Susan said.
“That's awful,” George agreed.
“Is something being done about that?” Nancy asked
Susan.
“We're all trying to do what we can. But a lot of the
damage has already been done,” Susan explained.
Half an hour later the girls came to the end of their
walking loop, and Susan had to report for work in a few
minutes. George wanted to go for a run around Eco
Pond, which was a well-known bird habitat.
Bess wanted to go for a swim. “So. Where are the
good beaches around here?” she asked Susan. “I'm not
too picky. I just want a smooth patch of sand,
preferably white, where I can read magazines and
watch cute guys play volleyball.”
Susan chuckled. “There isn't any beach, unless you
want to swim with the alligators and the sharks.”
“I don't think so!” Bess exclaimed. “I think I'll spend
the morning in the gift shop instead.” She turned to
Nancy. “Want to come with me? We can buy souvenirs
for your dad and Hannah and my parents. And maybe
some postcards.” Hannah was the Drew family's
housekeeper. She had helped Carson Drew take care
of Nancy since Nancy's mother died, fifteen years
earlier.
“No thanks,” Nancy said. “I have something else I
need to do. Susan, can I have the key to your room? Or
could I go ahead and use Jade's key? I want to do some
digging around.”
Susan laughed. “Why? To go through my closet to
investigate my fashion situation?”
Nancy grinned and shook her head. “Nope. I want
to go through Jade's stuff for clues.”
An hour later Nancy was just finishing up with the
first box of Jade's personal effects. Susan had packed
them up into two cardboard boxes, planning to send
them back to Mr. and Mrs. Romero in California.
Susan and Jade's room was large and sunny, with
white wicker furniture. On the walls were water-color
paintings of various spots in the Everglades, including
the Northwest Cape, Ten Thousand Islands, and the
Noble Hammock Canoe Trail. The window was open,
letting in a cool, salty breeze from Florida Bay. Nancy
could hear seagulls shrieking and squawking in the
distance.
On top of Jade's now-empty desk was a framed
photograph of her and Griffin standing arm in arm in
front of a sailboat. Nancy had been stunned when she
saw it. Jade really did look a lot like George. Like
George, Jade had short, curly dark brown hair, brown
eyes, and an athletic build. Jade was almost as tall as
Griffin, who was fairly tall for a guy.
Nancy had come across all sorts of things in the first
box of Jade's belongings: dog-eared paperback books,
hiking guides, old calendars, printouts of e-mails,
letters, and clippings from magazines.
There was a lot of e-mail to and from Griffin. Nancy
felt uncomfortable about reading them since they were
personal and romantic in nature, so she had scanned
them quickly. She wanted to make sure they didn't
contain anything that might be related to Jade's
disappearance. They didn't.
In the box Nancy had also come across brochures,
newsletters, and other literature about the Everglades.
There was an article describing the search for Native
American artifacts within the park boundaries. There
was another article about all the species that had
become extinct within the park.
But, nothing seemed to be a clue to Jade's disap-
pearance.
Nancy stuffed the articles about the Everglades into
her backpack. She wanted to read them later, so she
could learn more about the Everglades.
Nancy set the first box aside and turned to the
second. Her legs were getting cramped, so she changed
position. Then she started digging through the second
box.
“Let's see if this box has anything interesting,” she
said out loud to herself.
After a few minutes she came across a folder of
Jade's bank records.
“Checking account, no savings account,” Nancy
noted, glancing through the statements.
been pretty strapped for cash. Did that mean anything?
Or was it just a mundane fact about Jade's life that was
unrelated to her disappearance? It was hard to know.
Just then Nancy noticed a crumpled-up piece of
paper wedged between two of the bank statements.
She pulled it out and smoothed it.
On the paper was a single handwritten word:
PANTERA. It was written in red marker in big capital
letters. It had been underlined several times, as if it
was very important.
Maybe this is a clue! Nancy thought excitedly.
5. A Visit with the Drakes
Nancy stared at the single word on the piece of paper.
Pantera. Was it someone's name? Was it a foreign
word? What did it mean?
She closed her eyes and tried to think. Take the
word apart, she told herself.
Pan. She knew there were words like pantheism and
Pan-Asian, in which the prefix pan meant “all.”
Tera. She knew the word terra had something to do
with land. All land. The problem was, the tera in
pantera had only one r.
“Hey, how's it going?”
Nancy's eyes flew open. Susan was standing in the
doorway, baseball cap in hand.
“I'm on my way over to check out one of the
campgrounds,” Susan explained, stepping into the
room. “I thought I'd stop by to see if you'd found
anything.”
“Do you know what the word pantera means?”
Nancy asked her.
“Pantera, pantera . . .” Susan hesitated. “I don't
know. Sounds Spanish, though.”
Nancy handed the crumply piece of paper to her
friend. “Is this Jade's handwriting?”
Susan studied the piece of paper. “Uh-huh. Did you
find it in one of the boxes?”
“Yup.”
“That's funny, I didn't notice it before.” Susan sat
down cross-legged on the floor, next to Nancy. “Hey, I
just had a totally brilliant thought! There's a company
based in Miami called the Panterra Corporation. Two
r's, I think, not one. It's run by a couple named Bill and
Ellen—no, Esther—Drake. They're developers.”
Nancy's blue eyes lit up. “Developers? As in, they
build buildings?”
“Uh-huh,” Susan replied. “The Drakes specialize in
building huge housing, office, and shopping complexes.
Their work has been really controversial, because a lot
of it is on the outskirts of the Everglades. People have
accused them of contributing to the destruction of the
park.”
“Really?” Nancy said eagerly.
“I think the Drakes are planning on building a new
complex of some sort,” Susan went on. “I remember
Jade talking about it. Of course it's very contro
versial—
as always.”
Nancy nodded, trying to process this new infor-
mation. Her mind was racing. How much had Jade
known about the new Panterra project? Was there a
link between the project and Jade's disappearance?
“Susan, did Jade know the Drakes, by any chance?”
Nancy said out loud.
Susan shrugged. “I'm not sure. I kind of doubt it.
People like Jade and me don't run in the same circle as
the Drakes.”
Nancy and Susan talked about the Drakes for a few
more minutes. Then Nancy switched to another
subject.
“Do you know anything about Jade's finances?”
Nancy asked Susan. “I found some of her bank records,
and she didn't seem to have much money.”
“We're volunteers,” Susan said with a grin. “None of
us have money.”
Nancy laughed. “That's a good point.”
After a while Susan got up to go back to work.
Nancy said goodbye, then went back to work herself.
She had a lot to do, now that she had a clue to go on.
Panterra. Maybe Jade's trail wasn't too cold, after all.
Nancy found a Miami phone directory in the lobby
of the dorm and brought it out to the cabin she shared
with George and Bess. George was still out on her jog,
and Bess wasn't back from her gift shop expedition yet.
Nancy sat cross-legged on her bed and propped the
phone book open. Through the open window, she
could hear the sounds of people laughing and
trampling through the palm tree grove, next to the
cabin. It reminded her of her adventure the night
before, chasing the eavesdropper in the darkness.
Nancy smiled. She and her friends had barely ar-
rived at the Everglades before she'd gotten herself
knee-deep in a mystery!
Nancy flipped through the pages of the phone book
and found the phone number for the Panterra
Corporation. Then she reached for the phone and
dialed the number.
After a few rings a crisp male voice answered:
“Panterra Corporation, how may I direct your call?” In
the background, Nancy could hear other phones
ringing.
“Hi, could I speak to Bill Drake, please?” Nancy
said. She figured that if Mr. Drake wasn't available, she
could turn around and ask for his wife.
“Bill Drake. That's extension five-seventeen. The
line is busy. Let me see if his assistant can help you.”
While the receptionist put Nancy through, Nancy
picked up a pencil and noted Bill Drake's extension on
a piece of paper. A few seconds later a female voice
picked up.
“Bill and Esther Drake's office. This is Sandy
speaking, may I help you?” she said. She sounded
breathless and harried.
Nancy tried to make herself sound as businesslike
and official as possible. “Good morning, is M r. Drake
there, please?”
“Who's calling?”
Nancy hesitated for half a second before saying,
“Nancy Drew.” There was no reason for her not to use
her real name.
There was a brief silence on the other end of the
phone. Then Sandy said, “I'm sorry, Mr. Drake isn't
available right now. May I take a message?”
“How about Mrs. Drake?” Nancy asked her.
“She isn't available, either. Is there a message?”
Sandy sounded impatient now.
“No, no message. I'll try again later. Thank you for
your help, Sandy.”
Nancy sighed and hung up the phone. Now what?
she wondered.
Then an idea came to her. A slow smile spread
across her face. If she couldn't talk to the Drakes on
the phone, maybe she could talk to them in person!
She jumped up from the bed and walked over to her
closet. If she was going to pay the Drakes a visit, she
had to get all the details right.
“We just left Miami yesterday,” Bess complained to
Nancy. “Why are we going back? I was going to spend
the afternoon catching up on my reading. I'm suffering
from a serious fashion magazine backlog.”
She, Nancy, and George were in their rental car.
The Miami skyline loomed ahead, consisting of sky-
scrapers and high-rise condos. It was just before noon,
and the midday sun blazed brightly in the clear sky.
Nancy was behind the wheel. She turned briefly and
smiled at Bess, who was sitting next to her. “I told you.
We're paying a little visit to the Panterra Corporation.”
She paused and added, “Well, I am, anyway. I have
another job for you and George.”
“Another job? You didn't tell us that,” George piped
up from the backseat.
“I'm going to drop you guys off at the public library
to do some research on the Panterra Corporation,”
Nancy explained.
“Research? What kind of research?” Bess asked her.
She reached over and turned on the radio. A Cuban
jazz instrumental was playing. She started clicking her
fingers and swaying back and forth. “Hey, this radio
station is awesome!”
“I need whatever information you can find on
Panterra,” Nancy replied. “Especially stuff having to do
with controversial building projects, the Everglades
park system, et cetera, et cetera.”
“Hmm,” Bess said. “By the way, speaking of fashion
magazines. Nancy, you look great! Why are you so
dressed up?”
Nancy glanced down at what she was wearing. She
had spent some time picking out the perfect outfit for
her visit to the Drakes: a navy blue linen skirt, a
button-down white blouse, and dark brown leather
sandals.
“I'm dressing to impress,” Nancy said simply. “I'm
not sure I could get past the receptionist in my shorts
and T-shirt,” she added with a chuckle.
“Good point,” George agreed.
A few minutes later they reached one of the
branches of the Miami public library. The girls made
arrangements to meet at a nearby restaurant for a late
lunch. Then Nancy dropped George and Bess off at the
curb.
“Stick to business, okay? No fashion magazines!”
Nancy called to Bess out the window.
Bess saluted Nancy. “Yes, boss!”
Nancy laughed, then she continued down the street.
As she drove she glanced at a piece of paper with the
directions Susan had given her. She also admired the
pretty hotels and restaurants that had been built in the
Art Deco style from the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. They
were pastel colored—yellow, pink, light blue—and had
lots of chrome designs.
The Panterra corporate offices were only a few
blocks from the library. In contrast to the Art Deco
buildings, the Panterra building was modern. It was all
glass and metal, and reflected the vast blue of the sky.
There was an enormous fountain at the front in the
shape of a skyscraper. Just behind the building was a
wide, beautiful
strip of beachfront. Two men in dark
suits were standing near the water, talking on cell
phones.
Nancy parked the rental car and got out. As she
walked from the parking lot to the front door, the two
men watched her. Nancy was also aware of security
cameras following her every move. They were small
and discreetly hidden in the palm trees and flowering
shrubs and other landscaping. But Nancy's trained eye
missed nothing.
What's up with all the security? she wondered
curiously.
Nancy took off her sunglasses, tucked them into her
purse, and headed inside. The lobby was large and
modern, and decorated with black-and-silver furniture.
A man was sitting at the reception desk, behind which
hung the words Panterra Corporation in big silver
letters. The logo consisted of an image of the planet
Earth with a silver skyscraper in the middle of it.
“Can I help you?” the receptionist asked Nancy.
Nancy recognized his voice as the one who'd answered
the phone earlier.
“I'm here to see Mrs. Drake,” Nancy said, impro-
vising quickly. She pretended to check her watch. “I'm
ten minutes late. Gosh, I feel awful,” she groaned.
The man gave her a sympathetic look. “Penthouse
floor, go on up. It's the last office on the right. Just ask
for Sandy.”
Oh, great, Nancy thought, remembering the crabby
woman she'd talked to earlier. I have to deal with
Sandy.
“Thanks so much!” she said as she headed for the
elevator.
Once on the penthouse floor, Nancy made her way
slowly down the hall. Unlike the exterior of the
building and the modern lobby, the penthouse floor
was decorated in subdued earth tones and furnished
with dark wood, handcrafted pieces. There were
posters and photographs on the walls depicting Florida
nature scenes: forests, swamps, rivers, manatees,
alligators, and birds.
There were half a dozen people working at com-
puters, but none of them glanced up at her. Phones
were ringing everywhere. It was obviously a very busy
place.
At the end of the hall, Nancy saw a desk outside a
corner office. A young woman sitting in a green swivel
chair was talking on the phone. She had blond hair
pulled back in a ponytail and was wearing an
expensive-looking black suit.
When Nancy got a little closer to the blond woman's