After Anna(48)

‘Yes.’ Noah remembered being startled when Anna referred to him directly from the stand, and the judge’s explanation characterized him as a domestic abuser in front of the jury. He heard them shifting, and the courtroom sketch artist flipped a page of brown paper, her pastel chalk between her teeth.

‘Weren’t you making faces at Anna to intimidate her?’

‘No.’

‘So when she said that, she was lying?’

‘Yes.’

‘Dr Alderman, you previously testified that you had some anger at Anna for filing the Petition for the PFA, didn’t you?’

‘Yes.’

‘You had some anger because you claim Anna falsely alleged that you had attempted to engage in sexual misconduct with her, isn’t that right?’

‘Yes.’

‘You had not heard the specifics of these allegations before Anna testified about them at the PFA, isn’t that correct?’

‘Yes.’

‘So if they were untrue, as you claim they are, then they would have come as a surprise to you, wouldn’t they?’

‘Yes.’

‘Isn’t it possible that when you heard those allegations against you for the first time, your facial expression reflected some anger?’

‘I don’t know, I can’t say. I don’t know what my face looked like that day.’

Linda’s eyebrow lifted. ‘Then you can’t know that you didn’t look angry, can you?’

‘Well, no.’

‘So then, isn’t it entirely possible that you did look angry when you heard Anna’s testimony, isn’t that correct?’

‘I . . . suppose so.’ Noah had just contradicted himself. Linda had hog-tied him with his own words.

‘So then Anna wasn’t lying when she said that your expression was angry, was she?’

‘No.’

Linda signaled to her paralegal. ‘Let’s move on.’





Chapter Thirty


Maggie, Before

‘What errands?’ Maggie asked Anna, who perked up as soon as they left the school building.

‘Can we go to the Land Rover dealership, please? Just for fun? It’s only fifteen minutes away.’

‘How do you know that? You’ve only lived here a day.’ Maggie smiled, surprised. She reached for her keys and chirped the Subaru unlocked.

‘I Google-mapped it.’ They climbed into the car, shutting the doors behind them.

‘You can’t really want a Land Rover, can you?’ Maggie reversed out of the space. ‘My first car was an old Mazda, bought used. It was bright orange. I named it Tangerine. I figured I’d rather be a tangerine than a meatball.’

Anna smiled crookedly. ‘But I like Land Rovers. Dad drove one and so did my grandparents. They say they’re the safest cars, like a tank.’

‘But they’re so expensive. How much is a Land Rover?’

‘The Range Rover is $75,000, not that expensive.’

‘Honey, that’s expensive, in my book.’ Maggie spared Anna the Value of Money lecture because she was about to deliver the Meeting New People lecture.

‘But can’t we go look, just for fun?’

‘Okay, for fun.’ Maggie took a right turn on Montgomery Avenue, heading toward the dealership. ‘So what do you think of the school?’

‘It’s crazy big.’

‘Don’t worry. You’ll be fine.’

‘I hope so.’ Anna looked out the windshield, biting her nails.

‘Why didn’t you want to go in the cafeteria? Because I was with you?’

‘No, I just wasn’t ready.’

‘Okay.’ Maggie thought about what the guidance counselor had said, about the Poetry Club being the Island of Misfit Toys. ‘You know, those Phrases girls seem nice, but it’s good to keep an open mind to different sorts of people. I saw a lot of nice-looking kids in the cafeteria.’

‘Okay, but can we talk about the car? So, they come standard with all these driving aids, like the command driving position . . .’ Anna yammered all the way to the dealership, marked by a silvery sign and man-made hillock topped by a new Land Rover, demonstrating off-road capabilities that no high-school junior would ever need.

‘We’re just having fun, remember?’ Maggie pulled in and turned to Anna, but she was already climbing out of the car.

‘Sure, I texted the guy.’

‘What?’ Maggie grabbed her purse hastily and got out of the car to see Anna waving to a young African-American man in a green polo shirt and khaki pants.

‘Hey, Simon!’ Anna called out to him.

‘Perfect timing!’ Simon called back to Anna, shaking her hand as Maggie arrived.

‘I’m Maggie Ippoliti, Anna’s mother.’ Maggie shook Simon’s hand.

‘Great to meet you.’ Simon held up a clunky ignition key. ‘Ready to go? I’d be happy to take you guys out. Maggie, I’d rather you drove since Anna doesn’t have a valid PA license and she’s a minor.’

‘Let’s go!’ Anna said, excitedly.

Maggie hesitated. ‘Simon, that won’t be necessary. We wouldn’t want to take your time.’