Spin a Wicked Web by Cricket McRae

how pretty it
was. Theoretically, at least. I added a light lemon and olive oil vinaigrette to the salad, piled shrimp and asparagus onto a stoneware
plate, and returned to the group sitting in the backyard.
     
    I slid onto the cedar picnic bench. Brodie waddled over and sat
by my foot, making corgi noises in his throat. Now that I had food,
I was back on his A-list.
    Across the table, Meghan leaned forward, anticipation all over
her face. "So? Who was she?"
    I glanced at Erin, an even more petite version of her mother,
and asked, "How was math camp today?"
    "Fun enough," she said. "We played with Mobius strips. Mom
already told us some strange woman was at Barr's house today,
and you went over there to yell at him about it. So don't try to
send me inside or anything."
    Meghan suddenly became inordinately interested in one of our
hens pecking at the tray of oyster shell in their pen. What a gossip, I
thought, surprised. Maybe Barr should have asked for her help instead of mine.
    "It certainly does sound like you've had a full day," Ruth said.
    "That's putting it mildly." I took a bite of salad. Something peppery in there. I peered at my plate. Ah. Nasturtium leaves. I swallowed. "I either won't sleep at all tonight, or I'll sleep like the dead."
    Meghan coughed.
    "Oh, God. Not like the dead, I mean, you know..." I rubbed my
forehead.
    "Whatever," Erin said. "So who was the lady at Barr's house?"
    "We don't want to pry," Ruth said. "But we want to know you're
okay."
     
    So Meghan had told her, too. I couldn't blame her.
    "I'm fine," I said. "It turns out he did tell me about Hannahthat's her name, Ruth. But I didn't realize they were married."
    "He's not actually married now, is he?" Meghan asked.
    "No, it all happened several years ago, and apparently only lasted a
couple months."
    "Then what's she doing here now?"
    Between bites, I told them most of my conversation with Barr
up until I walked outside his house. Then I found myself growing
silent.
    "So Barr's rich?" Erin asked.
    "I guess," I said, reluctant to talk about it further. Now I understood why he'd had such a hard time telling me about his sudden wealth. The idea of having that much money bordered on
the obscene.
    Both Meghan and Ruth seemed to sense my unwillingness.
"Are you happy with his explanation?" Meghan asked.
    I hesitated, then said, "I think so."
    "You know what you should do, to put it to bed once and for
all?" Ruth asked.
    "What?"
    "You should do a background check on him. Then you won't
wonder. I bet Meghan's beau would give you a discount."
    My lips parted in surprise. Who knew Ruth was so mercenary?
    "Meghan?" she prompted.
    "Well," Meghan said. "I guess I could ask Kelly about it."
    Kelly O'Connell was Meghan's sort of boyfriend. The sort of
part was mostly because he lived in New Jersey. They chatted on
the phone for hours every night like school kids, and there'd been talk of him moving out to Cadyville once he got his private investigator's license in the state of Washington.
     
    Hmmm. I considered the idea. It really would make me feel
better to know for sure, to stop wondering if Barr was keeping
anything from me. Call it trust issues if you want to, but I'd never
before thought of myself as one of those walking wounded who
couldn't get close to anyone. I just didn't want to be stupid.
    "Will you talk to him about it tonight?" I asked Meghan.
    "Urn." Her reluctance was palpable.
    "You think it's a bad idea, don't you."
"
    11 It's not up to me."
    "Yeah, but..."
    She hesitated, then, "Is that the kind of thing you want to base
your relationship on?"
    After a few moments, I met her eyes and shook my head. "No.
You're right. It's not. I'd hate it if he did something like that to me,
and if I went ahead with it, I could never take it back."
    She smiled her approval.
    Ruth shrugged and changed the subject. "I brought a spinning
wheel for you to practice on."
    "The one from the co-op?" I was surprised she'd