Date With the Devil Read Free Page B

mom looked at her like another daughter and always sided with Kristi when we had fights. I was the wild one. In high school, I had a boyfriend right away, like when I was fourteen. And I don’t remember exactly who she dated, but I know all the guys wanted to go out with her. She was so outgoing. This is one thing I can tell—she was always the life of the party.”
    Rick acted as big brother and covert protector to Kristin. “I was a senior and she was a freshman. She was cute and a lot of guys liked her, but I let them know that I was there to see that nothing happened to her. I don’t think she ever realized that.”
    If Jennifer took on the role of another sister to Kristin, then her real sibling Robin soon became a de facto mother. It came about as the result of yet another divorce.
    Peter recalled the breakup. “Marie and I separated and went our different ways. I moved out and took only what I could carry in my car. All the kids were teenagers at the time. I stayed around the area, of course, and got to see them a fair amount.” He resettled in Simi Valley, about fourteen miles northeast of Westlake Village, and eventually took a beautiful new bride named Sue.
    Looking back, Robin recalled, “When I turned eighteen, my parents were getting a divorce, so I was sort of the mom for Kristin and my little sister, Stephanie. My mother, newly divorced, went back to work and spent time finding herself. This put me in the motherly mode. It was no problem for me. Instead of being sisters, it was more like a mother-daughter relationship with both Kristin and Stephanie. They needed me and accepted me in the role of mom.”
    To Rick, the divorce meant fewer restrictions on the kids. “Mom worked at night and usually didn’t get home until about three o’clock in the morning. So we pretty much had the run of the house. Our friends discovered this, and a lot of them would come over and hang out. It was like the neighborhood party house. All hell would break loose, especially in the summer when school was out.”
    At Westlake High School, the camaraderie between Jennifer and Kristin grew even stronger. “We took the bus together. She was an excellent student and was very smart—always pleasant, very witty. It’s no exaggeration to say she was always one of the most gregarious and admired kids. In our yearbook, Kristi was singled out as the most popular girl. She had a million friends.”
    Peter Means also recognized Kristin’s esteem among her peers. “It is correct that she was elected as most popular. She was a real social person and friends with everyone, with no fear of people. Kristin would talk to anyone, no matter what social level, rich or poor. She loved working with handicapped kids and volunteered with an Easter Seals group. The kids adored her because she was a lot of fun. Bubbly and outgoing, she could relate to them.”
    At the time they first moved to Westlake Village, Robin and Kristin were impressed with the knowledge that numerous celebrities lived in the enclave. Robin said, “Of course, growing up there, we had a lot of stars in our lives. Every summer we went to Catalina Island for ten days. We met Arnell Simpson, O.J.’s daughter there. She was a good friend of ours. In our neighborhood, we often saw Heather Locklear and Courteney Cox. Her dad was friends with my dad. We often ran into celebrities. Jayne Mansfield’s son grew up in Westlake and was best friends with Vicky, who was my best friend. So we were always interacting with someone who had links to celebrity. We’d go to the Malibu chili cook-off and see Charlie Sheen and his brother Emilio Estevez. That was all part of being raised where we were. We spent a lot of time in the beach area, especially at Malibu. As we got older, we were no longer awed by celebrities. We realized they were just regular people too.”
    Kristin’s exposure to people in show