She shook her head, her eyes suddenly filled with tears. “Aunt Rosalinda loves it, too. She’s the one who told me its colorful history and made me understand what it must have been like when the Spanish built the city and the English and other greedy people attacked it.” “We’re doing this to help her,” Nancy reminded the girl gently. “If we can find something in Cordova’s office that links him to an insurance fraud, we can expose him.”
“Right!” Elena said, straightening her shoulders and tossing back her black hair. “What do we do?”
“First tell me everything you remember about his office. What can we expect to find there?” Elena frowned in concentration. “It’s in one of the original houses, a grand place really, which he owns. I only saw the first floor. There’s a large reception area with a secretary, then beyond that the library and his private office.” “How many entrances are there to his private office?”
“Well, I went in through the library,” Elena mused. “It’s behind the receptionist’s desk, and she guards it like a tiger. Several legal aides or law students were working in the library at the
time, and there were small offices across the hall. My impression was that he has quite a few employees, but I don’t really know about the entrances.”
“Did you see any files in Cordova’s office?”
“Yes, a couple of them between the doors.”
“Doors?”
Elena smiled eagerly. “I forgot all about them. There are two. One of them must lead to the side hall.”
“A private entrance,” Nancy said. “That would be perfect.”
“So what do you want me to do?” Elena asked.
“Distract the people who will be in the outer office and library,” Nancy answered.
“How?”
“Maybe by doing what would be natural,” Nancy said.
“I don’t understand,” Elena said.
“Suppose you had come from the hacienda and were on your way back to school. You didn’t know that Cordova is causing your aunt’s strange behavior. Who would you turn to for help?”
Elena’s look of disbelief turned to nervous laughter. “You want me to go into his office and
ask whoever is there what happened to Aunt Rosalinda?”
“Right. Cry and demand that they do something.”
“What if he’s there?”
Nancy bit her lip. “Then we’re in trouble. But I believe we can assume he won’t be. He’s tied up at the hacienda looking for me. So get hysterical and keep everybody s'o busy fussing over you that they won’t notice what’s going on in his office. Can you do that?”
Elena took a deep breath and nodded. “I’ll try my best!” she promised.
14. A Clever Plan
Once they were in a taxi on their way downtown, Nancy pulled a notebook and a pencil out of her purse.
“Can you draw a diagram of Cordova’s offices and the rest of the building?” she asked Elena.
The girl nodded and worked on her task while Nancy looked at the city through the window. The old section with its narrow streets was dominated by elegant, two-story townhouses. There were tree-shaded squares cooled by fountains, and the high, white-painted grandeur of the churches built by the Spaniards years ago.
Finally, the taxi drew up in front of an imposing old mansion. “This is it?” Nancy asked Elena.
Her friend nodded and paid the driver.
“It doesn’t seem possible that Cordova would be involved in something like insurance fraud if he owns such a splendid estate,” Nancy murmured when they got out of the taxi.
“He must be very greedy,” Elena agreed. “Now, where do we begin?”
“You go through the front door and start your act,” Nancy said.
“What about you?”
“I’ll slip around to the back of the house and see if there’s a rear entrance. If not, I’ll have to get in the front while everyone is busy taking care of you.”
Nancy took a couple of steps, then turned back. “Give me a few minutes before you go in,” she said.
Elena nodded. Her heart was beating wildly. “How long do you need me to cry and carry on? How will I know when to stop?”
“I’ll try to signal you from the hall,” Nancy told her. “If you don’t see me and you can’t continue, just leave and wait for me down the street. I should be able to hear you from the inner office, shouldn’t I?”
“Yes,” Elena whispered. “Good luck!”
The girls separated in front of the handsome mansion. Nancy moved along the side, using the
well-kept shrubs and bushes to hide her. When she got to the back, she smiled in relief. Large French doors gave way to a modem pool area.
The doors stood open and the girl approached them cautiously, tiptoeing across the flagstone patio. Then she peered into the shadowy interior. A gray-haired man stood across the room from her, his attention focused on several papers that were spread out on an old desk.
Nancy watched him bend over the documents, making changes with a pen. Then she heard Elena’s scream. It made her jump, even though she had expected it. The man dropped his pen and rushed out a door on the far side of the room.
Cautiously, Nancy stepped inside. This part of the house had not been included in Elena’s diagram, since she had never been here. But Nancy had no trouble finding the hall, and from there she reached the door Elena had drawn to Cordova’s office. A moment later, she was in the wood-paneled room.
Quickly she opened the first file drawer, her ears ringing with Elena’s sobs. Everything was in Spanish, which made her search difficult, but she finally found the folder with the financial statements. Her heart beat with excitement. Here, in front of her, were the names of the
shipping lines she had suspected of committing fraud, and documents relating to the insurance payoffs for the three sunken freighters.
Nancy slipped the relevant pages into her purse. Now, if she could only signal Elena that it was time to leave!
Suddenly she stiffened. She no longer heard crying! Quickly Nancy moved to leave the office. But before she could slip out, footsteps approached the library door. “What do you mean, she just left here?” Senor Cordova demanded. “Where did she go?”
In panic, Nancy opened a narrow door closest to her and quickly pulled it shut behind her. For a moment, it was too dark for her to know where she was. Then she felt clothing brush her arm and realized she had taken refuge in a closet.
“Why didn’t you keep her here?” she heard Cordova say as he strode into the office, his tone furious.
A woman answered him, explaining that Elena had been very upset about her aunt and finally ran out of the office in despair. The lawyer slammed the door angrily.
Nancy cowered behind two coats, hoping that the man had left the room, but footsteps told her that he was still there. A moment later she heard his voice. “Isabella? Call off the search for the
girl and send someone to Mesa del Oro!”
He’s on the phone! Nancy thought.
Cordova continued. “Elena was in my office just a few minutes ago. The Drew girl must have escaped and freed her and Ricardo. I believe all three of them are in Cartagena.”
There was a short pause, then he went on, “Do not panic, Isabella! Do nothing until I get back. I still have friends who can help. I will make a phone call and then return to the hacienda.”
Cordova hung up. After a few moments, Nancy could hear his voice again. “Dodsworth? Cordova here. I have a problem I would like you to help me with.” He sounded smooth and oily. “Have you seen anyone wandering into your office today? A young girl, American, with reddish-blond hair and blue eyes?”
Nancy thought grimly that Elena had been right about the American Consul General.
Cordova continued, “She will probably be along before nightfall . . . oh, no, nothing that drastic. I just need twenty-four hours, Jack. If you can keep her from talking to anyone that long, I can get things wrapped up.”
T
wenty-four hours to do what? Nancy thought. To force Rosalinda del Luz to sign the
Power of Attorney and remove her from the hacienda?
“Well, if I have my way,” Cordova spoke again, “you will not see her. I will do my best to take care of everything from this end. But I wanted to cover all my bases. By the way, she is in the country illegally, so you might put the word out that she should be investigated.”
There was silence for several moments, then Cordova said good-bye. Shortly after he hung up, Nancy heard the door open and close.
She forced herself to wait five minutes to make sure he had really left, then cautiously peeked out of her closet. The office was empty. Nancy took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders, and walked out.
The hall seemed a mile long, and she felt a nervous twitch between her shoulder blades as she approached the front door, but no one noticed her. The next instant, she stepped out into the bright afternoon sunlight. She’d made it!
The young detective hurried down the street looking for Elena. She had gone nearly two blocks when a soft voice called her name and saw Elena sitting at a small umbrella table in an outdoor cafe.
“What happened?” the dark-haired girl asked as Nancy sank into the chair next to her. “Did he see you?”
Nancy shook her head. “No, but I had to hide in the closet. What about you?”
“When I went into my act, Cordova’s secretary called the hacienda. She was informed that he had left and was on his way to town. Isabella thought he’d arrive any minute. I was worried, but carried on some more. Finally I couldn’t stand it any longer and left, hoping you would do the same before he got in and caught us.” “I’m glad you did,” Nancy said, then told Elena what she had overheard.
“We must warn Ricardo!” Elena said. “Cordova will have a search party out for us now that he knows we’re here.”
Nancy nodded, well aware of the danger. She had not mentioned the twenty-four hour limit Cordova had given Dodsworth, since she knew Elena was already frightened enough about her aunt.
“Let’s get down to the harbor,” she said. Twenty minutes later the girls arrived at the Cartagena office of the MIC Transport Company, where they had agreed to meet Ricardo. “I’m glad this branch isn’t closed,” Nancy
said, remembering the shabby, boarded-up office she had tried to visit in San Pedro.
“What will we do?” Elena asked, noticing curious glances from several dockworkers passing by.
Nancy pulled her into the shadows of an alley across from MIC.
“Wait for Ricardo,” she answered.
“Why don’t Lgo inside to see if he has arrived yet?” Elena suggested. “If you go, they might become suspicious, but I think I can do it.”
Nancy nodded and settled down to wait. After a few moments, a sudden movement far to her right caught her eye. She turned and saw a man coming her way. Her blood chilled as she recognized him as the tall, dark man who had followed her from Phoenix to California.
Just then, Elena came back. “Nancy, Ricardo hasn’t been here yet,” she reported. “Do you think we should try—”
The girl stopped short when she realized that Nancy was not paying attention to her. Instead, her friend was staring at the man, who by now had almost reached the mouth of the alley. Elena recognized him instantly. She had seen him at the hacienda many times; he worked there.
The man knew her, as well. “Senorita Elena!” he called out, a crooked smile appearing on his tanned face. “How nice to see you here. I have a message for you from Señora del Luz.”
“You saw Aunt Rosalinda?” Elena asked. Nancy heard the hope in the Spanish girl’s voice. “It’s a trick!” she hissed in her friend’s ear. “He’s working for Cordova!”
The man quickly came closer. “I really must talk to you, Señoritas!” he said.
“Run!” Nancy shouted.
Elena nodded and plunged through the alley. Nancy was right behind her. “This should take us back to the main street,” the Spanish girl panted. “Perhaps we’ll find Ricardo there.”
Her words ended in a squeal of fear when she realized that two more men were blocking the end of the alley!
15. Trapped
Nancy and Elena stopped running as the three men moved in on them.
“Now we will talk!” the stranger from Phoenix said.
Nancy forced herself to be calm. “What do you want to talk about?” she asked. “Who are you?” “His name is Juan,” Elena said.
“He’s the one who kidnapped me and brought me here from Phoenix!” Nancy declared.
“How could you do this?” Elena demanded angrily. “My aunt will fire you for this, Juan!” The man snorted. “Your aunt is a sick old woman who fires no one!” He gestured to the girls. “You will come with me.”
Nancy looked around for help, but the alley
was deserted. Juan grabbed her arm in a bruising grip. “Now!” he snarled.
Elena cried out as the other men took her roughly by the hands. They pulled the girls back through the alley and past the MIC office. Suddenly a door in one of the buildings behind it was thrown open, and Nancy and Elena were thrust through it into darkness.
Nancy stumbled and fell when the door crashed closed behind them.
“Elena?” she cried out. “Elena, are you all right?”
There was a scrambling movement and a hand caught at her arm. “Yes, Nancy,” her friend whispered.
“Do you have any idea where we are?”
“We’re probably in the MIC warehouse,” the Spanish girl replied. “When I was in the office, I noticed a door opening into the warehouse behind it.”
“That figures,” Nancy murmured.
“What are we going to do?” Elena asked.
Nancy pulled the matches out of her pocket and lit one. Its brief flare showed a small, cluttered area with no windows. Then she remembered she still had the candle in her purse. A moment later, a more steady light illuminated their surroundings.
Elena giggled nervously. “It doesn’t really improve the scenery,” she said.
“No,” Nancy agreed. “This place is a mess. I hope Ricardo manages to avoid being caught. But even if he does, he has no idea where we are.” She went to the door and tried to open it. As she had expected, it did not budge.
“No doubt Cordova sent out Juan and the other men when he realized we’d be snooping around the harbor,” she said gloomily. “Now that he’s got us, he can go ahead with his plan.” “Which is?”
“To force your aunt to sign the Power of Attorney, then take over your estate.”
“But that can be changed as soon as I’m twenty-one, can’t it?” Elena asked. “In a few months I can discontinue his services. He must know that.”
“That’s right,” Nancy said thoughtfully. “Apparently he’s not concerned about it. He must be planning something important in the interim.”
She sighed. “Let’s check out this place. Perhaps we’ll find something we can use as a weapon if someone comes for us.”
“Like a frying pan,” Elena said wryly.
“Don’t say that, it reminds me of food!” Nancy was suddenly aware of how hungry she was.
“I know,” Elena chuckled. “Even cold beans and tortillas would taste good now.”
“Come on, searching will take our minds off our stomachs,” Nancy said resolutely as she moved toward the piles of debris that were stacked on all sides. “We might even find another door behind all this junk.”
Elena nodded. “It does seem strange that the place would only be accessible from the street, doesn’t it?” She headed for a stack of large bales, while Nancy attacked a tarp-covered pile in a far comer. The light was dim, but when she dragged the dirty tarp away she could see that it had covered several small boxes. She bent close to read the words stenciled on the sides.
“Elena!” she called out suddenly. “Come here!”
The girl hurried over and stared at the spot Nancy was pointing to. In the light of
the flickering candle, she saw two intertwining circles with the words del Luz written across them.
“The del Luz logo!” she cried out. “That means this shipment is ours!”
“Right,” Nancy agreed. “Let’s see what’s inside. She pulled at the top of one of the boxes and finally managed to break open one end. Inside the carton were beautifully embroidered shawls, each sealed in a plastic bag.
“This is not a new shipment!” Elena declared.
“How can you tell?”
“There’s a small village up in the hills where the women have a tradition of making these lovely shawls,” Elena replied. “As far as I know, they’re the only ones in the whole country who do this kind of work.”
“So?”
' “Their entire output is about three or four of these boxes per year,” Elena continued. “We have not received any for several months. The last shipment was lost at sea—Nancy, it must have been on one of the freighters you’re investigating!”
“Except the merchandise wasn’t lost at sea at all, it was stashed right here in this warehouse!” Nancy added.
Suddenly a sound at the door claimed their attention. The girls instinctively ducked behind the boxes. The next moment the door flew open and someone was hurled into their prison.
“Ricardo!” Elena cried, her voice breaking with despair.
Ricardo groaned as he rolled over, revealing his battered face. Elena sobbed. “What have they done to you? Are you all right?”
Nancy quickly took a handkerchief out of her purse and handed it to Ricardo, then squatted down beside the young man.
“Can you talk to us?” she asked softly.
Ricardo sat up and grinned. “I am all right. I tried to fight, but I should have known Juan and his playmates would not be easy to get away from.” He winced as he took the handkerchief and wiped his split lip and bruised cheek.
“They were waiting for me when I arrived at the MIC office,” he went on. “Juan called me over and told me they had seen you both in the area. I thought it might be a trick, but I could not be sure. Senora del Luz trusted Juan, I know she did.”