Page 77 of The One for Forever

When we walk into the diner, there’s only one guy who matches his description. His eyes are bloodshot, his hair is disheveled, and his clothes look like he hasn’t changed them in a few days. The guy is glancing back and forth and startles when he sees us.

He’s the very definition of squirrelly, and I don’t like it.

But this isn’t my call. Quinn is determined to find out what this guy knows. Still, I outright refused to let her go in here alone. She gave up that argument pretty easily, probably guessing that this was one of those times that I wouldn’t back down.

Quinn slides into the booth across from Pete. I sit down beside her. The guy stiffens, eyeing me. “Who is he? Doesn’t look like a lawyer.”

“He’s my bodyguard. Amber has been encouraging her fans to go after the DAs prosecuting her case. Especially me.”

He looks at his hands. “Yeah, no kidding. I’ve heard. When Amber Printz wants to get rid of you, that’s not a good place to be.”

“Speaking from experience?” Quinn asks.

He shifts around in his seat. “Look, why did you contact me?”

A server comes over, and Quinn orders a milkshake and fries. Pete is hesitant, but then he orders the same. Quinn smiles at him and folds her hands on the table in that disarming manner she has.

“I’ve been following up on some things in preparation for the trial.” She nods at me. “Rex and I went to Los Angeles tospeak with Christian Hayworth, and I found out he’d sent you to Nevada. Why is that?”

Pete hunches over in his seat. His eyes dart around the diner. “If I talk to you, I need to know I can trust you.”

She leans in, mirroring his posture. “You can trust us both. If you need protection, I can arrange that. And I can talk to DA Marchetti about immunity, depending on what you tell me. But you have to talk to me, Pete. It’s clear you’re going through something, and I want to help. But I can’t help unless I know what it is.”

His hands shake. “I wanted to come forward before. But they were watching me. Even meeting you like this is dangerous. They put you in the hospital, right? You already know.”

I tense, my hand reaching protectively for Quinn. But she’s entirely focused on the man across from her. “Pete, did you leave that note for me several weeks back? Are you the anonymous witness I texted with?”

Eyes down, he nods.

I’ve got my hand on Quinn’s leg beneath the table, and I can feel her vibrating with excitement. The server chooses that moment to bring the food over, and Pete jumps in his seat at the interruption.

It takes a few minutes for him to settle down again. He picks at his fries, and Quinn sips her vanilla milkshake. But I can almost hear her brain working. Strategizing how to get him to open up. She should probably be recording his statement. Preferably down at her office or West Oaks PD headquarters. But I know she would veto that idea. Pete looks ready to bolt as it is. Any mention of police stations or cameras could scare him off.

So I sit quietly and wait for the guy to speak up.

“I didn’t always want to be a driver,” Pete says. For the first time since we got here, the guy almost smiles. “Not exactly mydream career as a kid. I wanted to be an actor. That’s why I moved to LA. Me and half the other people in the service industry around here, right? It didn’t work out. But I still liked being near all the action. The big Hollywood deals and Oscar-nominated flicks. I’ve had my name in the credits of six different movies.” He lifts his chin proudly. “I loved driving for Thompson Hayworth. He was as A-list as you could get. And I was right there with him, every day. Then Amber came along. He was infatuated with her, and I couldn’t blame the guy. Supermodel looks, but she was real sweet to him. In the beginning. They were crazy about each other.”

Pete takes a gulp of water. “Things changed when Thompson made Amber the star of his last movie. The other producers couldn’t stand her, and they pressured him to fire her. She cried all the time. I felt so bad for her. She and Thompson started arguing more. Spending time apart. Their marriage was on the rocks. But I thought they were giving it one more chance. That’s why they were in their house in West Oaks that weekend. To get away from everyone else and reconnect.“

Quinn nods along. “I remember what you said in your original interview. But you know more, don’t you? You drove Amber the day of the murder.”

She’s taking a slight risk by pushing him, but I understand. She’s trying to keep him focused. I have the feeling this guy could wax poetic about Thompson and Amber all day long.

He runs a hand over the stubble at his jaw. “Yeah, I drove her to the spa on Ocean Lane that day. Thompson planned to stay home as usual. I waited for Amber to finish up, but it was taking a while. So I walked down the street to get a sandwich. On the way back, I cut through an alley. And I saw her.”

Quinn reaches for my hand under the table and squeezes.

“She was wearing a floppy hat and sunglasses. She came out of the side exit of the building. Walked off in the opposite direction and got in a sedan that was parked there.”

“Was anyone waiting for her?” Quinn asks.

“No. She was alone. She took off in the sedan. I checked my phone, thinking that something had come up, and she couldn’t find me, so she arranged another car, strange as that would be. But she hadn’t said a word. I had no idea what was going on. So I just went back to my car and waited.”

“You didn’t go to the Hayworth residence?” I ask.

Pete’s eyes widen at my voice, as if he forgot I was sitting there. “No way. I had no idea what Amber was doing, and if she wasn’t back at the house, I couldn’t just show up without her. Thompson might be mad. I waited, and after a few hours, she walked out of the front of the spa. Like she’d been there the whole time. I was confused, but I figured maybe she’d snuck off to meet some guy.” His Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows. “Wouldn’t have been the first time.”

There, I think. A tell. The man’s jealous. Pissed at the thought that Amber might’ve been having an affair. Makes me wonder what else the man is leaving out.

---