Sabrina watched Canis frown.
“And you were there the day of the incident?”
Hatchett nodded, keeping his eyes on Canis.
“What kind of work are you in, Mr. Hatchett?”
“Well, I . . . I used to be a woodcutter. I cut down trees and sold the lumber to mills. I started out working for a man but then I saw an opportunity and went into business for myself.” Hatchett sat quietly, watching Canis. After a few minutes, his expression changed from fear to confusion, and he continued. “Then one day I thought to myself, ‘Hey! I’m one of literature’s greatest heroes.’”
“What did he say?” Daphne whispered.
“He’s bragging,” Puck replied.
“I saved Little Red Riding Hood’s life. I’m an idol to millions. I faced the Big Bad Wolf and lived to tell about it. I’m famous and beloved. So I started a company to provide products to people who want to be more like me.”
“Please explain.”
“People want to feel like they know me. I’m their hero, after all. Well, I can’t go out and meet everyone, so the best I can do is sell them things with my face and name on them. For instance, my company sells Woodcutter Three-Bean Chili, Woodcutter Toilet Cakes, Woodcutter Beef Jerky, Woodcutter Steel-Belted Radial Tires, Woodcutter Diaper Rash Powder—the list goes on and on. I also operate an amusement park, and of course, the Howard Hatchett Historical Museum located right here in Ferryport Landing. I’m currently seeking investors for my latest venture—a chain of Woodcutter Home-Cooking Restaurants.”
“How did you become this hero to millions?” the lawyer asked.
Hatchett glanced at Canis one last time. Sabrina watched his confusion turn to confidence, as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. “Well, it was sort of thrust on me. One day I was out in the forest and I heard a scream. I was just a regular working stiff back then, you know, just like everybody. I never thought of myself as a hero, but there are those who stand by and watch and a rare few who act. So, with nothing more than my wits and my ax, I raced off to help.”
“What did you find?” Bluebeard said, sounding inspired.
“I came upon a little house in the woods. Inside, there was this terrible shouting. I peered into the window and saw a monster attacking a child. Well, I suppose a normal person might have just run off, but I’m not normal. I knew people were in trouble. I knew I would fight to the death to save them.”
“You say you saw a monster. Do you see that monster in the courtroom today?”
Hatchett looked over at Canis, and for a moment, the man’s confidence dissolved. He pointed with a trembling hand at the old man. “It was him.”
“Let the record show that Mr. Hatchett is referring to the accused,” Bluebeard said, then turned his attention back to Hatchett. “You mean the Wolf. Were you afraid?” Bluebeard continued.
Hatchett shook his head. “When you’re a man like me, you go to a place where fear doesn’t follow. I look back on it now and I laugh. I should have been afraid.”
“Oh, brother,” Puck said.
The crowd turned to glare at him.
“Please, could he be any more dramatic?”
Judge Hatter slammed his desk with the sledgehammer, sending a portion of the wood to the floor. “Silence in the courtroom!”
“What happened next?” Bluebeard continued.
“I pounded on the door so hard it fell off its hinges. I’m a strong guy. I work out. I can bench about two-fifty, really. Then I rushed in with my ax raised. The Wolf had finished off the old woman—there was nothing I could do for her, but the little girl was still in danger. Now the monster knew he didn’t want to go head to head with me, so in desperation he turned and swallowed the little girl whole.”
Mr. Canis shifted uncomfortably.
“Good heavens!” Bluebeard cried. “What did you do?”
“That’s a situation where instinct takes over. I swung my ax at the monster’s belly. It split from end to end and the child spilled out, perfectly healthy. The assault caused the Wolf to pass out, so I filled his belly full of rocks and sewed it shut with some thread I found in a cabinet. Then I carried the creature on my back to the river and tossed him in. The weight of the rocks caused him to sink to the bottom.”
“Yet he lived,” Bluebeard said, gesturing at Canis.
“He’s a tough customer,” Hatchett replied. “But I’m tougher.”
“I appreciate your time,” Bluebeard replied as he took his seat. “I’m finished with this witness.”