The Smoking Gun, May 27

MAY 27--Accused killer Scott Peterson was still calling his girlfriend nearly a month after his wife Laci disappeared, according to a new court filing by prosecutors. Included in an affidavit dealing with electronic surveillance conducted by investigators is the disclosure that, on January 20, Peterson telephoned Amber Frey, the massage therapist with whom he cavorted behind his pregnant wife's back. At that point, Laci had been missing for nearly a month and Scott was supposedly spearheading the search for his spouse. During the late-night call, Peterson told Frey that he had hired a private investigator and that the snoop, Gary Ermoian, had been approached by the National Enquirer, which wanted to hire him. Days after the call, Frey came forward to admit her affair with Peterson, whom she thought was single when they met last November. In early April, the bodies of Laci Peterson and her unborn son washed up not far from the northern California marina where Scott Peterson went fishing on Christmas Eve. He reported his wife missing that day when he returned to the couple's Modesto home. (3 pages)