The Unusual Suspects

Gra

"Looks like he's got the scent, lieblings," Gra

8

Chapter 8

EIvis's big feet crunched on the hard ground. The night had grown bitterly cold and every once in a while Sabrina spotted a snowfiake floating toward the ground. She was freezing, even in her heavy coat. If Wendell was still alive out in the woods without his, it would be a miracle.

Elvis sniffed the air. Once the big dog caught a scent, he never lost it. When he reached the edge of the trees, he stopped and barked impatiently at the family. It was obvious they were slowing him down.

"Oh, I wish I could bottle his energy," Gra

When they finally reached Elvis, he led them into the woods. He sniffed wildly, rushing back and forth along a path, following the scent, but managing to stick close to the family, as if he knew the old woman would have a difficult time keeping up with his pace.

Sabrina heard a branch snap in the distance and saw the dog's keen ears perk up. She expected him to run off howling in the direction of the sound, but instead he continued to follow his invisible path.

It seemed as if they had been searching for hours and Sabrina's toes were getting numb. Puck complained and suggested that they give up several times, insisting that Wendell's rabbit army had probably turned on him and were now feasting on his chubby body. Sabrina was also ready to give up, when they came to a small clearing and a sight so incredible even Gra

On the ground at their feet was a mound of fur nearly four feet high and six feet wide. At first, Sabrina thought it might be a small bear, but as they got closer they realized it wasn't a single animal, but a group of many. In fact, it was a pile of rabbits huddling together in the cold. Elvis growled at the pile, but if the little forest animals noticed, they chose to ignore him.

"I told you!" Puck cried. "His woodland army mutinied! I hope he was delicious, little rodents!"

The old woman stepped close to the pile and leaned down. "Wendell!"

The mound stirred for a moment but then became totally still.

"Wendell! Your father is worried sick about you," Gra

"No!" a voice shouted from the depths of the rabbits. "You're going to take me to jail. I won't go."

"No one is taking you to jail, Wendell," Gra

The mound stirred and shivered. A brief note from the boy's harmonica was heard and suddenly the rabbits rushed off in different directions.

"Run, you dirty little carrot-munchers," Puck shouted after them. "But know today that your kind has made an enemy of the Trickster King!"

When they were all gone, Wendell lay at the family's feet. Gra

"I didn't do it," he insisted.

"Then why did you run?" Sabrina asked.

"And send rabbits to eat us! I'm a seven-year-old girl," Daphne said. "Do you know how important bu

"I didn't think you'd believe me. I knew how it looked, but I was trying to stop them," the boy pleaded. "If I had gotten in trouble, it would have ruined all my work so far."

He shoved his hand into his coat pocket and pulled out a business card. He handed it to Gra

Sabrina took the card and read it closely. It said, WENDELL EMORY HAMELIN, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR. At the bottom of the card was a magnifying glass with a huge eye inside it.

"So, you're a detective," Gra

Daphne snatched the card and studied it. "I want a business card, too."

"Something terrible is happening inside the school," Wendell said. "I'm trying to find whoever's responsible and stop them."

"We know. Why don't you tell us everything on the way back to the school," the old woman said. "Your father is there waiting for you."

The group trudged back through the forest and Wendell told them all he had learned.

"I was leaving the school yesterday, when I looked back and saw something happening in Mr. Grumpner's room," he said, stopping to blow his nose into his handkerchief. "Sorry, I've got really bad allergies."

"It's OK, go on," Gra

"Like I was saying, Grumpner fell backward over some desks and at first I thought he might be sick, but then a monster attacked him. I was kind of far away, so I couldn't really see, but it looked like a giant spider. It grabbed Grumpner and started covering him in its sticky web. Well, I remembered from science class that birds are a spider's natural predator."

"What's a predator?" Daphne asked.

"It's like a hunter," Sabrina replied.

"So, I got out a harmonica I'd bought and blew into it as hard as I could," the boy continued. "I didn't even know if it would work. Dad told me to never do it. He said musical instruments were off limits on account of his past. Please don't tell him I bought the harmonica. He'll get real mad."

Gra

He relaxed and continued. "So, I just thought of birds and before I knew it the sky was full of them. They were looking at me like I was their leader or something, and it took me a while to realize they were looking for instructions, so I pointed at the window and said 'Save Mr. Grumpner'."

"How come you remember Mr. Grumpner?" Sabrina asked. "The rest of our class doesn't."

"My dad had a protection spell put on our house. Whenever they dust the town, we aren't affected.

"So, anyway, the birds went straight for the window and smashed it. They flew in and attacked the monster. Unfortunately, it was too late. Even from out in the yard, I could see the spider had already eaten him."

"That explains the feathers," Daphne said.

"And what about the janitor?" Sabrina asked, still not sure she believed the strange boy's story.

"Ms. Spangler gave me a detention for refusing to play dodgeball," Wendell said. "1 mean, we know how to play the game. Let's move on, already. So, when I walked in, there was this ugly, hairy thing fighting with Mrs. Heart and Ms. White. At first I thought it was a bear, but it moved way too fast and it had these weird yellow eyes. Mrs. Heart was pretty useless against it. She hid behind a desk and screamed while Ms. White fought the thing. I got my harmonica out, wondering if I could control it, too, and at first it seemed to work, but it ran to the window, opened it, and leaped outside. When you guys saw me, I wasn't ru

"You're quite brave, Wendell," Gra

"My line of work isn't for the faint of heart," he declared, wiping his nose on his handkerchief.

"We've also had a run-in with an unusual creature," the old woman said.

"I know this is going to sound crazy, but I don't think these creatures are monsters. I think they're the children of Everafters."

"That's an excellent deduction," said Gra

The boy smiled. "The only thing I wasn't sure about was why the attacks were taking place in the first place. That is, until I found the tu

"Tu