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“Your Honors!” It was General Hamilton. “Mr. Ring has reentered the room!”

Chief Justice Lansing gave a smart rap of his gavel. “Constable, remove Mr. Ring.”

Elias grasped her shoulder. “Thee didn’t tell?” he hissed.

Caty stared at her husband, riven with horror and anger. How could he be such a fool? Did he need to scream his guilt to the world?

Two constables grabbed Elias by the arms. He struggled in their grip. “What God has put together, let no man put asunder! She’s my own wife! Why can’t I hear what she has to say?”

“Because you, Mr. Ring,” said Chief Justice Lansing, with considerable irritation, “are here not as a husband but as a witness in a murder trial. You will leave this room and not return again until you are told to do so. If you attempt to interrupt your wife’s testimony again, you will be sent to the Bridewell to cool your heels. Do you comprehend?”

“Oh, I comprehend,” snarled Elias, glaring at Levi’s lawyers.

“Constables!” snapped Justice Lansing. “Remove him. Mrs. Ring, you may proceed—as soon as the door has closed behind your husband.”

“Mrs. Ring,” said Mr. Colden, sounding a bit desperate, “can you tell the jury about the events of the twenty-second of December?”

“Of the—yes.” Caty was having trouble catching her breath; specks like dust motes danced before her eyes. “On the twenty-second of December, my sister Hope went to meeting and Levi went to his brother’s. In a short time, he returned, having fallen and hurt his knee. Sylvanus Russel said, ‘Levi, you won’t be able to go out today.’ He answered, ‘I am determined to, tonight.’”

There were the sounds of a scuffle outside the courtroom. Caty could feel the clammy sweat gathering at her brow, beneath her cap. She rushed on, pouring the story out in a jumble, how Elma had asked her which kerchief to wear, how Caty had insisted Elma go to a neighbor to borrow a muff—here Caty’s throat locked, but she pushed forward. How Levi came in just at eight, and, a minute or two after, as if at a signal, Elma had gone upstairs to get her hat and shawl.

“I took the candle and went upstairs; she had her hat on and her muff in her hand.” In that moment, when Caty had thought Elma was going to be married, Caty had come closer to feeling fond of Elma than she ever had before. “I observed she looked rather paler than usual, but I thought it a natural consequence and told her not to be frightened.”

A murmur rose from the galleries.

“I went down and left her just ready to follow. Levi took his hat—”

“How long do you suppose it was from the time Levi came in, till they went out?” demanded Brockholst Livingston.

Caty clasped her cold hands together. “Elma might have remained in the room two minutes. In the whole, I don’t think all the time from Levi’s coming in till they went out exceeded ten minutes.”

“Pray, Mrs. Ring, in what situation did you leave Elma upstairs?” prompted Mr. Colden.

They’d discussed this. This was the key point, that Levi had left with Elma. “I left her just ready to come down,” said Caty promptly. “Levi instantly took his hat and went into the entry. I heard a walking on the stairs and a whispering near the door at the bottom of the stairs. The front door was opened and the latch fell. I took up the candle and ran to the door to see which way they went. It was moonlight, but having a candle made it darker.”

It was Brockholst Livingston who interrupted her again. “Mrs. Ring, are you sure you shut the door before?”

As if she were the sort of slattern who would leave her door open at night! “I am positive. It stuck much and it was difficult to shut it. It was something out of order, which made a jarring noise, and it stuck a good deal.”

Mr. Colden stepped in again. “Are you sure about the sound of steps going out?”

Caty looked defiantly at Levi’s lawyers. “I am very positive. I heard the steps very distinctly.”

Chief Justice Lansing looked down at her. “Did Levi return to his lodgings the same night?”

“As I was going to tell, about ten o’clock he returned.” Caty wasn’t afraid anymore, only annoyed. She would tell them all this if only they’d let her get on with it. “He sat down and said, ‘Is Hope got home?’”

Another murmur from the galleries.

“Then he asked, ‘Is Elma gone to bed?’ I answered, ‘No—she is gone out, at least I saw her ready to go, and have good reason to think she went.’ He said”—Caty looked at Levi—“he said, ‘I’m surprised she should go out so late at night and alone.’”

One of the other judges spoke up, Mr. Harison, the city recorder. “Did you express any alarm to him?”

“No.” Caty knew how it made her look. But they didn’t understand how it was. “Feeling very uneasy and agitated, I thought I would speak to Levi more particularly than I had done. I went to his door twice, but seemed as if I had not power to enter. I thought perhaps Elma might be sitting by his stove.”

Mr. Harison asked, “Was anything said about Elma at breakfast by anybody?”

“No. Nobody mentioned her until Levi came in, saying, ‘Is Elma got home?’” Caty could feel her voice breaking. “I answered no. I said, ‘Indeed, Levi, to tell thee the truth, I believe she went out with thee, she told me she was to, and I have good reason to think she did.’ He—he looked surprised and said, ‘If she had gone out with me, she would have come with me, and I never saw her after she left the room.’”