The Fairy-Tale Detectives (The Sisters Grimm, Book 1)

"So the giant would smell him and come running," Charming said. "You might as well join your men, Sheriff. The girls and I will call you if we need you."

 

"Where are you going?" Hamstead asked.

 

The prince took Sabrina's arm and urged Daphne to do the same. "We're going back to the Grimm house. I have an unsettling notion of what our giant killer is up to," Charming said.

 

Sabrina clicked her heels together.

 

"There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home."

 

Instantly, the girls and Charming were standing outside of Granny's house. The front door was wide open and through the doorway they could see that Jack had ransacked their home. They walked inside. Bookshelves were tipped over, furniture was overturned, and even the couch cushions were thrown aside. He had searched through every kitchen cupboard, emptied closets, and destroyed antiques. But his crimes against the house weren't what was bothering Sabrina. What hurt her was that she had been tricked. In the last year and a half, Sabrina had learned to be street-smart and savvy. She was the one who was supposed to pull fast ones on people. She was the queen of the sneaks and she had been suckered.

 

Suddenly, the telephone rang. She picked up the receiver and said hello.

 

"Hello, this is Wilma Faye at Action Four News. I'm following up on a tip we got about a half hour ago. A Mr. Englishman said there would be a murder on Widow's Peak tonight. We've already got a camera crew on their way but we were hoping we might be able to speak to Mr. Englishman first," the woman begged.

 

"No, he's not here," Sabrina replied.

 

"Well, if you see him please tell him that we are very intrigued by the story and will have a camera team and reporter there as he requested," the woman continued. Then, with a click, she hung up.

 

"That was a reporter," Sabrina said. "Jack called them and told them there was going to be a murder on Widow's Peak tonight."

 

"This is exactly what I was trying to prevent. He's going to kill a giant on television so he can be famous again," Charming said. "When the world sees that, this little town will be turned upside down by reporters. There's too much here to explain. We've got to stop him."

 

"Elvis!" Daphne cried suddenly. The giant dog was nowhere to be seen. Daphne shouted his name and, after several painful moments of silence, a low bark could be heard from upstairs. Daphne rushed up the steps, followed by Sabrina and Charming. She threw open the door to Mirror's room and found Elvis lying on the floor in a small puddle of his own blood. He had a serious cut on his belly but he barked happily when he saw the girls. Daphne knelt down and kissed the dog gently on his nose. When she lifted her face, tears were pouring down her cheeks.

 

"He hurt Elvis," the little girl sobbed.

 

"Girls, we have to find Jack," Charming said coldly. "We don't have time for this mongrel."

 

Sabrina and Daphne looked at the man as if he were a moldy sandwich that had slowly turned to soup in the bottom of the refrigerator. The prince groaned and took his cell phone from his pocket. He dialed a number and sighed impatiently.

 

"Mr. Seven, I need you to send one of the Three to the Grimm house. The door is open so they can come right in. There's a dog that needs medical assistance ... Yes, a dog ... a D-O-G. No, Mr. Seven, I don't know what's wrong with him, maybe a broken rib . . . No, Mr. Seven . . . Yes, Mr. Seven . . . Mr. Seven, if you don't stop asking me questions, I'm going to feed you to this dog."

 

Sabrina eyed the man suspiciously and Charming caught her gaze.

 

"And Mr. Seven, my orders are that whichever one of the witches comes, she respect this house," Charming added. "No snooping."

 

Daphne wrapped her arms around the prince's neck and hugged him as he hung up his phone.

 

"Thank you," she sobbed and, for a brief moment, Charming seemed to enjoy the hug, but then he pulled away from her.

 

"You're ruining my suit," he replied, wiping his lapel clean of the girl's tears. "We should check the mirror."

 

Sabrina gazed over at it. The little man who was usually in its reflection was missing.

 

"Mirror!" Charming shouted.

 

"You have to step through it," said Sabrina.

 

"I'm aware of how it works," the prince said impatiently. "I used to be engaged to one of its former owners."

 

He stepped into the reflection and disappeared. Sabrina followed closely behind, leaving Daphne to nurse Elvis.

 

The little man known as Mirror was lying on his side on the cold marble floor, barely conscious and covered in bruises. Charming knelt down to him and lifted the pudgy man's head. Mirror slowly opened his eyes and grimaced in pain.

 

"He was too strong and fast for me. I couldn't stop him," Mirror groaned.

 

"What did he take?" Charming asked.

 

 

 

"I tried to fight him off but he just laughed at me. You wouldn't believe how quick he is," Mirror complained.

 

"Focus, man! We need to know if Jack took anything."

 

"He took the beans," Mirror replied.

 

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