Chapter 24
Pete Lyle wiped the grease off his hands with a sullied gray rag, his droopy eyes settling on Hayley and Sergio, who stood expectantly in his garage next to the giant pile of crushed metal that was once Liddy’s Mercedes.
“What did you find?” Sergio asked.
“The brake line was cut,” Pete said with a detached drawl, as if the severity of his conclusion was completely lost on him.
“You’re saying someone deliberately sabotaged Liddy’s car? Who would do that?” Hayley blurted out, stupefied.
Pete shrugged. “Beats me. Although if you give me some more time, I could probably come up with a pretty long list.”
There was a bitterness to Pete’s tone, and Hayley wondered why, until it finally dawned on her that he and Liddy had a checkered history. Of course, it went all the way back to high school, when Pete asked Liddy to the prom and she flatly refused the invitation. She had her eye on the quarterback of the football team, Chad Simpson, and Pete, who was rather shy and withdrawn, usually found sitting in the back of the classroom, wasn’t even on her radar. As Hayley recalled, Pete was so crushed by Liddy’s outright rejection, he stayed home on prom night and never forgave her. That was over twenty years ago now. But Pete, as Hayley was learning, really knew how to hold on to a grudge.
“Come on, Pete, Liddy may have her enemies, but I don’t think any of them would be so nasty as to intentionally endanger her life . . . and mine, by the way!” Hayley said.
Pete shrugged again. “You never know, the way she treats people. I can sure see someone having had enough of all her foolishness and cruelty and just snapping.”
He was obviously talking about himself.
Sergio glanced at Hayley, confused, with a look that said, Should I be arresting him right now?
Hayley stepped forward, closer to Pete, who was now staring at the grease-stained rag in his hand. “Pete, I know you had a beef with Liddy back in high school, but that was so long ago . . .”
“She changed the course of my life, Hayley,” Pete said, eyes fixed on the floor. “I was a confident kid, made good grades . . .”
Okay, that one was a stretch. Hayley remembered having Pete in her chemistry class where he was briefly her lab partner, and when he wasn’t skipping school, he could barely tell the difference between a beaker and a test tube.
“Then, when Liddy so callously broke my heart in senior year, without a second thought, and I saw her in the cafeteria laughing about it with all her girlfriends, my life took a sudden turn. I lost my confidence. I felt really bad about myself, and it took its toll on everything in my life . . . I wanted to be a NASCAR driver, but thanks to Liddy and her heartlessness, I didn’t dare pursue it, because I was afraid of further rejection and people laughing at me, so I went to work in my uncle’s garage, and here I am today . . .”
“But you own the garage now,” Sergio offered, trying tactfully to be helpful.
“Big whoop. I’m not living my dream. I’m a two-bit mechanic, divorced from a crazy shrew who takes every penny of profit I make because of a bad alimony deal her fancy lawyer conned me into signing.”
Sonny Lipton had represented Pete’s ex-wife in the divorce settlement, which suddenly made Pete look even more suspicious in Hayley’s mind.
“Pete, you can’t seriously blame Liddy for all that’s happened to you since high school . . .” Hayley said.
Pete spit a glob of saliva out of his mouth and onto the floor and then wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his gray coveralls. “I sure can. She’s like the devil, as far as I’m concerned. Anyone who tries to take her out has my respect, if I’m being honest.”
“You’re being very honest with us, Pete,” Sergio said, a stern look on his face. “Maybe too honest. Have you ever worked on Liddy’s car before today?”
Pete snickered. “Hell, no. I don’t want her business. And if you’re trying to nail me down as the bad guy here, why would I tell you someone cut the brake line if I was the one who did it?”
He had a point.
“Besides, I’ve been out of town the last few days. Me and a couple of buddies flew to Arizona to see Kevin Harvick compete in the TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway.”
Hayley didn’t even pretend to know what he was talking about.
“I just got back this morning when I got your call to have a look at Liddy’s car,” he said. “I can give you the phone numbers of my buddies, if you think I’m lying, who can corroborate my alibi.”
“That would be helpful, Pete, thank you,” Sergio said, all business.
Pete Lyle certainly had a clear motive to see Liddy perish in a fiery crash. He was still wounded from her rejection in high school, and the man she was about to marry screwed him over financially. What better revenge than to seriously injure or even kill the woman Sonny was about to marry? However, if his alibi did check out, then he was in the clear.
Still, Hayley was more driven than ever to find out who was behind this, and if it was in any way connected to Lisa’s poisoning. Because after all, Hayley too had nearly lost her life in that car crash, so in addition to protecting her best friend, she was out to protect herself as well.
“We’ll be in touch, Pete. Don’t leave town for another NASCAR rally until I have a chance to speak to your friends, okay?” Sergio warned.
Pete just shrugged, nonplussed.
Once they were outside, Hayley had her phone to her ear and was calling Liddy.
“Hi, what’s up? Sonny and I are at the florist picking out arrangements,” Liddy cooed, having already forgotten she had just been in a near-fatal car accident. “Oh, honey, aren’t those tulips gorgeous?”
“Yes,” Hayley could hear Sonny obediently agree.
Hayley took a deep breath. “Liddy, pay attention. I have some news . . .”