"They're with the police," Mrs. Applebee replied.
Mrs. Grimm stepped forward. "Not the police, dear. I'm a detective ... of sorts. Mr. Applebee, my name is Relda Grimm, and these are my granddaughters. I'm very glad to see you weren't too badly injured, considering . . ."
"You three are detectives?" Mr. Applebee looked from Mrs. Grimm to the children, eyeing them suspiciously.
"Yes," Mrs. Grimm said, causing Daphne to practically swell with pride.
"Well, I think a crime has been committed, Mrs. Grimm," Mr. Applebee said.
"You do?"
"They should arrest whoever dressed your granddaughters this morning."
"Thomas, stop it! I think they look adorable," Mrs. Applebee cried. "I'm sorry, he's been a grouch since we got here. He doesn't like hospitals."
Sabrina looked down at her goofy outfit and seethed with anger. Who would buy a girl who was almost twelve a shirt with a monkey on it?
"Well, what can I do for you, Mrs. Grimm?" Mr. Applebee grunted.
"Do you remember anything about the accident?" the old woman said.
"What accident?" the farmer asked.
Mrs. Grimm frowned.
"What accident!" Mrs. Applebee exclaimed. "Thomas, the house has been destroyed and I found you lying in the yard."
"I don't know what you're talking about. There's nothing wrong with the house," Mr. Applebee argued.
"Oh, dear, the painkillers are really doing a number on you," Mrs. Applebee said, shifting anxiously in her seat. The farmer returned his wife's stare with an innocent look.
"Mrs. Grimm, I don't think my husband is up to discussing the case right now," his wife said.
"I understand. Perhaps you might have a moment to spare us, then?"
"Of course." Mrs. Applebee gestured for them to follow her into the hallway.
"So sorry to trouble you," Mrs. Grimm said to the farmer as they walked toward the door. "I do hope you feel better soon, Mr. Applebee."
Daphne stopped and turned to the injured man. "I like my outfit," she said and stuck her tongue out.
Mr. Applebee stuck his tongue out, too, and the little girl stomped out of the room.
"He's acting very odd right now," Mrs. Applebee said when they were in the hallway. "I'm considering taking him out of this hospital."
"Oh, I'm sure he's in good hands. So, you said he was raving about something," Mrs. Grimm prompted.
"Oh, it's silly. He swore he'd seen a giant."
"Oh, well, wouldn't that be a sight." Mrs. Grimm chuckled.
"But I have a different theory about what happened," Mrs. Applebee explained. "There was a British man out to the farm several times, asking us if we would rent the place to him for a couple of nights. He said he needed the field for a special event, but only for a couple of days. At first he was very friendly, but when Thomas refused he got quite nasty."
"Has he come back?" Mrs. Grimm asked.
"Well, that's just it. A week later he did come back and apologized for being so rude. He said he wanted to make it up to us so he booked us into a fancy hotel in New York City, all expenses paid, and tickets to a Broadway show. We hadn't had a vacation in years—farming is a tough business—so I accepted."
"How nice. Did you enjoy your vacation?"
"Not at all. When I got there I found that the hotel didn't have any record of our reservation and the tickets to the show were counterfeit," Mrs. Applebee said angrily.
"You say you found out. Didn't your husband go with you?" Mrs. Grimm said.
"Oh, no, Thomas doesn't care for the city much," Mrs. Applebee sighed, tears forming in her eyes. "I took my sister. We had to use our own money for a hotel and the only place with a room was infested with bedbugs."
"How dreadful," Mrs. Grimm sympathized. "Mrs. Applebee, this man's name didn't happen to be Charming, did it?"
"Oh no, it was Englishman," the woman replied, sniffing.
"What did this Mr. Englishman look like?"
"I'm sorry, I never saw him. Thomas had all the dealings with him."
"One last question, Mrs. Applebee. I'm sure you want to get back to your husband. Do either of you own a video camera?" Mrs. Grimm took a clean handkerchief out of her handbag and offered it to the woman. Sabrina noticed that a soft, pink powder fell from the handkerchief as the woman wiped her eyes.
"No, we don't. Mr. Applebee is a little tight with the money, if you know what I mean." Suddenly, Sabrina noticed a change in the woman's face. It seemed to wipe itself of all emotion and her eyes drifted into a blank stare.
"I'm sorry, have we met?" Mrs. Applebee asked, her voice distant.
"No," Mrs. Grimm replied. "But I hear you had a wonderful time in New York City."
"OK," Mrs. Applebee said. Then she turned and went into her husband's room without saying good-bye.
Mrs. Grimm pulled her notebook out of her handbag and jotted down some notes. "So, the plot thickens," she said with a wide smile. "We can definitely say there was a giant, now."
"There's no such thing as giants!" Sabrina said, a bit louder than she meant to. The declaration echoed down the hospital hallway.