Sinister Paradise Read Online Free

back to the Malihini Corporation.”
    â€œNancy, what do you make of all this?” George asked.
    â€œI don’t know, George.” Sighing, Nancy turned the car into the Ala Wai parking lot. “None of it makes sense. What is this Malihini Corporation? Why did they try to kill us the moment we arrived in Honolulu?” She eased the car into a parking space. “Ned, George—we’d better be very, very careful from now on, okay?”
    Ned nodded in agreement. “I’ll go along with that.”
    After grabbing their gear, the trio headed down the floating walkway that connected the individual berths. Sunset painted the sea a vivid bronze. Fat gulls rested on barnacle-encrusted piles and watched the boat owners close up for the night.
    The Kahala lolled at her berth. Her fiberglass hull made thudding noises as it jostled the pier. George sighed. “Am I glad to be home. Know something? I haven’t had a bite to eat all day.”
    â€œWhy don’t you and Bess make sandwiches?” Nancy suggested. “That’ll give me a chance to phone Mrs. Faulkner’s daughter.”
    Just then, Bess appeared at the Kahala’s fantail, smiling and waving a greeting. All at once a look of horror flashed across her face.
    â€œNancy! Behind you! Look out!”
    Nancy turned just in time to see a sailboat’s boom swinging toward them. The thick wooden beam was hurtling straight at her face!

Chapter

Four
    N ANCY GRABBED HER friends and threw herself forward. The sail struck her high on the shoulder, but the boom sailed harmlessly past.
    Nancy, Ned, and George hit the walkway together. The impact drove water through the slats, soaking the trio to the skin.
    â€œOh!” a woman cried out. “Are you kids all right?”
    â€œNobody was hurt.” Getting up, Nancy saw a plump woman standing on the deck of a moored Catalina whose boom was suspended over the walkway.
    â€œTalk about ‘low bridge’!” George exclaimed, standing up.
    â€œI’m awfully sorry,” the woman said. “I thought that winch was locked. It started unwinding the minute I turned my back. I never meant to—”
    â€œThat’s okay. No harm done.” Nancy smiled reassuringly.
    Nancy and her friends pushed the boom back aboard the woman’s boat. Then they joined Bess at the Kahala . After assuring Bess that they were all right, they boarded the cruiser.
    While Ned and George were changing clothes, Nancy used the boat’s cordless phone to call Lisa’s mother. The phone at the other end rang three times. Then a woman’s voice answered. “Hello?”
    â€œMrs. Rafferty, this is Nancy Drew—”
    â€œNancy Drew!” the woman interrupted. “Where have you people been? Mother said you were coming hours ago.”
    â€œOur rental car broke down. We were delayed reporting the accident. I am sorry,” Nancy said apologetically. “Listen, I can be there in half an hour.”
    â€œAll right. Come right over.”
    â€œSee you then.” Nancy hung up. “Bess, you and George stay here and cover the phone in case Mrs. Faulkner tries to reach us. We’ll be back soon.”
    â€œOkay.” Bess put a couple of sandwiches and two cans of soda in a plastic bag, then handed the bundle to Nancy. “Good luck.”
    Grinning, Ned opened the hatch. “We may need it.”
    â€¢Â â€¢Â â€¢
    Diana Rafferty’s apartment was two miles east of the marina, in an ultramodern building. Nancy parked in the beach lot opposite it. Then dodging the traffic, she and Ned dashed across the street.
    Nancy pressed the doorbell at an upper-floor apartment. The door swung open to reveal a slender, tight-lipped woman with a soft blond ponytail and Alice Faulkner’s blue eyes.
    Diana blinked in surprise. “Nancy Drew?”
    â€œThat’s me.” Nancy offered a pleasant smile. “And this is my friend Ned