Free Weep No More My Lady by Mary Higgins Clark Page B

. Conversation stopped, heads turned as she threw herself into Ted’s arms.
    Like a robot, Elizabeth stared down at them. It was as though she were looking through a kaleidoscope. Loose fragments of colors and impressions rotated before her. The white of Ted’s jacket; the red ofCheryl’s outfit; Ted’s dark brown hair, his long, well-shaped hands holding Cheryl’s shoulders as he tried to free himself.
    At the grand jury hearing, Elizabeth remembered, she had brushed past him, filled with self-loathing that she had been so deceived, so taken in by his performance as Leila’s grief-stricken fiancé. Now he glanced up, and she knew he had seen her. He looked shocked and dismayed—or was that just another act? Pulling his arm away from Cheryl’s clinging fingers, he came up the steps. Unable to move, she was dimly aware of the hushed silence of the people around them, the murmurs and laughter of those farther away who did not realize what was happening, of the last strains of the concerto, of the bouquet of fragrances from the flowers and ocean.
    He looked older. The lines around his eyes and mouth that had appeared at the time of Leila’s death had deepened and were now permanently etched on his face. Leila had loved him so, and he had killed her. A fresh passion of hatred surged through Elizabeth. All the intolerable pain, the awful sense of loss, the guilt that permeated her soul like a cancer because at the end she had failed Leila. This man was the cause of all of it.
    â€œElizabeth . . .”
    How dare he speak to her? Shocked out of her immobility, she spun around, stumbled across the veranda and into the foyer. She heard the click of heels behind her. Min had followed her in. Elizabeth turned to her fiercely. “Damn you, Min. What in hell do you think you’re pulling?”
    â€œIn here.” Min’s head jerked toward the music room. She did not speak until she had closed the door behind them. “Elizabeth, I know what I’m doing.”
    â€œI don’t.” With an acute sense of betrayal, Elizabeth stared at Min. No wonder she had seemed nervous. And she was even more nervous now—she, who always seemed impervious to stress, who always gave off the commanding air of one who could change and resolve any problem, was actually trembling.
    â€œElizabeth, when I saw you in Venice, you told me yourself that something in you still couldn’t believe Ted would hurt Leila. I don’t care how it looks. I’ve known him longer than you—years longer. . . . You’re making a mistake. Don’t forget, I was in Elaine’s that night too. Listen, Leila had gone crazy. There’s no other way of saying it. And you knew it! You say you set your clock the next day. You were distraught about her.Are you so infallible that maybe you didn’t set it wrong? When Leila was on the phone with you just before she died, were you watching the clock? Look at Ted these next few days as if he’s a human being, not a monster. Think about how good he was to Leila.”
    Min’s face was impassioned. Her low, intense voice was more piercing than a scream. She grasped Elizabeth’s arm. “You’re one of the most honest people I know. From the time you were a little girl you always told the truth. Can’t you face the fact that your mistake means that Ted will rot in prison for the rest of his life?”
    The melodious sound of chimes echoed through the room. Dinner was about to be served. Elizabeth put her hand on Min’s wrist, forcing Min to release her. Incongruously, she remembered how a few minutes ago Ted had pulled away from Cheryl.
    â€œMin, next week a jury will begin to decide who is telling the truth. You think you can run everything, but you’re out of your element this time. . . . Get someone to call me a taxi.”
    â€œElizabeth, you can’t