The Unusual Suspects (The Sisters Grimm, Book 2)

"Elvis, we're not leaving you in the car. We're putting you in charge of it," Daphne said. The dog lifted his huge ears as if he was listening very carefully. "It's a really important job. You have to stay and guard Mr. Canis. Don't let anything bad happen to him."

Elvis barked, confirming his orders. He sat up in the backseat and watched out the windows for any would-be attackers. As the Grimms approached the mansion, Sabrina looked back and noticed Canis doing something very odd. The stick-thin man climbed on top of the car and sat Indian-style on the roof. He closed his eyes and rested his hands on his knees.

"What's he doing?" Sabrina asked.

"Meditative yoga," Granny replied, as if this were the natural response. "It's helping him remain centered and calm. Keeps the dark stuff at bay."

Of course, the Big Bad Wolf does yoga, Sabrina thought. Why did I even bother to ask?

The trio stood on the front steps of the mansion, but before Granny could ring the bell, Mr. Seven opened the door and ushered the family inside.

"Good evening," he said and, without offering to take their coats, he turned and raced up the staircase. "I'll get the mayor."

"What do you think he wants?" Daphne wondered.

"Hard to say," Granny Relda said. "The mayor is full of surprises."

"Maybe he felt like he didn't get to insult us enough at the school," Sabrina muttered just as Charming appeared at the top of the steps. Sabrina watched him grimace, then take a deep breath as he came down to join them.

"This conversation must be an absolute secret," he said as he stood before them. He leaned down and pinned a shiny tin star on Sabrina's coat. It looked like the kind sheriffs wore in old black-and-white western movies. She peered down at it and read the words FERRYPORT LANDING SPECIAL FORCES DEPUTY OFFICER.

"What's this?" she asked as Charming pinned a similar star onto Daphne's coat. The little girl looked at it and smiled. "Look at me! I'm a cowboy!"

"May I?" Charming said to Granny Relda. The old woman hesitated but finally agreed and he pinned the star on her dress, too.

"I don't think I understand what is taking place, Mayor Charming," Granny Relda said.

"I'm deputizing you," he said uncomfortably. "Raise your right hand and repeat after me."

Charming raised his right hand and waited for the Grimms to do the same. Sabrina stared blankly at the man, wondering if maybe he was pulling some kind of prank on them.

"Don't make this harder on me than it has to be," he begged. "The town needs your help. You know it and I know it. Can't that be enough?"

"You want our help?" Sabrina said.

"I know you've been helping Hamstead," the mayor said. "For some reason the sheriff thinks you will be able to help with this case."

"Mayor Charming!" Granny Relda exclaimed. "I never thought I'd see the day when you would come to this family for anything."

The man lowered his right hand and groaned. "Do you think I would ask you if it wasn't absolutely necessary? I swore I'd see your family rot before I asked for your help, but drastic times call for drastic measures."

"What are you talking about?" Sabrina demanded impatiently, but as she waited for the mayor to answer, she noticed something odd about the mansion. It was filthy. Several curtains in the ballroom had fallen and lay in heaps on the floor. A giant red stain had ruined a polar bear rug lying near the fireplace. The carpet on the stairs needed a good vacuuming and a bucket sat on the floor collecting rain from a giant patched-up hole in the ceiling. Half a dozen overflowing bags of garbage sat by the door waiting to be taken out and a thick layer of dust covered everything, including a full suit of armor that leaned precariously against a wall.

"What happened here?" she asked.

"You happened here!" Charming snapped. "You and your smelly sister ruined the only fund-raising event this town has each year."

Daphne raised an arm to smell her armpit. She crinkled her nose and lowered her arm quickly. "I'm not that bad," she said.

"You crashed an invitation only party, brought a giant here, which nearly destroyed the mansion and several cars in the parking lot, and worst of all, you made me look like a fool in front of the town's biggest donors," the mayor said. "We didn't raise a penny. The town is broke."

"We know what the fund-raiser is really for," Sabrina replied. "You want to use the money to buy the whole town. Why don't you just dip into the money you've conned out of everyone for the last two hundred years?"

"You dare question my honor?" Charming growled. "I haven't taken a penny out of this town. The rumors about my finances are greatly exaggerated. Relda, do you believe I would live like this if I didn't have to?"