“That just explains how you got there,” I said.

“I decided to go ahead and look around. I spent a day checking out the facilities, without telling anybody what I was doing or why. I just wanted to see what looked good and what didn’t.” She paused, then gave a small, sad laugh. “I wanted to impress Dad. You know how he is. He loves initiative. Either way I’d have a story to tell.”

That, too, rang true. Whether Golden Aspen had turned out to be a new acquisition or not, our father would have been proud that Wendy had followed up the lead.

She continued. “I met Dr. Calvo while I was sitting at the bar ordering a drink. I wanted to see how well the lounge was run. I was making notes. It was all innocent. Vítor came up and asked if he could take the stool next to mine, and after one drink we moved to a table in the corner and ended up having dinner there. He was charming, very old-world, and he told great stories about some of the celebrities he’d worked on. I enjoyed talking to him.”

“Dinner is hardly a reason to suspect you of murder.”

She was speaking faster now. “Who knows? After the meal we were joined by another man, this Milton Kerns person, who was apparently also a guest. Vítor introduced him, but if he said how he knew him, I can’t remember. He was pleasant enough. I had another drink with them, but my mind was on the resort, so I wasn’t concentrating on the conversation. Afterward I thanked both men and went back to the apartment and packed so I could drive to Phoenix and fly home the next afternoon. I was sleeping soundly when my phone pinged. I was afraid something had happened to one of the girls, so I sat up to read the text. Kerns told me the doctor had been murdered, and the police were probably going to look for me because I was one of the last people to have been seen with him before he was killed.”

Sophie was frowning. I watched as she scrambled through her purse, pulled out a pen and scrap of paper and quickly jotted “Had her #?”

I nodded. “Wendy, two things. Were the police already investigating at that point? And why did Milton Kerns have your phone number?”

“At that point I don’t think anybody else knew about the murder except whoever killed Vítor. I texted back and asked him to call me. We were on the phone a minute or less. He said after they left the lounge he’d promised Vítor that he’d bring something to his room. I don’t remember what. He was talking so fast. A map? A book? He said he got there, and the door was ajar. He peered inside and saw Vítor’s body in a pool of blood.”

“And he didn’t call anybody but you?”

“I guess not. I’m pretty sure the body wasn’t discovered by anyone else until the next morning.”