Cricket McRae - Spin a Wicked Web

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.

"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 to 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."