After Anna(13)

‘Mr Weissberg, did there come a time when you became aware that Dr Alderman lived around the block from you at 460 Howell Road?’

‘Yes.’

‘Please tell us where your apartment is located, using this map, Defendant’s Exhibit 52.’ Thomas gestured to an enlarged diagram of two blocks of Noah’s neighborhood, including his carriage house and in front of it, the main house, where Noah’s landlord lived.

‘I’m at the bottom of my street, there.’ Weissberg pointed to south Marlin Road. ‘I live on the first floor of a duplex. Most of the other houses are single homes.’

‘What do you do for a living?’

‘I’m a teaching assistant in linguistics at Temple University.’

‘Now, let’s turn to the events of the night in question, Wednesday, May 10. What time did you get home from work that night?’

‘Almost nine o’clock. I worked late.’

‘And what did you do then?’

‘I walked my dog.’

‘What time did you leave to walk your dog?’

‘About 9:15 P.M.’

‘Please tell the jury which route you took. Feel free to use this map.’

Weissberg pointed to the map, generally. ‘I took a right at the end of my street, onto Devonette Road, then I took a right and walked up Howell.’

‘Did you walk on the same side of the street as Dr Alderman’s house or the opposite side?’

‘The opposite.’

‘And was Howell Road dark or well-lit?’

‘It was dark. It’s generally a dark neighborhood. There are so many big trees. It’s residential, and the houses are big.’

‘Are there streetlights on Howell Road, if you know?’

‘No, I don’t think there are.’

‘Were there any parties or anything like that, on the night in question?’

‘No. People go to bed early. It’s the suburbs, with families and kids. They’re inside, watching TV and doing homework.’

‘Did you see anyone on your walk that night?’

‘No.’

‘While you were walking along, were you doing anything else?’

‘Yes, I was talking on the phone.’

‘May I ask with whom you were talking?’

‘My then-girlfriend. I called her when I left the house with the dog. She worked at NYU, and we were long-distance.’

‘And what, if anything, happened on your walk?’

‘I heard a shout.’

‘What did the shout sound like?’

‘It was abrupt, like someone yelling “no” or “oh!” ’

Thomas cocked his head. ‘Was it “oh” or “no”?’

‘It was “oh.” ’

‘Was it a woman’s voice or a man’s voice?’

‘A woman’s.’

‘Adult or child?’

‘Adult.’

‘Where did the shout come from?’

‘From Dr Alderman’s house, across the street.’

‘Mr Weissberg, do you know at what time you heard that shout?’

Weissberg nodded. ‘I heard it at 9:28 P.M.’

‘And how do you know?’

‘Because I happened to look at my phone.’

‘Where were you when you heard the shout?’

‘Near Dr Alderman’s driveway, like, fifty feet away, it was up and to the left, like this.’ Weissberg pointed on the exhibit.

‘From your vantage point, did you have a view of Dr Alderman’s house?’

‘No, there were trees in the way.’

‘Did you have a view of Dr Alderman’s driveway?’

‘Yes.’

‘Did you see anything in the driveway?’

‘Yes, a black Range Rover.’

‘How did you know that, if it was dark?’

‘I saw it clearly. It’s a distinctive car, and I got a good look, uh, because of what happened next.’

Thomas paused. ‘Was there any other car in the driveway at that time?’

‘No. Only the one.’

Noah knew it was a good point for him. It was already in the record that Anna had a black Range Rover and Noah drove an Audi SUV.

‘Mr Weissberg, what happened after you heard the shout?’

‘My dog pulled against the leash, and I dropped the leash and he took off running.’

‘Did he run toward the shout?’

‘Yes, at first. He ran across the street, but then he ran back to the same side of the street. He zigzagged, and then he was running away from me, up Howell Road. He’s a beagle, a scent hound.’ Weissberg shook his head. ‘He’ll dig in everybody’s trash cans for scraps.’

‘So then what happened?’

‘I started running after him.’

‘And did you run with the phone call connected to your girlfriend during this time?’

‘In the beginning, but then I told her I had to hang up because I was worried I would lose him.’

‘And did you catch him?’

‘Yes, it took me twenty minutes.’

‘Where did you catch him?’

‘He was at the top of Howell Road.’