Tales from the Hood (12 page)

“What is it?” Sabrina asked.

“It’s a traveler’s chest,” Uncle Jake said.

“A traveler’s what?” Sabrina asked.

“Where did you get this?” Granny Relda asked as she looked at the chest. “Your father used to talk about these, but I always thought he was pulling my leg.”

“The Andersen triplets loaned it to us. It’s going to help us find Goldilocks,” Uncle Jake said. “At least that’s what they told me it will do.”

Sabrina examined the chest. “How does it work?”

Uncle Jake took the brass key and opened the lock on the front of the chest. He lifted the lid, but the box was completely empty.

“An old empty chest is going to help us find Goldilocks?” Daphne asked.

“Oops,” Uncle Jake said as he closed the lid. “I forgot to tell it where I wanted to go.”

“I’m confused,” Daphne said.

“All you have to do is tell the chest where you want to travel. Watch!” Uncle Jake said. “Chest, I’m traveling to the Hotel Cipriani at Guidecca 10 in Venice, Italy.”

Sabrina and Daphne stared at their uncle, then looked at each other.

“I think he’s finally lost it,” Daphne said.

“It was bound to happen,” Sabrina added.

“Ha! You want to see?” Jake cried. He turned the key in the lock and lifted the lid. Instead of an empty box, Sabrina saw a spiral staircase and immediately felt the familiar tingle of an enchanted item.

“Daphne first,” Uncle Jake said as he helped the girl onto the staircase. Daphne looked up at Granny Relda as if she were unsure of what to do, but Granny’s nod gave her permission to go. Sabrina went next, followed by Uncle Jake.

“Mom, want to come along?”

Sabrina could see her grandmother’s nervous face over the edge of the chest. “No, one of us has to stay here,” the old lady said. “Besides, I’m going to bake some muffins and take them to Robin and Little John.”

“Be careful,” Uncle Jake said.

Granny promised she would, then backed out of view.

Sabrina examined the inside of the chest. The light was dim and grew dimmer as they descended. When they found themselves in pure darkness, Uncle Jake took a small red amulet from one of his jacket pockets. He whispered something into it, and it lit up their path. They continued down, step after step, until Sabrina was convinced there was no bottom. She was about to suggest they turn back when she heard her sister bang into something. From her groan, it sounded as if it was something quite hard.

“Could someone have warned me there would be a door down here?” Daphne complained.

“Sorry,” Uncle Jake said. “You can open it, but don’t step out until you’ve looked both ways. These traveler’s chests have a tendency to be imprecise, and that door is leading into the real world. Anything could be on the other side.”

Daphne opened the door and looked to her left, then her right. “Looks all clear!” she said, stepping through the opening. A moment later, Sabrina heard a huge splash and Daphne’s cries for help.

abrina rushed through the door. There she found her sister bobbing up and down in a canal. She nearly fell into it herself, but Uncle Jake pulled her back just in time.

Several men in white pants and shirts were standing in long, thin boats they maneuvered down the waterway using tall poles. One used his pole to nudge Daphne to the side of the canal, where Uncle Jake fished her out.

When she was safely back on land, she reached into her pocket for her dictionary, but the book was waterlogged and ruined. Her face crinkled up in frustration, and she tossed it into a nearby trash can. “What does
imprecise
mean?” Daphne snapped.

“It means
not exact
,” Sabrina said.

Daphne scowled.

“You should have asked before,” Sabrina said.

Daphne scowled harder, then emptied the water from her shoes.

“Welcome to Venice, girls,” Uncle Jake said.

Sabrina studied her surroundings. Scarecrow had been correct. There weren’t streets in Venice, at least not in the part of the city where they were. Instead, the neighborhoods seemed to be connected by an elaborate canal system lined by narrow sidewalks. The elegant hotels, office buildings, and apartments on either side of the canals were built high so that doorways never touched the water. Boats of various shapes and sizes sailed by: some were taxis, and others were for tourists to take on romantic rides through the majestic arches and bridges of Venice. As a native New Yorker, Sabrina was rarely impressed with anything outside of the Big Apple. After all, once a person had seen the Statue of Liberty or had one of Nathan’s hot dogs at Coney Island, there was little reason to see the rest of the world. But she had to admit Venice was awe-inspiring.

“So, where’s Goldilocks?” Sabrina said, pulling her attention away from the amazing scenery and back to the group. She noticed her uncle seemed to be hypnotized by something. He was looking up at the third floor of a hotel across the canal.

“There,” he said, pointing at a beautiful woman standing on the balcony. She had tight blond curls, a sun-kissed tan, and a warm smile. She, too, was gazing out at the amazing city.

Sabrina was overwhelmed, unsure of whether to laugh or cry. For months she and Daphne had thought their parents abandoned them, only to find out they had been kidnapped. Rescuing them had provided little comfort since they were both victims of a magical spell. Now that obstacle was almost hurdled, too. Hope, wonder, and joy were building in her heart, threatening to explode like a shaken bottle of soda pop. The feelings were mirrored in the faces of her family as well. Daphne, despite being soaked, was grinning ear to ear. Uncle Jake’s fatigue seemed to melt away as he waved for the girls to follow him.

They crossed a bridge to get to the hotel and rushed into the busy lobby. The Hotel Cipriani was even more impressive than the Scarecrow had led them to believe. The floors were made from priceless marble. Opulent arches framed the doors and beautiful sculptures decorated the lobby. The ceiling hung so high above them, Sabrina wondered if clouds ever drifted into the hotel. Dozens of bellhops rushed to and fro, carrying expensive luggage and helping guests to their rooms. Unfortunately, the group’s arrival did not go unnoticed and a chubby, gray-haired man in a black suit approached them. His face was full of disapproval. Sabrina realized how odd they looked for such an elegant place, her sister dripping wet and her uncle in his wrinkled blue jeans and bizarre overcoat.

“
Posso aiutarvi
?” he said.

“I’m sorry, we don’t speak Italian,” Uncle Jake said.

His comment caused the man’s frown lines to deepen. “Americans,” he huffed. “Are you lost?”

“No, we’re looking for a guest of the hotel,” Uncle Jake said.

“What is this guest’s name?”

“Well, this is going to sound silly, but her name is Goldilocks,” Sabrina said, bracing herself for a laugh. However, the man didn’t even blink.

“You are friends with Ms. Locks?” he said.

Uncle Jake nodded. “Yes, we’re very close.”

The hotel manager seemed reluctant.

“Listen pal,” Uncle Jake said, “are you going to help us find her or should we just start knocking on doors?”

The man’s eyes widened in horror. “Take the elevators along the east wall. She’s on the third floor—suite 311.”

“Thank you,” Daphne said.

The group took an elevator to the third floor and followed the hallways until they found the room.

“This is it,” Daphne said, taking Sabrina’s hand. “I can’t wait to talk to Mom and Dad. They’re going to be surprised by how much we’ve grown.”

“You want to do the honors?” Uncle Jake asked her, gesturing to the door.

Sabrina nodded. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. It drifted open at her touch. The lock and doorjamb were splintered and broken.

The Grimms looked at one another, suspicious. Uncle Jake frowned, pulled a magic wand from his overcoat, and stepped through the doorway. Nothing else seemed to be disturbed in the front room, but there were doors leading to others.

“Hello?” Jake called out.

There was no answer, but a moment later Sabrina heard the sound of breaking glass. Uncle Jake held up his hand to motion for everyone to be quiet. They heard a door slam and followed the sound, walking through the beautiful suite filled with elegant furniture, paintings, and linens. When they got to a closed door, their uncle turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. “Goldie? Are you OK?”

Just then, a tall man in a black jacket and pants appeared from behind the door. He was wearing a black motorcycle helmet that disguised his identity. On his chest was a horrible mark: a handprint in red paint. The paint ran down in drips like blood. The girls had seen the mark many times, but never so far from home. It was the mark of the Scarlet Hand.

The mysterious man punched Uncle Jake hard in the face and pushed past the girls and out of the room. As soon as he was gone, Sabrina and Daphne helped their uncle to his feet.

“That wasn’t very cool,” her uncle complained as he rubbed his jaw.

“Who was that?” Sabrina asked.

“Beats me,” Uncle Jake said.

“Where’s Goldilocks?”

They searched the other rooms but there was no sign of the blond beauty, or anyone else for that matter.

“I think she left in a hurry,” Uncle Jake said. “Her clothes and suitcase are still in the closet.”

Suddenly, Sabrina heard a loud engine start. Everyone rushed out to the balcony to find its source. The masked villain was on the narrow sidewalk below the hotel, sitting atop a black motorcycle. He revved his engine, sending a loud rumbling throughout the neighborhood, then sped along the edge of the canal. Sabrina wondered where he was racing until she spotted Goldilocks drifting down the waterway in a gondola. The motorcyclist was following her.

“She’s in trouble,” Daphne said.

“C’mon!” Uncle Jake cried and led the children out into the hall. They bypassed the elevator for the faster stairs. They ran through the lobby, causing the manager to cross his arms with a harrumph, and then they charged through the front doors out into the city. Outside, Sabrina spotted Goldilocks. She was surprised at the distance the boat had traveled in such a short time.

“What now?” she asked, but Daphne had already sprung into action. She descended a flight of wooden steps and jumped into an empty gondola. A moment later, she had the barge pole and was pushing away from the dock, giving the rest of the group only seconds to climb aboard. Uncle Jake took the pole and after a few awkward attempts, the group was floating down the canal in pursuit of the beautiful woman. Sabrina heard angry shouts from behind them and turned to see a red-faced gondolier race to the steps and shake his fist at the boat and its occupants.

Daphne waved at the man apologetically. “Sorry! This is an emergency.”

Uncle Jake pushed harder and harder with the pole, trying to catch up with Goldilocks. All the while, the man on the motorcycle puttered along like a mechanical tiger stalking its lunch. When he ran out of sidewalk he simply steered onto one of the city’s beautiful bridges and crossed to the other side of the street. His erratic behavior turned the heads of tourists and locals alike, as the sidewalks were built for pedestrians only. On more than one occasion he forced an unlucky person to leap into the water to avoid being run over. The commotion was causing problems in the canal, too. Boats steered out of the way to avoid colliding with the unexpected swimmers. Other boats stopped abruptly, causing a traffic jam. In a matter of seconds, the family’s chase had come to a complete halt.

“What do we do now?” Sabrina said, watching Goldilocks’s boat at the head of the line. She was still drifting along undeterred.

Uncle Jake set the pole in the boat. “We improvise,” he said, stepping onto the boat next to theirs. Daphne was right behind him, followed by Sabrina. They moved from one boat to the next, careful not to capsize each new vessel. Soon they were making good progress and closing the gap between themselves and Goldilocks.

Daphne called out to the woman when they were just three boats away. Goldilocks turned to them, but her attention was quickly distracted. The motorcyclist in black raced up a bridge directly over the canal and parked his bike. The bridge was under construction, and several large stones intended for the repairs were stacked nearby. The motorcyclist heaved one off the bridge and onto Goldilocks’ boat. His aim was either incredible or incredibly lucky. The heavy stone blasted through the bottom of the boat and water started pouring through the hole like a geyser. Startled, the gondolier leaped into the water, leaving Goldilocks to fend for herself.