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

by Nancy McGovern

  Faith couldn’t help but giggle, then added guiltily, “Mine’s no better.”

  Inevitably, Nathan swiped Faith’s passport next. He smiled. “Maybe not your best picture.”

  “I took it at one of those shops where they take it for you,” Faith explained. “I wanted one of those booths, where you can actually see yourself.”

  “Same!” Laura said.

  Sophie preened self-mockingly. “Well, my passport picture is beautiful,” she said. “Precisely because I went in one of said booths, where I could arrange my face.” She laughed. “Otherwise it would have been a nightmare.”

  “Let’s see,” Faith said.

  Sophie showed her, and it was true. She looked absolutely gorgeous in her picture.

  “What about yours, Yale?” Greg said with a teasing grin.

  Nathan swiped that, too, though Yale tried to hold it back. Then Yale shrugged, pretending he didn’t care, and said, “It’s just a passport picture.”

  Nathan snorted as he looked down at the picture. “You look like an axe murderer, bro. Like you’ve just killed someone, and sharpened your bloody axe, then buried the body in your back yard.”

  Everyone went quiet. Nathan then looked up, realizing what he had said. Deathly silence fell over the room. Nathan was uncharacteristically flustered. “Oh, I didn’t mean… Um, but… It was just…” He couldn’t finish a single sentence.

  Faith, feeling his embarrassment acutely, tried to divert the attention away from him and lighten the mood. She did her own swiping, snatching Greg’s passport off the table. Greg lunged over to snatch it back, but Faith was too quick, up on her feet. Greg got up, grinning and saying, “Come on, now, Faith, give it back.”

  Sophie, mischief in her eye, got up, too. Just as Greg was about to snatch it from Faith, Sophie said, “Here! Toss it here!”

  Faith threw it, and Sophie caught it neatly. She giggled as she opened the passport and looked at the picture. “Seriously, Greg, there’s nothing wrong with this picture.”

  “I hate it,” Greg said, sounding deeply self-conscious. He darted toward her to take it from her hand, but she’d already tossed it back to Faith.

  “It’s not a big deal, man,” Yale said. “Mine’s awful.”

  “Let me check this out,” Faith said, in high spirits. “Honestly, Greg, it’s nothing to be embarrassed about. It can’t be worse than mine or Laura’s.” She opened the passport to see a totally normal picture.

  But it wasn’t the picture that caught her eye. It was the section to the right, where it said ‘Name’, and ‘Former names’. There, printed in black ink, it read ‘Formerly Greg Jarrett’.

  Jarrett? Where had Faith heard that name before?

  But before she could deliberate over it, Greg had snatched his passport back.

  “That’s enough now,” Grandma Bessie warned. “Let’s all quieten down and get back to our card game.”

  But it was not to be.

  For Jasmine burst out of the interrogation room in floods of tears, the police chief standing next to her. Faith looked down their figures to see that Jasmine was in cuffs. Everyone seemed to notice at the same moment, and gasps rippled throughout the room.

  “Mrs. Jasmine Daish has confessed to the murder of both Solomon Masharia and her husband,” the police chief informed them. “Solomon Masharia made sexual advances on her, which is why she killed him. Then her husband accused her of wanting the attention from Mr. Masharia, and in a fit of rage, she struck him over the head and pushed him in Lake Naivasha. She hoped he would be eaten by crocodiles, but there are no crocodiles in the lake.”

  Richard gasped. “Because of the altitude.”

  “Indeed,” the police chief said coldly, clearly displeased by the interjection. “So we are going to charge her. You are all free to go back to the airport at Nairobi and leave back to your countries.”

  Mary stood, her voice shaking. “Jasmine, is this true?”

  “Yes,” Jasmine said. Her eyes were red, and her voice was slurred. It looked like she had been drinking an awful lot. Probably to try and forget all her guilt, Faith reasoned. “I killed them both.” She then burst out in heartrending, snotty tears. “I am so sorry. I am sorry to all of you. You are very nice people and I should not have ruined your lovely vacation. And now Roy is dead.” She began to wail.

  “Shut up,” the police chief said harshly. “We do not have sympathy for murderers, even if they are women. Now come along with me.”

  *****

  Chapter 20

  The minibus ride back to Nairobi airport was a very solemn one. At least before the interrogation, they’d all had some nervous energy they could turn into excitement. But now, all types of energy had been sucked out. The minibus felt like a black hole, where everything went to die.

  Faith rested her head on Nathan’s shoulder and tried to sleep, but she just couldn’t. Nathan snored gently, and looked so carefree there in dreamland she wished she could join him. But no matter how she willed sleep to come, closing her eyes and snuggling down into Nathan, it evaded her. The seatbelt buckle dug into her hip. The AC in the bus was too cold and was biting at her flip-flopped feet. The ride was too bumpy. Her mind wouldn’t stop racing.

  She looked over at Sophie and Greg, and saw Sophie was suffering from the same fate. Their hands were clasped together, and Greg was asleep. He looked quite ungainly with his mouth open, but he was certainly peaceful. Sophie on the other hand, kept tapping on the window seal and her eyes darted every which way. At one point they darted to Faith and they shared a sympathetic look.

  Thankfully, this new driver was a lifesaver. He switched on some lilting Kenyan music. It sounded like steel pan, or Caribbean music, but Faith could hear the distinctive language coming through, so knew it was local. It was extremely relaxing, and as she closed her eyes, she felt all her thoughts untangle. Soon she was picturing herself on a huge open beach, with the gentle warm waves lapping up and washing over her feet. Somehow she even felt warmer with that music playing.

  These images in her head and the feelings they conjured up were enough to send her off to a hazy, deliciously comfortable sleep. The seatbelt buckle didn’t dig anymore, and where Nathan had felt bony, he now felt soft. Faith allowed herself to drift away, like she was being carried away from the beach on a raft, bobbing on the gentle tide, and totally safe and protected. There was nothing to worry about in the world in that moment. All was well.

  The next thing she knew, Faith snapped awake. They were no longer passing rural towns and wide sprawling plains and fields. They were driving through the city. They must have reached Nairobi already.

  But Faith barely saw any of that. She took it in on the periphery. But there was a flashing red siren going off in her mind. Blood thundered through her ears. Adrenaline flooded through every limb, right to the tips of her fingers and toes. “Oh my gosh.” The words spilled out of her, frantic and terrified and bursting.

  Nathan jolted awake in a panic. “What, what? What’s happening?”

  Sophie looked over, concerned. “Faith, is everything all right?”

  Faith could not look at her. “No,” she said. “No.” She hoped against hope she was wrong, but she knew she wasn’t.

  “Faith?” Greg said.

  Faith leapt to her feet and ran to the front of the bus. She knew she had to be as far away as possible. “You!” she said, pointing at Greg. “You! It was you!”

  “What?” Mary asked, incredulous.

  “You killed Solomon! You killed Roy!”

  “You had a bad dream,” Mary said. “Remember, Jasmine confessed.”

  Greg had gone extremely pale, and was muttering to Sophie, “It’s not true. It’s not true.”

  “It is,” Faith said emphatically. “You’re Greg Jarrett. I knew I knew that name. Your brother didn’t die in a boating accident, did he?”

  “Faith, what are you talking about?” Grandma Bessie said.

  “Your brother Lyle Jarrett killed himself,” Fa
ith said. “Because of Roy’s business dealings with him. Your brother was the one Roy ruined. And now you’ve got your revenge.”

  Greg laughed and put his hands up. “Honestly, I have no idea what she’s talking about,” he said, looking around at everyone. But his hands shook, Faith could even see that from her place at the front of the minibus.

  “I think you tried to persuade Solomon to kill Roy. That’s why someone heard Solomon saying he would never do such a thing. Then you killed Roy, your real target all along. And you used Sophie, to make yourself look innocent.”

  Yale, who had befriended Greg somewhat, got up and held the headrest of the seat in front of him. “Greg, is this…?”

  “No, no, no!” Greg said, still laughing. “Good one, Faith. You got all of us.”

  “No,” Faith spat.

  “No,” Faith spat. “You got all of us. You tricked all of us. It makes sense. You’re from Canada. The businessman who killed himself was from Canada. His surname was Jarrett.”

  Silence spread across the minibus. Sophie pushed past Greg. He tried to grab her by the wrist, but she karate chopped his arm and ran to her father.

  “You killed Roy,” Faith said to Greg. “You did.”

  Greg’s voice turned nasty. “Prove it.”

  “Hang on,” Faith said, turning to Richard and Sophie, her stomach churning with dread. If what she feared was true, and they were all working together, then it could end up being a fight on the bus – a fight the innocent might not end up winning. “Did you… know? Sophie, you said you wanted to tell, but Richard said no.” Faith could hear her own pulse in her ears. “Laura heard you at the bar.”

  Sophie was crying into Richard’s shoulder.

  “No,” Richard said. “We were talking about whether we should tell the staff that Jasmine had taken a full bottle of whiskey without paying. I decided not to divulge the information, because she was a grieving widow and it was her right to drink if she chose to.”

  Faith’s whole body suddenly flooded with alarm. “She only confessed because she was so drunk! Maybe the police chief suggested stuff to her and she went along with it because she couldn’t think straight. Or maybe she wanted it all to be over. We have to go back and free her. Turn this bus around!”

  The driver looked back at Mary. Mary took a deep breath and shook her head. “No. We will take Greg to the police station here in Nairobi first. Then we will go back for Jasmine. I will put a call into the station back in Naivasha first.”

  “Okay,” Faith said, daring to breathe and relax a tiny bit.

  But then Greg darted forward out of his seat, with no warning at all. He wasn’t a huge man, but he was strong. He pushed both Faith and Mary out of the way, then grabbed the driver by the scruff of his neck and shoved him into the stairwell.

  Then chaos broke loose. Thankfully the minibus was in traffic so it didn’t cause a major accident, but the driver’s foot coming off the brakes made them shunt into the vehicle in front. Greg got into the driver’s seat and started beeping the horn with all his might. Cars began to part to let him through.

  “No!” Faith said, standing up. “No, stop!”

  Nathan and Yale and Arthur dashed forward to haul him out of his seat. Nathan was the fastest, and he lunged toward Greg. But then something happened that made Faith’s blood run cold. Greg reached into the side pocket of the door and pulled out a gun.

  “That’s mine!” the driver hollered. “I am licensed to carry it. You are not. Put it down!”

  Greg just laughed. Then he slammed on the brakes and pointed the gun at Nathan’s head. “Anyone else moves, this punk gets a bullet through his brain.”

  Nathan stared Greg down. “I’d like to see you try.” Despite his bravado, though, he wasn’t foolish enough to move. The look in Greg’s eye clearly betrayed that he would certainly not hesitate to pull that trigger.

  “Nathan!” Faith shouted.

  “Nathan!” Greg imitated cruelly. “Now, I’m going to drive this thing to the airport, get out, and board my plane. Anyone who makes so much as a wink to the outside world about what’s going on won’t live to see another day. Understood?”

  “Yes!” Mary said desperately. “Just please, do not hurt anybody!”

  Greg drew up his lips in a sneer. “You’re all as pathetic as each other.” He held the gun out with one hand and drove with the other, frequently using his knees on the steering wheel and his free hand on the gearstick. No one dared to speak. “Now tell me, if some scum sucking businessman screwed over your brother to the point your only brother decided killing himself would be preferable to living the life that has been totally destroyed, wouldn’t you want to kill the evil man that caused it all to happen?”

  Faith actually thought about that question. In all fairness, she knew she would be tempted. She didn’t have a brother, but pictured it happening to Nathan. Faith couldn’t lie to herself – she’d certainly entertain fantasies of killing them, even if she didn’t do it. Why should the one who caused the death live, while her loved one was dead and gone?

  No one answered Greg.

  “Exactly,” he said. “You all know the answer. My brother was a good man.” His voice cracked. “You would have never met a nicer guy.”

  At that moment, Nathan seized his chance. Greg, getting emotional, had let his gun hand drop just a little. Nathan pounced, wrestled the gun away from him, backed away, and pointed it at Greg’s head. “Stop the vehicle!” Nathan hollered. “It’s over!”

  Faith’s whole body tensed, ready for Greg to lunge back at Nathan and for the whole thing to escalate. But Greg slumped in the driver’s seat, and the minibus shunted into the back of another car. His eyes were devoid of all life. He had given up.

  Mary stood tall. “Right,” she said. “Driver, back to the wheel. Now, we return to Naivasha, free Jasmine, and put this man in jail.”

  Arthur, Richard, Nathan and Yale dragged Greg down to the back of the bus, laid him face down, and sat on top of him.

  “You have killed a great man in Solomon Masharia, killed another man, and broken my daughter’s heart,” Richard spat at him. “I could kill you with my bare hands.”

  “Please!” Mary hollered. “No more killing. No more talk of killing. Let us go back to Lake Naivasha in peace. Please.”

  *****

  “I am so sorry about everything that happened, Jasmine,” Faith said, giving the poor woman a hug. Faith wished she had more comforting things to say, but there didn’t seem like there was much that could be said.

  They had stayed at Lake Naivasha one extra night, and had a game drive in the morning. Then they had returned to Nairobi airport. Everyone wanted to go home.

  Jasmine had sobered up, though she still looked bedraggled and devastated standing there in the gleaming airport. It was to be expected, really. Thankfully, her mother and father had flown in from the States, simply to escort her back on the plane journey. She was still too shellshocked to speak much.

  “Thank you, dear,” Jasmine’s elderly mom said, patting Faith on the arm. “You’re a good girl. She’s still… processing. Perhaps one day she’ll remember you and get back in touch. But for now, maybe it’s just best we go.”

  Grandma Bessie nodded. “That sounds wise. Goodbye, Jasmine.”

  Jasmine let herself be led away by her parents, without so much as a backward glance.

  “Hey ho,” Richard said with a sigh. “Before we leave, can we at least sample Kenyan cuisine one more time? I’ll treat us all.”

  “Yes!” Yale said. “I’m starved.”

  “Please,” said Mary. “I would like you to all have positive memories of my country, not just bad ones.”

  They headed over to a Kenyan restaurant within the airport. Thankfully it was a strange time of day to eat – 3pm in the afternoon – and they got a table right away, despite their big party.

  Faith sat sandwiched between Nathan and Sophie, and Laura was right across from her. It had to be said that Sophie was holding
up extremely well. Having just found out her potential new love was a murderer, she was quite even about it all.

  “I’ll just swear off men for a while,” she said with a brave laugh. “A long while.”

  “Now, I want all of us to enjoy this meal tremendously,” Richard said, his accent sounding posher than ever. “No grisly talk. No deep philosophizing. Just good, plain, old fashioned fun. And the best cuisine in the world, if you ask me.”

  Everyone pored over the menu, while Richard and Mary made their expert recommendations.

  In the end, Faith picked nyama choma. She chose the chicken option – a breast slow cooked over hot coals until the meat was very tender and had a pleasant, slightly barbecued taste. It was to come with kachumbari, an onion, coriander, tomato and lime relish. Plain rice, hot chili sauce, and a bean-potato stew called githeri were to come on the side.

  For a moment, they all seemed to forget about what had happened. The evening had the same carefree joy some of their earlier evenings had, but with the added bonus of them having bonded. Faith felt free and easy and even happy, sitting among these people. Mary, Richard and Sophie felt like firm friends, now, and of course, the rest she adored.

  The only thing that marred her joy was a bit of nervousness about whether her food would be good. She really was ravenous, hunger clawing inside her belly, and she really didn’t want to be disappointed.

  But when it came, she was overwhelmed. Not only did it look beautiful, it tasted exquisite. “This is so good,” she said, savoring the sweet-savory-spicy flavors on her tongue and marveling at the artistry of the cooking.

  It seemed Laura was right, after all. Sometimes Faith worried a lot when there was no need. Faith, tucking into her meal, felt a new-found faith settle upon her. Sometimes bad things happened in life, but good things always won out in the end. She was sure she could find some scientist or worrywart or someone who had given up on life to try and disprove her, but she didn’t care. If the President himself or the Queen of England had come to disabuse her of her joy, she would have gazed right back at them, the hope of the future in her eyes.