Sinister Paradise (5 page)

“A PI, eh?” the white cop remarked. “And I suppose you don't know that all private eyes must register with the local police department before they go to work here in the Islands.”

“I'm not a licensed investigator,” Nancy explained. “I sort of help people out when they're in trouble.”

“I think I've heard of you.” The black cop studied Nancy with a new respect. “You cracked that airlines case in Seattle, didn't you?”

“That's right,” Nancy said.

“Then it's a pleasure to meet you, Nancy.” The first cop offered his hand. “I'm Tim DiPrizio, detective-sergeant, Honolulu P.D. This is my partner, Detective-Sergeant Martin Giles.”

Martin took out his notebook. “What's this about Lisa Trumbull?”

“Aren't you two here to investigate Lisa's
running away? I thought her mother had decided to call you.”

“This is the first I've heard of it,” Martin said.

Nancy hastily explained how she had been called into the case. When she had finished, she asked, “Why were you guys watching Lisa's locker?”

“Marty and I are on street detail this week,” Tim DiPrizio explained. “We patrol the malls—keep an eye out for con artists. This morning, one of our informers told us that something big is going down. There's a girl on the street—Lisa Trumbull—with something very valuable to sell. The word is, she's got diamonds.”

“The name didn't ring any bells with us,” Martin added. “So we decided to check the high school. We staked out the girl's locker. Figured to ask her a few questions when she showed up.” Nancy was really worried now. Cops never heard anything first. If the word had gotten to them, then every street person in Honolulu must know that Lisa Trumbull was carrying something worth big bucks. Lisa was in more danger than ever before.

“Look, maybe we can help each other,” Nancy suggested. “You guys know the street scene. You can tell me where Lisa might try to sell those diamonds. In return, I'll tell you what I know.”

“Sounds good to me,” Tim said. “Where do you think Lisa's headed?”

“San Francisco. She has a friend there named Michele Woodbridge.”

“We'll check it out.” Martin turned to his partner. “Hey, Tim, if you were a high schooler looking to unload merchandise, who would you go to?”

Tim snapped his fingers. “Boomer! He's a fence—you know, he buys stolen goods,” he replied. “Boomer hangs out at the Ala Moana shopping center. Big, beefy guy in his early twenties.” They described him further. “Someone's bound to steer Lisa to him.”

Nancy smiled grimly. “I think I'll have a talk with this guy.”

“No way,” Tim warned. “You'll never get near him. We've sent our best undercover people after him. Boomer has a sixth sense about cops. And he can run like a jackrabbit.”

“But I'm not a cop,” Nancy replied, heading for the exit. “Thanks for the help, guys. I'll be in touch.”

• • •

A short while later Nancy, Ned, and Bess stood in the middle of the Ala Moana mall. “Bess, I need your shopping expertise.” Nancy steered her friend toward a classy boutique. “Go in there and get me some earrings and bracelets.”

“Hey, that's easy!” Bess giggled and hurried into the store.

Nancy and Ned waited beside the tall fountains in the center of the mall.

“I wonder how George is doing at the bank,” Nancy remarked.

Ned shrugged. “I hope she's getting more out of Mr. Rafferty than we got out of Lisa's mother.”

Bess rejoined them a half hour later, proudly displaying a pair of gold earrings and a trio of shiny bracelets. Nancy examined each one carefully and tucked them in the pockets of her jeans.

“You guys go watch the exits,” she suggested. “I'll stay here. Flash me a signal if you see anyone who matches Boomer's description.”

Ned and Bess sauntered off to their respective sentry posts. Nancy seated herself on a lava wall and settled down to wait.

Two hours passed. Nancy breathed deeply, forcing herself to stay alert. Sooner or later, their quarry would show.

Nancy's gaze drifted toward Ned. She sat up straight. Ned was vigorously scratching his ear!

Anxiously she gazed through the crowd. And then she saw him. Boomer was taller than she'd expected, with bushy hair. Ultra-dark sunglasses concealed his eyes. He walked like a lion on the prowl.

Nancy strolled up beside him. “Hi, Boomer!” She dug into her pocket, then displayed the earrings in her upturned palm. “What do you think of them?”

Picking up an earring, he studied it carefully. “Expensive.”

Nancy grinned slyly. “Not when you've got a five-finger discount.”

“My favorite kind!” Boomer laughed, then stared at Nancy with mock severity. “You? A shoplifter? Shame on you!”

“Only when I need the money.” Nancy pretended to look around nervously. “How much can I get for this stuff?”

Boomer stared at her for a long moment. Finally he tossed the earring into her outstretched palm. Walking past her, he whispered, “Parking garage. Ten minutes.”

• • •

Nancy breathed deeply, then coughed, as the strong gasoline fumes of the Ala Moana garage filled her lungs. She was perched on her car's front fender. Casting a glance to the right, she saw Ned loitering at the up-ramp. Just knowing he was there made her feel better.

Then Boomer came down the steel stairway from the mall, boot heels hammering the metal. Looking around suspiciously, he went straight to Nancy's car.

“Here's how we work it,” Boomer muttered. “You get half now. Then you take your stuff upstairs, go to the public phone, and leave it in the coin return. The rest of your money'll be in there.”

“How much?” asked Nancy.

“Thirty bucks.”

“In the coin return? Anyone could take it!”

Boomer grinned evilly. “It's being watched. No one will—”

He halted abruptly. Face frozen, he stared at a reflection in the neighboring car's windshield. Nancy heard a footstep behind her.

Glancing over her shoulder, she gasped out loud. Approaching the stairs was the moon-faced man—the same man who had been spying on Lisa Trumbull's apartment!

Boomer seemed to sense Nancy's anxiety. “Be cool. He's not going to bust us.”

“You know him?” Nancy blurted.

“Nahhhh, but he's a cop.” Boomer leaned casually against the other car. “I can tell. That joker's got
plainclothes
written all over him.”

Nancy sneaked a quick glance. The moonfaced man lingered at the bottom of the stairs. Then, pretending not to look at them, he ambled over to the
Star-Bulletin
dispenser and bought a newspaper.

Alarmed, Nancy realized that he was shadowing her!

Nancy's heartbeat seemed to fill her chest. The moon-faced man stood blocking the stairs, pretending to read his paper.

Nancy turned and noticed Boomer's suspicious gaze. He was glowering at her. His expression grew more menacing as he realized he couldn't escape up the stairs.

Suddenly his hand darted inside his leather jacket. “Now I get it! He's with
you
.” A small
pistol appeared in his big hand. “You set me up, you little—You're a
cop!
”

Before Nancy could move, Boomer had looped his arm around her neck. He held her in a choke-hold, using her as a shield as his pistol swiveled toward the moon-faced man. “Game's over, cop! Back off, you hear me?”

Nancy felt the cold steel of the gun against her temple.

“Back off, I said, or this is the end of her!”

T
HIS IS IT
, cop!” Boomer tapped the muzzle against Nancy's head. “Say goodbye to your partner.”

Mouth agape, the moon-faced man stared at them. He held out a quaking hand. “N-now wait a minute, buddy! You got it all wrong!”

“You're following me!” Boomer roared, his left arm locked under Nancy's chin. “Lousy, stinking cop!”

Uttering a frightened yelp, the man turned and fled.

Boomer leveled the pistol and took careful aim at the man.

Now! Nancy thought.

Her head whipped back, striking Boomer flush on the chin. He yowled. Feeling his grip loosen, Nancy slipped out from under and gave him a solid judo chop to the ribs. Boomer stumbled. Nancy jumped him, grabbing his wrist with both hands, and hammered his gun hand against the fender. The pistol clattered to the floor. Nancy's foot swept it under a nearby car.

She heard running feet—the anxious shouts of Ned and Bess.

Boomer bolted. “More cops!”

After he ran up to Nancy, Ned hugged her. “You all right?”

“I'm fine.” She pointed at Boomer, who was heading for the stairwell. “After him, Ned! We can't let him get away.”

Ned and Nancy took off in pursuit. Bess brought up the rear. They charged up the stairway in single file, Ned in the lead. Nancy took the steps two at a time. She was thinking, What was that moon-faced guy doing here? Was he following me? But how does he know who I am? He couldn't have seen me in Lisa's window!

Clang!
Boomer pushed a steel trash can over the edge of the stairs. It tumbled toward them!

Ned tried to dodge, but his foot slipped on the step. The can rolled right over him, and he went down hard.

“Ned!” Grabbing Bess, Nancy pushed her against the railing. The can bounced past them, spilling trash all over the stairs.

“I'm okay, Nancy. Go get him!” Ned said.

Nancy raced to the balcony. She spotted Boomer's blue- and orange-flowered shirt just ahead, disappearing into the mall crowd.

Shoving people aside, Boomer bulled his way down the main corridor. Angry shouts exploded all around him. Nancy stayed on his heels, zigzagging between startled shoppers.

At last the crowd thinned out and disappeared. They were in a little turnoff now, a hallway lined with supply closets. Once in the clear, Nancy put on a sudden burst of speed. She came right up behind Boomer and brought him down with a tackle worthy of a pro football player.

Nancy and Boomer rolled over and over across the polished floor. Breaking free, Nancy jumped to her feet. Boomer got up groggily, saw who it was, and—snarling with rage—threw himself at Nancy.

Nancy's right leg scissored in a flawless judo kick. Her sneaker clobbered Boomer's chin—he went over like an old dead tree.

Boomer lifted his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay—that's enough. I'm busted, man. I want to see my lawyer.”

Nancy knelt beside him. “Boomer, I'm not a cop.”

“We're just concerned citizens,” Ned added, coming up behind them and pinning him to the floor.

“Then how about letting me go?” Boomer tried to sit up.

“After you put a gun to Nancy's head? No way, pal!”

“Boomer, we've got you cold on assault and unlawful possession of a gun.” Reaching across the floor, Nancy retrieved her shoulder bag. “Tell you what, though. If you'll answer a few questions for me, I won't mention that you took aim at that black-haired guy.”

“All right.” Boomer sighed. “Ask your questions.”

Nancy took the photo of Lisa Trumbull out of her bag. “Have you ever seen this girl before?”

“Yeah, I've seen her.” He tilted the photo slightly. “She came up to me on Waikiki Beach yesterday. Two o'clock or so. She wanted to sell me a diamond. Real quality stuff, too. I offered to set up a meet, but she wouldn't go for it. She said she'd make the arrangements.” He lowered his voice. “Look, don't go spreading this around, okay? I don't want people to think I'm a double-dealer.” He sat cross-legged on the hallway floor. “The whole scene felt wrong, you know? She didn't seem like the type to be fencing diamonds. I thought maybe it was a cop setup. So I followed her.”

“Where did she go?” asked Nancy eagerly.

“A rundown apartment house. The Ka Lae, it's called.”

Suddenly a pair of uniformed security men
rushed up to them. “What's the problem here, miss?”

“This man pulled a gun on me in the garage,” Nancy explained, brushing her hair back. “Place him under arrest.”

The guards hauled Boomer to his feet. He struggled in their grip, yelling, “Hey! Where's my lawyer, man?”

“We'll need to ask you a few questions, miss,” one guard called back over his shoulder. “Could you come with us?”

“Be glad to,” Nancy answered. But as she and Ned followed, she was worrying about the moonfaced man. Who was he? First he'd been watching Lisa's apartment. Then he'd shown up at the garage. And judging from his reaction to Boomer's threat, Nancy had been his quarry.

A sudden chill touched Nancy's heart. There were too many wild cards in the Lisa Trumbull case. The Malihini Corporation was one. That moon-faced man was the other. Were the two connected? Or were they operating independently?