Sinister Paradise

O
H
, N
ANCY, 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!”

T
IRES 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.