"Let's start again; tell the court how you and Mr.Manning first met."

"We went to college in nearby towns-he to Cornell, I to Syracuse."

"Spell it out for them; say Cornell University and University in New York State."

"Okay."

"Go on."

"We were both members of the same fraternity, Alpha Epsilon, and we had an interfraternity basketball league that included both universities."

"Just say club, and don't bother with the Greek; this jury isn't likely to know much about American college. In fact, just say you played in the same league."

"Right. Paul Manning and I both played on basketball teams and we sometimes played against each other."

"And how well did you know him?"

"Fairly well, but we were not close."

"Just say fairly well, don't say you weren't close. Sir Winston may worm that out of you on cross-examination, though. Don't lie about it."

"Right. I knew him fairly well."

"How would you describe his personality?"

"He was friendly and outgoing. We got along well."

"Did there then pass a number of years when you did not meet?"

"Yes; I didn't meet him again until recently."

"Please tell the court of those circumstances."

"I was in the Canary Islands, working on a magazine piece, and I met him at the local marina."

"Not the yacht club?"

"Right, the yacht club; it has its own marina."

"Start again."

"I ran into him at the bar at the yacht club in Las Palmas, and we renewed our acquaintance."

"Had he changed much in the years since you'd seen him?"

"Well, he'd gained a lot of weight, but he was still the same friendly guy."

"Did he mention his wife while you were at the bar?"

"Yes, he said he was married to a beautiful girl that he was crazy about."

"You didn't mention that before," Stone said. "That he was crazy about her."

"Sorry; there were words to that effect."

"Good, that will help. Now, how much time did you spend with him on this occasion, at the yacht club bar?"

"We were there an hour or so, and then he invited me to dinner on his yacht."

"Did you accept?"

"Yes."

"Did you then go down to the marina and have dinner on his yacht?"

"Yes."

"Did he introduce you to Mrs.Manning?"

"Yes. She was already on the yacht, cooking dinner."

"How long did you spend with them that evening?"

"Oh, I guess four or five hours."

"And on that occasion did you form an opinion of the sort of relationship these two people had?"

"Yes."

"How would you describe that relationship?"

"They were good together; they obviously loved each other. They touched each other a lot, and always with affection."

"Good, I like that, the part about the touching; remembert to say it."

"Okay."

"Would you say these people were happily married?"

"Yes, I would. Very happily."

"And how long was it before they sailed across the Atlantic?"

"I believe they sailed the next day for another island, then started across the Atlantic the day after that."

"Did you see them again?"

"Yes. I went to another island called Puerto Rico, and I happened to see them as they sailed out of the harbor into the Atlantic."

"Did they see you?"

"Yes, they waved and shouted goodbye."

"Were they in good spirits?"

"Yes, they were laughing and smiling."

"Did they still seem to be the happy couple you had met only two days before?"

"Very much so. They were holding hands."

"Great!" Stone said. "I like that as a memory to leave the jury with."

"What do you think Sir Winston will ask me on cross?"

"Oh, he may play up the fact that you didn't know them intimately. I can't think what else he might ask you. He may not cross-examine at all."

"Good. The sooner I'm off the stand, the better."

Stone stood up. "Don't worry about it, you'll do fine. I've got to go over Allison's testimony with her."

"See you later, then." Stone walked down to the marina, greeted the two policemen on guard, and boarded Expansive.

"That you, Stone?" Allison called from the aft cabin.

"It's me."

She came into the saloon, wearing her usual tight shorts and shirt tied under her breasts.

She couldn't be a murderer, he thought; she just couldn't be.

"Are we going over my testimony?"

"Ready when you are."

"Would you like a beer?"

"Sure, why not." She went to the fridge and got them both a cold bottle of Heineken.

Stone remembered that he had a fax in his pocket. He pulled it out, opened the envelope, and unfolded the sheet of paper. He thought it was odd that Thomas had put the fax in an envelope; he had never done that before. He read the letter.

"Stone," Allison said, concern in her voice, "what's wrong? You look awful."

He felt more numb than awful. He handed her the fax.

CHAPTER 44

Stone took the fax from Allison and read it again, slowly this time, letting the words sink in, trying to make some sense of it. He might have seen this coming, he thought, but he hadn't; it was a bigger surprise than he was ready for.

Palm Springs

Dear Stone,

I didn't want to write this letter. When I saw what was happening, I wanted to sit down with you and tell you, face to face. Circumstances prevented that, of course, and I'm sorry.

This letter will have to do.

Vance and I were married yesterday in Needles, Arizona.

We flew there in Vance's air plane, just the two of us, and a justice of the peace performed a simple ceremony, with his wife and daughter as witnesses. Then we flew here, to Palm

Springs, where Vance has a house. We'll spend our honeymoon here, and we hope the press won't discover us.

I can't explain to you how this happened, but it did. I had always liked Vance, and during the time we spent together working on the New Yorker profile, I fell in love with him.

You might wonder how I could so quickly fall in love with another man when you and I have been so close, living together these past months. I wonder, too. I think I was more vulnerable to someone else than I had been willing to admit to myself. Although it wasn't a conscious thought, I think I had come to know that you would have the greatest difficulty making a permanent commitment to me, and I know now that permanence is what I wanted most. I had meant to talk seriously with you about this while we were on the sailing trip to St.Marks, to see if we could work through it. I dreaded bringing it up, hoping for a long time that you would do so.

When you didn't, I planned to make the try.

But fate and the weather were against us, and I have to admit to you that when I couldn't go, I felt relieved. I think that later, if I had thought you were pining away or me, I would have gone, but then you became involved in the Allison

Manning business, and I knew from what I read in the press and saw on television that you had your hands full.

I want children, and Vance does, too; that's a big part of this.

But I'm making it sound logical and carefully planned when, really, it was entirely spontaneous, growing day after day, until it overwhelmed us both. The only flaw in my happiness is that I could not resolve my relationship with you before this happened. I certainly did not wish to cause you pain.

I know you have your own very independent life to live and over the long haul, I know that I couldn't have fit into it without changing the things I loved about you most-your spontaneity, your love of your life, and your singularity as a man.

I hope that you and I can remain friends, and that you can wish Vance and me well. We truly are deliriously happy. After some time has passed, and when we're in New York again, I'll call you, and perhaps we can have lunch and talk about things. Vance was very impressed with you when you met, and he would like to know you better.