Page 39 of The One for Forever

“Thanks. I don’t mean to dump my problems on you. You’ve got enough to deal with, considering Amber’s trial is coming up. And her ridiculous social media campaigning. The way her followers are painting your office as the bad guys.”

“You heard about that?”

“Hasn’t everyone? If there’s anything I can do to ensure she’s convicted, anything whatsoever, I’ll do it. What did you need to talk about?”

I study her, wondering if Kendall could be my secret witness. But it’s hard to imagine her holding back evidence against Amber. Especially now. In fact, if she volunteered new, uncorroborated evidence, the defense would tear her apart on cross-examination. They’d claim she had enough bias against Amber to make things up.

I shouldn’t be too quick to cross her off my list. But I’m leaning that way.

“Do you mind me asking what happened with Christian Hayworth first?” I ask.

Our food arrives, and she digs her fork into the layers of pie crust and apples. “I got fed up with the way he’s so callous about Thompson’s memory. They’ve scrapped a lot of the projects he was working on. They’re taking Hayworth Productions in a totally different direction, and I had an issue with that.”

“But Christian has been in charge for a while.”

“Sure, because Thompson turned over the reins to his son so he could focus on directing.” She frowns. “And on Amber, of course. She demanded as much of his attention as possible. Thompson was an auteur, but he wasn’t that great with the business side. People could take advantage. He decided to turn over his production company to his son in lieu of any other inheritance. Amber was named sole beneficiary in his will instead. And you know how that turned out. The fact that his wife murdered him is bad enough. But to watch his son tear apart his legacy, too? It was too much for me. I had to speak up. Big mistake. So, here I am. Blacklisted. I can’t get a job as an extra, much less a position working for another director.” She takes a slow bite of pie. “And I’m not the only person who was close to his father that Christian has gotten rid of. Like Pete Diamond.”

I perk up. Pete Diamond was Thompson and Amber’s driver. Number three on my list of possibilities for the witness’s identity. “What do you mean?”

“Christian sent Pete off to some remote filming location in Nevada to shuttle around the C-list cast. I felt bad for Pete at first. But now I’m kinda jealous. At least he still has a job.”

I chew my lip. Pete is supposed to testify at Amber’s trial. Yet he said nothing to our office about leaving town.

It’s interesting that Christian didn’t fire Pete, as he did to Kendall. Not only that, Christian sent Pete away from Southern California, despite the impending trial. And failed to mention it to me today, despite claiming he wanted to do everything possible to help the prosecution.

I have no idea what to make of it. But I have all the more reason to chat with Pete Diamond.

11

“Any other stops while we’re here in LA?” Rex asks as I leave the diner.

“No. It’ll be rush hour soon, and I want to get back to West Oaks so I can write up the interviews today. Plus think about what Christian and Kendall said.” We spent hours on this trip today, and I’m not much closer to answers. Just endlessly multiplying questions.

When we get back to his truck, I fill in Rex on everything Kendall shared with me as he steers us toward the freeway.

“Do you think either of them could be the anonymous witness who contacted you?” he asks.

“They both say they believe Amber is guilty and want to help the prosecution. If they have evidence, why not just hand it over to me? Clearly, they’ve got their own agendas and motives at play. Wish I could see the full picture. But my hunch is that neither one is my source.”

“That leaves you with the chauffeur. Diamond.”

“There’s still the possibility that my so-called source was lying. That there’s no hidden evidence at all, and Amber Printz or her rabid fans are trying to mess with me.”

“But I have no doubt you’ll get to the bottom of it,” Rex says.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“Why don’t we use this time to call Sylvie and update her. She can start researching Pete Diamond. Find out exactly where he is and what he’s up to.”

“Great idea.” I take out my phone. “I’ve got her cell number.”

Rex shakes his head. “No, use my phone. She has more than one number, and I’ve got the super-priority one saved in my contacts.”

“Ah, because she loves you. Thanks for getting me on the inside track.”

Rex points to his phone, which is sitting in the center console. He recites his passcode.

“You sure you trust me with all this sensitive info? First Sylvie’s top-secret cell number, and now your passcode?”

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