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Their caseworker snatched a folder off a stack of books and opened it. Sabrina noticed the title of the book on top. It was called
The Purpose-Driven Life.
"Mr. David Greeley is currently in prison but he's getting out tomorrow and will pick you up as soon as he has met with his parole officer," Smirt said.
"Prison! What was he in prison for?" Sabrina said.
"Hmmm, let me see. Oh, here it is. Murder," the caseworker said.
"Murder?" the girls cried, nearly jumping out of their chairs. "Yes, he murdered someone. No, I'm wrong. That was someone else," Ms. Smirt said. Sabrina caught her breath and eased back in her seat.
"No, Mr. Greeley murdered several people. Seven to be exact. Beat them to death with a crowbar," Smirt said.
"You're going to send us to live with a serial killer?" Sabrina said.
"No, I'm sending you to live with a former serial killer. Mr. Greeley is rehabilitated. Now, off to bed with you. Newbies have to fix breakfast for everyone so you better get some sleep."
Smirt shoved the girls down the hall and back into the sleeping area. They found their beds among the rows of snoring, groaning children, and crawled underneath the scratchy blankets. Sabrina's cot was next to a window that had a baseball-sized hole in it. The cold wind blew directly onto her feet, so she tucked herself into a ball for warmth. Before Ms. Smirt left, she handcuffed the girls to their beds.
"Well, I suppose you're happy now," Daphne said when Smirt had scurried back to her office.
"Happy? Why would I be happy about this?"
"Isn't this what you wanted? To get away from Gra
"Daphne, I-"
"Every step you fought her. You've complained and disobeyed and been a real-"
"Jerkazoid?"
"Yes!" the little girl cried. "And don't use my word."
"Daphne, I'm only trying to protect us, all of us. Can't you see what has been happening since we moved in with Gra
"That's crazy talk," the little girl whispered.
"I don't even want to be a fairy-tale detective. Neither did Dad, and when he had his opportunity to walk away, he took it. He did it because he thought this life was too dangerous and he was right. I don't want my sister to get killed or fall under some twisted nutcase's magical spell. I want us to get out now while we still can. If Mom had done the same thing, who knows how our lives would be."
"Our mother was trying to help people," Daphne said. "So she failed. I'd rather try and fail than stand by and watch people suffer. We're Grimms. That's what we really do. Help people."
"Daphne, I-"
"I'm getting out of here with or without you, Sabrina," Daphne said. She turned her back on her sister and grew very still. Sabrina knew her well enough to know that talking was over for the night. She only wished that her sister could see her point of view. She had been a "jerkazoid" in the past, but this time she was truly thinking of someone other than herself. With her free hand, she reached for her coat at the end of her bed, searched its pockets, and found her mom's wallet. She opened it up and found the picture she had grown to adore. She stared into her mother's face, unsure of whom Veronica Grimm really was. How could she be so close to her and not know anything about her? Why did Veronica choose this life? Why wouldn't anyone, given the choice, just walk away?
Smirt woke them early and seemed to enjoy the fact that the girls were exhausted. She unlocked their handcuffs and dragged them out of bed and into the orphanage's kitchen, where they were put to work on the morning breakfast, a disturbing combination of powdered eggs and milk that had a questionable expiration date. A hulking man, who had hairnets on both his head and beard, instructed them to add whatever he handed them out of the fridge to the mix. Several catfish went into the pot-heads, bones, eyes, and all. Next, a bottle of barbecue sauce, a greasy package of bologna, and some mushrooms that might have been picked out of the orphanage's basement.
When all the ingredients were added, the girls were given a huge wooden spoon, nearly as big as an oar, and told to stir the concoction until it boiled. Every couple of seconds a bubble would appear on the surface of the mix and pop, shooting out a hot spray of steam that scalded their hands. It was hard on Sabrina, but not nearly as hard as Daphne's silence. She tried to talk to her sister several times and the girl just turned away. Deep down she wished for a "snot" or "jerkazoid," but the little girl refused to even insult her.
When "breakfast" was ready, the girls were required to serve it to all the dirty, half-asleep children who staggered through the meal line. There were many faces Sabrina recognized, kids who would probably be in the orphanage until they were old enough to get jobs. None of them seemed to care that the Grimm sisters had returned except for Harold Dink. Harold was a freckle-faced kid with a skin condition that resembled the mange; many patches of his bright red hair were missing. When he got to the counter he sneered, pointed, and laughed. "Hey, everybody! Look! The Sisters Ugly are right back where they started."
"You know, Harold, you should really be nice to the people who are serving you breakfast. You never know what might accidentally fall into your eggs," Daphne said.
"You don't have the guts, geek."
Even though Daphne wasn't speaking to her, Sabrina instinctively came to her defense. "Hey Harold! Why don't you go steal some more money out of Smirt's office and then pretend you found it for her? How did that turn out the last time? Didn't she send you to live in a petting zoo?"
The kids in line roared with laughter. Harold slammed down his tray and stomped away.
Sabrina and Daphne were the last ones allowed to eat, though neither had much of an appetite for what was left at the bottom of the pot. Instead, they grabbed a couple slices of stale bread and found a table in the back of the cafeteria. Sabrina took a bite of her bread and cringed. It was as tough as cardboard.
"I suppose we're going to meet Greeley today," she said. But despite their united assault on Harold, Daphne didn't respond. Defeated, Sabrina went back to her bread and munched as quietly as she could.
David Greeley was a ski
"Yo!" he said when he met them on the front steps of the orphanage.
"Say hello to your new daddy," Ms. Smirt said as she reached down and gave the girls one of her trademark pinches on the shoulder.
Sabrina nodded at their new foster father, but Daphne said nothing.
"Good, they're quiet. Nothing worse than a couple of yapping kids," the man said. "I had a neighbor who had a dog that made a lot of noise. He ain't got no dog no more if you know what I mean." Greeley made a gesture as if he were cocking a shotgun.
Daphne crinkled up her nose and looked as if she was preparing to kick the man in the shins. Sabrina stopped her with a warning hand on the shoulder.
Greeley bent over and rubbed the girls' heads as if they were beagles. "Let's get some things straight, girls. I'm in charge. I don't take no guff and I don't give no guff."