back THE SISTERS GRIMM Her grandmother a kind sweet lady was in the front seat buried in the same book she had been reading for the last two hours Next to her was the old woman's constant companion a skinny grouchy old man named Mr Canis who drove the family family everywhere Sharing the backseat with Sabrina was a portly pink skinned fellow named Ernest Hamstead and nestled be tween them was Daphne Sabrina's seven year old sister who slumbered peacefully drooling like a faucet onto Sabrina's coat sleeve Sabrina gently nudged her sister toward Mr Hamstead He grimaced when he noticed the drool and shot Sabrina a look that said Thanks for nothing Sabrina pretended not to notice and leaned forward to get her grandmother's attention Granny Relda set her book down in her lap and turned to Sabrina with a smile The old woman's face was lined in wrinkles but her pink cheeks and button nose gave her a youthful appearance She always wore colorful dresses and matching hats with a sunflower appliqué in the center Today she was in purple Where are we Sabrina shouted Her grandmother cupped a hand to her ear to let Sabrina know she hadn't heard the question over the car's terrific racket Are we getting close to the fairy kingdom yet Oh I love chili but I'm afraid it doesn't love me Granny shouted
ONCE UPON A CRIME No not chili The fairy kingdom Sabrina cried Are we getting getting close Why no I've never kissed a monkey What an odd question Sabrina was about to throw up her hands in defeat when Mr Canis turned to her We are not far he barked then turned his gaze back to the road The old man had better hearing than anyone Sabrina sighed with relief All the rumbling and sputtering would soon be over and it would all have been worth it to help save Puck The shivering boy was huddled next to her grandmother his blond hair matted down and his face drenched in sweat Sabrina felt a pang of regret If it weren't for her he wouldn't have been on death's door at all She sat back in her seat just as the car came to a stop at an intersection intersection She looked out the window To the left was farmland as far as she could see to the right a dusty country road leading to a tiny distant farmhouse Behind her was her new hometown Ferryport Landing and ahead she wasn't sure A place where Puck could get some help for his injuries a place her grandmother said was filled with people like him fairies As the car rolled forward Sabrina lost herself in memories She'd once been a normal kid living on the Upper East Side of Manhattan with a mom and a dad a little sister and an apartment near Carl Schurz Park Life was simple and easy and ordinary Then 5
THE SISTERS GRIMM one day her parents Henry and Veronica vanished The police searched for them but all they found was their abandoned car and a single clue a red handprint left in paint on the dashboard No one came forward to take care of the girls so Sabrina and Daphne were dumped into an orphanage and assigned to Minerva Smirt an ill tempered caseworker who hated children She took a special dislike to the Grimm sisters and for almost a year and a half she placed them with foster families who used and abused them These so called loving caregivers forced the girls to be their personal maids pool cleaners and once ditch diggers More often than not the families were in it for the state check but some were just plain crazy When Granny Relda finally found the sisters and took them in Sabrina was sure the old woman was a nutcase like all the rest Their father had told them that his mother had died before they were born so this grandmother had to be an imposter When the old woman moved the girls to a little town on the Hudson River called Ferryport Landing miles from civilization she claimed her neighbors were all fairy tale characters She told the girls the mayor was Prince Charming the Three Little Pigs ran the police department department witches served pancakes at the diner and ogres delivered the mail She also claimed that Sabrina and Daphne were the last living descendants of Jacob and Wilhelm the Brothers Grimm whose book of fairy tales wasn't fiction but an account of actual 6
ONCE UPON A CRIME events and the beginning of extensive record keeping by each new generation Granny said it was the Grimm legacy to investigate any unusual crimes and to keep an eye on the mischief making fairy tale folk also known as Everafters In a nutshell the girls were the next in a long line of fairy tale detectives Sabrina had been sure this grandmother had forgotten to take her medication that is until a giant came along and kidnapped the old woman Suddenly her stories held a lot more weight After the sisters Grimm rescued her they agreed to become fairy tale detectives Daphne enthusiastically Sabrina reluctantly and plunged headfirst into investigating the other freaky felonies of their new hometown Daphne loved every minute of their new lives What seven year old wouldn't want to live next door to her favorite bedtime stories But Sabrina couldn't adjust to the strange characters they encountered She distrusted the Everafters and it was no secret that many in the community felt the same way about her fam ily Most thought the Grimms were meddlers Others downright despised them Sabrina really couldn't blame them After all the Everafters were trapped in Ferryport Landing because of a two hundred year old magical spell cast by her great great great great grandfather Wilhelm Grimm Ever since a magical barrier surrounded surrounded the town in an invisible bubble that no Everafter could pierce Wilhelm had been trying to prevent a war but all the 7
