Sinister Paradise

  Chapter

  One

  OH, NANCY, CAN you believe this place?” Bess Marvin climbed up the pool ladder, water streaming off her. “I feel as though I’ve died and gone to heaven!”

  Nancy Drew leaned against the diving board. Trade winds stirred her reddish blond hair, “It’s a big change from River Heights, Bess, I’ll admit that.”

  “They’re probably knee-deep in snow back home.” Bess plucked a fluffy towel from the deck chair. “Coming to Hawaii was a great idea.”

  “Too bad it’s not a pleasure trip,” George Fayne remarked. She stood beside the pool, vigorously toweling her dark hair. “And by the way, Bess, you pronounce it Huh-wah-ee, not Huh-why-ee.”

  Nancy heard the tapping of high heels on the patio tiles. Turning, she saw their hostess, Alice Faulkner, heading their way. Mrs. Faulkner was a slim, aristocratic woman in her early seventies, with soft white hair and penetrating eyes. Nancy’s mother’s family had been very friendly with the Faulkners, and Mrs. Faulkner kept in touch periodically after Nancy’s mother died.

  The day her granddaughter disappeared, Mrs. Faulkner had phoned Nancy in River Heights and asked her to help locate her. Sixteen-year-old Lisa Trumbull had mysteriously disappeared from school on Friday. Mrs. Faulkner feared that the girl had run away.

  Mrs. Faulkner’s polite smile flashed at Nancy, then at Ned Nickerson, Nancy’s boyfriend, who stood beside the pool ladder. “Aren’t you two going swimming?”

  “I would, only I left my suit back on the Kahala,” Ned replied ruefully.

  The Kahala was their temporary home in Honolulu. It was a fifty-five-foot motor cruiser, the property of Mrs. Faulkner, moored at the Ala Wai yacht basin. Mrs. Faulkner had insisted that they use it.

  “Did you manage to get in touch with your daughter?” Nancy asked.

  “Yes. She’s waiting for you downtown.” Mrs. Faulkner gestured at the broad Victorian-style plantation house. “Nancy—Ned—why don’t we let Bess and George enjoy their swim? We can talk up there.”

  She led them through the miniature rain forest that served as her garden. Tall feather palms cast cool shadows over brilliant displays of pink hibiscus and white gardenia.

  Soon the three of them were seated in comfortable wicker chairs on the first-floor verandah. Resting her clasped hands on her knees, Nancy remarked, “Mrs. Faulkner, you said Lisa vanished on Friday.”

  “That’s right. Friday afternoon. Diana phoned me as soon as she heard.”

  “It’s Monday now. Why haven’t you gone to the police yet?”

  Alice looked around uncomfortably. “If it were up to me, I’d have the National Guard scouring the island. But my ex-son-in-law, Ross Rafferty, has forbidden it. He and Diana are Lisa’s guardians.” Her lip curled in disdain. “Ross wants the police kept out of it. You see, he’s concerned about his reputation. I don’t know why. He doesn’t have much of one to protect.”

  “Mrs. Faulkner, you still could have gone to them. What’s your reason for not contacting the police?”

  A troubled look shadowed the old woman’s face. “The publicity would hurt my bank, Windward Fidelity. Windward Bancorp owns the bank. I have controlling interest in Windward Bancorp.” Frowning, she leaned back in her chair and seemed to become lost in thought.

  Nancy reached out and touched the woman’s wrist gently. “Is that the real reason?”

  Alice Faulkner shook her head slowly. Beneath Mrs. Faulkner’s tough exterior, Nancy could see a tired old woman, worn down by her present problems. “Actually, I’m worried about Lisa, Nancy. I’m afraid I’ve made enemies in the business and banking community. Powerful enemies! They wouldn’t hesitate to strike at me by harming my only grandchild.”

  How could they harm her if she ran away? Nancy thought. “Why are you so sure Lisa ran away then?”

  “Diana never let me see much of my granddaughter.” Alice’s face filled with regret. “Like a fool, I stayed away. Still, I could see that Lisa wasn’t happy. How could she be with all that turmoil in her life?” She shook her head sadly. “Apparently, Lisa had been planning this for quite a while.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because of the way she did it,” Alice explained. “Diana was planning an art exhibit on Maui. She asked Lisa to stop at the bank to pick up her travelers’ checks. You see, Diana kept extra checks along with her valuables in a safety deposit box at the bank.”

  Ned whistled in disbelief. “And the bank let her in? Just like that?”

  Alice gave him a frosty look. “Young man, Lisa is a Faulkner! Windward is the family bank. Anyone in our family can enter the bank at any time and for any reason.”

  “What happened then?” Nancy asked.

  “Once inside the safety deposit vault, Lisa grabbed her mother’s diamonds and quite a few bearer bonds. Then she strolled out the door—and she hasn’t been seen since!”

  “And since anyone can cash in a bearer bond,” Ned said, nodding, “Lisa will have enough money to do whatever she wants for a long time. How many bonds did she take?”

  Alice sighed, her misery lining her troubled face. “Four hundred thousand dollars’ worth! Her little surprise withdrawal wasn’t discovered until closing time. When Lisa failed to return home, Diana called Ross at the bank. He checked the vault and very nearly had a heart attack! Diana phoned me immediately after that. Ross sent our security people to the airport, hoping to stop Lisa from leaving Hawaii. But Lisa never showed up.”

  Hawaii was a very difficult place to enter or leave, Nancy knew. Honolulu was the only international airport, and everyone had to pass through customs. Moreover, the North American mainland was more than two thousand miles to the east, beyond the range of most aircraft. Only a major airline could get Lisa to California.

  So Lisa still had to be in Hawaii. There was no way the girl could convert those diamonds and bearer bonds to cash over the weekend. The process could take many days.

  Nancy shivered suddenly. A teenage girl with four hundred grand in her purse was a walking target for every crook in the city!

  Alice glanced at Nancy. “When you get to be my age, dear, the money doesn’t seem that important anymore. Family is what really counts. I—I’m afraid I haven’t been very lucky with mine.” Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to go on. “My boys both died young. As for Diana—well, we haven’t been close for many years. Since my husband’s death, Diana has had very little to do with me. She’s carved out a life for herself as an artist. After her divorce from Ross, she lived with Lisa in a condo on Kalakaua Avenue.” The woman’s haunted gaze traveled from Nancy to Ned. “I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to get custody of Lisa and start all over again.” Tears glistened in her eyes. “I think I’ll take Lisa back to Texas. Give her a good stable home for a change.” Lower lip quivering, she blinked at Nancy. “Find my granddaughter, Nancy. Please. She’s all I have left.”

  • • •

  A short while later Nancy and her friends climbed into their rental car. Nancy settled comfortably behind the steering wheel and turned the key in the ignition. Then, swiveling the stick shift, she executed a perfect three-point turn and steered the tan sedan through the massive wrought-iron gates of the Faulkner estate.

  “You know, I could really get used to this climate.” Bess rolled down her rear window, letting the air wash over her. “I am going to be as brown as peanut butter when we get back to River Heights.”

  “I still can’t get used to that estate,” George said. “Has it been in the family long?”

  “Since I hadn’t spoken with the Faulkners recently, I did a little background reading on the family,” Nancy replied, carefully guiding the car around a sharp turn. “Mrs. Faulkner’s husband, C. K. Faulkner, was a self-made
man and one of the richest people in the Islands. He left Mrs. Faulkner very well provided for. He bought the house and large pieces of oceanfront real estate all over the Islands.”

  “How big is this bank she mentioned?” asked Ned.

  “Big!” Nancy whistled softly. “According to the magazine article I read, the bank’s assets total nine hundred million dollars! Windward Fidelity is the biggest lender to all the countries of the Pacific Rim.”

  While she talked, Nancy kept her eyes straight ahead. Tantalus Drive was a rattlesnake of a road, all winding curves and sudden downhill plunges. Luxurious estates, hidden by jungle growth, bordered the narrow road as it wound down into the city.

  The car picked up speed as they descended an old lava ridge. The road swerved suddenly, heading straight for a jungle-covered hillside. Then it zigzagged again, carrying their car across a ridge-line that offered panoramic views of the Koolau Mountains and the sapphire-colored Pacific Ocean.

  Nancy tightened her grip on the wheel. Tires squealed softly as they rounded a long bend, and Nancy’s reddish gold hair whipped into her face. She pressed the brake again. The car slowed once more.

  Ned touched her shoulder. “Better slow down, Nancy. We don’t want to fly into Honolulu.”

  Nancy frowned as she studied the sheer basalt cliffs. “This road is one surprise after another. What did they do? Pave an old mule trail?”

  Ned smiled. “I have confidence in your driving, Nancy.”

  Nancy had opened her mouth to reply when suddenly she no longer felt any pressure under her right foot. The brake pedal sank to the floor.

  The sedan started down a long slope. Nancy felt the car shudder as it picked up speed. Frowning, she stomped on the brake pedal. Once, twice!

  The pedal rested uselessly on the floor. Nancy’s face turned white.

  Ned clutched her shoulder. “Nancy, what’s wrong?”

  “Brace yourselves, guys!” Nancy watched in horror as the speedometer needle soared past fifty. “This car has just lost its brakes!”

  Chapter

  Two

  TIRES SQUEALED IN protest as the car fishtailed around a long bend. Nancy could feel it lightly touching the road, a sure sign that it was about to spin out and roll over. The rear wheel skidded ominously toward the edge of the road.

  Nancy cut the wheels to the left, then to the right. The car seesawed back and forth across the center line, but its tires held the asphalt. Wide-eyed with terror, Nancy watched the speedometer needle creep higher and higher.

  Fifty-five—sixty—sixty-five!

  Ahead, Tantalus Drive dissolved into a series of sweeping hairpin turns. Nancy’s stomach felt as if it were falling down a well. The car was traveling much too fast. Unless she could find a way to slow it down, they would go hurtling right off the side of the mountain!

  She tried to pump the brakes again. Nothing! And the first hairpin turn was coming up fast.

  Nancy’s eyes flew desperately around the front seat. Then they zeroed in on the stick shift. I’ll put the engine in another gear, she thought. That ought to cut our speed.

  Nancy jammed the stick shift into low gear. Then, gripping the steering wheel even harder, she hollered, “Hang on!”

  The sedan took the bend on two wheels, hugging the forested slope. But with the engine in a lower gear, the car began to slow down. The needle fell past sixty. The car felt heavier—more a part of the road.

  On the next straightaway, Nancy swung the steering wheel from side to side. The sedan performed a lazy ballet, losing speed with each swerve. Nancy knocked the speed down to forty. But the next hairpin turn boosted it right back up to sixty again!

  Nancy wanted to weep. They were still rolling too fast. At this speed, they were certain to jump the road on the next turn.

  Suddenly Ned shouted, “Nancy, look!”

  There was a grassy area on the right-hand side of the road, just before the bend.

  “Nancy! The turnaround! Bank into it!” Ned cried.

  Nancy spun the wheel all the way over. The car shuddered as it jumped the embankment. Gritting her teeth, Nancy held the wheel steady.

  Screeeeeeech! The car performed a perfect loop, its tires chopping up the grass. Then Nancy yanked on the emergency brake, and the car shrieked to a halt, rocking on its springs. Its blunt nose was pointing back uphill.

  Nancy exhaled heavily, resting her forehead on the steering wheel. She peered out the side window—and shuddered violently.

  Just inches from the car’s tires, the grassy area plunged abruptly into a misty valley. A long sea gull whizzed past, oblivious to the car perched above him.

  Trembling in relief, Nancy whispered, “Everybody all right?”

  Ned nodded. He stumbled out of the car, and Bess and George followed a moment later. Nancy waited until she was sure her legs would support her. Her knees felt as limp as cooked spaghetti.

  Ned was studying the tire gouges in the turf. Looking back uphill, he remarked, “This is not a road to lose your brakes on. We’re going to need a tow truck. We broke the axle when we spun around.”

  “Ned, would you stay with the car until the tow truck gets here?” Nancy asked. “I’ll call a garage from the marina.”

  “You mean we’ve got to walk back to Ala Wai?” Bess protested. “Nancy, I don’t know if I’m up to it. Not after that!”

  “Well, we don’t have to walk all the way.” Nancy smiled reassuringly. “I noticed a bus stop at the bottom of Tantalus Drive.”

  “Let’s go,” George urged, turning her back on the wreck. “The less I see of that car, the better I’ll feel.”

  George led the way downhill. Bess trudged along right behind. “And on top of everything else, it’s so hot,” she complained. “You’re the one who likes hiking cross-country, George.”

  Nancy brought up the rear. She couldn’t stop thinking about the accident. If a car’s brakes were going to fail, Tantalus Drive wasn’t the place for it to happen. Yet the car was last year’s model. Had it been tampered with?

  Nancy made up her mind to find out.

  • • •

  Nancy replaced the cordless phone in its bulkhead cradle. “We’re all set,” she told George. “The tow truck’s on its way out. But the guy at the gas station said we have to go to the airport to fill out an accident report for the car rental company. Feel like taking a ride?”

  “Love to.”

  Nancy crossed the Kahala’s teakwood cabin and peered into the aft stateroom. “How about you, Bess?”

  “Not me!” Bess lay on the double bunk, her arm draped across her forehead. “Not after that hike. I thought Oahu was a little island!”

  “Suit yourself.” Nancy began to close the louvered hatch, then thought better of it. “Bess, after we’re gone, make sure you lock the hatch, okay?,”

  Bess blinked in surprise. “Okay. But why?”

  Nancy had made up her mind to ask the rental people a few pointed questions about that car. But there was no sense in getting Bess all worked up over what might turn out to be nothing.

  “It’s a good habit to get into. Don’t mind me, I’m just a little jumpy today.” Nancy closed the hatch. “We’ll be back in a little while.”

  After taking a quick shower, Nancy retired to her cabin and put on a cream-colored sailing shirt and shorts. Then she and George hailed a cab to take them to the airport.

  They found Sunrise Rentals in the main terminal, sandwiched in between the lockers and a fast-food restaurant. The Sunrise clerk was a slender young woman with large glasses who looked very shy. A name tag reading “Meredith” was pinned to her shirt.

  She smiled as George and Nancy approached. “Hi! May I help you?”

  “We’re here to report an accident,” Nancy said, slipping off her shoulder bag. “One of your cars. We rented it from another clerk—Janine—first thing this morning.”

  Meredith immediately reached for an official-looking document. Picking up a pen, she asked for Nancy’s name and a descr
iption of the accident. Then she turned and studied the pigeonholes behind her. “One moment, please.” She reached into a slot, withdrew a piece of paper, and stared at it for a long moment.

  Facing the girls again, Meredith lowered her glasses. “That can’t be right. We have no car rented to a Nancy Drew!”

  Chapter

  Three

  WHAT!” NANCY EXCLAIMED, surprised. “I was here this morning. Janine made me sign for it. You people rented me that car.”

  Meredith showed her the front of the paper. “I’m sorry, but your name’s not on the master list. You’re not in our records.”

  “Wait a minute!” Nancy rummaged in her shoulder bag. “I’ve got the rental agreement right here.” She put it on the counter. “Janine gave me this when I arrived. While she typed it up, she had me sign your master roster and list everyone in my party. Then she gave me this agreement and the car keys, and I left.”

  Looking a bit confused, Meredith glanced at the shelf again. “Hmmmm. Maybe Janine misfiled it.”

  Nancy waited patiently while the girl carefully examined the rental agreement. All at once, Meredith’s face brightened with understanding. “Ah, now I see.” She put down the agreement. “We were booked solid yesterday. I talked to your credit card company—told them we had no cars available. Didn’t they get in touch with you?”

  Nancy sighed. “If they tried, we were probably already airborne. But if my request didn’t go through, why was this car waiting for me when I arrived?”

  “Someone else rented the car for you.” Meredith pointed out a block of print. “See? ‘Hold for Nancy Drew and party.’ Just before we closed yesterday, a woman called and said she wanted to rent a car for you.”

  “A woman?” George said. “Mrs. Faulkner?”

  “She didn’t identify herself,” Meredith answered. “She said she was from the Malihini Corporation and asked for one of the corporate cars we keep on standby. She even named the car—tan four-door sedan, license number HI-9876.”