Spin a Wicked Web: A Home Crafting Mystery

by Cricket McRae

  I made coffee and stared out the kitchen window at the backyard. The crows that lurked in the copse of trees across the road joined their raucous calls to the other birdsong. The cacophony made my teeth hurt.

   

  I liked Gabi Kaminski, but she'd lied about where she'd obtained the fiber tucked deep into the basket by her spinning wheel. There was no reason to lie about that, not unless she was hiding something else.

  How much bamboo in that color combo had been at CRAG? Ruth would know. And Gabi could have come into the co-op when neither Ruth nor I were there and bought the batt. But that didn't account for the tuft of it in Ariel's clenched fist or why she'd been strangled with my yarn beside a spinning wheel.

  Besides, Gabi had come right out and said she'd bought it online. And now that I thought about it, she'd snapped at me when she found me looking at the fiber in that basket. I'd put her lessthan-gracious response down to the morning-after grouchies, but perhaps her bad mood had to do with something else-like guilt.

  Ariel had borrowed money over and over again from her brother, and it didn't look like that would have stopped anytime soon. Gabi was sick and tired of it. She believed Ariel was a slut, that she had seduced her teacher and made him lose his job.

  She also believed Ariel had been responsible for the car wreck that had killed the Kaminski siblings' parents.

  In fact, when it came right down to it, Gabi not only didn't like her sister-in-law, she believed she was evil.

   

  TWENTY-THREE

  AT SIX-THIRTY BARR CAME into the kitchen, sniffing the air like a hound dog.

  "Mmmm. Bacon."

  I surveyed him, taking in the bare, lean chest and long legs housed in pajama bottoms. "And hash browns coming up, along with your favorite cheesy eggs."

  "A real heart attack on a plate." He sat down at the table. "You must have been up for a while. Why so early?"

  I brought him a cup of coffee and gave him a long kiss. "I had some trouble sleeping last night."

  "Really? I would've thought you'd sleep like a log." His grin was wicked.

  I laughed and turned back to the potatoes browning in a frying pan. "I should have. Woke up, though, got to thinking about things. Do you remember the fiber Ariel had in her hand?"

   

  Behind me, Barr said, "I remember. There was a lot of that stuff around where you found her. I'm sure the lab folks have it neatly zipped up and cataloged."

  I turned down the burner and sat in the chair across from him. Resting both elbows on the table, I held my mug of coffee in front of my face and looked at him through the rising steam.

  "Gabi had some of the same fiber. At least I think so. There must be a way to see if they match."

  "Really. Is it common?"

  "Huh uh. Pretty hard to come by. What you might call limitededition bamboo roving. Hand painted. Small batches. And," I paused for effect, "only available through CRAG"

  "Maybe Mrs. Kaminski got it there."

  "She said she ordered it online."

  He leaned back in his chair, a speculative expression on his face. "You asked her about it?"

  "Well, yeah. But we talked about a lot. Yarn, spinning wheels, drum carders, spindles-tons of stuff. But I didn't see the fiber I'm talking about until the next morning, right before I left." I made a face. "I told her I knew who made it, though."

  His jaw set. "That's not good."

  I lifted my palms and let them drop. "I didn't make the connection until this morning." I stood and moved to the stove again.

  He grew quiet, staring out the window and slowly sipping his coffee. I poured another cup for myself and leaned against the counter, curious as to what he was thinking but willing to wait.

  Finally he spoke, slowly, as if thinking out loud. "I can't see that we have probable cause, not just on your word. It's simply too weak. So no warrant. But if that hand-painted stuff is really that rare, and if we could unofficially get a sample from Gabi Kaminski, then maybe we could put something together for a judge."

   

  "I can go back. Figure out an excuse and go inside and take it. Like I did the diary."

  He gave me a look. "I told you that was a bad habit."

  I smiled.

  "No. I really mean it. And besides, it would be much better if that kind of evidence was gathered by me. Chain of evidence and all. Even outside of the jurisdiction of the Cadyville P.D."

  "So what do you want to do?" I asked.

  He narrowed his eyes in thought. "At this point I don't really see a choice."

  I leaned forward.

  "I want you to go back. But I'm going with you. We can lie and cheat if we have to, but I can be pretty charming when the occasion calls for it."

  "Even if you do say so yourself," I teased.

  "I bet we can finagle a sample of that fiber out of her."

  "By `we,' do you mean Robin will be going with us?"

  He pressed his lips together. "I think this is one trip just you and I will take."

  Barr had other work to do that day and so did I, so we didn't leave for La Conner until late afternoon. He drove, and I sat back and acted like I was watching the scenery flow by. The impending task of getting a sample of Thea Hawke's fiber from Gabi hung over my head like the sword of Damocles, making me all tense and jit tery. I just wasn't good at prevarication. At lying and cheating. I'd brought that up to Barr, but he'd only smiled and told me my job was to get us into the house, and to identify the fiber for him. He'd handle Gabi. Robin had gone to talk to the Kaminskis alone, so they hadn't met Barr yet.

   

  I decided I'd just have to trust him.

  And then I worried about it some more.

  If we failed to get that sample, Gabi could get away with murder. That wasn't acceptable.

  If we didn't fail, I would be partly responsible for destroying a family. The twins, Noah and Evan, would be motherless, or essentially so with Gabi in jail. How much worse it would be for Rocky to not only lose his treasured sister to murder, but to learn his wife-his high-school-sweetheart wife-had been the killer. There would be a trial. The scandal in a small town like La Conner would be huge. Rocky's business-both of his businesses-would be affected, if not completely ruined.

  I hated that Erin's grandmother, my good friend Tootie Hanover, was out of town. She had no idea what was going on, but I was sure if she did she'd be full of opinions and advice. Advice I could really use right now.

  What would she tell me?

  I watched the green fields roll by on the other side of the window and remembered back to the last time I'd approached her with a similar question. I'd asked whether murder was ever justified.

  Her answer had been an emphatic No.

  I knew she was right. And now she'd tell me that I wasn't the one responsible for decimating Gabi Kaminski's family; Gabi herself was. Once again I'd found myself in a situation involving justice and murder. Barr and Meghan might joke, rueful as those jokes were, but maybe the Universe kept dumping me into these situations for a reason. So I'd better grow a backbone and do what I needed to do.

   

  Barr turned onto the Kaminski Tulip Farm's drive at my direction, and I watched for Tut, the German Shepherd, to come barreling out at us. But there was no dog, and as we got out of the car the only sounds of activity around the place were the calls of the birds at the feeders. I began to wonder whether anyone was home. Of course, we hadn't called ahead. Perhaps we'd made the trip for nothing.

  So when my knock brought Gabi to the door I felt a bizarre combination of relief and apprehension that almost made me dizzy. The intoxicating scent of freshly baked cookies drifting out to the porch didn't help, either.

  Puzzlement furrowed her brow as she pushed open the screen. "Hi, Sophie Mae! What brings you up here again so soon?" Consternation, then. "Oh, don't tell me you forgot something and had to come all the way back"

  I scrambled for a response, feeling my smile slide around
on my face. "I can't find my watch," I finally said.

  Barr shot me a look.

  It wasn't exactly a lie. I hadn't been able to find my watch for months, but instead of getting a new one, I'd simply begun to use the clock on my cell phone when I needed a timepiece. It wasn't like I worked for The Man or had a lot of appointments to keep track of.

  "Your watch? What does it look like?"

  "It's silver." My voice sounded weak.

   

  She gestured us in. "I didn't find it upstairs. We can look again, though."

  "Oh!" I said, startling her. "This is Barr Ambrose. My, uh, boyfriend."

  He quirked an eyebrow at that.

  "Hi, Barr," Gabi said. "Want some cider? It's ice cold."

  "No, thank you," he said.

  "Sophie Mae?"

  "Um, not right now. Thanks."

  Her gaze sharpened. Something's not quite right, it said.

  Before she could say anything else about the watch, I asked. "Where are the boys?"

  Now her smile didn't reach her eyes. "Over at the neighbor's house, for once, instead of Justin being over here. And Rocky had to run into town for some parts."

  "Sophie Mae," Barr said. "Could you show me that fiber you were talking about?"

  My heart just about stopped. That wasn't sneaky at all!

  Gabi frowned. "Fiber?"

  I swallowed, and looked at Barr. "It's by the spinning wheel."

  "Ms. Kaminski? You don't mind if we take a look, do you? See, I'm a detective with the Cadyville Police Department, and Sophie Mae was telling me about your, what did you call it? Stash? Anyway, I'm one of the investigators assigned to your sister-in-law's murder."

  Gabi's eyes had widened with each word that came out of his mouth, and I could feel my own echoing hers. What was he doing? What had happened to lying and cheating?

  He turned to me. "Where?"

   

  Wordlessly, I went to the spinning wheel and pointed to the basket beside it.

  "Ms. Kaminski? Would you show us what's in the basket?" Barr asked.

  She looked scared, but didn't move. Silence descended on the room, and I could hear a clock ticking somewhere. Then she walked to the basket, picked it up, and dumped the contents on the sofa.

  "Thank you." Barr rewarded her with a wide, easy smile.

  Warily, she tried a smile in return. "What's this all about? What happened to Detective Lane?"

  "She's my partner," he said. "I'm just following up on something. So I hear you're quite the expert spinner."

  "Oh, I don't know about expert, but I enjoy it."

  He picked up a handful of batts. "Where do you get your fiber?"

  Understanding dawned, and Gabi turned to me. "Is this about that hand-painted bamboo you were asking me about?"

  "Uh," I said.

  Her eyes flashed.

  Barr said, "Which one would that be? Is it here?"

  I leaned in to look, but Gabi pushed by me. Plunging her hand into the pile of soft fluff, she pulled out Thea Hawke's blue and green and pink bamboo. "I don't understand. Is this what you're here for?"

  Barr looked at me, and I nodded my identification. "Yes," he said. "I do believe it is. May I take a sample of it with me?"

  She looked nonplussed. "A sample? What for?"

  "May I?"

  She shrugged. "Sure, I guess."

   

  He teased out a handful, put it in a paper bag and put it in his shirt pocket. "And where did you say you got this?"

  "Ariel gave it to me," she said.

  "You told me you got it online," I said.

  "I must have been thinking of something else. I don't keep track of where I get every little batt and roll."

  "You seem to remember now."

  "When your `boyfriend' started talking about this stuff and Ariel together, of course I remembered where I got it." Her tone was defensive.

  "She bought it for you." My disbelief leaked through. Thea's product was expensive, and Ariel was not someone I thought of as generous.

  The sound of the front screen door opening made us all turn our heads. "What's going on here?" Rocky asked. Tut followed him inside. The dog froze when he spotted Barr and me, and the fur along his spine ruffled.

  Gabi moved quickly to her husband's side. "Sophie Mae brought another detective here. Something about the fiber Ariel gave me. I don't see how it could have anything to do with her death. It's like they think I stole it or something." She looked pointedly at me. "Ariel gave it to me the last time she was up here. Ask Rocky."

  He put his arm around his wife and nodded. "It's true. It wasn't the first time my sister brought Gabi presents like that."

  Gabi looked triumphant. Barr and I exchanged glances.

  "Where were you the night of the twenty-second?" he asked Gabi.

  Her head jerked back. "What? I was here, of course."

   

  "All night?"

  "Yes!"

  Rocky took a step forward. "What the heck is this all about? Of course my wife was here all night, and so was I. I thought you cops were supposed to find my sister's killer, not go around harassing her family."

  "Mr. Kaminski-" Barr began. A low growl issued from deep in the dog's throat.

  Rocky held his hand up. "You can just get on out of here now. I won't put up with this anymore. If you need us, you get yourselves a piece of paper to make it official, but otherwise you just leave us alone."

  Barr nodded. "I understand. Thank you for your time. Sophie Mae?" He indicated the door.

  I edged carefully by Tut, terrified he'd take a chunk out of my leg. As I passed by, Gabi said, "I'll be sure and send your watch to you if I find it."

  Rocky glared at me. "You're not welcome here, you hear me?" Real fury rode his words. I shivered and nodded my understanding.

  Barr stayed close behind me, hand on my elbow, and the constant grumbling of the massive dog followed us all the way to the car.

   

  TWENTY-FOUR

  "I DON'T THINK WE'RE going to be able to make a case against Gabi Kaminski," Barr said.

  We were almost halfway home. I felt like an idiot, caught in my stupid lie, and silence had settled over us for several miles. I jumped when he spoke.

  "Does that mean she didn't kill Ariel, or that you can't prove she did it?" I asked. "Because if she didn't, you made me look like a real jerk in there."

  "Sorry. How was I supposed to know you were going to manufacture a lost watch?"

  "But you said we'd lie and cheat!" I protested.

  "I said we could if we had to. We didn't have to."

  I sniffed.

  "Anyway," he continued. "I'm unconvinced she's a murderer. She was extremely cooperative, and her husband vehemently assured us that she was home all that night." He cracked the window. "He was pretty angry that we questioned her at all. I can't really blame him." Barr didn't look regretful, though. All just part of the job for him. I, on the other hand, still felt sick to my stomach.

   

  "Great," I said. "And you have yet another alibi provided by a spouse." I twisted toward him in the seat. "But Gabi told me herself that sometimes she stays up all night spinning and Rocky never knows. She could have easily left the farmhouse at night without anyone knowing."

  Barr frowned. "How early does Rocky go to bed?"

  "When I was there the other night? Around nine, I guess. The twins, too. He's an early riser, and the twins are only six."

  "She might have had time to drive down to Cadyville. It would be cutting it awfully close, though, to fit in that eight-to-ten o'clock timeframe."

  "But it's possible," I said. "And what about the way she acted about the bamboo fiber?"

  He lifted a shoulder and let it drop. "Ariel gave it to her. Brought it up the last time she visited. Can't prove her wrong. And she didn't seem too worried when I took that sample."

  "Hmm. I just don't see Ariel dropping the big bucks for that fancy fiber, just t
o give it to the sister-in-law who didn't even really like her."

  "Maybe she was trying to make nice."

  Maybe so. Maybe Gabi had been making headway with Rocky, trying to convince him to stop lending his sister money, and Ariel needed to get on her good side.

  "Then why was she so upset about us being there?" I grumbled.

  "Believe me," Barr said. "I've interviewed a lot of people. That was mild. Rocky was far more upset than she was."

  "So that's it? She gets away with it?"

   

  "Well, at some point we might be able to link forensic evidence to her."

  I thought he might be humoring me now, but I still asked, "Is that in the works?"

  "We didn't find much. I was hoping they'd find evidence under Ariel's fingernails, but there was nada."

  "Maybe Gabi came up behind her, and Ariel never had a chance to fight back."

  "God, Sophie Mae. Your imagination kind of scares me."

  "You'd have this conversation with Robin in a heartbeat, and her imagination would be useful. Just because I'm not-" tall, auburn-haired, fashionable, and a sure shot with any kind of firearm ever made "-a police detective doesn't mean I can't figure a few things out."

  We got back to Cadyville around seven-thirty, and Barr went to update Robin on the new information from La Conner. I drove home and spent a mundane evening with Meghan and Erin, watching a movie on DVD, doing my best to push Ariel's murder out of my mind. If Gabi really had killed her, I might have to come to terms with the fact that she'd get away with it.

  Great in theory; not so easy in practice. I went to bed early, but slept fitfully, my slumber punctuated with dreams of being caught in a huge sticky web, surrounded by laughing spiders with all too human faces.

  The next morning I awoke feeling tired and groggy. I finally forced myself out of bed, showered and dressed, and pasted a smile on my face. Meghan and Erin were leaving for math camp, so I grabbed a cup of strong coffee and went down to my workroom to take inventory.

   

  After making all the custom bath fizzies for the wedding shower, I was low on baking soda. I made notes of some other items I needed and spent some time online, restocking frequently used essential oils and bulk ordering cocoa butter, palm oil, and coconut oil. Then I trundled out to my pickup to run a few local errands.