Index Pete devised as means to an end (9)
I believe the answer is:
expedient
'means to an end' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'index pete devised' is the wordplay.
'devised' indicates an anagram.
'index'+'pete'='indexpete'
'indexpete' is an anagram of 'EXPEDIENT'.
'as' is the link.
(Other definitions for expedient that I've seen before include "scheme" , "Convenient rather than right" , "Suited to the circumstances" , "something for emergency use" , "Means to get" .)