Soon the bank came into sight and the little rug floated to the ground. It landed on the deserted sidewalk in front of the building. Sabrina glanced around, careful that no one was watching as she stepped off the carpet. It automatically rolled itself up and Sabrina stashed it behind a nearby bush.
The streetlights that once illuminated the quaint neighborhood were black and burned out. Ferryport Landing’s Main Street had never been Broadway, but now it seemed desperately lonely. With the coast clear, she climbed the steps of the bank. Before she tried the door she noticed a sign that read closed. Sabrina could have kicked herself. Of course the bank was going to be closed. It was nighttime. Her over-eagerness to retrieve the weapon kept her from thinking clearly. Now what was she going to do? She couldn’t go back home and try during the day. Her family was always around and Daphne would notice that the key was missing.
She sat down on the stoop, contemplating her limited choices, when a crazy thought popped into her head. Why not break into the bank? She had done lots of crazy things since moving to Ferryport Landing. Why would this one be any crazier? She could break a window and crawl inside. If she hurried, she could open the safe-deposit box, grab the weapon, and escape before Nottingham arrived. It was as good a plan as any.
She stood up and studied the bank, sizing it up like it was an adversary. She had broken out of many places in her lifetime. As foster children, she and her sister were constantly escaping the lunatics the state sent them to live with. She recalled the Deasy family, who owned and operated an ostrich farm in Hoboken, New Jersey. The birds were mean and frightening, chasing Daphne nearly nonstop for the first three days. When one of them spit in Sabrina’s face, she knew that the sisters Grimm had to go. After a week of trying, Sabrina managed to pick the lock on the front gate, freeing herself and Daphne and the entire herd of stinky giant birds. She and her sister hopped the gate on the underground train that led to New York City, and they were back in the Big Apple hours before the Hoboken Police Department managed to track and capture the first of the Deasys’ twenty-five ostriches. If Sabrina could pick a lock, she could certainly throw a rock through a window.
Sabrina searched the street for a stone heavy enough to crack the bank’s thick security windows. She found a good sharp one and headed back to spot a place to fling it. She circled around the back of the building, found a window low to the ground, and peeked inside. There were wires attached to the window that led to a bright red bell on the wall. She guessed the bell would start to wail if the windows were broken. Once she was inside, she’d have to act fast. The last thing she needed was for Nottingham to show up and decide to be a police officer for once. She closed her eyes and said a silent prayer, then reared back, aimed, and tossed the rock. She prepared for the shattering of glass but it never came. Instead she heard a voice.
“Sabrina Grimm turns to a life of crime. I’m so proud of you.”
Sabrina recognized the voice immediately. It was Puck, and he had her rock clenched firmly in his hand.
“What are you doing here?” Sabrina demanded, dragging him into the shadows.
“Keeping an eye on you,” Puck said. “You slipped past all my security.”
“I’m not going to stay locked up in the house just ’cause you say we should,” Sabrina said. “I can take care of myself.”
“You are truly an ungrateful jerk. Do you know how much money I have to pay the troglodyte to sit inside the dirty clothes hamper? Not to mention the brownies living in the bushes outside and the ogre under the couch. Professionals are not cheap. Plus, I have to pay their dental insurance and contribute to their 401(k) plans. But do you appreciate it? NO! You run around this town willy-nilly, as if you had a death wish. Well, listen, bub, if your family gets killed, then I’m out in the cold. That means no more free meals. No more cable TV. Do you know what would happen to me if I had to go back down to just three or four channels?” Puck shuddered.
“Listen, everyone appreciates what you’re trying to do,” Sabrina said. “But at the moment, it’s getting in my way. Now, hand over that rock. I need it.”
“Hey, you don’t have to tell me about the need to break things,” Puck said. “If I don’t smash a window four or five times a day I don’t feel like myself. Still, it doesn’t seem like your style.”
“I’m not breaking windows just to break something. I need to get into the bank. There’s something inside I have to get,” Sabrina said.
“That’s what all the bank robbers say.”
“I’m not robbing the bank!”
“Then what are you going to steal? They chain the pens to the counters, you know.”
“I’m not stealing anything. I’m breaking in to get something that was given to me, and I can’t wait for the bank to open.”
“But you plan on breaking something to do it, right?”
“Yes.”
“OK, I’ll help.”
Sabrina felt like telling Puck to get lost, but she realized the fairy boy had some skills that might come in handy. Puck could do all kinds of things that human beings couldn’t.