Page 52 of Wild Sentinel

"I believe I could be persuaded," Jack said.

"I have your beverage of choice. I knew you were coming.”

Flynn escorted us to the bar, and the bartender took our orders. JD and I went with the Wild Fury whiskey. Scarlett stuck with bottled water in a martini glass.

“I talked to Nick,“ Flynn said. “He told me he’d come by. I don’t know if he will. Joel says he’s stopping by too.”

I thanked him for the effort, and he gave us a tour of the house. When we returned to the living room, even more people had arrived.

The guest list was like a Who's Who of Hollywood. Flynn wasn't lying when he said everybody who was anybody would be here. Everywhere you looked, a recognizable face. There were directors, producers, agents, and studio executives. This was more than just a party—this was business. An opportunity to network.

Flynn nudged my arm and gave a subtle gesture to a guy across the room. “There’s your boy, Nick.”

Nick pulled out an amber vial of white powder and tooted up like it was no big deal. Not unusual at Hollywood parties.

Flynn grumbled. “See, I just don’t like that. Ask first if you’re gonna do that shit in my house.”

30

Nick’s face went stiff, and his eyes rounded when I flashed my badge. He was too coked up to notice it was the wrong county. The up-and-coming movie star swallowed hard and wiped the residual powder from his nose.

"I understand you used to be repped by Vivian Steele?”

"Yeah. What's it to you?”

"I'm investigating her death."

His brow wrinkled with confusion.

"I know West Beverly has a suspect they like in the case,” I said. “But I'm not certain.”

“I heard that guy shot himself.”

"How would you characterize your relationship with Vivian?”

"I don't have a relationship with Vivian anymore. Vivian is dead."

I gave him a flat look.

"She was very special to me. Gave me a start when no one else would.”

"So why did you leave her?”

Nick took a deep breath. "That's a good question. I'm glad you asked. To tell you the truth, I regretted leaving her. It was a bad decision on my part. Vivian stood by me through everything.” After a sigh, he said, "I guess I got greedy. Rachel offered to take far less, and every dollar counts.”

"$200 million is a nice payday.”

Nick smiled. "Yes. Yes, it is. I'm very blessed."

"I bet Vivian was pretty upset with you.”

Nick frowned. "Yeah. She was. And I really hate that we went out on bad terms.”

It was all starting to come together in my mind. "Did she threaten you? Threaten your career?"

The muscles in his jaw flexed. "No. We had some unpleasant exchanges. But she never threatened me."

"Are you sure? Vivian was pretty well known to have dirt on everyone. Did she have dirt on you?"