None Against (continued)

"You think I don't love her," Yumi's mother said, seated on the cold floor with her arms on her knees. "That's all I have left."

"What you did isn't love."

"She needs to die. I failed, but my daughter wants to be killed. The church is good at that, she's with the right crowd."

"They think they're helping her to live."

Consuela's face was hidden in shadow, but he could hear grim satisfaction as she answered. "If not," she said, "it has to be you."

Ehud searched for something to say.

"I know who you are, Mr Sloan. Why do you think she married you? She's using you like she did me, but I hope you make a better tool."

"That's a lie. In your testimony, you said..."

"You wanted to hear how bloodthirsty I was. I said what the jury wanted to hear."

She leaned into the light, revealing a surprisingly youthful face. In the courtroom, the accused must wear a hood that obscures their features. To prevent jurors from becoming unconsciously sympathetic. It was the first time Ehud saw what Consuela looked like. She could have been Yumi's sister.

"She convinced me to do it," Consuela said, "and to take the blame -for giving birth to her with an expiration date. But that's not good enough for Yumi: she wants to die on her own terms."

"Yumi wants to live, damn you."

The half-smile of inner resolve did not leave her face. The only response Yumi's mother made was to recline back into obscuring darkness. Maybe she preferred it there.