Page 91 of The Wife

The background information moved quickly—dates of the marriage, separation, divorce, and Kerry Lynch’s rape allegation. From an outsider’s perspective, my entire life had boiled down to those four dates.

Once introductions were done, ADA Rocco asked me if I understood the conditions under which I was testifying. She explained what Olivia Randall had already told me: any witness, like me, subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury was automatically granted immunity in exchange for his or her testimony. That explanation sufficed for the ADA’s purposes, but I knew far more than the grand jurors about what that meant. Unlike most states, in New York, the state’s decision to force me to be here entitled me to something called “transactional immunity.” Olivia had called it the “golden ticket” of deals with the government. In short, the police could find a videotape of me helping Jason move Kerry’s body to Ocean Beach and they still wouldn’t be able to prosecute me. I had blanket immunity from anything involving Kerry Lynch—full stop.

On the other hand, I could not claim the Fifth. Because I had immunity, nothing could actually “incriminate” me. The only basis I had to refuse a question was spousal privilege. Olivia had wanted me to hire a lawyer to stand in the hallway in case I needed to ask someone what I could or could not do, but I wasn’t about to start cutting checks to yet another attorney.

After ADA Rocco had assured the grand jurors that I understood the ground rules, she dove immediately into the subject of Jason’s relationship with Kerry. “Isn’t it true that Jason claimed he’d had a consensual affair and that Ms. Lynch fabricated the criminal allegation as an act of revenge?”

“I apologize if I’m mistaken, but I was told that anything Jason actually said to me while we were married was privileged.”

“Very well, then.” Rocco paused to remind the grand jurors that they’d already heard testimony from a previous witness regarding Jason’s defense. My guess was that either Detective Duncan or Brian King, or both, had already testified regarding the facts of the original case against Jason. “In addition to the criminal case, Ms. Lynch was also pursuing a civil suit, demanding five million dollars in damages. Is that correct?”

“Yes, that’s my understanding.”

“And both the criminal and civil cases were dismissed after Kerry Lynch went missing?”

“That is what I was told after the fact.”

“What were the grounds for your divorce, Ms. Powell?”

“I believe the exact terminology is that our marriage had ‘broken down irretrievably.’”

“Was your husband unfaithful?”

“Yes.”

“Allegedly with Kerry Lynch?”

“Yes, among others.” I saw two different grand jurors—both women—shift in their seats. I sensed that they didn’t like the idea of my being here, forced to discuss my husband’s infidelities.

“But you were still married to Mr. Powell when Detective Corrine Duncan came to your home on June 7 and informed you that Kerry Lynch was missing?”

“Yes.”

“Did she ask you where your husband, Jason, was the previous night?”

“Yes.” Olivia had instructed me only to answer the question presented. If Rocco asked me if I knew the time, the correct answer was yes. It wasn’t my responsibility to make her job easier.

“And what did you tell her?”

“That Jason was at home with me.” It was a truthful response to the question she had posed.

“What specifically did you tell her about your activities that night?”

“Well, there was dinner. And a phone call from our son. And watchingLa La Landbefore going to sleep.”

“And was that true?”

I paused, focusing on her precise wording. “Yes.”

“I’m going to remind you, Ms. Powell, that you’re under oath, under penalty of perjury.”

“I understand that.”

“I can ask your son under oath about that phone call if you’d prefer.”

“I answered the question you asked, Ms. Rocco.”

A heavyset woman toward the end of the second row—one of the women who had seemed uncomfortable at the mention of Jason’s affairs—held up her hand sheepishly. “It’s the way you worded it,” she said. “You asked aboutheractivities, then asked if that was true.”

---