Carolina Isle (Edenton 2)

Ariel took David’s hand in hers and he calmed down.

“I think we should go,” Sara said. “This place gives me the creeps.”

“How about if we take some photos, then leave?” R.J. said.

“Yes,” Ariel whispered, still holding David’s hand. She looked as though she was standing in the middle of a haunted house.

Sara, seeming to forget her disguise, silently held out her hand to R.J. for the keys, then went to the car and got his camera out of the trunk. She was soon clicking away as fast as a digital camera could go, making a circle of the street. “Done,” she said. “So let’s go find out when the next ferry runs to take us out of here.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

But David held back. “We can’t leave the dog where it is. We have to at least move it out of the road.” He started to pick it up by himself, but R.J. took one end of it and they set it on the far sidewalk, out of the way.

“I think I should tell someone about the dog,” David said as he started toward the nearest house.

“I think we should get the girls out of here,” R.J. said loudly.

For a moment David seemed torn between his sense of chivalry and his love of animals. But then he looked at Ariel’s white face, and she won.

No one said anything as they got back into the car.

R.J. drove slowly back through the town, pausing now and then so Sara could snap photos out of the window. “I’ll have a lot to show Charley,” he said, forcing cheerfulness into his voice, but no one answered him.

He went down two more residential streets, but they still saw no people. The houses were big and showed that King’s Isle had once been rich, but was now faded and poor. “I’ll report to Charley that I think he can buy the entire place for about ten dollars,” R.J. said to Sara.

“Do you think he should buy this place?” she whispered back.

R.J. drove down the main street again and they looked at the shops. Most of them were empty.

“There’s fresh produce in that store,” Sara said, almost with excitement in her voice. “There are people here.”

There was what looked to be a café and a hardware store. But since there were no people, they couldn’t tell what was open and what wasn’t. R.J. started to turn back to the ferry, but at the end of the street was a big building. “I think I saw somebody,” he said and kept going straight.

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sp; When he didn’t make the turn, David said, “You missed the road!”

But Sara saw the big building at the end of the street and knew what was in R.J.’s mind. They’d come there for a purpose and R.J. meant to do his job. Maybe the big building could be turned into the clubhouse for a golf course, she thought. When he glanced at Sara and nodded toward the building, she knew they were in agreement.

It was a courthouse and, unlike the other buildings in town, it was in excellent repair. In fact, it was beautiful. It was two stories and looked much earlier than the Victorian houses in town. “Charley will like this,” R.J. said.

“I like it,” Sara said, then they both got out. Ariel and David stayed in the car.

Sara took photos of the courthouse and the street leading up to it, while R.J. walked around and looked at the building. “Yeah,” he said, “Charley could make something out of this town. He could repair the houses, bring in some businesses, and make it into the resort his wife wants.”

R.J. was smiling at the thought of telling Charley the good news when all hell broke loose. Out of nowhere came two police cars, one from the right and one from the left. The cars slammed on the brakes, just missing the sides of the rented Jag, and out jumped four armed policemen. Both Sara and R.J. stood where they were, too stunned to move. All four of the men surrounded R.J., as though they thought he was going to try to run for it.

“Are you the driver of this vehicle?” asked a tall, broad-shouldered man, his face serious.

“Yes, I am,” R.J. said, smiling, trying to ingratiate himself to them.

What do they want? Sara thought. A donation?

To her horror, the policeman said, “Read him his rights,” and in the next second R.J. was being handcuffed while someone Mirandized him.

Sara came out of her stupor. “What do you think you’re doing?” she said loudly as she tried to move into the middle of the men.

“Get back!” R.J. said, but Sara didn’t obey. When one of the cops pushed her aside, R.J. started to struggle and one of the policemen knocked him to the ground. He groaned when his knee hit the pavement. His lip was bleeding and he couldn’t wipe the blood away because his hands were cuffed behind him. When a second cop pulled him upright, R.J.’s shoulder was wrenched half out of its socket.