After Anna(62)

‘Oh well. Comes with the territory.’

‘Suddenly my trip to Benjamin Moore doesn’t seem all that pressing.’

‘Are you kidding?’ Kathy stood up and helped Maggie to her feet. ‘There’s nothing like a fan deck to lift a girl’s spirits.’

‘Wanna come with me?’

‘Wish I could but I can’t. I’m getting snacks for the boosters, so I have to go buy oranges and bottled water. I’m going to sneak in some soft pretzels, too.’

‘Nice.’

Kathy smiled slyly. ‘Best. Snack Mom. Ever.’





Chapter Forty-one


Noah, After

TRIAL, DAY 5

‘Dr Alderman, you and your wife held a barbecue on May 6 to introduce Anna to your friends, isn’t that right?’

‘Yes.’

‘Please read Commonwealth Exhibit 52 and then we’ll discuss it.’ Linda signaled to her paralegal.

Noah turned to the screen to see a transcript he could’ve recited from memory:

Mr Carter: Anna, please tell the Court what happened after the barbecue.

Ms Desroches: It happened after everyone had gone home, the guests I mean, but before that, my stepfather gave me wine. He handed it to me during the party, when he was walking by, and he said, ‘Drink up.’ It was in a red Solo cup, so I thought it was a Diet Coke or something like that. But when I looked at it, I saw it was wine.

Mr Carter: But you’re only 17, under the drinking age, isn’t that right?

Ms Desroches: Yes.

Mr Carter: Did you drink the wine?

Ms Desroches: Yes, I figured it was okay because he gave it to me.

Mr Carter: Did you feel the effects of alcohol?

Ms Desroches: Totally, because I hadn’t eaten much.

Mr Carter: So what happened afterwards?

Ms Desroches: Everyone went home, and I was alone in a powder room near the staircase. The toilet wouldn’t stop running. My mother was upstairs putting Caleb to bed, and I thought Noah was outside, dealing with the grill.

Mr Carter: Okay, go on.

Ms Desroches: I heard Noah coming down the hall and I called to him to fix the toilet. And he came in, and I showed him it was running but he reached for me and – God, this is so horrible.

Mr Carter: We understand.

Ms Desroches: Anyway, he pressed me against the wall and kissed me, and I could feel that he had, you know, in his pants – Mr Carter: An erection?

Ms Desroches: Yes, and while he kissed me he grabbed my breast and made a groaning sound that was really disgusting.

Mr Carter: Did he say anything?

Ms Desroches: Yes, he said, ‘I’m crazy about you. You have to let me fuck you.’

Mr Carter: Then what happened?

Ms Desroches: All of a sudden, I heard my mom on the stairs, and I called out, ‘Mom, help!’ And I ran out of the bathroom and to her.

Noah waited for his question, sensing a collective repugnance in the courtroom. The testimony shone on the screen, so it couldn’t be ignored. You have to let me hovered over his shoulder.

‘Dr Alderman, you were drinking the night of the barbecue, weren’t you?’

‘Yes.’

‘How much did you have to drink?’

‘Three beers, with a hamburger and a hot dog.’

‘Were you affected by your alcohol consumption that evening?’

‘No.’ Noah had never heard the courtroom so silent. He knew the gallery and the jury were still reacting.

‘Isn’t it true that you gave Anna wine that night?’

‘No.’

‘Did you give her anything to drink?’

‘Yes.’

‘What did you give her?’

‘A red Solo cup with Diet Coke.’

Linda smirked. ‘Dr Alderman, isn’t it possible that you were mistaken and that you gave her wine instead of soda?’

‘No.’

‘Did you say “drink up” when you handed her the cup?’

‘Yes.’

‘So Anna lied when she testified it was wine, is that your testimony?’

‘Yes.’

‘Dr Alderman, isn’t it true that you forcibly kissed her and embraced her while you had an erection?’

‘No.’

‘No.’ Noah could hear the jurors shifting. The gallery glanced at each other with nervous half-smiles. The sketch artist stared at him so hard she could have been memorizing his features, and reporters scribbled in their notebooks.

‘Did you forcibly kiss her and embrace her while you didn’t have an erection?’

‘No.’ Noah knew Linda was repeating the words to mortify him and shock the jury. It may have been shocking the jury, but he was beyond mortification.

‘Isn’t it true that you grabbed her breast?’

‘No.’ Noah remembered that Anna was wearing the blue-checked sundress she had worn the first day, without her jeans jacket.

‘It’s her word against yours, isn’t that right, Dr Alderman?’

‘Yes.’

‘Except you’re here, and she’s dead, isn’t that right?’

‘Objection, Your Honor!’ Thomas half-rose.

‘I’ll withdraw it, Your Honor,’ Linda said, before Judge Gardner even ruled. She faced Noah. ‘Dr Alderman, isn’t it true that you told Anna that you wanted to “fuck her”?’