"How did you find your sister?"

"She was obviously under a terrible strain; she kept forgetting her lines. Her performance was a shambles. Between acts I went to her dressing room. She never drank anything but a little wine, and yet she was drinking straight Scotch. I took it from her and poured it down the sink."

"How did she respond?"

"She was furious. She was a totally different person. She had never been a big drinker, but she was suddenly drinking a lot… Ted came into the dressing room. She shouted at both of us to get out."

"Were you surprised by her behavior?"

"I think it would be more accurate to say that I was shocked."

"Did you discuss it with Winters?"

"He seemed bewildered. He'd been away a lot too."

"On business?"

"Yes. I suppose so…"

"The play went badly?"

"It was a disaster. Leila refused to come out for a curtain call. When it was over we went on to Elaine's."

"Who do you mean by 'we'?"

"Leila… Ted and Craig… myself… Syd and Cheryl… Baron and Baroness von Schreiber. We were all close friends."

"You will be asked to identify these people for the jury."

"Syd Melnick was Leila's agent. Cheryl Manning is a well-known actress. Baron and Baroness von Schreiber own Cypress Point Spa in California. Min -the Baroness-used to have a model agency in New York. She gave Leila her first job. Ted Winters -everyone knows who he is, and he was Leila's fiance. Craig Babcock is Ted's assistant. He's executive vice-president of Winters Enterprises."

"What happened at Elaine's?"

"There was a dreadful scene. Someone yelled to Leila that he'd heard her play was a turkey. She went wild. She shouted, 'You bet it's a turkey, but I'm wringing its neck. You hear that, everybody? I quit!' Then she fired Syd Melnick. She told him he had only stuck her in the play because he wanted his percentage-that for the last couple of years he'd been putting her in anything he could because he needed the money." Elizabeth bit her lip. "You have to understand this wasn't the real Leila. Oh, sure, she could get uptight when she was in a new play. She was a star. A perfectionist. But she never behaved like that."

"What did you do?"

"We all tried to calm her down. But it only made her worse. When Ted tried to reason with her, she took off her engagement ring and threw it across the room."

"How did he respond?"

"He was furious, but he tried not to show it. A waiter brought the ring back and Ted slipped it into his pocket. He tried to make a joke of it. He said something like 'I'll hold it till tomorrow when she's in better shape.' Then we got her to the car and brought her home. Ted helped me to put her to bed. I told him I'd have her call him in the morning, when she woke up."

"Now on the stand I'll ask you what their living arrangements were."

"He had his own apartment on the second floor in the same building. I spent the night with Leila. She slept past noon. When she woke up, she felt rotten. I gave her aspirin and she went back to bed. I phoned Ted for her. He was in his office. He asked me to tell her he'd come up about seven o'clock that evening."

Elizabeth felt her voice quaver.

"I'm sorry to have to keep going, but try to think of this as a rehearsal. The more prepared you are, the easier it will be for you when you are actually on the stand."

"It's all right."

"Did you and your sister discuss the previous night?"

"No. It was obvious she didn't want to talk about it. She was very quiet. She told me to go to my place and get settled. I had literally dropped my bags home and rushed to her play. She asked me to call her around eight and we'd have dinner together. I assumed she meant she and Ted and I would have dinner together. But then she said she wasn't going to take his ring back. She was through with him."

"Miss Lange, this is very important. Your sister told you she was planning to break her engagement to Ted Winters?"

"Yes." Elizabeth stared down at her hands. She remembered how she had put those hands on Leila's shoulders, then run them across Leila's forehead. Oh, stop it, Leila. You don't mean that.

But I do, Sparrow.

No, you don't.

Have it your way, Sparrow. But call me around eight, okay?

The last moment of being with Leila, of putting the cold compress on her forehead, of tucking the blankets around her and thinking that in a few hours she'd be herself again, laughing and amused and ready to tell the story. "So I fired Syd and threw Ted's ring, and quit the play. How's that for a fast two minutes in Elaine's?" And then she'd throw back her head and laugh, and in retrospect it would suddenly become funny-a star having a public tantrum.

"I let myself believe it, because I wanted to believe it," Elizabeth heard herself telling William Murphy.

In a rush she began the rest of her testimony. "I phoned at eight… Leila and Ted were arguing. She sounded as if she'd been drinking again. She asked me to call back in an hour. I did. She was crying. They were still quarreling. She had told Ted to get out. She kept saying she couldn't trust any man; she didn't want any man; she wanted me to go away with her."

"How did you respond?"

"I tried everything. I tried to calm her. I reminded her that she always got uptight when she was in a new show. I told her the play was really a good vehicle for her. I told her Ted was crazy about her and she knew it. Then I tried acting angry. I told her…" Elizabeth 's voice faltered. Her face paled. "I told her she sounded just like Mama in one of her drunks."

"What did she say?"

"It was as if she hadn't heard me. She just kept saying, 'I'm finished with Ted. You're the only one I can ever trust. Sparrow, promise you'll go away with me.'"

Elizabeth no longer tried to check the tears that welled in her eyes. "She was crying and sobbing…"

"And then…"

"Ted came back. He began shouting at her."

William Murphy leaned forward. The warmth disappeared from his voice. "Now, Miss Lange, this will be a crucial point in your testimony. On the stand, before you can say whose voice you heard, I have to lay a foundation so that the judge is satisfied that you truly recognized that voice. So this is how we'll do it…" He paused dramatically.

"Question: You heard a voice?"

"Yes," Elizabeth said tonelessly.

"How loud was that voice?"

"Shouting."

"What was the tone of that voice?"

"Angry."

"How many words did you hear that voice say?"

In her mind, Elizabeth counted them. "Eleven words. Two sentences."

"Now, Miss Lange, had you ever heard that voice before?"

"Hundreds of times." Ted's voice was filling her ears. Ted, laughing, calling to Leila: "Hey, Star, hurry up, I'm hungry"; Ted deftly protecting Leila from an overly enthusiastic admirer: "Get in the car, honey, quick "; Ted coming to her own opening performance last year Off Broadway: "I'm to memorize every detail to tell Leila. I can wrap it all up in three words: You were sensational…"

What was Mr. Murphy asking her?… "Miss Lange, did you recognize whose voice shouted at your sister?"

"Absolutely!"

"Miss Lange. Whose voice was that shouting in the background?"

"It was Ted's… Ted Winters'."

"What did he shout?"

Unconsciously she raised her own voice. " 'Put that phone down! I told you, put that phone down.'"

"Did your sister respond?"

"Yes." Elizabeth stirred restlessly. "Do we have to go through this?"

"It will be easier for you if you get used to talking about it before the trial. Now, what did Leila say?"

"She was still sobbing… she said, 'Get out of here. You're not a falcon…' And then the phone slammed down."