Banana Split (23 page)

“Darryl says he’s driving you over to the Sand and Sea.”

Sadie nodded. She considered asking Bets to drive her in place of Pastor Darryl, for propriety sake, but then realized that would leave Pastor Darryl alone with Mandi. She felt bad for having such torrid thoughts, but felt sure she wasn’t the only one entertaining them.

“There are other places to stay,” Bets said.

Interesting that she would point that out,
Sadie thought. “I might as well stay there, though, and ask about Noelani in the morning. I’m trying to put together some pieces.”

“Pieces of what?” Bets asked. She began moving toward the tables, and Sadie followed her. They began clearing empty bowls in tandem and dumping the trash into a large black garbage can set next to the tables.

“What happened to her,” Sadie said. “The police have such little information, and I’m hoping to find some answers that will help her son.”

“Charlie’s a sweet boy,” Bets said, smiling sadly.

“You know him?”

“Noelani brought him with her sometimes. He was surprisingly well-behaved for a boy with such a difficult childhood.”

“Difficult childhood?”

“His mother was an addict.” There was an unexpected sharpness in her words, but she sensed Bets heard it too because the next words she spoke were softer. “Children of addicts wear the scars all their life.”

Sadie suspected Bets was talking about herself. She began putting the nearly empty bowls of toppings back on the tray she’d used to bring them out. She tapped the leftover hot fudge from the serving spoon while considering how best to continue the conversation.

“How’s Charlie doing?” Bets asked before Sadie came up with anything to say. “I didn’t get a chance to talk to him at the memorial service.”

“I think he’s really struggling,” Sadie said, placing the sticky spoon on the tray where Bets had placed the other utensils. “It’s a hard situation for adults to make sense of, let alone a little boy who doesn’t understand everything. I’m not sure he’s accepted that she’s really dead.”

“Oh?” Bets said, a strange, forced casualness in her tone that Sadie couldn’t figure out. “Why do you think that?”

“Just some things he’s said,” Sadie said, thinking of what Nat had told her about Charlie being used to Noelani not being in his life. “Like you said, the life he had with her before was chaotic, and I wonder if he thinks she may have just left again, rather than died. And he wasn’t able to see her, of course.”

“So, you’re trying to prove to him she’s dead? Maybe it’s better for him to keep his fantasies. Reality isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be.”

The comment surprised Sadie. Why would an adult want a child to believe a lie? She knew from experience that people often said the most important things when they thought no one was taking notes. “I imagine that believing his mother might come back could have a significantly negative impact on his ability to embrace his new future,” Sadie said carefully.

“If her body hadn’t been found, he’d have had no choice. Time would then lead to acceptance as he got older.”

“That’s possible,” Sadie said with a nod, wondering again at the strange comment and what it could mean. “But her body
was
found.”

Bets nodded, but her smile was even more forced. She picked up the tray, and Sadie grabbed the slow cooker. The ends of Bets’s pink sweater swayed as she headed toward the church.

“You’d mentioned earlier that Noelani had been a part of your congregation for seven months,” Sadie said, trying to milk the conversation for all it was worth. “But she didn’t start working at the motel until a few months ago, right? Where did she live in between the outreach program and the motel?”

“She stayed with us for a few months before she found a job at the motel.”

Ah, the plot thickened like the hot fudge Sadie was holding. “She didn’t have a job when she lived here?”

“Full-time work is hard to find on the island due to so many malihini willing to do whatever it takes to stay here. She was waitressing part-time but needed better employment. The full-time position with housing at the motel was a blessing.” They reached the kitchen and put their loads on the counter.

“Did you guys help her find the job at the motel?” The connecting path between the locations spoke of some kind of association.

“It just worked out,” Bets said, putting the dirty utensils in the sink. “God’s hands.”

“Of course,” Sadie said. For a moment, she put herself in Bets’s position—dedicated to the church, a faithful believer, married to a man who, while he obviously adored her, was demonstrative with other women. How would Sadie tolerate other women living in her house? The answer was instant. She wouldn’t tolerate it at all. Why did Bets? She was beautiful and talented and kind, which in Sadie’s mind should equate to having enough confidence to not put up with such a . . . demeaning and unwise situation.

Sadie was spared having to fill the silence as Pastor Darryl appeared in the doorway, jingling a ring of keys in one hand.

“There you are,” he said, grinning broadly as he crossed the floor into the kitchen. He leaned in to kiss Bets on the cheek before he draped his arm over Sadie’s shoulder. “Don’t wait up,” he said.

Sadie felt her face flush at his comment, but he laughed, and Bets smiled as though that were a typical joke between them. Sadie wanted to kick him in the shins.

Instead, she thanked Bets one last time, holding the other woman’s eyes for a second longer than normal, trying to communicate that she didn’t fault her for being uncomfortable with her husband’s actions. Whether or not Bets received the message, Sadie couldn’t be sure. When she looked over her shoulder as they exited, Bets was holding the edges of her sweater around herself as she watched them leave, a concerned expression on her face.

“So the Sand and Sea by way of Hattie’s?” Pastor Darryl said, holding open the back door of the church for her. “Hattie’s serves the best grilled pineapple. I’m not certain, but I think they put Tabasco sauce in the marinade.”

“Cayenne pepper, probably,” Sadie said automatically. “At least that’s how I’ve made it before. It goes really well with barbequed pork chops.”

“Ah, you’re a foodie like my Bets,” he said with a grin as he hurried a step ahead of her in order to open the door of the Jeep.

“Thank you,” Sadie said, acknowledging his chivalry as she climbed into the passenger seat, smoothing the skirt of her muumuu beneath her.

Pastor Darryl hurried around to the driver’s side, climbed in, and started up the engine. “So, Hattie’s?” he said again.

“I couldn’t eat a thing,” Sadie said, vastly uncomfortable with the idea of sitting across a table from this man and surprised by his offer. “You’ve already fed me too well.”

He draped his arm over the back of her seat as he drove, and she felt herself tense. She’d considered herself as someone far away from his standard of women, but now she wasn’t so sure. The thought no sooner entered her mind than she discarded it, embarrassed to be thinking that at all.

“I’d like to get to know you a little better,” he said. “Learn more about where you’ve come from and where you see yourself going.”

Holy cow, could he be any more creepy?
“There’s really not much to say,” Sadie said, wanting to remind him that she wasn’t going to be a long-term member of his flock and therefore getting to know her wasn’t necessary. She
did
want to talk to him, but not under such casual circumstances, and late at night with just the two of them was far too casual for her comfort level. She would feel more secure with daylight at the very least. “And I’m quite tired. But thank you for the offer, and your hospitality tonight, and the ride to the motel. Perhaps I can come back tomorrow and we can finish our discussion about Noelani with you and your
wife.
”

He nodded, still smiling, and removed his arm from her seat in order to use both hands to steer the car around the corner. A few seconds later, he pulled up in front of the motel. Judging by the lights in the windows, only half a dozen rooms were rented out. The vacancy sign still flashed in the window. Sadie reached for the door handle, but Pastor Darryl grabbed her other hand, keeping her in the Jeep. For a moment, Sadie couldn’t breathe. Was he detaining her?

When he spoke, his voice was soft as a whisper, and she looked from his hand holding hers to his bowed head. “May the Holy Spirit be your guide, and may God whisper peace and comfort to your troubled soul, Sister Sadie.” He looked up and smiled at her. “If there is any way I can be of assistance, all you need do is ask.” He let go of her hand in order to reach into the pocket of his Hawaiian shirt and pull out a business card—just as Dr. McKay had done that afternoon—handing it to her across the seat.

She took the card and read his name and cell phone number. Along the bottom of the card was the scripture “Joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 1 Corinthians 1:10.”

“Thank you,” Sadie said.

“Just come by the church in the morning. I’m usually in my office from nine until one.”

“I’ll plan on it.” Sadie opened the door of the Jeep and let herself out. “Thanks again.”

He nodded and waited until she waved to him from the door of her room before he tapped his horn and did a U-turn on the street. Seconds later, Sadie let herself into her room and locked the door—one, two, three—flipped the swing bolt, and checked the window locks. Secure in her room, she turned on the TV for company and stayed up far too late updating her notes on her computer and doing searches on Pastor Darryl Earlhart and his wife.

She didn’t have Bets’s full name until she tracked down the details of their marriage certificate: Elizabeth Leilani Iliona Earlhart. She was listed as a resident of Kaua’i at the time of the marriage sixteen years earlier. Most of what she’d done since that time was church and community related—selfless, necessary roles that improved the world she lived in. It was hard to believe Bets could have had anything to do with what had happened to Noelani, but there had been some tension there, Sadie was sure of it. She wrote down some questions she wanted to ask Bets and Pastor Darryl the next day, before Gayle arrived. The more she learned, the more information she’d have for Gayle to help her process.

Sadie’s Sassy Grilled Pineapple

1 teaspoon honey

3 tablespoons melted butter or balsamic vinegar

Dash of cayenne pepper

1 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored, and sliced into 3/4-inch thick rings

Dash of salt

Combine the honey, butter or vinegar, and cayenne pepper in a large zip-top bag. Add pineapple slices and allow to marinate for at least 1 hour.

Grill 4 to 5 minutes, turning halfway through, on cleaned and lightly oiled grill. Serve warm.

Notes: If using canned, sliced pineapple, dry rings on a paper towel before marinating. You can also thread 1-inch chunks of fresh or canned pineapple onto metal skewers or soaked bamboo skewers instead of grilling pineapple rings. (Most grocery stores will core the pineapple for you if you ask a produce employee.) Pineapple can also be broiled in the oven on the middle rack for 15 minutes, turning halfway through.

Chapter 25

Sadie slept until seven o’clock Friday morning, but once she woke up, she was strangely energized rather than exhausted by the events of the previous day. She took a shower, and then fought with her hair until accepting the fact that even if she couldn’t get it to look like it had when Lou styled it, it looked much better than it had before she’d gone to the salon.

She put on the clean muumuu she’d brought—a light pink with baby blue hibiscus—and adjusted the elasticized ruffle around the neck. Braver women would pull the ruffle down around their shoulders for a saucier look, but Sadie had bought it for the length and the flattering cut that dipped in just enough at the waist to show she had a figure. The featherlight cotton hit her just below the knee, and once it was on, she wouldn’t think about it for the rest of the day, it was that comfortable.