A Good Marriage(22)
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Did Zach tell you about the ADA who showed up?”
“He talked about somebody in a suit.”
“Yeah, ADA Lewis. He’s a junior guy in homicides. The ECAB assistant who initially processed the case made an offhanded comment: ‘Lewis wasn’t supposed to be on call that night,’ or something like that. I almost had the ECAB talked into dropping the whole thing, given Zach’s circumstance with his wife. But then he makes a call to ADA Lewis, and we’re done talking. Obviously, a murder in Park Slope is a high-profile case, but I got the sense there’s something more driving this.”
He was right that this was the exact kind of case that the Early Case Assessment Bureau bounced all the time: a prosecution that, upon reflection, seemed to have been initiated because emotions at the scene were running high.
“What do you think is really going on?” I asked.
“Politics,” Adam said. “The Brooklyn DA’s retiring this year. From what I hear, there’s a whole lot of internal jostling for the role of heir apparent. Not ADA Lewis. He’s too junior. Somebody else, though, who stands to benefit. A high-profile case like this—”
“Could make somebody’s career.”
He checked his watch. “I’ve got to get something to eat before I have to go back. But if there’s anything else I can help you with, let me know.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I really appreciate it.”
Adam reached for the door, then paused and turned back.
“For what it’s worth, I don’t think Zach killed his wife,” he said. “And I’m not actually as gullible as I look. Let’s face it: most of my clients are guilty as hell.”
Grand Jury Testimony
BEATRICE COHEN,
called as a witness the 6th of July and was examined and testified as follows: EXAMINATION
BY MS. WALLACE:
Q: Thank you for coming, Ms. Cohen.
A: You’re welcome. But I don’t know what I can tell you. I don’t know anything about what happened to that woman.
Q: Were you at a party at 724 First Street in Park Slope, Brooklyn, on the evening of July 2nd of this year?
A: Well, yes. But I don’t know what happened to Amanda.
Q: If you could try to answer my questions one at a time as I ask them.
A: Sorry. Okay. I’m nervous.
Q: I understand. But there’s no need to be nervous. We’re trying to get to the truth, that’s all.
A: Sure, yeah, right.
Q: Were you at a party at 724 First Street in Park Slope on the evening of July 2nd?
A: Yes.
Q: Did you attend the party with anyone?
A: Yes. My husband, Jonathan. He knows Kerry. That’s how we got invited.
Q: Kerry who?
A: Kerry Tanner, Sarah Novak’s husband. She’s best friends with Maude. We only saw Kerry for a second, though. When we were leaving. We didn’t talk to him. We were too busy trying to steal a beach ball.
Q: Steal a beach ball?
A: Not steal … I mean … it was silly. We took it home. It’s like a two-dollar thing. I think they were party favors anyway. And we’d had a lot to drink. It’s a fun party, but everybody drinks too much.
Q: Did you engage in any sexual activity at the party that night?
A: What?
Q: Did you engage in any sexual activity at the party at 724 First Street on the night of July 2nd?
A: How is that any of your business?
Q: Can you please answer the question, Ms. Cohen? Would you like me to repeat it?
A: No.
Q: No, you did not engage in sexual activity?
A: No, I do not want you to repeat the question. It’s really intrusive. How is what I do in my private life—I don’t want to answer that.
Q: This is not a public proceeding.
A: Those jurors are people. They are the public and they’re sitting right there.
Q: Ms. Cohen, please answer the question. You’re under oath.
A: Yes, I engaged in sexual activity at the party that night. Not that it’s any of your business.
Q: Can you describe the nature of this sexual activity?
A: Is that a joke?
Q: Ms. Cohen, this is a homicide investigation. Please answer the question.
A: I gave some guy a blow job in a bedroom upstairs. Are you happy? This is really so mortifying. And it’s not—my husband and I don’t usually do this type of thing. There’s just something about that party, you know?
Q: No. I don’t know.
A: It makes you act crazy.
Q: Crazy?
A: I don’t mean in a bad way. I mean having fun. The kids are away. And we’ve all been parents for a long time. Been married for even longer. The Sleepaway Soiree at Maude and Sebe’s—it’s harmless. And no one talks about it after. It’s like it never even happened.
Q: Harmless?
A: You know what I mean.
Q: Did you see Amanda on the night of the party?
A: Only for a second, when we were leaving. She was coming in.
Q: What time was this?
A: Around 9:00 p.m., I think.
Q: Was she alone?
A: She was with a man. But I don’t know who he was. I’d never seen him before.