The Unusual Suspects (The Sisters Grimm, Book 2)

"What happened?" Mr. Canis asked as Elvis, Granny, and the girls clamored into the car, but no one got to answer. Something slammed onto the roof. It was so loud they all jumped, except Mr. Canis, whose only reaction was to look up and raise a questioning eyebrow.

Just then, a slimy green hand smacked the driver's side window. Sabrina and Daphne screamed. Granny Relda whooped in astonishment and Elvis growled and bared his teeth. But Mr. Canis just took a deep breath, put the car into drive, and floored the gas. The car's tires squealed and the jalopy rocketed into the street, skidding across the country road before some quick steering set it on the right course.

"Oh, I do wish I could drive." Granny Relda groaned. "I used to love situations like this."

"You know very well the police took your license away," Mr. Canis said, steering from one side of the road to the other in hopes of dislodging their stowaway. Unfortunately, nothing the old man did had any effect on the monster and it continued to beat violently on the roof.

"I got a couple of speeding tickets." Granny shrugged.

"You were arrested fourteen times for reckless endangerment. Several neighborhood groups banned you from driving on their streets. The German government said that if they ever caught you in a car in Berlin again you would be hanged," the old man corrected.

"Oh, Mr. Canis," Granny begged. "No one has to know. Besides, this isn't getting us anywhere."

He shook his head.

"Please!" she pleaded.

Mr. Canis slammed his foot on the brake and the car screeched to a halt. The frog-girl tumbled down the hood and bounced along the road for several yards until she stopped. She let out a terrible moan and then lay still.

"Let's stay off the major roads," the old man said, opening his door and getting out.

Granny squealed with delight and scooted over to the driver's seat. As they switched places, Sabrina watched the grotesque frog-girl stir, slowly get to her feet, and stare at the car. Even with her bizarre, twisted face, the murderous rage in her eyes was clear.

"Children," Mr. Canis said as he turned to face the sisters. "Put on your seat belts."

The girls eyed each other nervously and hurried to strap themselves in. Unfortunately, the ancient seat belts that had been installed in the car were torn, so Mr. Canis had used ropes to improvise. Sabrina helped Daphne tie hers into a knot around her waist and then went to work on her own.

Just as their ropes were secure, the monster leaped into the air and came down violently on the car's front end. The impact was so great, the car's back end lifted a full six feet off the ground, then came down violently. The monster leaned forward to get a better look through the windshield and then licked her wide lips.

"Going somewhere?" She laughed.

Elvis whined and crawled under his blanket as Granny floored the accelerator and the car lunged forward. The monster tumbled over the hood, up the windshield, over the roof, onto the trunk, and fell off the back end of the car.

"She's gone!" Sabrina cried, just before the freak hopped back onto the trunk. It laughed at them through the rear window.

"She's back," Daphne cried, diving under the blanket with Elvis.

Granny made a sharp left onto an old dirt road and pressed hard on the gas pedal. The ancient car screamed in protest, but held up its end with a burst of speed so powerful Sabrina felt the g-force pushing her body into the seat springs. Despite the incredible speed, the frog-girl held on with little effort and pounded angrily on the rear window. The massive blows caused a thick crack in the glass.

"Turning right!" Granny shouted from the driver's seat, just before she made the turn. Elvis tumbled over the girls as the car banked to the right, but the maneuver didn't seem to shake the monster.

"Turning left!" Granny shouted and Elvis tumbled to the other side of the car, landing heavily on Sabrina's belly and knocking the wind out of her.

The frog-girl smacked the window again, and this time it exploded, sending chunks of glass into the backseat. Several large



portions of the window stayed attached, but the monster pulled them off effortlessly and tossed them into the road.

Sabrina pushed Elvis off of her and fought to fill her empty, burning lungs. As she struggled, the frog-girl reached into the backseat with her big sticky hands, unfastened Daphne's rope belt, and snatched the little girl right out of her seat. Still choking and gasping for air, Sabrina grabbed desperately at Daphne's ankle and tried to pull her back inside the car, but the frog-girl's grip was too strong.

"She's got Daphne," she gasped, but Mr. Canis had already sprung into action. He rolled down his window and pulled his upper body out of the car.

"There's no need to hurry, old man," the frog-girl screamed over the wind. "You'll die soon enough."

A ferocious roar echoed back at the monster and Sabrina could see her eyes grow wide with surprise.

"You're one of us?" the frog-girl cried. "And you fight for the life of a filthy Grimm! You're the traitor. I should have known you by your stink."