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Johnnie finished his sandwich, devouring it with manly enthusiasm and finishing the last of his fries. He waited impatiently while Babs finished her bagel, then shoved back his chair and came to his feet.
“We need to get going. Time’s slipping away and Amy and I have a few things to work out before she meets Bennett.”
Her stomach sharply contracted. She glanced down at the pink-and-silver watch on her wrist. It was only costume jewelry but it was pretty, a birthday gift from Rachael last year. “I’m ready whenever you are.”
The women stood up from the table while Johnnie took care of the bill, then he walked them out the door. As they stood on the sidewalk, Babs dug her car keys out of her purse. A little metal palm tree dangled from the end.
She handed the keys to Amy. “Be careful. I don’t have any insurance.”
“Jesus.” Johnnie shook his head and raked a hand through his short, dark hair.
Amy’s fingers tightened around the keys. She drove a little Honda back home and it was insured. Hopefully, that would cover any problems but she wasn’t really sure. “I’ll be careful.”
Babs waved and started walking back to the club, and Johnnie led Amy toward his car, parked in the lot next to the deli. He pressed his key to unlock the Mustang then opened the door. “Get in.”
Amy slipped into the passenger seat and Johnnie rounded the car and slid in on the driver’s side. Reaching across her, he opened the glove box and pulled out a padded envelope. He tipped it over and a silver, heart-shaped locket fell into his big hand.
“I want you to wear this. There’s a microphone inside. I’ll be able to hear everything you say and whatever’s going on inside the house. If you get in trouble, just sing out.”
Amy glanced up. “You’re going to Bennett’s house with me?”
One of his dark eyebrows went up. “You thought I was going to let you go into that creep’s place on your own? I told you that wasn’t going to happen last night.”
“Yes, but—”
“I drove by there this morning. Expensive area, plenty of parking on the street. I won’t be far away if you get into trouble.”
The nerves returned. “Surely you don’t think…think he’d…he’d do anything to hurt me?”
“You never know with a weasel like that. Just remember I’ll be close enough to hear what’s going on.” Johnnie swung the locket over her head and fastened the catch on the silver chain. Just the brush of his fingers against the back of her neck sent goose bumps over her skin.
She glanced in the mirror. “My earrings are gold. They don’t match.”
“Take them off,” he said.
Amy unfastened the small gold hoops and stuck them into her purse. She reached up and fingered the locket. “You have no idea how grateful I am for this.”
The edge of his mouth faintly curved. “Don’t worry, when the time comes, you can show me just how grateful you are.”
A little curl of heat settled low in her stomach. He hadn’t forgotten about last night.
Amy tried not to be glad.
Seven
She had driven Babs’s beat-up blue Chevy a few times before, just little jaunts to the store or the drive-through for some snack they wanted. Driving the car to Kyle Bennett’s house was a far different thing.
Amy took a deep breath and stuck the key into the ignition, the metal palm tree key chain clanking against the dash. She put the car in gear, pulled onto Sunset and drove west toward Bel Air.
During their brief phone conversation yesterday, Kyle had given her directions to his house. Following Sunset, a tight four-lane with everyone going too fast, she eventually reached Stone Canyon Road, turned right, then made a left onto Bellagio and continued up the winding streets until she came to the address he had given her. Every once in a while, she caught a glimpse of Johnnie’s black Mustang in her rearview mirror, and knowing he was back there kept her from turning the Chevy around and speeding back down the hill.
She wouldn’t, she knew. Though her nerves were tingling and her stomach felt like a ball of snakes. She was committed to finding Rachael, no matter what it took.
Amy slowed, checked the address stenciled on the curb in front of the house and pulled the car over. The residence, a single-story Spanish-style home, was nice but not pretentious, the kind of house she might have expected his parents to live in instead of Kyle.
Turning off the engine, she sat for a moment collecting herself, then grabbed her bag, opened the door and climbed out of the car. The place was well kept, the plants and shrubs along the brick walkway leading up to the house neatly pruned and watered.
She took a quick glance behind her but saw no sign of Johnnie. He would be parked around the corner out of sight, she figured. At least he was out there somewhere.
“I’m walking toward the front steps,” she said into the mic hidden inside the locket, figuring she was still far enough from the windows no one would see her talking to herself. She steadied her nerves as she pushed the doorbell and heard it chime somewhere inside.
It didn’t take long for the door to swing open. A smiling Kyle Bennett stood in the doorway.
“Come on in.” He was dressed in designer jeans, loafers and a yellow Izod knit shirt, his sandy hair neatly combed. He was casually GQ, exactly what she had expected.
Amy walked into the Spanish tiled entry noticing a heavy wooden chandelier overhead, and Kyle closed the arched front door.
He surveyed her head to foot. “You look just as good in clothes as you do out of them. That’s definitely a plus.”
She swallowed, not happy with the reminder he had seen her all but naked. “Is…is everything ready for the screen test?”
“My camera guy is running a little late, but he’ll be here soon. Why don’t we go into the studio and I’ll fix us something to drink?”
She let him guide her through the house into what looked like his study, done in dark wood paneling with a wide, ornately carved oak desk, and a dark brown leather sofa and chair. A camera on a tripod pointed toward the sofa, apparently where Bennett planned to film the audition.
“Have a seat,” he said.
She sat down on the couch, nervously smoothed her palms over her white jeans.
“What would you like to drink? Glass of white wine, maybe, or something stronger? How ’bout I make you a cosmo?”
Amy shook her head. “A Diet Coke would be good…if it isn’t too much trouble.”
“No trouble. I just figured you might want something to help you relax in front of the camera.”
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