Banana Whip Safari Trip: A Culinary Cozy Mystery With A Delicious Recipe (Slice of Paradise Cozy Mysteries Book 4)

by Nancy McGovern

  Once they’d crossed the street and entered the cobbled road, Faith felt like she was in heaven. So much fresh fruit! The colors were bright and vivid, but it was the smell that captured her the most. The fresh, fruity aroma was mixed with a rich denseness of spice - one of the lady vendors was weighing cinnamon sticks on a scale, while a huge array of other spices were being wrapped up in little packages by a teen girl sat on a stool next to her.

  “Hello,” the spice lady said to Faith and Mary. “How are you?”

  “We’re very well, thank you,” Mary said. “And how are things with you and your family?”

  The lady placed another portion of cinnamon sticks on the back of the stall for the young woman to wrap, and beamed. “All is well. God is good. Now, what would you like today?”

  Faith’s eyes tracked over to the back of the stall, where they had clear jars of what she assumed to be flour and sugar, though they weren’t labeled.

  “Faith would like to bake something,” Mary explained, then turned to Faith. “Any ideas?”

  “Hmm.” An idea was indeed slowly forming in Faith’s mind. Somehow, in the dry heat, some of her usual fare wasn’t appealing. When it got really hot back in Florida, she always started to veer away from chocolate and her classic recipes, which reminded her so much of the cold Minnesota nights in which she’d created them. The aroma of the pile of yellow bananas from the next stall was calling out to her, and fusing with the cinnamon in such a pleasant way that… yes! The idea had formed. “Aha!” she actually said out loud. “Can we have some flour, please, and brown sugar, and cinnamon.”

  The teen girl got up in a lackluster way – it seemed teenagers were the same the world over – and picked up a scoop and a bag for each ingredient. Faith already began to feel warm inside as she thought of the joy her new creation would bring. It was so exciting making something new.

  Soon she had a bag on her arm, filled with the ingredients she needed, while Mary carried the multitude of bananas.

  “They don’t have a supermarket here yet,” Mary said. “There are supermarkets all over the country, but I prefer this way. The traditional way. That way you can talk to people and relax. In a supermarket everybody is rushing around, nobody talking, nobody looking at each other.”

  Faith had never thought of that before. “You’re right,” she said. “I guess these days people want to dash in and out quickly.”

  Mary hooked her arm in Faith’s as they crossed the street back toward the café where everyone else was. “Yes, these days we are definitely going faster. But are we happier?”

  “Good question.”

  “Everyone wants to achieve so much that they do not stop rushing around,” Mary said. “But I am not convinced this is the best way.”

  Faith smiled. “You might be right. Laura and I used to think we wanted to achieve loads with our tearoom. Like, getting book deals and getting famous on Instagram and stuff. But… I don’t know if it’s wrong to say, but… I kind of like things just as they are.”

  Mary nodded. “That is very good. When things are good we should enjoy them. I am glad for you.”

  Faith had been expecting Mary to tell her to be more ambitious, to reach for the stars, so Mary’s soothing words were a nice surprise. “Thanks, Mary.” Then she shrugged. “I don’t know, it might change in the future. But for now, I feel like I’m doing what I want to do. I don’t feel like chasing down anything. I just want to…” Faith couldn’t quite find the words.

  “Be,” Mary said simply.

  “Yes!” Faith smiled. “Exactly.”

  *****

  The ride to the Lakeside Lodge was much nicer. She and Nathan gave each other gentle, guilty looks when they took their seats next to each other in the minibus. Faith was in the window seat and leaned up against him as they both looked out of the window. She felt quite sleepy and dreamy in the midday heat, and found herself drifting off.

  She didn’t wake again until they reached the lodge, which was totally different to where they’d been previously. Of course, the first thing Faith saw was the lake, huge and expansive and bright blue in the afternoon sun. Though they’d been driving through sparse terrain, this new stop was lush and green and felt almost like Nathan’s secret hideaway spot in Florida (which Grandma Bessie still owned, though Nathan was making payments back to her from his landscaping work at Paradise Point).

  Though the same dark wood, luxury feel remained, this Lakeside stop had a different feel. While the previous lodge had been raised and elevated and roomy, this was intimate and low to the ground. The luxurious white tents led onto a huge wooden veranda that jutted out toward the large lake.

  “Yay!” Jasmine said, excited. “This was my favorite part in the brochure!”

  “Me too,” Laura said, unbuckling her seatbelt and standing up to get a better view as Joseph drove into the parking lot. “And it looks just as good as the pictures. Better, even.”

  “It costs an arm and a leg,” Roy said. “So it had better be good. Real good. I’m going to write in and get all my money back anyways, of course, because of the trauma of the murder, but if I find a single speck of dust—”

  “Trauma of the murder?” Richard snapped. “Trauma, for you? What about Solomon?”

  Roy shrugged. “He’s dead, isn’t he? That’s hardly traumatic. He doesn’t know what’s going on.”

  Richard laughed a harsh, mirthless laugh. “I have to pity you,” he said. “Otherwise I’d simply strangle you.” Everyone went quiet, remembering how Solomon had been killed. “Oh,” Richard said, and the word caught in his throat.

  “Now a death threat,” Roy said. “Wonderful. This vacation gets better and better.”

  Mary stood up as Joseph brought the minibus to a stop. “Let us please not fight. It is not good for us to argue. Let’s go inside and have something to eat. This evening we will go on a game drive, then afterward Faith will feed us one of her world-famous baking creations.”

  “Um, not world-famous, Mary,” Faith said with a nervous laugh.

  Nathan nudged her and gave her a wink. “Go on, claim your title. You’re Miss Baking Universe.”

  As they all began to file out of the minibus, Faith picked up her bag of baking supplies and said to Nathan, “I really don’t get that, though. How they have Miss World and Miss Universe. What’s the difference?”

  Nathan was deadpan. “For Miss Universe they pit the reigning Miss World against extra-terrestrials, obviously. Miss Mars, Miss Venus, Miss Asteroid Belt. You know how it is.”

  Faith gave him a playful shove. “Is that a fact?”

  “Oh yeah,” he said. “I voted for Miss Saturn last year. I don’t normally go in for beauty pageants, you know, but she had the most amazing—”

  “Nathan,” Laura said warningly as she joined them at the front of the minibus.

  “What?” he said, throwing up his hands and opening his eyes wide to look innocent. “I was going to say rings!”

  Faith rolled her eyes and gave him a poke.

  Laura flapped her hand. “Anyways, that’s enough out of you.” She looked forward to the tent entrance. “Isn’t this just breathtaking?”

  Faith had been a bit dubious about the whole tent thing, but she had to concede the place was gorgeous. Straight in front of them was a large living and dining area, with elegant white furniture, and open walls. The canvas rolls at the top could be let down to cover the walls if needed. To each side of the main area were bedrooms, their canvas walls draped to the side and the luxury, clean beds in full view. “That really is something,” she said.

  “It’s a health and safety hazard!” Roy burst out. “For the life of me I’ll never understand how you people build accommodation that wild animals could prowl into. We’ll all be eaten alive the first night.”

  Laura leaned in and whispered in Faith’s ear. “Well, we can hope that he gets eaten, at least.”

  “You must not worry, Mr. Daish,” Mary said. Faith thought she had the patience of a sa
int, in all honesty. “The animals are not interested in the tents. Also, there are guards here at all times, just in case.” She gestured toward a guard sitting on a chair at the left hand side of the tent compound, whom Faith had not previously noticed.

  “You think that makes me feel better?” Roy scoffed. “Having guards obviously means there’s some sort of security problem.”

  “Can we get our bags out now?” Richard said loudly. “Most of us are here to enjoy our safari, and if we’re going on a game drive later on, we’ll have to relax first.”

  Mary smiled. “You are correct. Everybody, come with me. Joseph and the staff here will bring in your cases.”

  Everyone began to follow Mary, stepping up onto the large veranda area. Faith saw Sophie hanging back, biting her lip. She didn’t even respond to Greg’s adoring look. Faith slipped into the group next to her. “How are you doing, Sophie?”

  Sophie jerked a bit, like she’d just woken up. She shook her head and laughed. “Oh, I’m fine, really.”

  “Are you sure?” Faith pressed. “You looked worried.”

  Sophie sighed. “I’m just worried about my dad. I’m not sure how well he’s coping. My mum wants us to go back home but I’m not sure that’s the best idea. I know he’ll go stir crazy being at home, thinking of Solomon. It’s probably best for him to be here. He might even stay on in Kenya, after I go home.”

  Something in Faith’s brain started ticking. “Really? Why?”

  “To grieve, I suppose. To say goodbye to Solomon. But dad’s been coming here for years and years. He’d live here if he could, but my mum doesn’t like it.”

  “Oh, okay,” Faith said. Surely in all those years of being in Kenya, Richard had racked up quite a history in the country. But was that history connected to Solomon’s murder?

  *****

  Chapter 8

  Even though it had only been a couple of days, it felt like a lifetime since Faith had last baked. She was so used to doing so every day, what with running the tearoom. She almost felt at a loss of what to do without an apron hanging down from around her neck, and a mixing bowl and whisk at hand.

  So it was a delight to be getting back into the kitchen with Laura. It was quite comforting, doing what they usually did in the face of the mystery. There were two chefs at the Lakeside Lodge, both young men: Moses from Nairobi, who had just graduated from culinary school, and Andre from Ukraine, who was a little more seasoned. They happily went out the back of the kitchen onto the wide veranda overlooking the lake, so Faith and Laura could have some space.

  “So, give me the 411,” Laura said, tying her wispy hair up in a tiny topknot.

  “Okay, so banana whip cinnamon cookie sandwiches.” Faith grinned. “Sounds crazy, but I think it just might work. I put the bananas in the freezer as soon as we got here. Now all we have to do is make the cinnamon cookies. Then we just whip the banana up in the blender, then sandwich it between the cookies just before serving. Easy.”

  “That does sound super easy,” Laura said, hurrying over to the sink to wash her hands. “I was scared it was going to be one of your crazy complicated creations and we’d be trying to do some Michelin-starred thing in here.”

  “No fear,” Faith said with a giggle, unpacking the flour and sugar and other ingredients. “I want to catch that afternoon game drive.” Then she bit her lip. “Hey, do they have butter or margarine in there?” she said, nodding at the refrigerator.

  Laura swung open the heavy door. “Yep.” She drew out a packet of margarine and slapped it down on the counter. “Me, too, about the game drive. Mary said they have all kinds of rhinos here. I really want to see one.”

  “For goodness’ sake, Jasmine!” they heard the voice of Roy burst out from the next room, or perhaps even the room after that. With canvas walls, it was quite easy to hear conversations you maybe shouldn’t.

  “Speaking of rhinos,” Faith said, rolling her eyes and ducking down under the counter, looking for a mixing bowl.

  Laura gasped. “Don’t insult the poor rhinos,” she said. “I don’t think they’d like to be compared to that… that… snake.”

  “Hey, snakes are all right,” Faith protested. “Anyways, did you get to speak to Jasmine in the end?”

  “Yep,” Laura said, “but just briefly. Really briefly. In the café, thankfully Roy found something to complain about, so marched up to the front desk to go make a scene. So I had a spare couple of minutes to snatch with Jasmine.”

  Faith had found a bowl and wooden spoon, and poured the flour into the bowl. “And…?”

  “And nothing much, really. She just said that it’s a shame he’s not enjoying his vacation. Then she kind of looked wistfully over at Greg and Sophie, who were making romantic eyes at each other.”

  Faith smiled. “Well, at least something good might have come out of it.”

  “Maybe.” Laura shrugged. “Yale seemed to think that Greg is just avoiding his problems. Like… running away from his issues and using Sophie as a distraction.”

  “Oh.” Faith paused. “I think she’s actually interested in him.”

  “No, no, Yale thinks he’s interested in her, too,” Laura said. “Just for the wrong reasons, that’s all. He’s big on the whole you have to find yourself thing, you know, before you get with someone. Because if you’re not satisfied with yourself, you’re going to be looking for your missing pieces in the other person. But they don’t exist to fill your gaps. That’s what Yale said.”

  Faith pretended to swoon. “Oh, so romantic.”

  Laura gave her a little thump on the arm. “Well, I think he’s very wise.”

  “No, I do actually think it’s kind of true.” Faith’s mother had told her something similar. Faith’s father had left so early in her life that she’d never met him. Faith’s mom Diana had explained how she felt part of her own self had been ripped out when he’d left, and she’d had to rebuild herself all over again.

  Faith had nodded along, and she did with Laura, because she felt too tired to debate. But on some level, she disagreed. Sure, it was safer to approach a relationship from such a sensible standpoint. She loved the idea of being poised and complete, having ‘found herself’. But how realistic was that? Wasn’t the whole idea of falling in love getting hopelessly tangled up? At least that’s always how she’d perceived it.

  “I didn’t find anything out from Sophie, by the way,” she said, “except what we knew already, that her dad’s been here many times. So that got me to thinking he’s probably one of the most likely suspects, since he really knew Solomon.”

  Laura flopped down on one of the stools in the corner. “We’ve said that already. I feel like we’re just going round and round in circles.”

  “We are,” Faith said. She’d started looking for a baking sheet to put in the oven, and she clattered through the baking utensils, starting to feel a bit frustrated. It was quite hot in there as well, given the time of day. “We need to find out more.”

  “But how?” Laura said. “I thought it’d be easier since we’re always around each other, but that’s what makes it so hard. There’s always someone there listening. Especially when it comes to Jasmine. How am I ever going to get a word with her when her husband clings onto her like a blood sucking leech?”

  Faith finally found a baking sheet, and pulled it out, laughing. “Oh, that’s an attractive image.”

  “Yeah, well, it’s not an attractive situation, is it?” Laura said. “I don’t know how we’re going to do this, in all honesty. I feel like we don’t know any of these people.”

  As Faith returned to her mixing bowl and continued to mix, they didn’t speak for a moment. Then she sank down into a kind of calm state she hadn’t been in for a while. She always liked when that happened. It was the opposite of a panic attack, she liked to think, and she hadn’t had one of those in a long time. These good kinds of ‘calm attacks’ nearly always happened when she was baking, though sometimes she also got them when she and Nimbus and Cirrus were p
laying around. Her mind felt clear and sharp, and it felt like no problem in the world was insurmountable right then.

  And then it came, whooshing in. An idea.

  A slow smile crept over Faith’s face.

  *****

  “Okay,” Faith said with a clap of her hands. “Because we’re going to be together for a little while longer, we thought we’d devise a little game. Now, we know there’s not much time because we’re going on the game drive, but it won’t take long.”

  Everyone was sitting around in their game drive gear, in the tent, which had the canvas flaps open, letting the cooling breeze ride over the lake and indoors.

  “Ooh, great,” Richard said, leaning forward in his chair and rubbing his hands together. He was being genuine, not sarcastic, but he had this wired look about him. His eyes had glazed over a bit, like an animal’s.

  “Here we go.” Laura came from her place at the side of the room and set down the board on the table. It was just a piece of cardboard overlaid with paper that she’d colored in while the cookies were baking. She then tipped out a load of coins, one for each person. They’d considered other little gaming pieces, but realized they’d probably blow away. So she’d found a Sharpie and written each person’s initials on a coin.

  Roy, predictably, huffed, rolled his eyes, and slumped back in his chair.

  “So when it’s a person’s turn,” Faith said, “they pick a card. There are three questions on there. One is a tame question for one point. One is a middle question for two points. And the last is a more personal question, worth three points. You pick which one you want to answer, then move your coin that number of steps. The first to cross the line not only gets their banana whip cookie sandwich, they also get pride of place seating on the game drive,” – which they’d okayed with the driver Victor, who Mary had introduced them to – “and a baking lesson with Laura and me… if you want to.” She felt a bit uncomfortable saying that. It had been Laura’s idea. Faith couldn’t imagine who would want that as a prize, but she tried to feel confident in herself and speak it out.