Lost in the Everglades
Page 7
after a moment. “I'm not sure. You should ask Griffin.
And in answer to your second question—yes, she was
concerned about preserving the Everglades. Everyone
who works here is really, really concerned about that.”
Nancy fell silent. She thought about what Susan had
said and made a mental note to talk to Griffin as soon
as possible.
Bess got up and went over to the railing. “Wow,
sunset cruises are so cool.”
“Bess, be careful,” Susan warned her. “Don't stand
so close to the railing.”
“I'm fine, I'm holding on tight,” Bess said. She bent
down and pointed to something in the water.
“Ohmigosh, look, there's the cutest little osprey or
heron or whatever swimming around down there—”
Just then a motorboat passed by, going way too fast.
Nancy saw the name of the boat out of the corner of
her eye. Pan-something, she noted. Panther, maybe?
The motorboat circled the Seabreeze, kicking up
more water, then sped back toward the Flamingo
marina. The Seabreeze bobbed wildly in its wake.
“Oh, no!” Bess cried out. She lost her balance, and
went over the railing.
8. Mistaken Identity
Nancy stared in horror as her friend slipped overboard.
Bess hit the dark water with a loud splash. “Help!”
she screamed. “Hellllp!”
Nancy leaped to her feet. So did George and Susan.
“Susan, tell Jody and Michael to stop the boat!” Nancy
shouted.
“Okay!” Susan turned and rushed off.
Nancy glanced down at Bess, who was bobbing
around in the sunset-streaked waves. Bess, who was a
good swimmer, had panicked, Nancy could tell. She
wasn't even trying to swim. At least she has her life
preserver on, Nancy thought. In the distance Nancy
could hear the motorboat gunning its engines and
speeding back in the direction of Flamingo.
“Nancy, there are sharks in the bay!” George cried
out.
“I know. She's panicked. I'm going in after her.”
“What do you want me to do, Nan?” George asked
calmly.
“Stay here and keep an eye out for—for sharks.”
Nancy shook off her leather sandals. “Hang on, Bess!”
she shouted. Then she executed a perfect dive into the
water.
The warm, salty water swirled around Nancy's head.
She came up for air, sputtering for breath. She saw
right away that Bess was just a couple of feet from her.
“Nancy! Hellllllllp!” Bess screamed, flailing her
arms.
Nancy swam over to her. “Bess, just relax. I'll get
you.”
Bess grabbed Nancy around the neck. They both
went underwater for a minute.
Bess was holding Nancy's neck way too tightly.
Coming up for air, Nancy tried to shake her off. “No,
not like that,” she sputtered. “We'll both drown! Let
me put an arm around you in a cross-chest carry. Come
on, you know how to do it. Relax, it'll be okay.”
“Oh, yeah, like I can really relax!” Bess wailed.
Finally Bess calmed down and let Nancy help her
back to the Seabreeze. As they swam, Nancy saw
something out of the corner of her eye: a creature with
its silvery black head out of the water. For a second
Nancy almost panicked. Was it a shark? No. She
quickly realized that it was some sort of large fish. The
fish bobbed up again, and then swam off in the other
direction.
Nancy and Bess finally reached the Seabreeze. Jody
and Michael had stopped the boat and were gazing
anxiously over the edge. So were Susan and George.
Nancy and Bess climbed the metal ladder that was
attached to the side of the boat. When they got to the
top, George offered a hand to hoist them up and over
onto the deck.
“Are you okay?” Susan demanded.
“We're fine,” Nancy replied breathlessly.
Jody handed Nancy and Bess towels. “My gosh, what
happened?”
“I was looking at this cute little bird or whatever,
and I got too close to the edge,” Bess said sheepishly.
“You're lucky you got out of there before the sharks
got curious,” George chided her.
All the blood drained out of Bess's face. “I was just
starting to forget about them! George, you shouldn't
have reminded me—now I'll have nightmares forever.”
George glanced at Nancy and grinned apologetically.
“I guess I shouldn't have mentioned the sharks.”
“I guess not.”
Jody and Michael went belowdecks to turn the
Seabreeze back toward shore. Nancy's and Bess's
dresses were soaked. They sat on a bench and huddled
under layers of towels.
“Now what?” Bess said, shivering. She ran a hand
through her sopping-wet hair. “My hair is a total wreck,
and I spent an hour blow-drying it today!”
“I'm sorry our evening was ruined, girls,” Susan
apologized. “We'll go back to your cabin, get you guys
changed, and then drive to my favorite little lobster hut
for dinner. My treat.”
“Lobster, what a great idea,” Bess said.
“Sounds good to me,” George agreed. She turned to
Nancy. “Nan? What about you?”
“Huh? What? Oh, lobster sounds fine,” Nancy
replied.
But she was lost in thought about the incident that
had just taken place. Was it pure coincidence that the
motorboat had been going by us so fast? she wondered.
Or was it not coincidence at all?
The following afternoon Nancy, Bess, George, and
Susan arrived at the Coconut Beach Club. The club
was a short drive from Flamingo, right on the water. It
was in a beautiful old Art Deco building from the
1920s. Nancy couldn't help noticing all the limousines
and sports cars that were pulling up to the entrance.
This is going to be a fancy party, she thought and
was glad she and her friends had dressed up.
Bess pulled a mirror out of her purse and examined
her face as they opened the front door. “Do I look
okay? Is my lipstick on straight?”
“You look great! No one will ever know that you
were almost eaten by sharks less than twenty-four
hours ago,” George teased her.
Bess glared at her. “George! You promised you
wouldn't mention the sharks!”
“All right, you two,” Nancy scolded. She turned to
Susan. “I'm so glad you could come with us.”
“Even volunteers get an afternoon off once in a
while,” Susan said, grinning. “Besides, I'm kind of
eager to meet the famous Bill and Esther Drake. I've
read about them in the papers and seen them in the
local news but never in person.”
The four friends went inside, signed in at the
Welcome table, and paid the entrance fee. The lobby
was swarming with people who were dressed in
everything from jeans and T-shirts to fancy suits and
cocktail dresses.
“
Isn't this a fabulous event,” Nancy heard one
woman say to another. “Saving the manatees. What a
fabulous cause!”
“Yes, it is a fabulous cause,” the other woman
agreed. “Manatees, are they some sort of endangered
bird or something?”
“No, darling, manatees are those enormous pre-
historic-looking creatures that live in the water and get
in the way of motorboats,” the first woman explained.
“Actually, they're rather ugly.”
Nancy and her friends proceeded into the main hall,
which was even more crowded than the lobby. There
was a huge buffet table at one end of the room, and a
drinks table at the other. A string quartet was playing
classical music.
Nancy glanced around. “I'm going to try to find Jeff
Kelly. George, you stay close to me, in case we run into
the Drakes.”
George nodded. “I know my assignment.”
Bess frowned at Nancy. “Explain George's as-
signment to me again.”
“George is going to pretend to be Jade when I
introduce her to the Drakes. That way, I'll be able to
tell if the Drakes and Jade knew each other,” Nancy
explained in a low voice.
“You're the makeup queen, Bess. Didn't you notice
that I had different makeup on?” George pointed to
her face. “Purple eyeshadow and bright pink lipstick.
Susan told me that's what Jade always wore, which is
not exactly my look.”
Bess squinted at her. “Oh, yeah. Wow, I've never
seen you in purple eyeshadow. It's a huge improve-
ment, actually,” she teased.
“Thanks a lot,” George grumbled.
“Just kidding! Gotta get you back for all those shark
jokes,” Bess said with a grin.
The four girls worked their way through the crowd.
After a while Bess excused herself to hit the buffet
table. Susan found some people she knew, and stopped
to talk to them.
Nancy and George continued weaving through the
mob, trying to find Jeff Kelly. At one point they ran
into Mrs. Fitzgerald, Susan's dorm mother at
Flamingo.
Mrs. Fitzgerald was dressed in a black cocktail dress
with a Save the Manatees button pinned to it. She
noticed George's makeup and gave her a quizzical
smile.
“I know, I know,” George said before Mrs.
Fitzgerald had a chance to say anything. “The makeup.
I really look like Jade now, don't I? I'm land of on
assignment. Don't ask.”
“Okay, I won't,” Mrs. Fitzgerald said, shrugging.
“But, yes, you do look like her.”
“So you're interested in saving the manatees, Mrs.
Fitzgerald?” Nancy asked her.
Mrs. Fitzgerald nodded. “Of course! This is a very
worthy cause.”
“I couldn't agree more.” Nancy glanced around. “By
the way, do you happen to know Jeff Kelly?”
“Jeff Kelly?” Mrs. Fitzgerald repeated. “That name
sounds so familiar.”
“He's the leader of CAMC. Citizens Against
Manatee Commons,” Nancy explained.
Mrs. Fitzgerald nodded. “Oh, yes, him.” She glanced
around the room, then pointed. “It's that man over
there, standing to the right of the door. He's wearing a
maroon tie.”
“Thank you.”
Nancy and George headed over to the door. Jeff
Kelly was a middle-aged guy with a rugged build,
graying-black hair, and piercing blue eyes. He was
dressed in a gray pinstripe suit. He, too, wore a Save
the Manatees button.
Nancy introduced herself and George. “We talked
on the phone yesterday,” she reminded Jeff.
Jeff's blue eyes lit up. “Oh, yeah, right. You were
interested in chatting about Manatee Commons.” Jeff
glanced at George. “You—you look familiar. You've
been to some of the CAMC meetings, right?”
George glanced at Nancy, waiting for a cue. Ob-
viously, she wasn't sure whether she should pretend to
be Jade or not.
Nancy smiled at Jeff. “Actually, she hasn't. But we're
wondering if someone who looks a lot like George has
been to the CAMC meetings. Her name is Jade
Romero.”
“Oh, yeah, Jade Romero. Wow, you two do look
alike,” Jeff said to George. “Yeah, this Jade girl's been
to a few of our meetings. I haven't seen her around in a
while, though.”
Nancy nodded. “Would you say that Jade is—was—a
pretty major player in CAMC?”
Jeff started. “A major player? No, you could hardly
call her that. She came to a few of our meetings, that's
all. She took some of our literature.”
Nancy considered this new information. One theory
about Jade's disappearance was that she'd been deeply
involved in the opposition against Manatee Commons
and that the Drakes had targeted her in some personal
way. But according to Jeff, Jade had not been a big part
of CAMC. Of course, that didn't mean she hadn't been
a thorn in the Drakes' side in some other way.
But either way, did the Drakes have a hand in Jade's
disappearance?
First, I have to figure out if the Drakes knew Jade to
begin with, Nancy thought.
Just then a familiar face drifted into her line of
vision. Mrs. Drake was walking through the center of
the room, away from the buffet.
“Excuse me, Jeff,” Nancy said to the CAMC leader.
She grabbed George's arm. “Come on, George. I
mean, Jade. You're on!”
George looked confused. “Huh?”
“Esther Drake at three o'clock,” Nancy explained.
The two girls made their way through a crowd of
people. Nancy went up to Mrs. Drake, who had
stopped to admire a painting on the wall.
Mrs. Drake was dressed in a beautiful blue suit.
Pinned to the right side of her collar was a panther
brooch made entirely of diamonds. On the left side of
her collar was a Save the Manatees button. She was
nibbling from a plate of hors d'oeuvres.
“Mrs. Drake?” Nancy called out. “Hello, what a
surprise!”
Mrs. Drake turned around. Her eyes fell on Nancy.
“Oh, hello, dear! What are you doing here? Covering
the event for your newspaper—what was it, the Coral
Gables Times? The Fort Lauderdale Falcon? I am so
bad with names.”
Then Mrs. Drake noticed George, and gasped. Her
plate of hors d'oeuvres slipped through her fingers and
fell to the floor.
“What are you doing here?” she asked George.
9. A Warning
The plate of hors d'oeuvres hit the floor with a loud
crash. Crackers, cheese, celery sticks, and canapés
scattered everywhere.
Mrs. Drake didn't even seem to notice that she'd
dropped her plate. She continued to stare at George
with a flustered expression.
Nancy glanced at the older woman and tried to
suppress a smile. Bingo, she thought. Mrs. Drake
too? Nancy couldn't imagine that Mrs. Drake knew
Jade, but not Mr. Drake.
A waiter rushed up to them with a broom. “Here, let
me clean that up,” he offered.
Then Mrs. Drake came out of her spell. She blinked
at George, a blush creeping across her cheeks. “I'm
sorry, my mistake! I—I thought you were someone
else,” she stammered.
“Who did you think I was?” George asked inno-
cently.
Mrs. Drake shook her head. “Oh, never mind. No
one important.” She smiled at Nancy. “Nancy, right?
I've got your name straight, finally! How are you,
dear?”
“I'm fine, thank you,” Nancy said. “Mrs. Drake, this
is my friend George Fayne.”
“Nice to meet you, George,” Mrs. Drake said,
shaking George's hand. “Lovely party, isn't it?”
“Yes, lovely,” George agreed.
“Is Mr. Drake here, too?” Nancy asked Mrs. Drake.
She wanted to “introduce” George to Mr. Drake before
Mrs. Drake could tip him off that she wasn't Jade.
Nancy was really curious to see how he would react to
the Jade look-alike.
Mrs. Drake smiled. “Yes, he's here somewhere.
Wheeling and dealing, I'm sure, as always.”
George stared at Mrs. Drake's brooch. “Wow, what
a nice pin! Is that a tiger?”
“Actually, it's a panther,” Mrs. Drake explained.
“The panther is an endangered species here in Florida.
And as I mentioned to your friend Nancy, we at
Panterra Corporation care about endangered species.”
She added, “So, George, are you a reporter, too?”
George glanced quickly at Nancy. “Actually, no.
That's Nancy's line of work. I'm—I'm into fitness.”
“Oh, my, good for you,” Mrs. Drake said. “It can be
so hard to find time for exercise! Anyway, excuse me,
girls, won't you? I have to speak with some of those
interesting CAMC people.”
Nancy and George bid Mrs. Drake goodbye. After
she had gone, George turned to Nancy, baffled. “She's
going to talk to the group that's opposing Manatee
Commons? I don't understand.”
“She's either very smart or very out of it,” Nancy
said, staring after Mrs. Drake. “I can't figure her out.”
She added, “In any case, it's obvious from the way she
reacted when she first saw you that she knew Jade.
That's very interesting information. The thing is, she