Sinister Paradise by Carolyn Keene Page B

hung there, suspended by rings from an old-fashioned brass rod. The last two rings on the right were dangling—they’d slipped off the rod.
    Rising on tiptoe, Nancy removed the entire rod. The brass was lightweight, probably hollow. An ornate bulb capped each end.
    Somebody had taken this off the window,Nancy realized. When they’d tried to put it back, there was nothing to use as a stepladder. They’d had to stretch, the way she did. Those last two rings had slipped off, and they hadn’t bothered to replace them.
    The bulb came off in Nancy’s hand. Excitement set her nerves tingling. The curtain rod was hollow! And Nancy’s probing fingers could feel something inside!
    Tilting the curtain rod, Nancy withdrew a tube of heavy bond paper. As she did so, a smaller tube of onionskin paper slipped out and danced down to the floor. Puzzled, she picked it up. Then, tucking the onionskin under her arm, she hastily unfurled the bond document.
    The corporate logo of Windward Fidelity Bank was the first thing that caught her eye. Just beneath, in bold type, was the message “You will pay to the bearer upon submission of this bond note the sum of fifty thousand dollars.”

Chapter

Ten
    N ANCY ’ S BREATHING QUICKENED . This was one of the bonds Lisa ran off with!
    â€œNed!” she called in a stage whisper. “Come here—quick!”
    Looking the bond over, Ned gasped, “Wow! But why didn’t Lisa take this bond with her?”
    â€œI’d say Lisa moved out of here in a hurry,” Nancy replied. “She grabbed the curtain rod and shook out the papers. Only these two got stuck inside. . . .”
    Ned pointed at the onionskin tube. “What’s that?”
    â€œLet’s find out!” Nancy hurriedly unrolled it.
    The paper was a shipping manifest. Nancy’seyes skimmed the list of items. “Pieces of radio equipment,” she said. Then the paper quivered in her grasp as she saw the name of the buyer.
    Malihini Corporation
    P.O. Box 4237661
    Honolulu, HI
    â€œLooks as if our two cases are coming together, Ned. There’s our link between Lisa Trumbull and the Malihini Corporation.”
    â€œAnd our link with the transceiver we found in our car.” Ned’s thumb tapped the shipper’s name. “Higashi Electronics.”
    Nancy checked the items. “You’re right. There’s the transceiver the Malihini Corporation ordered. So they’re the ones who did it.” She rolled up the two papers again. “First they tried to stop us from searching for Lisa. Then they tried to spy on us.”
    â€œI don’t get it.” Ned replaced the curtain rod. “How did a Malihini Corporation shipping manifest wind up inside a Windward bearer bond?”
    â€œIt has to be one of two things,” Nancy replied. “Either Lisa found this manifest somewhere else and included it with her papers, or the manifest itself was tucked inside the bearer bond.”
    â€œFor what reason?” asked Ned.
    â€œYour guess is as good as mine. Let’s go talk to the desk clerk.”
    Nancy and Ned left the building via the fire escape. They waited in the garden, watching Bess and George walk back to the car. Then they strode through the front entrance.
    â€œAfternoon.” The clerk smiled. “What can I do for you?”
    As they crossed the lobby, Nancy took out her photo of Lisa. She put it on the counter. “We’re private detectives. We’re looking for this girl. Have you seen her?”
    â€œMiss Faulkner? Sure!” He glanced at the photo, then handed it back to Nancy. “You just missed her. She checked out about an hour ago.”
    Nancy replaced the photo in her bag. “How’d she pay for the room?”
    â€œCredit card. But it wasn’t her credit card It was charged to a company account—the Malihini Corporation.”
    Them again! “Any idea why Miss Faulkner