why Don and Nikki thought the cops might arrest Don for Billyâs murder. âI wasnât accusing you. I was trying to understand.â
Don gave one curt nod and slipped his sunglasses back on, turning and starting to pace back and forth in front of our seats.
I exhaled and glanced around the pool area. No one seemed to notice Donâs tension. Or they werenât acting like they noticed, which was close enough. I decided to get the tough questions out of the way.
âAt the risk of making you mad again, why might the cops start looking at you?â
His smile was laced with chagrin. âMy temper, though I donât often lose it.â He walked back and forth two more times, then stopped. âPlus the fact Iâve never had anything good to say about Billy. Plenty of people can attest to the opposite. To be blunt, Iâm not sorry the asshole is dead.â
I agreed, but kept it to myself. âYou said heâd ruffled feathers in the race organization. Who in particular did he make angry?â
Don sat down again and propped his sunglasses on top of his head. âMostly me. I didnât want to burden my staff. But also my marketing and PR guru Erica Aarons, because she had to pick up the extra work he created with his genius press ideas.â
âThatâs it?â
âI think so. He pissed off Elizabeth Rogers over at the SCC, with how much he bungled their logistics.â He thought a moment. âI think Penny, Maddie Theaboâs assistant, was furious at him the other day.â
âHe got around.â
âIâm not saying any of those gals killed Billy.â
âI donât think they did either. But I want to find out what he was up to and come up with some ideas why he was killed. Maybe thatâll help the police figure out who did it.â
âYouâre the pro.â
I stifled an eye-roll. âAnyone else you can think of who might have been mad at Billy?â
âHonestly, Nikki wasnât happy with him lately. She said one more stunt and sheâd show him the door. I didnât take her seriously at the time, but maybe there was something to it.â
âShe said he was going to leave her.â
âMaybe he was. Maybe she was going to dump him. I have no idea.â He checked his watch. âI need to go sweet-talk a sponsor.â
We both stood up, and he smiled easily this time. âIâm sorry for getting riled up a minute ago. I appreciate your help. The whole race organization does. I canât offer to pay you, but weâll do what we can to promote you.â
Back in my room, I thought about what Don had told me and wondered if Billy had angered as many people in the business world or his personal life as in the racing world. Those would be harder questions to answer, since there was no one I wanted to talk to for information, except my father. He might not want to help.
Chapter Twelve
I gave up on my attempts at sleuthing and packed what I needed for my afternoon adventure and an overnight in Ontario, loading it into my car and triple-checking I had all of my racing equipment. I traversed Beverly Hills from north to south, worked my way west to Overland Avenue, and drove to Sony Studios in Culver City. I felt both important and pretentious telling the guard at the gate I was there to visit Maddie Theabo. By the time I parked in the large, multi-level structure to the right of the gate, Maddieâs assistant Penny was waiting.
She worked her phone non-stop as always, but it didnât dim her attentiveness or friendly nature. âHow are you, Kate? Excited to be on the set?â
I tried not to be a fangirl about meeting celebrities, whether in the racing world or out, especially considering Don Kessbergâs advice about interacting with them. But I was on a studio lot, about to go behind the scenes of a major motion picture, and I felt giddy. I didnât bother hiding my grin.