After Anna(44)
Anna paused. ‘I haven’t really had sex yet.’
Maggie kept her hands on the wheel, cruising past the homes. She knew she had been right. She couldn’t wait to tell Noah. She loved being right.
‘There was this one guy, from our brother school, but we didn’t have sex. He wrote poetry, too. I showed him my poems, and he said they were “pedestrian.” ’
‘Oh please. What a jerk.’
‘Anyway, it never came to anything. I never even went on a date with him.’
‘His loss.’
‘Thanks.’ Anna giggled again. ‘This is kind of fun, hanging with my mom.’
‘Aw, I feel the same way about my daughter.’ Maggie spotted the lights of the King of Prussia Mall and aimed for the exit ramp.
‘I think I’m going to like living here.’
‘I think you are, too,’ Maggie said, hopeful.
Chapter Twenty-seven
Noah, After
TRIAL, DAY 5
Linda gestured to the projection screen, where the Petition for Protection From Abuse was showing. ‘Dr Alderman, that hearing on the Petition for Protection From Abuse took place on an emergency basis on Monday, May 8, did it not?’
‘Yes.’
‘The hearing lasted only a single morning, isn’t that true?’
‘Yes.’
‘And there were only two witnesses, isn’t that correct?’
‘Yes.’
‘And isn’t it true that Anna testified at that hearing on her own behalf?’
‘Yes.’
‘And you testified on your own behalf, isn’t that correct?’
‘Yes.’
‘You had your present counsel, Thomas Owusu, represent you at this hearing, didn’t you, Dr Alderman?’
‘Yes.’
‘However, Anna relied upon legal services, did she not?’
‘Yes.’ Noah suspected he knew why Anna had used a legal services lawyer, but Thomas had told him to keep that to himself. Anna’s trust fund never came into the record at the PFA hearing, and using legal services made her look helpless and sympathetic, in contrast to the rich, powerful doctor.
‘You were present when Anna testified, were you not?’ Linda strode to counsel table, picked up a packet, and returned to the stand with them.
‘Yes.’
Linda turned to face Judge Gardner. ‘Your Honor, may we approach the bench for a sidebar?’
‘Certainly,’ Judge Gardner answered, and Thomas shot up and barreled toward the dais. Noah was close enough to hear whatever they were going to say, though he assumed the jury couldn’t, in theory.
Linda cleared her throat. ‘Your Honor, the audiofile from the PFA hearing has become available and I would like to move it into evidence and play that to impeach Dr Alderman.’
Judge Gardner blinked. ‘Ms Swain-Pettit, are you saying that you have the victim’s actual testimony on audio?’
‘Yes, exactly.’
Noah held his breath. It would be terrible if they played Anna’s PFA testimony, her voice echoing throughout the courtroom. She had testified that day, so credibly. It would kill Maggie and convict him, for sure.
Thomas scowled. ‘Your Honor, I object. This is outrageous. It’s hearsay and it violates an array of my client’s constitutional rights, including the confrontation clause. In addition, why wasn’t I notified about this audiotape? I haven’t had a chance to review it and neither has my client. It’s been almost seven months since he was arrested. Does the prosecutor expect us to believe that she happened to locate it just now?’
Judge Gardner shifted his gaze to Linda. ‘Ms Swain-Pettit?’
‘Your Honor, I only got this case four months ago. Nobody before me even asked about getting the audiofile. You know how this courthouse works, some of the courtrooms have the systems working and some don’t and –’
Thomas interjected, ‘Your Honor, if you’re believing this, I have a bridge I can sell you.’
Linda ignored him. ‘– then they had to find the transcription specialist, and we’ve outsourced some of it, so it was a slog. The audiotape was just found two days ago. I would’ve notified defense counsel, but I didn’t know that he was going to call his client to the stand.’
Noah saw the jury craning to hear, which wasn’t difficult since Linda was intentionally raising her voice.
Thomas shook his head. ‘Your Honor, the prosecutor should’ve spoken up the moment I put my client on the stand, which she did not. Further, I object to playing the raw audiotape because it is completely prejudicial. It’s like the victim would be speaking from the grave, and it will unduly inflame the jury.’
‘Your Honor,’ Linda said, in a quieter tone. ‘This jury is entitled to the truth, and there is no better way to get the truth than through Anna’s own words. It’s not hearsay because it comes in under the exception and it doesn’t violate the confrontation clause because the defendant had a chance to cross-examine at the PFA hearing. At the heart of this case is a credibility contest, but I’m hamstrung here because the victim is dead –’
Judge Gardner cut her off with a hand chop. ‘Ms Swain-Pettit, your request is denied. The audiotape is a different matter than the transcript. It goes too far. Mr Owusu, your objection is sustained.’