Spin a Wicked Web by Cricket McRae Page A

morning."
     
    Irene scowled. Ruth said, "The paintings will be fine. I'm sure
her brother will be grateful."
    "Yeah, I guess they'll be all right. As concerned as Jake was
about Ariel's art, I'm sure he'll pack them well."
    This time Irene snorted. I raised my palms. "What? Did Jake
have a thing for her or something?"
    She stared at me for several seconds, then without a word
turned and strode to a display of her sculptures on the other side
of the room and began rearranging them.
    Ruth watched her with sympathetic eyes.
    Zak and Jake came in and grabbed a couple more paintings.
When the door had closed behind them, I turned to Ruth, "Did I say
something wrong?"
    "Not really. You see, Jake did have feelings for Ariel, but I think
they were of a fatherly sort more than anything."
    I'd seen how he looked at her. Fatherly, my ass.
    She saw my expression and insisted, "He was very protective of
her."
    "What did Felicia think about that?" We were talking in low
tones, and Irene steadfastly ignored us, fussing with a statue of a
squat dancing woman with flowers in her hair.
    Ruth hesitated. "Felicia may have misunderstood. Apparently
she found some e-mails Jake had sent Ariel, and found their tenor
a bit too, er, intimate."
    "Ah," I said. "But his motives were pure, eh?"
    "I like to think so," Ruth said, holding my gaze.
     
    "So do I," I said, since that seemed to be what she wanted.
    She nodded, and I had to wonder if Felicia's possible motive
for killing Ariel was lost on her. It was the same motive Chris supposedly had, after all. But did Felicia have an alibi?
    In no time, Jake and Zak had loaded and wrapped the paintings. I
thanked them again, and Jake left, saying he had to get back to the office. I'd been surprised he'd been able to get away from his practice at
all on such short notice; more evidence of his feelings for Ariel.
    We all went outside. Irene stalked over to Zak, who was standing in the parking lot by my truck, and pointed to her car. He
shook his head. She said something, and he shook it again. She
opened her mouth, then snapped it shut again. Yanking her car
door open, she got inside without looking at any of us and roared
out of the parking lot.
    "What on earth is wrong with Irene?" I said. "Did I make her
that angry with that comment about Jake?"
    Ruth sighed. "She's been through a lot, Sophie Mae. Her husband left her nine years ago for a younger woman. The divorce
was not in the least bit amicable, and now he's started a whole
new family. Irene was deeply hurt."
"
    I had no idea. No wonder the idea of Jake being attracted to
Ariel hit a raw nerve. Did she know Ariel was having an affair with
Scott Popper?"
    A pained expression pinched Ruth's features. She nodded.
    "How is Chris doing? Have you seen her?" I asked. "I went by
and talked with her like you asked, but I figure the ball is in her
court now."
    "I spoke with her on the phone yesterday," Ruth said. "I think
your visit helped. She seems to want to mourn alone, though."
     
    Chris had a strong independent streak, and was a bit of a loner.
"That might be okay," I ventured. "As long as it's not for too long.
She might simply need time by herself to process everything that's
happened."
    "Indeed. And I'm keeping an eye on her, don't you worry. Now
you give our best to Mr. Kaminski and his family, and I'll talk to
you when you get back. It's very nice of you to do this, you know."
    "Oh, I welcome the chance to get out of town, if you want to
know the truth."
    "It's a nice drive," she said. "Enjoy" She went back into the coop building, her pace brisk and businesslike.
    Zak stood by my pickup, apparently waiting for me.
    "So you're going to see Ariel's brother," he said as I approached.
    I nodded. "He has a tulip farm in Skagit County."
    "Um, I put a note on one of the paintings I want to buy. Is that
okay? Do you think he'll let me?"
    Oh, wow. "Uh, I don't know. But I'll make sure he knows you
want it."
    "I'd