‘He doesn’t want Sky Lodge,’ she said. ‘He just wants the land. He’ll knock it down just to put another SuperShred on this side of the ridge. That way he has both valleys. It sounds stupid when we’re talking about mill— well, a lot of money, but it’s got no charm.’ She looked out the window again.

The lights of the guesthouse were coming into view. I weighed up how I felt returning to this advent calendar house versus driving through the collection of airport hangars that made up SuperShred. It didn’t sound so stupid after all.

She was clearly thinking the same thing. ‘I told you I came back after my family died, and I wound up getting stuck here. That happens in this life, you know? The mountain kind of holds on. And business was booming, but then we had a couple of warm winters – everyone’s saying we’re going to have more than a couple more.’ She paused. ‘I can’t afford to put in those big ice blasters Gav has. So when he made an offer, a good offer, I was glad of it. Gav and I go way back. We’re both kids of resort families.’

‘Whistler?’

‘Whistler.’ She smiled in memory. ‘He’s a good guy, you know? And he was offering me a lifeline.’ She read my thoughts and raised an eyebrow. ‘He wants my land, but it’s not like he’d do anything to get it.’

Money is, of course, all too common a motive. I hadn’t focused too hard on Sofia, as fifty thousand seemed a small amount to kill over, but if this land was worth millions . . .

‘So I agreed,’ she continued. ‘Back when I thought he’d just keep running the hotel. It was exciting – I was free of this . . . legacy, I guess. But when it came time to sign and I learned that he wanted to knock it all down, well, legacy is the right word after all, isn’t it?’ Her breath plumed as she sighed. ‘That building is a lot of history to walk away from. My family’s in those walls.’

I considered why Gavin had been so keen to get Juliette to his office. Him telling her it would be worth her while. ‘He’s upped his offer? Just now?’

She nodded. ‘He’s got a new investor.’

‘I’ll bet he does,’ I said. ‘You’re considering it?’

‘After this weekend . . .’ She looked out the window again and the sentence finished itself in her silence.