served either food or nostalgia. The driver slowed as they passed a mule-drawn carriage with a few brave tourists huddled in the back, heads down against the driving snow, looking back to where the harbour was framed at the end of the long street. You could just see the ships through the snow, clustered together in the same waters where sails once billowed and cannons boomed as the British were driven out.
‘Here you go, gentlemen.’
The Crown Vic turned a corner and pulled up to the kerb by a classic red-brick Charleston Single House with chocolate-brown shutters framing tall sash windows. Bright lights burned inside making the windows glow, and steam rose from a vent in the basement. On street level two broad steps led up through an arch to an iron gate that served as the front entrance. A Christmas wreath was hanging above a rectangle of polished brass with the church of christ’s salvation engraved on it.
‘Sorry I got to dump you,’ the PO said, like a cab driver desperate to get rid of his last fare before home. ‘Just bad timing with all the craziness.’
‘Don’t worry about it and thanks for the ride.’ They got out of the car and Shepherd felt the cold wrap itself round him as it drove off, the snow swallowing the sound of its engine and leaving them in crystal silence. Franklin pressed a button by the side of the locked gate but if it made a sound inside the house the snow swallowed that too. ‘You think we should sing Christmas carols?’ he said.
The sound of a bolt cracked through the silence, making Shepherd jump.
Halfway along the side of the house a door opened and a woman stepped out and started making her way towards them. She looked to be about thirty or so, her black hair cut short and matched by a black two-piece trouser suit worn over a grey turtle-neck sweater. She didn’t smile as she covered the ten or so feet between them, merely looked at them both, sizing them up, her breath clouding in the cold air. Shepherd noticed she had a slight limp and, as she drew closer, he saw a thin pale scar cutting across her left cheek. She stopped a foot short of the closed gate and regarded them through the bars. ‘Can I help you, gentlemen?’ The scar puckered a little when she spoke.
‘Yes, I think you probably can,’ Franklin held up his ID. ‘Is the good Reverend at home?’
Her grey eyes flicked to the badge then back again.
‘The Reverend Cooper is on air at the moment.’
‘That’s OK, we can wait.’ Franklin smiled. The woman did not. Neither did she make any move to open the gate.
‘What’s your name, miss?’
‘Boerman. Caroline Boerman.’
‘Well, Miss Caroline from the Carolinas we can wait out here if you’d like.’ He kicked his shoe against the wall to clear the snow from it. ‘But I should tell you I’m a Southern boy and the cold makes me awful grouchy.’
A small smile finally cracked the mask of her face, puckering the scar even more but going nowhere near her eyes. ‘Of course,’ she said, unlocking the gate and stepping back to allow them past. ‘Where are my manners?’
42
The front door of the Church of Christ’s Salvation opened into a warm, high-ceilinged entrance hall running the entire width of the building. It was plainly decorated in white that caught the glare from the tall windows looking out onto the snow-covered street. Three sofas, also white, were arranged in a horseshoe around a low coffee table with leaflets and small booklets on the surface next to a jar filled with multicoloured plastic key rings. The only real clue as to what went on in the building was coming from the television fixed above the bare brick fireplace.
Now you have watched me on TV today.
The Reverend Fulton Cooper said, his eyes burning from the screen.
I’ve taken my own step of faith to come in front of the camera and talk to you across America. But now you need to take a step of your own. YOU need to do something for Him.
‘Please take a seat,’ Miss Carolina said, ‘the Reverend will be with you soon. Can I get you some coffee?’
‘That would be fine,’ Franklin settled into the sofa opposite the TV.
I want you to look out of your window. Do it right now and see what is happening in the world. I know you have terrible floods out there in Texas and