three people up to see him."

  Mrs. Grimm cocked an eyebrow. "Indeed? Well, is there somewhere I should sign in?"

  The receptionist handed the old woman a clipboard. Before she handed it back, she quickly pointed out three names on the list to the girls: a Mr. William Charming, a Mr. Seven, and a Ms. Glinda North had signed in ten minutes ago.

  "Girls, we have to hurry."

  They rushed down a hallway, through two double doors, and made a left, stopping at an elevator. Mrs. Grimm pushed the Up button several times.

  "Why are we rushing?" Sabrina asked.

  "Because Charming is here to erase the farmer's memory!" the old woman said as the elevator doors slid open and they stepped inside. They got out on the second floor, found room 222, and rushed inside.

  On the bed was Thomas Applebee, a graying old man with his left arm in a sling and his right leg encased in plaster and held above the bed by a pulley system. Sabrina winced at how painful it looked and thought the poor man was lucky to be asleep. Standing over him were Mayor Charming, Mr. Seven (still wearing his insulting hat), and a rather chubby woman wearing a diamond tiara and a silver-and-gold dress. The woman was slowly emptying a bag of pink dust onto the sleeping patient. When she saw Mrs. Grimm, she dumped the contents all over the man and shoved the bag into her purse.

  "Glinda, you've erased his memory," Mrs. Grimm cried. "I thought you were supposed to be a good witch."

  The witch's face flushed red. She lowered her head and quickly made her way to the door.

  "We all have to pay our bills, Relda," Glinda said as she walked out.

  "Save your indignation," Charming added as he and Mr. Seven followed. "This is part of my job."

  Mrs. Grimm looked discouraged. "He'll never be able to tell us anything," she said loudly, as if for the benefit of the three people who had just left. "And without an eyewitness account, we're never going to get to the bottom of this."