Read Online Once Upon a Crime (The Sisters Grimm, Book 4) by Michael Buckley - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Michael Buckley
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was dead set on building an Everafter-free life. If she had a journal she probably hid it. So it might still be in your old apartment."
"Is this place nearby?" Moth groaned. "The constant jostling of this vehicle is upsetting my delicate constitution."
"What did she say?" Daphne asked her sister.
"She's complaining," Sabrina explained. "Again."
After several stops, they finally reached the corner of Eighty-eighth Street and Madison Avenue and started walking east, toward York. This was a quiet little nook of the city filled with families, dogs, and older people. As Sabrina looked around, a wave of memories flooded over her. There was the little deli that sold the roast beef and gravy sandwiches her father snuck out to buy late at night. Down the street was Carl Schurz Park, where her family had spent many afternoons looking out on the East River or playing with the puppies in the little dog run. Across the street was the luxury apartment high-rise their mother often dreamed they'd live in one day. Sabrina spotted Ottomanelli's
Italian Eatery with its amazing meatball pizza, the dry cleaner where the Cuban lady always gave her lollipops, and the magazine store owned by the guy who let his three cats sleep on stacks of the
New York Times.
Sabrina could even smell the world's best brownies from Glaser's Bakery a block away. Little had changed, except that the old skateboard store was now a manicure shop.
They walked up Eighty-eighth Street, past a group of five-story brownstones, and quickly reached their old apartment building at number 448. It had recently been painted a gray-blue in place of the dirty yellow she remembered.
"We can't get in," Sabrina said, as they climbed the freshly salted steps. "The police took our keys when they sent us to the orphanage."
"Sabrina, those old keys wouldn't work anyway," her grandmother said. "There's a new family living here and I'm sure they've changed the locks."
Sabrina stifled a cry. She had never imagined that strangers might actually be living in their home.
"So someone else lives here?" Daphne whispered. Sabrina could hear her own dismay echoed in her sister's voice.
Granny nodded as she pushed on the buzzer that rang their old apartment.
"Hello, who is it?" a voice crackled from a speaker.
"Um, yes, so sorry to bother you, ma'am, but my name is Relda Grimm. I'm here with my granddaughters, who used to live in your apartment."
Suddenly, a buzzer sounded and the door unlocked. The group stepped inside the building and walked down the hall to the girls' old apartment. Halfway there, they were greeted by an excited woman with huge red glasses.
"I'm so thrilled to meet you," she said.
"I hope we aren't imposing," Granny Relda said. "We were in the neighborhood."
"Nonsense, I've always wanted to meet the previous owners," the woman said, holding out her hand. "My name is Gloria Frank."
"I'm Relda Grimm. These are my granddaughters, Sabrina and Daphne… and Moth."
"Hello, peasant," Moth said, awkwardly hoisting Puck's cocoon onto her shoulder.
Gloria Frank looked confused but smiled. "Please, come in," she said, ushering them down the hall and into the apartment.
For Sabrina, stepping into the living room was a shock. Their once colorful home was now painted in drab shades of wheat. The hardwood floors had been redone, stealing all their old charm and personality, and many of the antique light fixtures had been replaced with austere, modern lamps. All of the furniture Sabrina remembered was gone. Their big puffy couch had been replaced with a sleek chocolate-brown sofa that looked more like a work of art than something to sit on. Every photograph of her family was gone. Even Daphne's finger paintings were no longer hanging on the refrigerator.
Just then, a teenage boy walked out of one of the bedrooms. He was a lanky kid wearing a rugby shirt and carrying a handheld video game. He had curly blond hair and a pair of headphones in his ears. When he saw the visitors,
"Is this place nearby?" Moth groaned. "The constant jostling of this vehicle is upsetting my delicate constitution."
"What did she say?" Daphne asked her sister.
"She's complaining," Sabrina explained. "Again."
After several stops, they finally reached the corner of Eighty-eighth Street and Madison Avenue and started walking east, toward York. This was a quiet little nook of the city filled with families, dogs, and older people. As Sabrina looked around, a wave of memories flooded over her. There was the little deli that sold the roast beef and gravy sandwiches her father snuck out to buy late at night. Down the street was Carl Schurz Park, where her family had spent many afternoons looking out on the East River or playing with the puppies in the little dog run. Across the street was the luxury apartment high-rise their mother often dreamed they'd live in one day. Sabrina spotted Ottomanelli's
Italian Eatery with its amazing meatball pizza, the dry cleaner where the Cuban lady always gave her lollipops, and the magazine store owned by the guy who let his three cats sleep on stacks of the
New York Times.
Sabrina could even smell the world's best brownies from Glaser's Bakery a block away. Little had changed, except that the old skateboard store was now a manicure shop.
They walked up Eighty-eighth Street, past a group of five-story brownstones, and quickly reached their old apartment building at number 448. It had recently been painted a gray-blue in place of the dirty yellow she remembered.
"We can't get in," Sabrina said, as they climbed the freshly salted steps. "The police took our keys when they sent us to the orphanage."
"Sabrina, those old keys wouldn't work anyway," her grandmother said. "There's a new family living here and I'm sure they've changed the locks."
Sabrina stifled a cry. She had never imagined that strangers might actually be living in their home.
"So someone else lives here?" Daphne whispered. Sabrina could hear her own dismay echoed in her sister's voice.
Granny nodded as she pushed on the buzzer that rang their old apartment.
"Hello, who is it?" a voice crackled from a speaker.
"Um, yes, so sorry to bother you, ma'am, but my name is Relda Grimm. I'm here with my granddaughters, who used to live in your apartment."
Suddenly, a buzzer sounded and the door unlocked. The group stepped inside the building and walked down the hall to the girls' old apartment. Halfway there, they were greeted by an excited woman with huge red glasses.
"I'm so thrilled to meet you," she said.
"I hope we aren't imposing," Granny Relda said. "We were in the neighborhood."
"Nonsense, I've always wanted to meet the previous owners," the woman said, holding out her hand. "My name is Gloria Frank."
"I'm Relda Grimm. These are my granddaughters, Sabrina and Daphne… and Moth."
"Hello, peasant," Moth said, awkwardly hoisting Puck's cocoon onto her shoulder.
Gloria Frank looked confused but smiled. "Please, come in," she said, ushering them down the hall and into the apartment.
For Sabrina, stepping into the living room was a shock. Their once colorful home was now painted in drab shades of wheat. The hardwood floors had been redone, stealing all their old charm and personality, and many of the antique light fixtures had been replaced with austere, modern lamps. All of the furniture Sabrina remembered was gone. Their big puffy couch had been replaced with a sleek chocolate-brown sofa that looked more like a work of art than something to sit on. Every photograph of her family was gone. Even Daphne's finger paintings were no longer hanging on the refrigerator.
Just then, a teenage boy walked out of one of the bedrooms. He was a lanky kid wearing a rugby shirt and carrying a handheld video game. He had curly blond hair and a pair of headphones in his ears. When he saw the visitors,
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