"That ship has clearly sailed here from the past. How and why, I can't say, but I do know one thing: Many of us are on that ship. Arthur, you're on that boat, but it's you from two hundred years ago. If you attack that ship, you could accidentally kill yourself."
"Scarecrow, I never can make heads or tails of anything you say," one of the Three Blind Mice complained. "You sure the Wizard gave you brains? I got a feeling he stuffed your head with cotton candy."
"Oh, if you only had a brain," the Scarecrow replied.
Canis stared at the Scarecrow. "So, are you saying that if someone from that ship was killed, it could change the present?"
The Scarecrow nodded. "Absolutely."
In a flash, Canis had the girls in his arms and was running up the street. "What are you doing?" Sabrina yelled.
"Nottingham's got Wilhelm!" he shouted. "If he knows what the Scarecrow knows, he will kill him."
"Why would he do that?" Sabrina asked.
"Because if Wilhelm were to die, then the barrier that traps us in this town would never have been created," Canis said. "And killing him would put an end to his descendants. Every member of your family could suddenly cease to exist."
"Fudge," Daphne whispered.
Sabrina looked back at the crowd by the river. As she watched, many of the bystanders started chasing after them. It seemed that they had realized the dark opportunity Canis had just explained. "Uh, could you run a little faster?" she said.
The jailhouse was a mob scene. There were hundreds of Everafters outside, demanding answers. Canis set the girls on his huge shoulders and tossed people aside as he pushed his way into the tiny building. They found Granny at the front desk, pounding on the table and calling out for the sheriff.
"Where is he?" Canis said, setting the girls down.
"Nottingham has taken him back to a cell for interrogation," she said.
"I worry about how he defines the word 'interrogation,'" Canis said. "We have to get him out of there."
Granny nodded.
Then the sheriff stepped back into the office. He had a grin on his face like he had just gotten a bicycle for his birthday.
"Sheriff Nottingham!" Granny exclaimed. "You had no right to arrest that man."
"I have every right. I'm the sheriff," he said.
"What is his crime?"
"Let's see. He doesn't have a sailing license, or a passport, and he's trying to sneak foreigners into the country."
"He doesn't belong here, Nottingham," Canis said. Sabrina and Daphne both tugged on his sleeves, hoping to remind him that it wasn't wise to tell what he knew about the time tears.
"Oh, I'm well aware he doesn't belong here," Nottingham said. "He's come here from the past. Now that I see it with my own eyes, I almost feel like apologizing for ignoring all the reports I've been getting from citizens. The phone has been ringing off the hook for days about the Lenni Lenape Indian tribe, dinosaurs, Civil War soldiers, spacemen... Still, none of them really deserved my attention until today. It seems as if the past has opened up and delivered us a gift."
"Gift! What are you talking about?" Granny demanded.
"Why, with one slash of my dagger, I can end the suffering of this entire town," Nottingham replied. "If I am not mistaken, the man back in that cell is Wilhelm Grimm. Killing him gives us our freedom."
"You can't just kill a man," Sabrina said. "You're a police officer."
"Police officer?" Nottingham laughed. "Child, do you think I took this job because I care about justice? Your precious Wilhelm is being put to death for crimes against Everafters. If my theory is correct, when he expires, your wretched family will vanish just like that!" He snapped his fingers so loudly that Daphne jumped in fright. "I wonder if I'll remember you when it's all said and done. It would be a shame if I didn't."
"When do you plan to do this?" Granny Relda asked.
"Midnight tonight!" a voice shouted through a megaphone. The crowd separated and Mayor Heart stepped front and center. "Tonight I make good on my campaign promise of changing everything. I bet you didn't guess just how much change I had planned. It's going to be quite a celebration, folks. Everyone is invited."
Nottingham let out a wicked laugh as he glared at the Grimm family. "Aren't you going to tell us we'll never get away with this?" The crowd roared with laughter.
"I thought it was understood," Granny Relda said calmly. The family pushed their way through the mob and out into the street. Uncle Jake was waiting by the car when they arrived.
"Is he in there?" he asked, pointing back toward the jail.
Granny nodded. "Heaven only knows how he got here."
Sabrina and Daphne shared a look but kept quiet.
"What are we going to do?" Sabrina asked.
"Yeah, I don't want to not exist. I've got plans," Daphne added.
"We're going to do what every Grimm has done in times of trouble. We're going to work together as a family. Mr. Canis, take us home. We have to rally the troops."
*
"You want to what?"
Uncle Jake said, leaping from his seat on the family couch.
"I want you to tell Baba Yaga that Nottingham has her wand and lead her to the police station," Granny said.