As Time Goes By (24 page)

Betsy's voice broke. After a sip of water she continued. “My own doctor, seeing the impact this was having on me, advised me to put Ted in a nursing home. I had always resisted that advice because I knew it would only add to Ted's depression and anxiety. But after he hit me that last evening, I knew I could not endure any more. I knew in that moment it was time to make that decision.”

“And what decision was that?”

“I knew the time had come to do what I never wanted to do. I was going to put him in a nursing home.”

“Mrs. Grant, before you went to bed that evening, did you turn the alarm system on?”

“I was so upset that night that I simply don't remember. I don't think I did. I couldn't check that because we had an old alarm system that did not keep an electronic record of when it was on or off.”

“Did you normally put the alarm on at night?”

“Normally, either Angela or I turned it on.”

Mrs. Grant, after the caregiver, the housekeeper and your guests left, did you look in on your husband before going to bed?”

“Yes, I went into his bedroom to check on him. He was in a sound sleep. I knew Angela had given him a sleeping pill after his outburst.”

“What time was that?”

“Around 9:45
P.M.
”

“What did you do then?”

“I went into my bedroom, which is down the hall on the ground floor. I immediately went to sleep.”

“When was the next time that you saw your husband?”

“The next time was at about eight o'clock the following morning, right after Angela Watts came into my room and told me that he was dead.”

“Mrs. Grant, evidence has been presented in this trial that the alarm was on when the caregiver arrived that morning. The evidence has also shown that when everyone left the prior evening, you were alone with your husband. Did you hear anyone come into the home that night?”

“No, I did not. But I was so upset that since Ted seemed to be in a deep sleep, I also took a sleeping pill, which I rarely do. I fell into a very deep sleep.”

“Apart from you and the caregiver, who else knew the code to the alarm?”

“Carmen, my housekeeper, of course knew the code. And even though he was very ill, up until a couple of years before he died there were times when Ted would start mumbling the numbers of the code. We had never changed it since the day we moved into the house.”

“Did you ever give Alan Grant the code?”

“I never did, but I don't know if Ted ever told him, or if Ted ever said the numbers in Alan's presence.”

“Who had a key to your home?”

“Of course, Ted and I. Also Carmen and Angela.”

“Did Alan Grant ever have a key?”

“I don't know. I never gave him a key, and Ted never indicated he had given him a key. And I know Angela and Carmen never would have given anyone a key without our permission.”

“As of the time of your husband's death, where was his key?”

“In the last two years of my husband's life, he did not go anywhere on his own. His key was hanging on a hook in the kitchen. Once in a while Ted would take that key off the wall and I would find it on the shelf in the library that had become his bedroom.”

“What would you do with the key when you found it in his bedroom?”

“I would simply put it back on the kitchen wall.”

“When was the last time that you saw that key?”

“Three or four months before Ted died I noticed it was not on the kitchen wall. I expected to find it in the library but I didn't.”

“Did you ever find that key?”

“No, I didn't. Carmen and I looked everywhere, but we never found it.”

“Were you concerned about this missing key?”

“Not particularly. I assumed it was somewhere in the house, or that he had thrown it in the trash and it was gone.”

“In the last several years of your husband's life, was Alan Grant ever alone with him?”

“Many times. He would sometimes take him for a drive. Sometimes they would just sit by themselves in the den and watch television.”

“Now, Mrs. Grant, I'm going to ask you some questions about the Facebook posting. Let me show you this exhibit. Is that you in this picture?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Are you pregnant in this picture?”

“Yes, I was. About six months pregnant.”

“At that time were you working in your aunt's dress shop in Milwaukee?”

“Yes, I was.”

“When did you go to Milwaukee?”

“I went to Milwaukee in mid-July, after I graduated from high school.”

“When did you become pregnant?”

“In late May, the night of my senior prom.”

“Before you became pregnant, had you planned to go to college that September?”

“Yes, I had been accepted at George Washington University, in Washington, DC.”

“What was your parents' reaction to your pregnancy?”

“They were both extremely upset and embarrassed. My father in particular was very angry at me.”

“Did you change your plans for college?”

“Yes. My parents insisted that with the exception of my mother's sister in Milwaukee, no one should ever know about my pregnancy. My parents told everyone they had decided that I was too young to go away to college and that I should spend the year working with my aunt in Milwaukee.”

“Did you give birth to a child?”

“Yes, I did. A little girl. My daughter was taken from me immediately. On her deathbed my mother admitted to me that my father had sold the baby to the highest bidder. He got forty thousand dollars. It has been a source of intense pain for me since that time.”

“Did you ever tell Dr. Grant that you had had a child?”

“Absolutely. Before we were married. I felt strongly that it was only fair for him to know.”

“What was his reaction?”

“He offered to help me try to find my child.”

“And what did you do?”

“I didn't do anything. I was embarrassed and ashamed. My father had sold my baby. On her deathbed more than twenty years ago, my mother told me that she thought that the money was going to be put toward my college education. Instead, my father used that money to court his present wife, even though my mother was still alive.”

Betsy choked back sobs. “I have missed my daughter every moment of every day, since her birth. As a teacher I was constantly around students who were the same age as my daughter. I have always wondered where my daughter was.”

“Mrs. Grant, who is the father of your child?”

“Peter Benson is the father.”

“Are you absolutely certain that he is the father?”

“Yes, I am absolutely certain. Peter was the only boy that I dated in high school.”

“Did you ever tell him that you were pregnant?”

“No, I did not.”

“Did you ever tell him that you had given birth to a child?”

“No, I did not.”

“Why didn't you tell him?”

“Because my parents had banished me to Milwaukee. They did not want Peter, or anyone else, to know about the child. They did not want her, and they did not want Peter's family to possibly seek custody of her. And as I have already told you, my father sold my baby.”

“So you are telling us that from the time you realized you were pregnant to the time this Facebook picture was posted last night, you never told Peter Benson about this child?”

“No, I did not. I am beyond distressed that he has probably seen these reports and knows I gave birth to his daughter.”

“Mrs. Grant, you do not deny that you met Peter Benson for dinner once or twice a month in the couple of years before your husband died?”

“No, I do not.”

“Were you having an affair with Peter Benson?”

“No, I was not.”

“Tell us about this relationship.”

“It was exactly as he explained it when he testified. I bumped into him in a museum in New York a couple of years before Ted died. We were both at a very low point in our lives. He was grieving over the loss of his wife and I was grieving over the loss of the wonderful husband I had had. We were a great comfort to each other.”

“Did you develop strong feelings for Peter Benson?”

“I would be lying if I did not acknowledge that as time went on, my affection grew very deep. As he testified, he felt the same way.”

“Did you discuss the feelings you had for each other?”

“Yes, we did. I told him that I would never be unfaithful to Ted and I would never abandon him.”

“Mrs. Grant, did you do anything to harm your husband on the night of March 21st into March 22nd of last year?”

“Absolutely not. It is certainly true that on that last evening I finally made the decision to put him in a nursing home. But I would never have harmed him.”

“No further questions, Your Honor.”

“Prosecutor, you may cross-examine.”

Elliot Holmes stood up and walked toward the witness stand. “Mrs. Grant, there is no doubt that as of 9:45
P.M.
on March 21st of last year, you were alone in that house with your husband. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“And during the night, you never heard anyone come into the home. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“And when the caregiver arrived the next morning at 8
A.M.
the alarm was on. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“And your husband was found dead a couple of minutes later. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“And you are aware that the police found no sign of an intruder breaking in, such as a broken window or a broken door lock?”

“Yes, I am aware of that.”

“Mrs. Grant, you have basically admitted that for the couple of years before your husband's death you were regularly seeing Peter Benson?”

“Yes, I was. I have already said that.”

“Did you ever have dinner in New Jersey?”

“No, we did not.”

“Why not?”

“I wanted the comfort of his friendship, but I knew how it could be perceived if I was seen with him by anyone I knew. I do not deny that I wanted to keep our friendship private. I had enough on my plate. I didn't need gossip as well.”

“Mrs. Grant, isn't it a fact that you killed your husband because you were weary of his illness and all that went with it and you wanted to be with Peter Benson?”

“Mr. Holmes, I was weary. I was sad. I could have accomplished everything you just talked about by putting my husband in a nursing home. If my husband had been in a nursing home, I could have seen Peter Benson much more frequently than I actually did.”

Betsy leaned forward in the witness stand and pointed her finger at the prosecutor, her voice rising.

“If I had put him in a nursing home, I would have introduced Peter to my friends and they would have understood.”

“How long has it been since you have seen or talked to Peter Benson?”

“The last time I saw him was in court the day he testified. He phoned me that night to make sure I was okay. And before that I called Peter the morning that my husband was found dead and—”

The prosecutor interrupted her. “Did you call him that morning to give him the good news that you were now free?” Holmes asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Betsy flinched and gripped the arms of the witness chair. “Mr. Holmes, for you to suggest that the death of my husband was good news is despicable.”

“Mrs. Grant, do you think it was despicable to smash the head of a helpless and feeble man who was asleep in his bed?”

Betsy stood up in a rage. “Yes, I do, but I didn't do it. I did not smash my husband's skull and then go back to bed. I did not kill my husband. I did
not
kill Ted.”

The judge said to Betsy, “Ma'am, I ask that you sit down.”

Elliot Holmes looked up at Judge Roth. In a dismissive tone he said, “Your Honor, I have no further questions of this witness.”

The judge turned to Robert Maynard. “Any further questions?”

“No, Your Honor. Thank you.”

The judge looked at Betsy Grant. “Mrs. Grant, you may step down.”

Judge Roth's words sounded as if he was saying them to her from a long distance away. She started to stand up, then her legs felt weak and everything went dark.

There were gasps throughout the courtroom as she fainted and fell to the floor. As the sheriff's officers rushed to assist her, the judge ordered the jurors to go back into the jury room and the spectators to leave the courtroom. EMT officers quickly arrived and within ten minutes reported to the judge that Betsy was okay. After speaking with the attorneys, the judge decided to recess the proceedings until Wednesday morning.

The jurors remained in the jury room while Betsy was being treated. Before she left, Robert Maynard consented to the judge bringing out the jury without Betsy Grant being present. The judge told the obviously concerned panel that the defendant was okay and that the trial would resume on Wednesday. He reminded them that their verdict must be decided solely on the evidence and not be based on bias, prejudice or sympathy.