Pit of Vipers by Carolyn Keene

Author:Carolyn Keene
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aladdin

7

Guilty Until Proven Innocent

No!” I blurted out in alarm. “Ruby, you’ve got to talk to him! He can’t fire Charlie—we don’t even know that he’s guilty yet!”

“I keep trying to tell him that,” Ruby said sorrowfully. “Hey, here he comes now—maybe he’ll listen to you.”

I heard a rustle of movement, and a moment later Mr. Carr’s voice came on the line. “Yes?” he barked. “Who’s this, please?”

“H-hello, Mr. Carr,” I stammered, caught off guard. “This is Nancy Drew.”

“Ah, my favorite customer.” His voice softened slightly, though he still sounded tense. “What can I do for you, Miss Drew? Those new tires working out so far?”

“Yes, fine, thanks.” I swallowed hard, trying to figure out how to phrase what I wanted to say next. “Um, Mr. Carr, you’ve heard about my amateur detective work, right?”

“Of course! I’ve often told your father he must have raised you up right,” Mr. Carr said. “He should be proud of you, helping to uphold law and order in this town.”

“Thanks. Well, I heard—I heard you’re … worried about Charlie. You know, with the arrest and everything …”

“Worried doesn’t quite cover it.”

“Right. I understand that.” I took a deep breath. “But see, I think Charlie is innocent. And I’m working as hard as I can to prove that. So I’m hoping that you … that you …” I hesitated, not wanting to insult him by implying that I thought he was jumping to conclusions—even though that was exactly what I did think. “That you give me a chance to get some answers before you do anything about this,” I said finally in a rush. “Before you do anything about, you know, Charlie’s job or whatever.”

There was a long pause. Just when I started to wonder if we’d been cut off, he finally spoke again. “I hope you realize what you’re asking me to do, Miss Drew.”

“I think I do. Really.”

“I’m sure you know that I take right and wrong and following the law very seriously. That’s why I put my life on the line in the service, and it’s why I’m so proud of my nephew for doing his duty on the River Heights force now.” He sounded stern. “If Charlie was involved in this crime, he’s not the same young man I always thought he was. I won’t have my good name and my business associated with someone shady. Just wouldn’t be appropriate.”

“I understand. But like I said, I’m pretty convinced that he’s innocent.”

“Fine. I’ll wait—if you say so, Miss Drew.” He sighed. “What a day,” he muttered, less to me than to himself. “Here I just gave the boy a raise, and then he has to go and get himself involved something like this….”

I wondered uneasily if he’d heard a word I’d just said about not judging Charlie before all the facts were in. Still, he’d promised to wait before making any drastic moves. And if there was one thing I knew about Mr. Carr, it was that he would stand by his word.

“Okay, then,” I said.

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