Page 94 of The One for Forever

“It is to anyone who loved Thompson Hayworth,” I mutter.

Quinn holds up a hand. “Wait, are you saying Pete Diamond is an accessory to Amber killing Thompson? The DA could nail him.”

“I’m not in the business of putting together cases for you to prosecute. Do with Pete Diamond what you will, because he’s not my client. Just let me get this out, okay? It’ll make sense in the end.” He takes a breath. “Amber went to another room to make some phone calls, and then Petereallystarted running his mouth. Wanted us to know exactly how smart he was. He said the day of the murder, he waited to see what Amber was up to. Eventually she came back to the spa, pretending she’d never left. But after he drove her to the Hayworth residence in the West Oaks hills, and they found Thompson’s body, Pete made his move. He told Amber that he knew she’d left the spa. He asked her if she’d killed her husband. She denied it at first, sobbing, but then he pointed out the spot of blood on her ankle. She’d missed it when she was cleaning herself up and disposing of evidence. And he made her an offer.”

“Let me guess,” Quinn deadpans. “It involved Amber sleeping with him.”

No wonder I got such sleazy vibes from Diamond that day we met with him. Thank God I didn’t let him around Quinn alone.

Derek shrugs. “The way Pete told it, he offered to be her savior out of the goodness of his heart, and she accepted. Pete would pull strings to cover up her guilt and let Amber remain ignorant of whatever he did, so that she would have deniability. She was so grateful that they struck up a romantic relationship.”

I snort. “Of course.” What a love story. The murderess and her blackmailer.

“That makes Pete an accessory after the fact,” Quinn says. “What exactly did he do to help her?”

“That’s what I’m getting to. And keep in mind, Pete and Amber both swear up and down that Amber had no knowledge of anything else he did. So don’t think you can bring new charges against my client.”

Quinn rolls her eyes.

“Pete lied for her, to start with. He solidified Amber’s alibi when the police first interviewed him. But later, when she became the main suspect in the murder, Pete came up with a new idea. Amber’s accounts had already been blowing up on social media by then because of all the attention on the murder. So Pete figured, why not turn Amber’s devoted followers into something more useful? A weapon.”

Quinn’s gaze flies to meet mine. I think I see where this is going, and I’m ready to track down Diamond right fucking now. But instead I force myself to stay still and listen.

“Pete combed Reddit subthreads about Amber for potential patsies. It took a while to find people he was sure would agree. First, he talked them into making threats against the district attorney. Then, after your role in the upcoming trial became more clear, Pete told them directly to go after you. Harass you. Make your life difficult. Maybe scare you into quitting the trial team. Pete promised them that after Amber was acquitted,she’d show her appreciation to anyone who participated in this scheme.”

Quinn makes a face. “Gross.”

“No kidding. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Amber had already sworn to me that she had no idea who was harassing you, Quinn. And I suppose she didn’t know directly because Pete was keeping her ignorant of the details. But if I’d had any suspicion, I would have done something to stop it.”

“Sure you would have,” I say, making my skepticism clear.

“It’s true! Especially after Quinn got a concussion. I never would’ve wanted her hurt.”

I cross the kitchen toward him. “Did Pete make all these admissionsbeforethat psycho chased us down Ocean Lane? Or after?”

Derek pales. “It was before. But I swear, I had no idea anyone was still going after Quinn. I didn’t realize?—”

“I don’t fucking care.” I keep advancing, backing him up against the kitchen table. “You should’ve called the police the moment you found out about Pete’s goon squad. We could’ve been in a car accident. Quinn could’ve been seriously injured or worse.”

“That’s why I’m here now. I’m informing you both so you can take necessary steps. You’re a bodyguard. It’s your job to deal with this kind of thing, not mine.”

“Like hell it’s not your job. You’re going to call West Oaks PD and tell them everything you just confessed.”

Derek looks like he’s about to argue with me, but Quinn interrupts. “Hold on. Just wait. Did Pete say anything about contacting me and pretending to be an anonymous witness? Was that part of his scheme?”

Derek heaves a sigh. “I’m hazy on the details. He just said you contacted him, and he decided to use the opportunity to destroy your case at trial. He thought it was hilarious that you didn’tsuspect he was behind the harassment. He was going on and on about his acting skills.”

I clench my teeth on a growl. What I wouldn’t give to have my hands around Pete Diamond’s neck right now.

“And what about Christian Hayworth?” Quinn asks. “Why did he send Pete to work on that movie set in Nevada?”

“Oh, Pete did mention that.” Derek rolls his eyes. “Pete hates Christian almost as much as he hates the prosecutors. He said Christian suspected him of helping Amber, so Christian tried to banish him out of state. Pete wasn’t having that, so he came back to West Oaks to be close to Amber.”

“But why wouldn’t Christian tell the police if he suspected Pete? Or tell Quinn and the other prosecutors?”

“I don’t know.” He rubs the skin between his eyes. “All I know is what Pete blabbed, and I didn’t memorize it. This has been an exhausting day for me too.”

Quinn arches an eyebrow.

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