“Judging from our call, she thinks she has one.”

Sophie kept her cashier’s job at least partly so she could hobnob with strangers and sharpen her investigative skills. Now she used her expertise. “If I’d asked you yesterday if your sister was the kind of person who might run away and leave a mess for someone else to clean up, would you have said ‘of course’?”

“The thing is, I don’t think Wendy’s ever made a mess. She set the standards in our family, and they were high. Sky high.”

“That’s a hard act to follow.”

I clutched a flip-flop to my chest. “Growing up I realized I would never be anywhere near as perfect as she was. I remember feeling so relieved, so I stopped trying and just lived my life.” The flip-flop went into a bag, and I examined my collection of running shoes. “It worked out. I’m happy.”

“Is she?”

That stumped me. Wendy and I never talked about feelings, except the most superficial. We might admit we were afraid Dad’s surgery wouldn’t go well, but we would never discuss the way we felt about him.

“While you’re home mull that over,” Sophie said. “If she was trying to change her life, it might have prompted this situation. Maybe she was somewhere she shouldn’t have been, doing something with someone she shouldn’t have been with, for instance.”

That felt wrong, but having a friend who wasn’t involved was helpful, and I didn’t want to stop her. “I hope I won’t have time to mull. I hope she’ll figure this out and come home before I have to tell my mother the truth.”

“Maybe she’ll change her mind and tell your mother herself before you even get there. Any chance?”

To save face Wendy could dance around details, but lying outright would be new—although next to being accused of murder, lying seemed incidental.

“I don’t think she’ll tell her,” I said. “Not until she can tell her the whole truth.”

“But she doesn’t mind if you lie?”

I shrugged. “I doubt she’s thinking straight right now. She’s going on instinct.”

“I know you want this to go away fast, Ryan, but wouldn’t Wendy just ask your mom to soldier on a bit longer if she thought that was a possibility?”

I tried to think like my sister. “She knows Mom’s going to be busy with Dad. She’s probably trying to spare her right away.”

“Does she ask for your help very often?”

“A couple of times at my parents’ house she’s asked me to keep an eye on the girls. But my nieces are well-behaved. It’s not like they were going to fall in my parents’ pool or run into the street. They watch TV or color. That’s about it.”

“But what she’s asking now is a big deal.” Sophie closed the laptop.

I knew she wasn’t done helping me, but I had to be sure. “You’ll keep searching for a murder that fits? I know it’s a lot to ask, but I’d be grateful.”