Then it was Syd's turn. Syd, with his cynical eyes and mournful face. She knew he'd put a million dollars of his own money into Leila's play-money he had probably borrowed. Leila had called him "the Dealer." "Sure, he works hard for me, Sparrow, but that's because I make a lot of money for him. The day I quit being an asset to him, he'll walk over my dead body."

Elizabeth felt a chill as Syd gave her a perfunctory show-business kiss. "You look good;

I may have to steal you from your agent. I didn't expect to see you till next week."

Next week. Of course. The defense was probably going to use Cheryl and Syd to testify to Leila's emotional state that night in Elaine's.

"Are you filling in for one of the instructors?" Cheryl asked.

" Elizabeth is here because I invited her," Min snapped.

Elizabeth wondered why Min seemed so terribly nervous. Min's eyes were darting around, and her hand was still gripping Elizabeth 's elbow as though she were afraid of losing her.

"Cocktails" were offered to the newcomers.

Friends of the Countess drifted over to join them. The host of a famous talk show greeted Syd genially. "Next time you want us to book one of your clients, make sure he's sober."

"That one's never sober."

Then she heard a familiar voice coming from behind her, an astonished voice: " Elizabeth, what are you doing here?"

She turned and felt Craig's arms around her-the solid, dependable arms of the man who had rushed to her when he heard the news flash, who had stayed with her in Leila's apartment, listening as she babbled out her grief, who had helped her to answer the questions of the police, who had finally located Ted…

She'd seen Craig three or four times in the last year. He'd look her up when she was filming. "I can't be in the same city without at least saying hello," he'd say. By tacit agreement they avoided discussing the impending trial, but they never got through a dinner without some reference to it. It was through Craig that she'd learned that Ted was staying in Maui, that he was jumpy and irritable, that he was practically ignoring business and out of touch with his friends. It was from Craig, inevitably, that she'd heard the question "Are you sure?"

The last time she'd seen him, she'd burst out, "How can anyone be sure of anything or anybody?" and asked him not to contact her again until after the trial. "I know where your loyalty has to be."

But what was he doing here now? She'd have thought he'd be with Ted preparing for the trial. And then as she stepped back from his embrace, she saw Ted coming up the steps of the veranda.

She felt her mouth go dry. Her arms and legs trembled; her heart beat so wildly she could hear its pounding in her ears. Somehow in these months she had managed to bar his image from her conscious mind, and in her nightmares, he was always shadowy-she'd seen only the murderous hands, pushing Leila over the railing, the merciless eyes watching her fall…

Now he was walking up these stairs with his usual commanding presence. Andrew Edward Winters III, his dark hair contrasting with the white dinner jacket, his strong, even features deeply tanned, looking all the better for his self-imposed exile in Maui.

Outrage and hatred made Elizabeth want to lunge at him; to push him down those steps as he had pushed Leila, to scratch that composed, handsome face as Leila had scratched it, trying to save herself. The brackish taste of bile filled her mouth and she gulped, trying to fight back nausea.

"There he is!" Cheryl cried. In an instant she was sliding through the clusters of people on the veranda, her heels clattering, the scarf of her red silk evening pajamas trailed behind her. 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 kaleido-scope. Loose fragments of colors and impressions rotated before her. The white of Ted's jacket; the red of Cheryl'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 fiance. 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.

" Elizabeth…"

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?"

"In 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."

"I 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.

" Elizabeth, 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.

"Min, 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."

" Elizabeth, you can't leave!"

"Can't I? Do you have a number where I can reach Sammy?"

"No."

"Exactly when is she expected back?"

"Tomorrow night after dinner." Min clasped her hands beseechingly. " Elizabeth, I beg you."

From behind her, Elizabeth heard the door open. She whirled around. Helmut was in the doorway. He put his hands on her arms in a gesture that both embraced and restrained her. " Elizabeth." His voice was soft and urgent. "I tried to warn Minna. She had the crazy idea that if you saw Ted you would think of all the happy times, would remember how much he loved Leila. I implored her not to do this. Ted is as shocked and upset as you are."