As Time Goes By (23 page)

More than that, in his worst moments, Ted had been grabbing these books from the shelves and throwing them wildly across the room. It was a memory she wanted to erase, and she knew that giving the books to Kent would be the first step in softening that memory.

When she came in to say good night, Betsy said, “Carmen, you know the medical books on the top two shelves of the library?”

“Yes, I do.”

“After the trial is over, would you please pack them up. We'll have them shipped to Dr. Adams' office.”

“Of course.”

After Carmen left, it occurred to Betsy that Alan might have wanted the books. She scornfully dismissed the possibility. He'd either throw them away or try to sell them, she thought. This is still
my
house. Everything in it belongs to me, either to keep or give away.

If I am found guilty, does Alan take over everything I have? she wondered. For a moment a feeling of all-encompassing loneliness overwhelmed her. She could not call Peter. As it was, the media had gone after him. On page three the headline in the
Post
had been
DEAD DOC'S WIFE AND OLD FLAME REIGNITE
!

It was only a quarter of eight, but Betsy decided to go upstairs. I'm not sleepy, but if I get into pajamas and a robe, maybe I can read for a while in the sitting room, she thought. The room where she and Ted had spent so many quiet, happy hours together.

Just as she had settled into a chair upstairs, the phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and saw that it was her father. The last thing I need is his cheery words of comfort, she thought, as she said flatly, “Hello, Dad.”

“Bets, it didn't go well for you today in court. I mean having Ted's doctor say that he would have lived another few years didn't look so good for you.”

“I know it didn't.”

“Gert was saying that I really should be there to support you. She said that the grandkids are old enough to understand that these things happen, and it's not as though you're any real relative to them.”

I don't believe I'm hearing this, Betsy thought. I can't believe it. Choosing her words carefully, she said, “I have repeatedly asked you not to call me ‘Bets.' I don't want you to come to the courtroom, but you can thank your beloved wife for making the offer. The one person who might have been a comfort, a so-called ‘real' relative, is the baby you sold for forty thousand dollars. She's twenty-six years old now and I would love to have her in my corner. Please don't bother to call me again.”

She slammed down the phone and closed her eyes before her father could answer. Her overwhelming need for the daughter she had never known wracked her body and soul. She could feel again the brief moments when the midwife had let her hold her newborn infant.

The feeling passed, and suddenly tired to the bone and soul, Betsy turned off the light and went into the bedroom.

L
ike all other witnesses in the Betsy Grant trial, Alan Grant was under an order of sequestration. The judge had instructed that until the trial was completed witnesses could not discuss their testimony with each other, nor could they be in the courtroom watching other witnesses testify. Witnesses were further forbidden to read or listen to any newspaper or media accounts of the trial.

With the exception of going back into the courtroom, Alan Grant broke all of those rules. He read every newspaper article he could find, and every night he surfed the television channels looking for any reports on the trial. And he had been talking to another witness.

Alan was at the point where he was afraid to check his email or his phone messages. With all the publicity about the disbursements he had received and the inheritance that he would soon get when Betsy was convicted, the pressure was unrelenting. Everybody wanted their money, and they wanted it now. He was able to mollify most of them by telling them that after Betsy was convicted and sentenced, he would be right back in chancery court to get the estate unfrozen and he would quickly get his money. It had also helped when he told each one of them that he would throw in an extra ten-thousand-dollar bonus for all of their troubles.

That had been good enough for all of them, except one. That person refused to believe that Alan couldn't come up with any money now, and had angrily told him that he better watch his back.

In the little sleep that Alan had been getting, his dreams were filled with images of his dearly loved father being smashed on the back of his head with the marble pestle.

M
onday morning Betsy Grant was scheduled to be the final defense witness. Alvirah and Willy had been first on line outside the courtroom door to enter as spectators. They had spoken at length about whether to tell Delaney that Betsy was her mother, and decided to wait until after the verdict was in to break the news to her. They knew how emotional it would be for her, and they understood that once she knew she would have to stop reporting on this trial. When they took their seats in the courtroom, Delaney was sitting in the press row right in front of them.

A bombshell had landed late last evening. A woman in Milwaukee had posted on her Facebook page a picture of an obviously pregnant teenage girl holding up a dress. Beneath the picture the woman had written this caption, “Almost fainted after realizing that Betsy Grant is the Betsy Ryan who worked in her aunt's dress shop in Milwaukee twenty-six years ago. I knew her aunt from high school and I met Betsy several times. She was a very sweet girl. I snapped this picture of her after she helped me pick out this dress for my sister's wedding. There's no way she killed her husband. She wouldn't hurt a fly.”

The jury remained in the jury room when the proceedings began.

Prosecutor Elliot Holmes stood up. “Your Honor, we are all aware of the Facebook post that was made at 10
P.M.
last night and widely reported on the eleven o'clock news an hour later, and also in the newspapers this morning. I believe that there are two issues before this court.

“As to the first issue, we submit to the court that this photograph is highly relevant evidence. We ask Your Honor to recall Peter Benson's testimony that he dated Betsy Ryan in their junior and senior years of high school. But shortly after graduation her parents told everyone they believed that she was too young to attend college away from home, and that she would spend the year in Milwaukee working at her aunt's dress shop. Mr. Benson testified that he lost contact with her after that.

“Your Honor, it is very obvious that the real reason she delayed college was that she had become pregnant, and went to Milwaukee to keep this pregnancy secret. If the defendant did give birth to a child, I assume the child was put up for adoption.

“Your Honor, ordinarily a pregnancy of the defendant twenty-six years ago would have no relevance in this trial. But we submit strongly that we should be able to inquire of the defendant during her testimony if Peter Benson was the father of this child. As I have argued in my opening statement, and intend to argue in my summation, the state asserts that the primary motive for the defendant to kill her husband was her desire to start a new life with Peter Benson. If he is in fact the father of this child, that would be powerful evidence of an even deeper bond between the defendant and Mr. Benson.

“Finally, with respect to this first issue, if the defendant changes her mind and does
not
testify, then we will seek to recall Peter Benson on rebuttal and question him about this information.”

The prosecutor continued: “Your Honor, as to the second issue, even though we seek to admit this evidence, we believe it would be appropriate for the court to individually question each juror as to whether they have seen this information, and if so, whether the caption that ‘she wouldn't hurt a fly' would impact their decision in this case.”

Judge Roth turned to Robert Maynard. “Your thoughts, sir?”

“Your Honor, of course, I have spoken to Betsy Grant about this Facebook post. Like everyone else, we learned about it late last night when it was on the television news. We strongly object to this very late evidence being submitted to the jury.”

Delaney watched as Maynard made his brief and rather feeble argument. It struck her that he did not indicate whether Betsy Grant would admit or deny that Peter Benson was the father. He sounds as if he knows his argument is a lost cause and that the evidence will be heard by the jury, she thought, as she looked over at Betsy Grant, who was staring straight ahead and showing no emotion.

Today she had chosen to wear a blue and white tweed jacket, a navy blue skirt, and black patent leather high heels. A single-strand pearl necklace, small pearl earrings, her wide gold wedding band, and a narrow silver-band watch were the jewelry she had chosen. Throughout the trial she had been wearing her hair pinned back, but today, probably on Robert Maynard's advice, she had let it fall loosely on her shoulders. The result was that she looked even younger, as if she were in her early thirties, and absolutely beautiful.

What on earth can she be thinking? Delaney wondered. If it turns out that Peter Benson is the father of her child, the prosecutor is right—it will show an even deeper bond between them. That could bury her in the minds of the jurors.

Then Judge Roth spoke. “Counsel, this is certainly late evidence, but it is potentially highly relevant. This is obviously not a circumstance in which a prosecutor previously knew about evidence and didn't turn it over to the defense. If that were the case, I would certainly prohibit it. But this Facebook information was posted late last night. I will question each juror individually as to whether he or she is aware of this information, and if so whether the juror can evaluate the information fairly and make up his or her own mind about the verdict, notwithstanding the comments in the caption.”

Judge Roth spent the next hour and a half separately calling jurors into his chambers. Every one of them had seen or read about the story. Every one of them assured the judge that they would consider the evidence fairly and not be affected by the comment in the caption.

The judge ruled that all jurors could remain, and that if Betsy Grant still wished to testify, this information could be referenced. If she chose
not
to testify, the prosecutor would be permitted to recall Peter Benson on rebuttal.

Maynard stood up again. “Your Honor, Betsy Grant
is
going to testify.”

Judge Roth ordered that the jury be brought back into the courtroom. When the last juror was seated, Robert Maynard spoke. “Your Honor, the defense calls Betsy Grant.”

All eyes in the courtroom were upon her as she rose from her chair and walked to the area in front of the bench. The judge directed her to raise her right hand to be sworn in by the clerk. “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?” In a low, but firm voice she answered, “Yes.”

She stepped up to the witness stand and was seated. The sheriff's officer adjusted the microphone in front of her. Robert Maynard initially went through her marriage to Dr. Edward Grant, the details of his lengthy illness and her efforts to give him the best possible care. Then he focused on the major areas that he knew would strongly impact this verdict one way or the other. During the questioning, he always referred to her as “Mrs. Grant.”

“Mrs. Grant, on the evening prior to your husband's death, did Dr. Grant have an angry outburst during dinner and forcefully slap you across the face?”

“Yes, he did.”

“And did you fall back into your chair sobbing?”

“Yes, I did.”

“And did you say a number of times, ‘I can't take it anymore'?”

“Yes, I did.”

“And would you tell this jury what you meant by that?”

Betsy turned in her chair and directly faced the jury. “I had done my best for the more than seven years of my husband's illness to take good care of him. I loved him very deeply. Two years prior to his death, I took a leave of absence from my teaching position and eventually eliminated all of my volunteer work, to stay home and be there for him full-time. But during the last year of his life he assaulted and verbally abused me on several occasions.”