Smoke, Mirrors, and Murder

there, but he saw their pet dog and knew she couldn’t be far away. He was determined to wait, and no amount of diversionary tactics had distracted him.
    Emily knew she had no chance to get away when she saw Terry’s car. Her heart pounded with fear, but she took a deep breath and entered the house.
    Terry was contrite, as he always was when he wanted her back. He told her the same lie about having gone into psychiatric treatment. He said he realized he’d been wrong, and he vowed to change—with professional help.
    “I won’t ever hurt you again,” he promised, his eyes glistening with tears.
    But Emily didn’t believe him, and she had also had a taste of freedom, even though it was freedom haunted by the specter of her eccentric lover. She wasn’t fifteen any longer; she was eighteen and of age. She remained resolute in her decision to stay free. Her friends supported her. They warned her that she must never go back. However, she knew Terry had a gun, and she was afraid. Afraid to stay away. Afraid to go back.
    Terry talked of their going back to Hawaii. Things had been better in Hawaii, he insisted. If they could just go back and start all over, he told Emily, he was sure it would be all right.
    Emily encouraged him to go, hinting that she might follow him when she got all their things packed up. It was enough to satisfy him in that meeting.
    Now that Terry knew where she was, he was a constant visitor, almost camping out on her friend’s porch. One day he found Emily alone. He suddenly grabbed her by the throat, tightening his forearm against her larynx. He accused her of trying to ship him off to Hawaii so that she could run away once he was gone.
    “But Terry,” she argued desperately, “it was your idea to go back. You go. And I’ll follow you.”
    He pulled out his revolver and held it to his head, threatening to commit suicide. Emily managed to wrestle it away from him and unloaded it. But they were at a standstill. She knew he could overpower her and take the gun back. He wanted the gun, and he said he was going to use it to kill them both.
    To lead him away from the gun, Emily finally agreed to go to a motel with Terry, but only if he agreed to leave it behind. There, she told him, they could talk in private.
    They talked for hours, and Terry seemed to agree to the plan to go to Hawaii. He would pack and leave the next day. She helped him pack enough clothes for the journey and was almost hopeful that he really intended to leave. She was lying to him, but she knew she had to.
    Emily had tried everything else. A restraining order against him was now in effect. She had changed all her identification back to her maiden name. If he would just go, she could get away. By the time he got back, he wouldn’t be able to trace her.
    But Terry didn’t leave the next day. Or the day after. Or the day after that. He found one reason after another to delay his departure. And he insisted on seeing Emily. When her friends refused to let him in to visit her, he threatened to break in—restraining order or not.
    Emily faced him, wondering what tactic he would use now. But he was charming, persuasive; he said all he wanted to do was take her out for dinner one last time before he left for Hawaii. He said he had reservations to leave the next day.
    “Just one dinner—at a really nice place?” he urged.
    Emily finally agreed. She had been away from Terry for three weeks. She thought she had broken any legal bond to him, although she really wasn’t married to him. Someone had told her that if she just changed her social security ID back to her maiden name, the common-law relationship would be dissolved.
    Maybe it would be easier for Terry to accept if she agreed to one last meal together. She changed her clothes. Somewhat oddly, Terry insisted that they take their dog along with them.
    It was 10 P.M. on December 14, 1975.
     
    Terry said that the restaurant was in Fort Worth and that he had to take Highway 287 to get there. But he kept driving and driving, and promising that the place was only a few miles farther. They passed innumerable restaurants. And then traffic began to thin out and soon they were in the country. Although Terry still said the restaurant was just around the next bend, Emily began to get suspicious.
    He ignored her questions for a while, staring straight ahead. Finally, along a lonely stretch of highway, he pulled over and parked his car alongside the road.
    Terry turned toward Emily and