Once Upon a Crime (The Sisters Grimm, Book 4) Page 11

  "What?" Mr. Canis growled.

  Mr. Four held his finger to his lips urging him to be quiet. After a few seconds, there was another loud thump.

  Mr. Five looked to the roof. "Uh oh."

  "What's uh oh?" Granny cried.

  "Yahoos," Five replied.

  "Yahoos? What's a Yahoo?" Daphne asked.

  "Dirty lunatics that keep invading our tunnels. Gulliver should have never brought them over here!" Mr. Six complained.

  "You mean Gulliver? The Gulliver from

  Gulliver's Travels?"

  Sabrina asked.

  "The same. He felt sorry for the little heathens and tried to civilize them by bringing them to the United States. They took over the Bowery and were happy enough playing in punk rock bands and working in coffee shops--you know, being worthless slackers--but now the neighborhood is being taken over by boutiques and health food stores. So they're in search of new turf and have been eyeing the tunnels all year."

  There was another loud thump and one of the glass windows shattered. A thick, hairy hand reached into the car from outside. Mr. Six swatted at it. "Dirty, stinking slackers. Go find another neighborhood. Haven't you ever heard of Brooklyn?"

  Then the entire train started rocking back and forth. Loud hooting and hollering could be heard, followed by more of the frightening pounding on the train.

  "They're trying to derail us!" Mr. One shouted from his conductor seat. "If they keep rocking this train we're going to jump right off the tracks and slam into the wall."

  "That's bad, isn't it?" Daphne asked the little men. They all nodded.

  "I've got an idea!" Mr. Two said. "But you're not going to like it. Let's slam on the brakes." The rest of the men stared at him.

  "You're right, we don't like it," Mr. Six said. "We'll just derail ourselves."

  "That's the idea!" Mr. Two cried. "We whip the car into South Ferry Station and then slam on the brakes."

  "South Ferry is the end of the line, you imbecile!" Mr. Five shouted. "If we can't stop we'll crash."

  "Even if we can stop, the train will probably catch on fire," Mr. Three cried. "The brakes can't handle the strain."

  Another window shattered in the back of the train car.

  Mr. Two shrugged. "It doesn't look like we have much choice. We can slam into the wall and get mangled in twisted metal or save ourselves but possibly die a fiery death."

  "You fools cannot be serious," Mr. Canis said, rising to his feet. "Stop the train now, and I will get out and take care of these little parasites."

  "No can do, buddy," Mr. Six said. "We're in a tunnel and these tracks are electrified. If you stepped on one you'd be an instant French fry."

  "Grab onto something, people," Mr. One said over the loudspeaker. "Sorry we don't have any seat belts." The dwarfs scurried over to seats and hugged them tightly. The girls and their friends looked at one another in disbelief.

  Mr. Six shouted into his walkie-talkie. "Kenny, we need you to clear the platform at South Ferry." There was a groan on the other end of the line. "When?"

  "Two minutes," Mr. Six replied. "Two minutes?"

  "Just do it, Kenny!"

  Daphne wrapped her arms around Granny Relda. Even in all the excitement, Sabrina felt stung that the little girl would turn to their grandmother instead of her sister, who had been there for her whole life! Now, it was like Sabrina didn't even exist.

  "South Ferry is the last and final stop on this train!" Mr. One said over the loudspeaker. Then he raced out of the conductor's room, climbed up onto one of the seats, and reached for a red cord on the wall. A sign above it read EMERGENCY BRAKE.

  Mr. Hamstead wrapped his arms around Bess and pulled her to the floor.

  "You gonna save my life again, cowboy?" she said. Hamstead nodded. "That's my job."

  "I hope this hurts!" Mr. Six shouted to the Yahoos on the ceiling just as Mr. One pulled the brake cord.

  Chapter 7

  A loud, metallic screech filled the air. Sabrina was jolted forward but managed to grab the center pole as she soared past. Still, the forward momentum of the car nearly pulled Sabrina's arms out of their sockets.

  Just then, the darkness of the tunnels turned to light. Sabrina knew they had just entered South Ferry Station. She saw three Yahoos with thick arms and legs tumble off the front of the train. They fell in horrible, bone-crunching fashion. But as black smoke began to fill the car, Sabrina wondered if the Yahoos were the lucky ones. She could see flames and sparks outside as the car came to a hard, jerky stop. She heard feet racing up and down the car, and then the doors opened.

  "Everyone off!" one of the dwarfs shouted. Sabrina couldn't be sure which one it was through the smoke. "This thing is going to go up in flames."

  Mr. Two and Mr. Five helped Sabrina to her feet and hurried her onto the station platform, where everyone else was gathered. Puck's cocoon floated out of the car behind Sabrina.

  Moth grabbed the cocoon's string and whirled around to confront the group. "You lost Cobweb, you fools," she cried.

  "Shut your trap, Princess," Mr. Three said. "You're not so big that I can't put you over my knee."

  Sabrina had no time for their stupid argument. She hugged her sister. "Are you OK?" She didn't wait for an answer. Instead, she started examining the little girl's arms and legs for broken bones or cuts.

  "I'm fine," Daphne said, irritated. She struggled out of Sabrina's embrace.

  "Good!" Sabrina said as she pretended not to be hurt. She looked around at the others. "We're all safe now. Everything is going to be OK. We're out of danger." It seemed as if one of them was always getting hurt on these detective missions; it was amazing to see her friends and family unscathed.

  "Dwarfs go too far!" a voice shouted. Sabrina turned. One of the Yahoos, who only moments ago had been crumpled on the floor, was now back on his feet. His friends had joined him.

  "You don't want any of this, monkey-boy," Mr. Six said. "We might be small but we'll lay the smackdown on all of you."

  The Yahoos had a high-pitched sadistic laugh just like the hyenas Sabrina had once seen on a Discovery Channel documentary.

  "We take tunnels. Tunnels ours!" they cried.

  Mr. One stepped forward. Much to Sabrina's amazement, he moved into a fighting stance identical to one she had often seen Daphne take. It was an attack position that Snow White had taught the little girl in her Bad Apples Self-Defense class. The little man gestured to the Yahoos. "Come get some."

  Then he and the five other dwarfs bowed to their opponents, as if they were in a martial arts movie. Daphne ran to join them before Sabrina could stop her.

  "Present your warrior faces!" Mr. One shouted.

  The six dwarfs and Daphne crinkled up their faces, roared like lions, and launched into an attack. The Yahoos were twice as big and, Sabrina guessed, ten times as strong, but the dwarfs were fast and nimble. They leaped and flipped like kung fu masters, avoiding blows and delivering painful kicks to their opponents' faces. Daphne was in the midst of the fight, punching and kicking, though far less gracefully than the little men. Sabrina had to stop her. This was why Daphne had to quit the family business. Someone always got hurt, and Sabrina wasn't going to let it be her sister. But before she could act, she felt a tap on her shoulder. Sabrina spun around and found Cobweb hovering over her. "Was anyone injured?" he asked.

  "It's over," Sabrina stammered, preparing to defend herself. "Mustardseed has promised you a fair trial. Turn yourself in."

  "I did not kill Oberon," Cobweb said.

  "Stop lying. Oberon said you did it. If you don't come with us now, we're going to catch you and your Scarlet Hand buddies, too.

  "My what?"

  "Don't play dumb with me. We know you're involved with them. You left their mark on Oberon's body."

  "Child, I have no idea what you are talking about," Cobweb said. "I'm not in any group and I didn't kill Oberon!"

  Moth spotted the dark fairy. "Murderer!" she cried. She reached into her pocket an
d took out a small flute, similar to the one Sabrina had seen Puck use many times. It summoned a tiny flying army of pixies he called his minions. Moth blew a few light notes and then shoved it back into her pocket.

  Suddenly, a wave of little lights hit Cobweb in the chest. They surrounded him and collectively slammed him into a nearby wall. Sabrina could hear the wind fly out of his lungs.

  Granny grabbed the fairy girl by the arm and shook her. "What are you doing, Moth?" the old woman cried. "Make them stop!"

  Moth refused and pulled away.

  But Cobweb fought off the little army and ran up the station stairs with the pixies in pursuit. Moth screamed and raced after them.

  "We have to stop her," Granny said to the group.

  "Wait. Daphne!" Sabrina cried. She'd lost track of her sister in the confusion. She spotted her celebrating with the dwarfs. Together they had successfully beaten the Yahoos back into the tunnels.

  Sabrina raced over to her sister, clamped her hand around Daphne's arm, and dragged her up the station steps, with Granny and their friends following behind. Daphne shouted, "Hey, let go of me!" But Sabrina ignored her. So the little girl gave up and waved good-bye to the dwarfs instead, who were still celebrating their victory over the Yahoos. "Bye. Thanks!" Daphne called. "I'll tell Mr. Seven you said hello!"

  "Tell him I want my twenty bucks!" Mr. Two cried.

  "Good luck, daughters of Veronica!" the little men shouted.

  When the girls reached the surface, Cobweb was gone. Moth paced nearby, screaming in rage. "We've lost him, again!"

  "I don't know who you're screaming at," Mr. Hamstead said angrily. "That psychotic little display of yours was why he escaped."

  "You blame me?" Moth shouted. "How dare you talk to me in such a manner."

  " Child!"

  Mr. Canis roared. "You have tested my patience long enough today!" He leaped forward, talons already drawn as if prepared to rip the fairy to shreds.

  "Wolf!" Hamstead shouted, stepping in between Moth and the old man. "Back away."

  Canis eyed Hamstead for several moments.

  "I can see you in there, mongrel," Hamstead said. "You come out and you'll get more of what the Three Little Pigs gave you before."

  Something inside of Canis seethed but it did what it was told. Most of the old man's wolflike features shrank away.

  Hamstead turned and addressed everyone. "We need to regroup here, folks. We're trying to catch Cobweb. Not kill him." He looked at Moth. "And we shouldn't be fighting among ourselves. If anyone can't work as a team, she should go back to the hotel. 'Cause to be honest, you're in the way. But if you want to catch our suspect, and he is only a suspect right now, then let's start working together."

  Bess gave Hamstead an admiring look and a squeeze on the arm. Moth, however, gave the portly ex-policeman an angry scowl and muttered something offensive under her breath.

  "Look, he left footprints in the snow," Daphne said, finally pulling free of her sister.

  "Daphne Grimm! Well done!" Mr. Hamstead said. "If we follow these prints they'll lead us right to him."

  Everyone nodded, even Moth, and they set out to follow the tracks.

  As they walked, Sabrina tried to engage her sister. "That was stupid of you to get into that fight," she said. "You're stupid," Daphne said.

  "You could have been hurt. Why would you take such a risk?"

  "I'm going to have to take bigger risks now that I'm on my own," Daphne replied.

  Sabrina stopped in her tracks, and watched as her sister hurried to catch up with Mr. Canis, who was leading their group.

  Granny joined Sabrina and gave her a sad smile. "This is her choice, liebling,"

  "So I should just let her get killed?"

  Granny shook her head. "As long as I'm around I won't let that happen."

  The prints led into Battery Park. In warmer weather, the park would be filled with tourists waiting for the boats to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Now it was almost empty. The Staten Island Ferry, a commuter boat that took people to the city's remote island borough, docked nearby as well, and it was into the ferry terminal that Cobweb's tracks led. Sabrina helped her grandmother up the snow-covered ramp to the waiting room inside. There the group drew many stares from the terminal staff. Sabrina realized that most were gazing at Mr. Canis--all seven feet of him.

  "Look, there's Cobweb!" Moth shouted. Sabrina turned in the direction the fairy girl pointed only to see a boat pulling away from the dock. Cobweb sat on the railing looking back at them. His face was grim and cold.

  "I'll get him!" Moth said as her fairy wings popped out of her back.

  Granny snatched her arm and held the girl back. "We'll wait for the next boat." Moth reluctantly retracted her wings.

  "By the time we get to Staten Island, Cobweb will be long gone," Daphne said.

  "You have bigger problems than that," a rough voice said from behind them. Sabrina turned around and saw a half-dozen men with skin the color of copper and jet-black hair coming toward them. Their leader had dark eyes as fierce as any she had ever seen. He spoke again, "You know as well as I do that fairies are not welcome on docks controlled by Sinbad the Sailor."

  Sabrina instinctively stepped between her sister and the stranger. She'd read

  The Arabian Nights recently, researching jinnis that might help her rescue her parents. The story of Sinbad was fresh in her memory. He'd gone on seven voyages and each trip had nearly killed him, though he had seen some fairly amazing things, including ogres, jinnis, and fish disguised as massive islands. He'd killed hordes of monsters, too. She didn't remember him as a villain, but she'd learned the hard way that sometimes the good guys switched sides.

  "Is that so?" Moth said angrily to Sinbad. "Well, what are you going to do about it?'

  The sailor's men pulled nasty-looking daggers out of their coats.

  "No fairies on the ferry," Sinbad said. "Oberon may have been able to force us to pay his lousy taxes, but he's dead. I'm not about to let some other fairy come in and take our hard-earned money."

  "We're not fairies," Daphne said. "We're detectives and we're trying to find the person who killed Oberon."

  Sinbad cocked an eyebrow. "Praise be! Can it be you? Can it be that I am in the presence of Veronica Grimm's children?"

  Daphne nodded, and the men put their daggers away.

  "I am honored to meet you," Sinbad said. "It was a dark day in my heart when your mother vanished. What brings you here?"

  "The fairy who killed King Oberon is on the boat that just left," Granny Relda said.

  Sinbad looked at his men and then looked back at the group. "I may be of some assistance," he said and led everyone to the next docking station. He took out a key, unlocked a huge door, and slid it open. Behind it was a second ferryboat.

  "You've got your own boat?" Hamstead asked.

  "I

  am the harbormaster for the Staten Island Ferry," Sinbad said proudly. He helped them onboard, then led them up a flight of steps to the bridge. He started the boat's engine as his men untied its mooring lines from the dock. When the boat was free, the men shouted up to their captain, and he pulled down a lever, easing the ferry away from the dock with expert care. In no time they were cruising away from Manhattan in pursuit of Cobweb.

  "Chasing a murderer… is this not dangerous work for young girls?" Sinbad asked.

  "We're Grimms, this is what we do," Daphne said.

  Sinbad laughed. "Your mother used to say the same thing whenever I had to help her out of one of her many close calls. Not that I minded. I have to admit, I myself was much smitten with her."

  "You had a crush on our mother?" Daphne asked.

  "I'd hardly call it a crush. I was head over heals, to be honest. Veronica was quite a woman and I've known a great many in my day. She was brilliant and strong, if a bit stubborn."

  "Sounds like someone I know," Granny said, flashing Sabrina a smile.

  "I asked her to run away with me nearly a thous
and times, but she always rebuffed me. She said she had eyes for only one man. I suppose it was your father she spoke of. The fates were smiling on him the day he met her."

  Sabrina was livid. Hearing him talk about her mother this way was infuriating. Sinbad noticed and smiled.

  "Little one, allow a man to dream. Your mother never took my advances seriously. Most of the time she was too busy with her big plan to fix our community to even notice I was flirting."

  One of Sinbad's crew raced to the bridge. He looked nervous and sweaty. "My lord, we have a big problem."

  "What is it?"

  "Pirates!"

  "Again!" Sinbad scowled. "It is the third time this week!"

  "Pirates? What pirates?" Sabrina cried, but Sinbad rushed out onto the deck with his man. The Grimms and their friends dashed after him and found the entire crew standing on one s

  ide of the boat peering at something through binoculars.

  Sabrina snatched a pair of binoculars from the nearest sailor and scanned the horizon. Sailing near the Statue of Liberty was a boat with a black flag waving in the wind. The flag had a skull and crossbones on it.

  "You've got to be kidding me," Sabrina said, handing the binoculars to her grandmother.

  Just then, an enormous explosion could be heard coming from the pirate boat. A moment later something big crashed into the water not far from the ferry.

  "They dare fire on me? Sinbad? Master of the sea? Turn this ship toward them and see how brave they are with our cutlasses at their throats," the captain cried. His men cheered and several raced to the helm. The ferry made an abrupt turn and headed straight for the approaching pirates.

  "Turn this ship around!" Mr. Canis cried. "We're after a killer. We have no interest in your petty turf war!"

  "You have nothing to fear, my large friend, praise be. I am Sinbad and I have faced these foul vermin before. Of course, maybe we should arm you. Men, hand out some steel!"

  The men shoved large swords into everyone's hands.

  "What are we supposed to do with these?" Sabrina asked, alarmed.

  "They're quite useful for killing pirates," Sinbad said as he hurried back to the bridge.