“You believed it,” Teo said.

“She was crying. I had to work to calm her down. And, you know, I’d never seen her that way. Wendy was a good-time girl. She never worried about anything.”

“Did she say why she didn’t call the police the night he attacked her or later when he started stalking her?” I asked.

“She was afraid her side of the story would reflect badly on your father and the company.”

I exploded. “And so, even though she was in Santa Fe with you, having a little tête-à-tête—one of many, apparently—you thought her reasoning made sense? Because, you know, it seems to me that shacking up with you might reflect badly on my father and Gracey Group, too.”

“Let him finish,” Teo said, putting his hand on mine. “Ex knows he made a mistake.”

Ex turned to me. “That sister of yours is the biggest mistake I ever made!”

“Please go on,” Teo said. “You can understand why this is hard to hear.”

We were playing good cop, bad cop, and we hadn’t even arranged it. Reluctantly I sat back and folded my arms.

For a moment Ex seemed to debate whether to continue.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “It is hard.”

He gave a short nod. “She finally calmed down, and she said she wanted to be alone, only she was afraid he might come after her. I told her I had a gun in my car. I’d driven from Albuquerque, and I usually carry it in the glove box. She asked me to bring it to the room, just in case. The gun’s registered, perfectly legal, so I did. I told her I’d stand guard, but she said she needed an hour alone. She was going to write down everything that had happened that morning, and send it to her lawyer. Then he could decide how she should handle things.”

Neither Teo nor I commented.

“So then—” he blew out a long breath “—then I told her she could have the gun while I was gone, and I showed her how to use it. I loaded the bullets myself. I explained how to handle it. At first she didn’t want to touch it, but eventually she picked it up. She said she could never pull the trigger, but maybe just pointing it at Calvo, if somehow he got inside, would be all she’d need.”

Wendy hadn’t needed instructions. The gun in her safe was proof. But she’d played along, acting the part of the frightened, helpless female, and he’d bought it.

Or else his entire story was a lie.

“You left her there alone?” Teo asked.

“She insisted.”

“We all make mistakes.”

Ex put his head in his hands. “I walked around the grounds looking for Calvo, to make sure he wasn’t lurking. I figured it would be good to know where he was staying. So I talked to one of the maids, gave her a little money, and she told me which casita was his. When I went back to the room, Wendy was napping. I figured the worst was over, and we were leaving the next day anyway. Things improved after she woke up. I put the gun in the room safe, just in case. We had drinks and dinner in the room, and she made nice. I fell asleep way too early, but I figured I’d just had too much to drink, and Wendy said she was tired, too. She got into bed with me.”