Banana Split (31 page)

“So that Jim guy—he owns the motel?” Gayle asked.

Sadie smiled as she remembered the look on Jim’s face when he returned from the charter expedition to find his motel overrun with the Kaua’i police department. They’d conducted all the interviews on the premises and talked to every guest and employee. People not connected to the motel were standing around, trying to get a feel for what was going on. It was Jim’s worst nightmare, and Sadie had thoroughly enjoyed knowing she’d been part of that nightmare for him.

Jim wasn’t any less tyrannical with the police than he was with his employees. Watching him wave his arms around and demand things be done his way had been Sadie’s silver lining. When she and Gayle left, he was just starting to calm down. Sadie hoped she hadn’t missed the rest of the show but wasn’t about to stick around once the police dismissed them.

“He’s a piece of work,” Sadie said, shaking her head and pulling open the fridge. There wasn’t much to choose from, and she didn’t want Gayle to see the deplorable contents, so she shut it and decided to order something from the Polynesian cafe down the street. They delivered and after three months knew Sadie by name. “Did I tell you about the conversation I had with Jim this morning?”

“No,” Gayle said, laughing as she leaned back in the futon. “I’ve hardly talked to you at all.”

“Gosh, that’s sad,” Sadie said, feeling herself relax. Thank goodness. Maybe because she was home, maybe because she’d drawn a line, or maybe because Gayle was here and not mad at her even though she’d stepped into weirdness 101.

Sadie went to the phone on the wall. “I’m just going to order us some dinner, and then I’ll tell you everything.”

“Oh, good,” Gayle said, wriggling in her seat a little bit. “What are we going to eat?”

“Well, my favorite is the Lumpia—that’s like a Filipino egg roll, really yummy—and then the Spam-fried rice.”

“Spam?” Gayle wrinkled up her nose. “A restaurant serves Spam?”

Sadie laughed; she’d had a similar reaction before she’d tried it. “It’s an island,” she explained. “With limited fresh meats, Spam is all the rage around here. Konnie, one of the Blue Muumuus, told me she has at least twenty Spam recipes.”

“Are you kidding me?” Gayle said, cocking her head slightly to the side and narrowing her eyes. “You’re totally making that up. Spam is like the joke of all canned goods.”

Sadie shook her head and picked up the phone. “Welcome to the Islands,” she said, then dialed the number, excited to share some of the Hawaiian culture with Gayle and hoping it would dim the events of the morning.

Nearly an hour later, Gayle and Sadie had a feast spread out on the table. “Okay,” Gayle said, waving her chopsticks—she was totally showing off by not using a fork like Sadie was—“so, the pastor is a creep and his wife is having an affair with a tyrannical motel owner.”

Sadie had chosen the wrong moment to take a drink and began sputtering and coughing. She waved her hand through the air as though to wipe away Gayle’s words.

Gayle shrugged smugly and took another expert bite of her rice. “Is that about it?”

“No,” Sadie said, finding it hard to keep from smiling now that she knew Gayle was teasing. “I don’t
know
that Bets and Jim are having an affair.”

“But he knows about her marital problems, right?”

“Well, yeah.”

“And she went to him for help.”

“But why would she go to her . . . lover for help with her marriage?”

Gayle considered that. “You have a point. But why would a happily married woman go to a single man for help? Dangerous ground.”

“I agree,” Sadie said. “But—”

“And she wanted Noelani to disappear,” Gayle said. “Maybe she did it. I mean Noelani’s been gone for what, three weeks, and Bets is already trying to pawn off the next honey on the motel, right?”

“Well, she didn’t say it like that.”

“A spade is a spade.” Gayle took another bite, chewed and swallowed, then pointed at the Styrofoam container. “And this is amazing. I can’t wait to tell my mom I ate Spam; she’ll be so proud of me. She loves Spam.”

Sadie laughed and took another bite. They got sidetracked talking about Gayle’s mom, and then her kids, and then Sadie’s kids, and then someone knocked on the door.

They both went silent. Sadie tried not to notice the wave of fear that washed over her, but it was a learned response. Gayle either noticed Sadie’s hesitation, or she simply got to her feet faster, but regardless, she was halfway to the door before Sadie had overcome her hesitation and stood up from her chair.

“Oh, hello,” Gayle said before Sadie had rounded the corner from the kitchen to the living room. Sadie stopped, keeping herself hidden. The possibilities of who could be at the door narrowed substantially if Gayle knew the person. She leaned in to listen.

“Oh, hi. Is Mrs. Hoffmiller here?”

Kiki?
Sadie straightened. Gayle had seen her at the motel, but they hadn’t been introduced.

“How did you know where to find her?” Gayle asked.

“I got the address from the form she filled out when she registered last night at the motel. I really need to talk to her—is she here?”

“I’m here,” Sadie said, coming around the corner and trying to look confident.

Kiki was no longer dressed in her uniform; she wore a sundress with an empire waist that emphasized her pregnant belly. Her hair was pulled up in a sloppy bun, and she had blue rubber slippahs on her tiny brown feet. “Mrs. Hoffmiller,” she said, sounding relieved. “I’m glad you’re here. I was trying to call before I realized your phone was ruined.”

Sadie ignored Gayle’s look. She’d tried to convince Sadie to go to Lihue on the way home from Kalaheo and get a new phone, but Sadie had begged off, promising she’d do it tomorrow.

“I really need to talk to you,” Kiki said again.

“Come in and sit down,” Sadie said, waving her inside. A minute later, after Sadie had made the introductions, they sat across from one another in the same configuration Sadie and Charlie had sat in a few days earlier; Sadie in the rattan chair and Kiki on the futon. Gayle sat next to Sadie on one of the kitchen chairs.

Once settled, Sadie looked at the young woman expectantly, but felt herself tensing with increased anticipation. “Don’t you have class?”

“Yeah, I’m skipping it today,” Kiki said. “And I never skip.”

Which meant that whatever brought her here was more important than school.

“I’m really sorry about your room,” Kiki started.

Sadie felt Gayle glance at her, but she kept her focus on Kiki. “Do you know anything about that?”

Kiki shook her head. “I know it sounds crazy, since I was at the desk, but I didn’t see anyone go in.”

“Aren’t there video cameras?”

“Yeah, but they feed into a monitor in Jim’s apartment.”

“Above the expedition garage?” Sadie asked. Talk about a control freak. He wanted to monitor the motel but not let anyone else see. She wondered if the police had ever gotten copies of the tapes from the last night Noelani had worked.

Kiki nodded. “I can only see what’s visible from the office, and I can’t see your room from there.”

“Aren’t you the only person who could make a key that would have let anyone in?”

She hesitated, then nodded. “Yes, I’m the only one who can make a key, but I didn’t make one. You heard Jim threaten my job if I let you in, and I certainly wouldn’t have let anyone else in. There are a few master keys, though; housekeeping has one, I have one, and Jim has one.”

“But Jim was on the expedition,” Sadie said.

“Like I said, I don’t know who did it, but that’s not why I’m here.”

If Kiki had something she felt was even
more
important than who ransacked the room, Sadie didn’t want to distract her from it. “It isn’t? What brought you all the way here, then?”

“The coffee.”

“The coffee?” Sadie and Gayle said in unison.

Kiki looked shaken. “The night Noelani used my car—the last time anyone saw her—she’d said she’d pick up coffee for the morning. We were almost out.”

“Okay,” Sadie said, encouraging her to continue.

“It was in my car when I got it out of impound on Monday.”

It was Gayle who put Sadie’s thoughts into words. “Why would she have bought coffee if she wasn’t coming back?”

Kiki looked relieved that someone understood. “She planned to come back,” she said, her voice low. “And that changes everything.”

Spam-Fried Rice

Sauce

1/2 cup soy sauce

4 tablespoons sugar (if using Aloha brand of soy sauce, then reduce sugar to 2 tablespoons)

4 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed

1 tablespoon oyster sauce (optional)

2 teaspoons sesame oil (omit for a less-spicy dish)

Rice

2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

5 eggs, mixed

1 onion, diced

1 (12-ounce) can of Spam (light or regular), diced

1/2 cup red pepper, diced

2 cups of your choice of corn, carrots, or peas (if using frozen vegetables, thaw first)

4 cups rice, cooked and cooled (day-old rice works best)

Mix sauce together and set aside.

In a wok or large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil on medium-high heat until hot. Scramble eggs. Remove from pan and set aside. Add another tablespoon of vegetable oil to wok. Heat, then add onion and diced Spam. Cook until Spam is crispy and onion is browned and transparent. Add sauce, red pepper, and vegetables. Bring to a boil, and boil for one minute. Add rice and break up any clumps that have formed. Combine the ingredients and stir until color is uniform throughout. Add scrambled eggs. Mix to combine.

Serves 8.

Note: This dish is delicious, healthy, and quick for breakfast! You can also change it up by adding baby corn, mushrooms, water chestnuts, or bean sprouts along with the other vegetables.

Chapter 34

Within a few minutes, all three of them had gathered around the kitchen table, and Sadie had the notebook she’d used yesterday morning before switching to her computer to take notes. She stared at the blank page longer than she needed to in order to gather her thoughts, then she looked up at Kiki, hesitating to dive in completely.

“Why did you come to me?” Sadie asked. If she conducted this interview, she’d be back in the middle of everything. Was she ready for that? “The police are involved now. They’re handling the investigation, and everything should go through them.”

“I talked to the police before,” Kiki said. “When Noelani was first found, they interviewed me, but I didn’t make the connection to the coffee until today.”

“Did you tell them today, when you figured it out?” Sadie asked.

“No, I came to you.” She sounded the tiniest bit annoyed. “You’re the first person to ask me about Noelani who seems as though she cares about
her.
”

That brought Sadie up short, but Kiki continued speaking. “If you want me to go to the police with this, I can.” She looked between Sadie and Gayle. “But I thought you wanted to know what happened to her.”

“I did,” she said. “I mean, I do, but I don’t want to get anyone in trouble.”

“Except anyone who might have been the reason Noelani didn’t get back to the motel with the coffee,” Gayle interjected.

“Well, yes,” Sadie said. “I meant that I don’t want you to get in trouble for telling me instead of the police, Kiki.”