Page 30 of The Wife

“They said Kerry’s name had come up as a potential witness. They asked if I knew her, and askedhowI knew her.” He paused, and I knew there had to be more to the story. “And they asked whether there was any kind of sexual relationship between us.”

“And?”

“I told you: she works for a client. That’s all, I swear.”

“Why didn’t you refuse to answer, like you did when the detective called you the first time?”

“I should have. But it’s a lot easier to talk tough on the phone than when a cop’s standing in the foyer making it sound like a straightforward question. I really didn’t see the harm in answering. Rachel met Kerry once at FSS. I figured that’s why they asked me about her—like maybe Rachel mentioned Kerry as a potential witness or something.”

“So why did you lie to me?”

“I didn’t want you to worry. Nothing happened with me and Rachel. I was certain that whatever they were looking into with Kerry would all be sorted out before long.”

“But what if it’s not about Rachel, Jason? What if this woman, Kerry, is making accusations too?”

He shook his head. “She wouldn’t.”

“Rachel did,” I snapped. “Why wouldn’t this woman?”

I saw a glimpse of concern cross his face.

“I called her this morning and asked her.”

“What? Jason, that’s crazy. You should have called your lawyer.”

“We work together. I talk to her regularly. I asked her if the police had contacted her.”

“And?”

“She said no, and then had to run into a meeting. The call was probably less than a minute.”

“She could be lying, Jason.” Just from watching TV, I couldn’t imagine the police coming to our house to ask about a relationship with this woman unless they’d spoken to her first. “You said there’s a problem at the company—the kickbacks or whatever. Could it be related to that?”

“Maybe.” His gaze drifted into the distance, seeing the possibility for the first time. “Remember how I told you that I’d been trying to get one of the employees to help me prove my suspicions?”

I nodded.

“That was Kerry. When I told her my concerns, I could tell she knew more than she was letting on. She finally admitted that she had found internal documents that could prove their wrongdoing, but she was too scared to give me the evidence. I was trying to convince her to give them to me.” His voice trailed off.

“Why is that your job, Jason? Couldn’t you have called the police or something?”

“More like the FBI or State Department. But my investors would be fucked, and so would my reputation. I’d go from being Mr. Socially Responsible to a Supporter of Warlords. But if I had actual proof, not merely insinuation, if I were a whistleblower, I’d be protected. And I could probably recoup my investors’ funds, too.”

“And that’s why you met with Kerry this week?”

“I’ve been trying to convince her for weeks. I told her she’d be protected if she helped me expose Oasis. But then Rachel’s ridiculous complaint hit the news. My guess is that Kerry changed her mind and told her bosses what I was up to instead. I could be completely screwed.”

A few minutes ago, he had been convinced this was nothing to worry about. Now my husband was panicking.

“What is it?” I asked.

“The last time I met with her. She was supposed to give me documents. She wanted to meet somewhere private.”

I felt my eyes widen.

“I went to her house in Port Washington. Fuck, no one else was there. She can make up whatever she wants, and I can’t prove a thing.”

When I got home, Spencer was lying on the sofa, looking at something on his phone. He tucked it under his side when I walked through the door. Stepping toward him, I could see that he’d turned off the screen.

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