Contents
Banana Whip Safari Trip
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Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
RECIPE!
Nancy McGovern
Cyra Bruce
Disclaimer
A SLICE OF PARADISE COZY MYSTERY
BOOK 4:
Banana Whip Safari Trip
By
Nancy McGovern
&
Cyra Bruce
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At the end of this story, there is an offer to join our mailing list for this series, through which you will receive updates, special offers & discounts on all future books in this series as well as information about joining our Street Team. Plus, you will receive a FREE BOOK from this series as a Thank You for signing up (a book you cannot get anywhere else)! If interested, the link is immediately after this story…
Chapter 1
If there was one thing Faith had learned about life, it was that it was almost impossible to predict. Back in her mom Diana’s cramped apartment in Minnesota, Faith would never have dreamed she’d one day be the owner of a sweet little wooden Florida tea room, nestled amongst tropical trees and mere steps from the beach. It sounded like something out of a storybook. But it had come true.
And there was certainly no way she could have predicted what she’d be doing on this particular April late afternoon – stepping into the polished marble floor of the Hilton Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, surrounded by all the people she loved the most, except for Diana, who thought the idea of a safari was the worst kind of vacation imaginable.
“Whoa,” Faith whispered, then turned to Nathan and gave him a wide smile. It was such a long time since she’d ever been to a hotel, and she’d never stayed anywhere the likes of the Hilton. They were arm in arm, and the closeness still felt so good, even though they’d been together for a while by then. Faith had been worried all that soft, sweet feeling would melt away over time, but it hadn’t. There were trying moments, for sure, when Nathan’s idealism and Faith’s practical approach locked horns, but they both knew how to forgive.
Before they could even reach the gleaming mahogany front desk, a Kenyan woman hurried up to them. The doormen had not yet closed the heavy glass doors out front and a breeze floated in, ruffling the woman’s long chiffon dress.
“The Jones and Franklin party?” she said with a smile. There was a little gap between her front teeth that gave her a slight lisp.
“Hello there,” Arthur said, holding out his hand for her to shake it. Grandma Bessie still wouldn’t admit he was her boyfriend, even though he’d taken to pecking her on the cheek whenever he could get the chance. “You must be Mary… Mbiti? Did I say that right?”
Mary broke out into a huge smile. “Right first time. You are all in good health, I trust? The flight was okay?”
Arthur nodded. “All good, thank you, Mary.”
Mary broke out into a genuine smile. “That is good to know. Solomon - that’s our driver - is upstairs in the lounge with some of the other guests. I hope you’re all looking forward to getting going tomorrow, but you can relax for today. Well, there sure are a lot of you.” She cast an eye over them with a deep breath and wide eyes that made everyone laugh. “You would think a tour guide would be good with names, but I might struggle, so you will have to forgive me.”
“I’m Bessie,” Grandma said. “This here is my granddaughter Faith and her boyfriend Nathan, and—”
“It’s so darn ridiculous!” a loud voice called out from the entrance. A man with a fake tan, his gut sagging over the waistband of his khaki linen suit and his blue eyes narrow, marched up the marble stairs, through the hastily opened doors and into the lobby. “I can’t believe it. I just can’t believe it,” he said to himself, pacing around.
Laura flashed a wide-eyed look in Faith’s direction.
“Babe!” A young woman hurried up after him, breathless after just a few stairs. “Don’t be like that, please, babe,” she said through panting, going over to him. “You’ll ruin our vacation.” She tried to touch him on the back and he jerked away.
“I’ll ruin the vacation?” he said, his face turning red, his eyes locked on hers.
She let out a long sigh. “Oh, babe, come on. Let’s try and have a nice time, huh?”
“How can I have a nice time after the stunt that moron pulled?” The man planted his hands on his substantial hips and shook his head. “This world’s going to the dogs, I tell you.”
The whole lobby had gone silent by then, and everyone was still, staring at the pair of them. The receptionist was the only one moving, slipping out behind the desk to come and resolve things, but Mary was faster.
“Aha!” she said, hurrying over to them. “I think you are Mr. and Mrs. Daish. Could I possibly be right?”
“Oh, um, yes,” the man said, taken off guard by her charm.
“I’m Jasmine, and this is my husband Roy,” the woman of the couple said.
Mary shook both their hands, then enquired after their health and the flight. Roy looked like the wind had been sucked out of his sails and he didn’t quite know what to do with himself as he nodded and Jasmine answered all the questions.
“Come on, everybody,” Mary then said. Faith loved the way her ‘r’s rolled in her Kenyan accent. “Why don’t we go up to the lounge together and meet our fellow travelers?” She clapped her hands as she led them all to the elevator, grinning. “This is going to be a spectacular trip. Just spectacular. Oh, please, leave your bags here in the lobby. Someone will take them up to your rooms.”
Laura leaned to Faith and Nathan in as they made their way toward the elevator. “They look like a bundle of laughs,” she whispered.
Faith smiled. “What I want to know is what was so ridiculous anyways.”
“I expect we’re going to find out,” Laura said, throwing a glance over at Roy, who was muttering angrily under his breath to his wife. “And probably pretty soon.”
Nathan twitched his nose. “Let’s just hope he’s not a serial complainer.” Then he grinned. “I can just imagine the peaceful African savannah, serene and quiet, and then all we can hear is the outraged grumbling coming from Roy’s tent.”
“Uh, don’t,” Faith said, rolling her eyes. Then Roy and Jasmine came up behind them and they went quiet, just as the elevator opened.
“Actually, we’ll go to our room first,” Roy said as everyone else except Jasmine stepped into the elevator. “We’ll want to change before having drinks. See you later.”
No one was sorry about that, though Mary did make an attempt to persuade them their clothing was, in fact, just fine.
But soon the rest of the party were up in the lounge, a gorgeous glass-walled room with a huge bar and a spectacular view over Nairobi. The sun was just beginning to set on the city, and it gleamed golden off the skyscrapers. Some vehicles had switched on their headlights and they moved like little toys throughout the d
arkening city.
“There’s Solomon and our other guests,” Mary said, pointing at a group sat on large, plush couches and nursing expensive drinks.
But no one was really looking at them – the sweeping view was breathtaking, and everyone’s eyes were fixed on it.
“Wow,” Faith said. “Look at that, Grandma Bessie, isn’t it amazing?”
Grandma Bessie had always been notoriously hard to impress, but she had mellowed in the last couple years. Since Faith had taken over the Slice of Paradise café, Grandma Bessie had thrown herself headlong into a riproaring retirement, full of activity and adventure. And Faith couldn’t help but notice the calming effect of Arthur (as he insisted they call him, laughing when they’d called him Mr. Jones), who was an easygoing old chap and took Grandma Bessie’s finickity tendencies well in his stride.
“You bet, kiddo,” Grandma Bessie said. She and Arthur were standing shoulder to shoulder, but when she saw Faith looking at them with an affectionate smile, she made a sharp step away. “Come on, let’s go get some drinks. That flight was murder.”
Mary turned and gasped. “Someone was murdered on the flight?”
At that moment a tall man with a deep tan – real this time – and deep set wrinkles that were pleasant, like he’d laughed a lot in his life, came up behind her. He clapped his hand on her shoulder in a friendly way, laughing. “No, Miss Mbiti, thankfully not,” he said, in an upper class English accent. “It’s merely rather a dramatic way of saying that the flight dragged terribly, or the film selection on the in-flight entertainment was disappointing, or the pilot was having an off day, perhaps.” He gave Faith and company a sympathetic smile. “Or mother nature decided to batter the 747 about with a spot of turbulence.”
Arthur shook his hand with a good natured laugh. “Or the airline food left a lot to be desired.” He smiled at Grandma Bessie, Faith and Laura. “When you have award winning bakers around, you end up with high standards.”
“Award winning bakers, eh?” the man said.
Mary broke into a smile. “This is great. You’ll get to taste traditional Kenyan food. And I, the most lucky one” – she did a little gloating victory dance, mocking herself – “will get to taste authentic American baking.”
The tall man laughed. “Perhaps I can persuade Soph to whip us up a spag bol and a curry and we’ll have covered English food, too. All culturally appropriated, of course. Anyway, I’m Richard Lovett. That’s my daughter Sophie.” He gestured back toward where a young blonde woman sipped from a champagne flute and chatted away with who appeared to be the driver Solomon, and a straight-laced looking man in his mid-30s. They both looked mesmerized by her as she tipped back her head and laughed, her soft blonde hair bunching up on her shoulders. There was something sparkly about her, somehow, that even Faith could see. But Faith knew that Sophie had no idea herself how beautiful she was. She looked like a nice, humble, friendly young woman.
“I’ve finally managed to get her to come this year,” Richard said. “I’ve talked it up so much she’ll probably be very underwhelmed now.” He gave Mary a friendly squeeze on the shoulder. “So you’d better make it bloody good, all right, Miss Mbiti?”
Mary giggled. “Mr. Lovett, I will do my best, God willing.”
“Otherwise I’ll have hell to pay,” Richard said with a smile.
“I suppose that is another expression.” Mary shook her head and made a tut-tut noise. “Murder? Hell? These English expressions are not very cheerful.”
Richard grinned. “Much like the English then. We’re a miserable lot, really, Miss Mbiti,” he said. “You’d better get used to it.” Then he went over to the bar.
“I see a trail towards drinks,” Yale said, always the party animal. “Why don’t we have a round of champagne? I’ll pay. Mary, would you like one?”
“Oh, no, no, no,” she said modestly.
“Aw, go on,” Laura said. She’d had her wispy blonde hair up in a bun the whole flight and now wavy tendrils fell around her face, making her look like a slightly disheveled Tinkerbell.
“Oh, I could not.”
Arthur, ever the sensitive, gentle giant, saw that she looked uncomfortable. “How about we get two bottles?” he suggested. “Whoever wants to have can have, and who doesn’t won’t. That’s easy enough.”
Everyone agreed and soon they were clinking glasses together, looking out at the shining skyscrapers of Nairobi and being introduced to the rest of their party. Jasmine and Roy had finally arrived – he in another linen suit and she in a glamorous patterned maxi dress – to join in the welcome celebrations.
It was a memorable moment for Faith as they all stood around in a circle, toasting their trip that would begin the next day. Everyone looked so happy, even Roy. Jasmine was smiling and beautiful, though she kept throwing dirty looks at Sophie when she thought no one was looking. Yale and Nathan and Laura all had excitement shining in their faces. Grandma Bessie’s features had softened into happiness and Arthur looked as peaceful and calm as always. Richard had on his slightly crooked smile, and the man in his 30’s, a Canadian called Greg Tobin who worked in car sales, looked like he’d set off on foot right then if he had to.
“We will have a fantastic time,” Solomon said, his voice full of enthusiasm you couldn’t help but smile. “Absolutely fantastic.”
Faith looked around at their bright faces, and knew they were dreaming of wide plains and bright blue skies, and monkeys and giraffes, and lazy evenings in the luxury tent camps. She certainly was.
Little did they know that one of the party wouldn’t make it beyond the first day.
*****
Chapter 2
“I’m a primary school teacher,” Sophie said. “But in the States you call that… elementary school, right?”
Faith nodded and smiled. “Yep.” Mary, in an attempt at ‘group bonding’, had given them a seating chart for their ride in the minibus, over to the Elephant Orphanage. Faith was sure glad she’d been put with Sophie.
Poor Grandma Bessie was stuck next to Roy. Thankfully, though, he’d seemed to drag himself out of his foul mood of the previous night. It had turned out that what was so ‘ridiculous’ was that the taxi man who’d driven them from the airport had asked for bit more money once they’d reached the hotel, because there had been a huge traffic jam.
Back in their room at the Hilton, Laura and Faith’d had a bit of fun at his expense, wondering what else he would complain about. (Arthur was very traditional, even more so than Grandma Bessie, and he had insisted Laura and Faith go in one room, Nathan and Yale in the other.) “Oh, this is ridiculous!” Laura had exclaimed. “The giraffe won’t look at the camera so I can get a good picture.”
Faith had pointed her finger in the air and said in a mimic of Roy’s deep voice, “I’ve got a good mind to complain to… the head of the giraffes!”
Faith could see Arthur kept peeking out of his spot up front next to Mary, checking if Grandma Bessie was doing all right. And he wasn’t the only one doing some peeking. Faith herself kept casting glances over at Nathan and Jasmine. Faith wasn’t insecure as such, but even from her seat near the back she could hear Jasmine’s tinkly, flirty laugh, and imagined her pawing Nathan and batting her eyelashes. She shifted in her seat, trying to get a better look.
Sophie looked her up and down, though not unkindly, immediately getting the measure of what she was doing. “Oh, don’t worry about her. Your man looks like he adores you. He couldn’t keep his eyes off you in the bar yesterday.”
Faith couldn’t help but smile at that. “Really?”
“And who could blame him, to be fair?” Sophie said. “You have gorgeous coloring, Faith. I always wanted sandy hair and freckles. I think it looks so whimsical and lovely.”
Faith grinned. “I wish my 12-year-old self could hear you right now. I always wanted to look like you, really. Blonde hair, blue eyes.”
“We all want what we don’t have, it seems,” Sophie said, laughing. “It’s great where I w
ork, though. Just on the outskirts of London. I have Chinese children, Romanian children, African children, Caribbean children, Sikh children, Polish children, just about everything. It’s great. Back in my school days, you had to be skinny, blonde and tall to be popular. In my school, that would leave you with about one child.” She laughed again. “It’s much more accepting where I work.”
“Were you part of the popular crew, then?” Faith asked.
Sophie laughed again, which she seemed to do often. It was an easy, genuine laugh that put Faith at ease. “Oh gosh, no. I was overweight, and that automatically sent me to the back of the popularity line, I’m afraid. I love cooking, you see, and I love eating. Only now I love exercising, too. Thankfully. Or rather, I’ve forced myself to love exercising.”
Faith felt glad to meet a kindred spirit. “I love baking,” she said. “And I go jogging to shed the extra pounds of all those cakes and pastries and stuff.”
“Oh, okay. Me, I play tennis,” Sophie said. “Most mornings before school starts. I don’t have the discipline for jogging, I’m afraid. I have to do something that feels like a game.”
“Perhaps we’ll see some lovely hummingbirds,” Richard said, his voice elevated with excitement. Faith could see Laura’s little blonde bun poking up from the seat next to him. “Really, Laura, they’re absolutely spectacular. There are three varieties, beginning—”
“Dad,” Sophie called out, rolling her eyes. “Please don’t bore the poor girl to death.”
Everyone tittered, but in a good-natured way.
“How can spotting beautiful birds be boring?” Richard said, getting up from his seat with a wide grin. “We’re on safari, for goodness sake. Isn’t that the point? Solly, back me up here, mate.”
Faith could see Solomon laughing in the driver’s seat through the rearview mirror. “Sit down, Rich, and put your seat belt on.” Then he put on a perfect imitation of a British accent. “There’s a good lad.”
Richard made wide eyes as he slunk back into his seat. “That’s me told, eh?”
Banana Whip Safari Trip: A Culinary Cozy Mystery With A Delicious Recipe (Slice of Paradise Cozy Mysteries Book 4) Page 1