The little pug sniffed the air and yipped. The poor creature was wearing a little black doggie tuxedo, with a pocket square that matched his owner’s dress and a tiny top hat. “Hush, Mr. Wuggles!” Beauty said, then turned her attention to the crowd. “Mr. Wuggles is not happy!” She proceeded to kiss the dog and speak to him in baby talk for several minutes.
“Boss, I don’t think we’ve got a lot of time,” Little John said. “Nottingham will be back when he gets bored.”
“Good point,” Robin said, and turned to Beauty. “Princess, we need you to hypnotize someone so we can ask some questions.”
Beauty craned her neck to see into the cell. Her eyes grew wide and she shook her head. “Robin Hood, you’ve lost your mind if you think—”
“You’re the only hope we have,” Robin said.
“But that’s the—”
“We know, but your husband was just as wild as the Wolf when you met him. You know the kind of effect you have on savages. If I thought we could get the information any other way, I would.”
Beauty stepped up to the cell and looked inside. Mr. Wuggles did the same and whined. “Oh, boy,” the princess sighed.
“What’s she going to do?” Sabrina asked.
Beauty turned to her. “I calm down animals, even put them into hypnotic states. I guess you could say I’m the monster whisperer.” Beauty turned back to the cage. “OK, pal. I’m going to come in there, but you have to promise not to eat me.”
Canis nodded.
Little John raced to the cell door with a set of keys. “Nottingham ran out of here without them.”
The cell door swung open. Beauty shoved her dog into Sabrina’s arms and stepped inside. “Close the door,” she said.
“And lock it,” Canis added.
Little John did as he was told.
Beauty sat down on a crude chair next to Canis. “Well, are you ready to get started?”
Canis looked to Granny Relda with an expression of doubt.
“For me, old friend,” Granny said.
Canis nodded.
Beauty rested her hand on Canis’s muscular arm. All at once the tension in the old man seemed to dissolve. His body relaxed, and the wild animal scent that filled the room disappeared. The anger and hate in Canis’s eyes were replaced with a calm, almost sleepy expression.
“Feel better?” the princess asked.
Canis nodded.
“What do you want to know?” Beauty asked the lawyers.
“Ask him to describe what happened the night Red Riding Hood’s grandmother died,” Robin replied.
“Awww, that’s going to be so gross,” Beauty complained. She pointed at Sabrina. “You, cover Mr. Wuggles’s ears. He’s very sensitive. I don’t want him hearing this.”
Sabrina did her best, though the dog refused to cooperate. Instead, he squirmed in Sabrina’s arms until he was facing her, then proceeded to lick every inch of her face.
“OK, big guy,” Beauty said to Canis. “I want you to hear my voice only. You will see only what I ask you to see and though what you might see will be shocking, it won’t bother you at all. In fact, it will be like you are watching a movie.”
“OK,” Canis said and he closed his eyes.
“Let’s go back in time. I want you to go back to one night in particular. It was the night you met Little Red Riding Hood. Are you there?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Tell me what you see and hear.”
Canis shook his head. “It’s fuzzy. I can’t make out anything.”
“Concentrate,” Beauty said. “Try to bring it into focus.”
Canis’s body went into convulsions. His head swung back and forth violently.
“He’s fighting me,” Beauty told the crowd.
“Keep trying,” Little John replied as he nervously watched the door for Nottingham’s return.
“It doesn’t work like that,” Beauty snapped. “It’s not a matter of trying harder. His brain opens up or it doesn’t. There’s something he doesn’t want to tell me.”
Suddenly, Canis relaxed. “I’m running.”
“Where to?” Beauty asked.
“There’s a tiny house in the woods.”
“Do you see anything else?” Beauty asked.
“Light is blinding me and the trees are leaning over,” he said.
“He’s talking crazy like Red,” Sabrina whispered to her grandmother.
“Why are the trees leaning over?” Beauty asked, ignoring Sabrina’s comment.
Canis shook his head. “The wind is incredible. I’m pounding on the door. I want him to follow me, but he’s afraid.”
“Who is afraid?” Beauty repeated.
Canis was silent. “I can’t see him anymore. I’m inside the house. The old woman is there. The child is crying.”
“Are you talking about Red Riding Hood?” Beauty asked.
Canis nodded. “Then there is wind. So much wind.”
Beauty turned to the lawyers. “Is any of this making sense to you?”
Robin shrugged. “Ask him if he sees any cages.”
Beauty repeated the question, and for a long moment the old man was silent. Then he nodded.