‘But if you were only going by the stillness, couldn’t she have died of a heart attack or an aneurysm?’
‘No, that wasn’t what it was.’ Noah knew he sounded evasive, because he was being evasive. He had to say something. ‘The vessels were broken in her eyes. The petechiae, the capillaries in the whites of her eyes, had burst.’
‘So now we’re hearing that her capillaries were broken, but you didn’t mention that before, did you?’
‘Uh, no, I guess not.’ Noah couldn’t imagine how Maggie felt right now.
‘Dr Alderman, aren’t you making this up as you go along?’
‘No.’
‘But you didn’t mention it in your direct testimony, did you?’
‘No.’ Thomas hadn’t thought it was necessary. They hadn’t gone into detail about Noah’s actions on the porch. It wouldn’t have helped him.
‘Why didn’t you mention that before?’
‘I . . . must have forgotten.’
‘You’re so forgetful today, aren’t you?’
‘Objection, Your Honor.’ Thomas rose. ‘Is this a question or harassment?’
Linda snorted. ‘It’s cross-examination, Your Honor. It’s within the bounds of permissible.’
Judge Gardner nodded. ‘Overruled.’
‘Dr Alderman, didn’t you observe anything on her neck?’
‘Not at first. I saw her eyes first, but then I turned on the flashlight on my phone and then I saw some pinkish swelling around her neck and that confirmed it was strangulation.’
‘So, you find your beloved stepdaughter strangled on the porch, and what you do is take out your flashlight and visually examine her?’
‘Yes.’ Noah knew it sounded bad. It had sounded better on direct. Thomas had ordered it for him, chronologically. He was getting confused, and Maggie must have been heartbroken, hearing this testimony.
‘But didn’t you cry out in horror?’
‘No.’
‘Didn’t you shout for help?’
‘No, I’m a doctor. I am help.’ Noah felt good saying it, and he saw a flicker of an approving smile from Thomas.
‘Dr Alderman, do you recall what you said to 911 or do I need to replay the 911 tape to refresh your recollection?’
‘No, I . . . recall.’ Noah felt himself falter, though he remembered exactly what he had said. He didn’t want to say it in front of Maggie. He reached for his plastic cup of water. His hand shook, and he knew the jurors noticed.
Linda signaled to her paralegal. ‘I’ll replay the 911 tape and ask you some questions about it.’
‘No . . . I can recall it.’ Noah wanted to spare Maggie. She never listened to 911 tapes when they came on the news. She thought it was sad and invasive. Now this 911 tape was about her daughter’s murder. She would never have heard it before. Noah repeated, ‘I can recall it, you don’t have to –’
Linda waved Noah into silence, as the 911 audiotape began to play.
Chapter Twenty-two
Maggie, Before
It was midnight by the time Maggie closed the kitchen, pressing the dishwasher’s Start button, like the period at the end of a busy day. They had stowed Anna’s towels and toiletries in her room upstairs, and the bedroom furniture was getting delivered tomorrow. They had used the new sheets to make a temporary bed out of the couch in the family room, and she was in there now, watching Saturday Night Live. Noah was upstairs, tucking Caleb in. It was way past his bedtime, but he’d been excited to help with Anna, and neither Maggie nor Noah wanted to discourage him.
Maggie left the kitchen and entered the family room, where Anna was on her laptop, propped up on the couch. ‘How are you doing, honey?’
‘Great, thanks.’ Anna smiled. ‘I love my new sheets.’
‘They’re pretty, even on the couch.’ Maggie sat down on the chair catty-corner to Anna.
‘You don’t think the canopy is too little-girl, do you?’ Anna bit her fingernails.
‘Not at all. It’s feminine.’
‘Do you think I’ll start school Monday?’
‘I doubt it, but I’ll email tomorrow. I’m sure we can get a meeting on Monday or maybe it’s a shadow day.’
‘I got their calendar online. They’re just coming back from Spring Break. I already figured out my classes.’
‘Wow,’ Maggie said, impressed at her initiative. ‘Can I see?’
‘Sure.’ Maggie looked over as Anna hit a button and a spreadsheet came on the page, with a course load of AP Gov, AP Spanish, Honors Algebra 2, AP Language/Comp, Honors Environmental Science, Honors Psych. ‘Yikes, that looks hard. Maybe you should take it easy in the beginning?’
‘I can’t for college.’ Anna bit her nail. ‘It’s the same courses that I took at Congreve, roughly. Some of the textbooks are different, but I can deal with that. I made a new Facebook profile, too. I just posted. Wanna see?’
‘Sure.’ Maggie watched as Anna hit another button and a Facebook profile came on. The first picture was the four of them on the couch in the furniture store, with the caption:
Here I am with my family – my mom Maggie, my stepfather Noah, and my adorable little stepbrother Caleb. Missing from the photo is Wreck-It Ralph, our cat. Because they wouldn’t let him in the store . . .
‘That’s so cute!’ Maggie felt pleased. Somehow seeing it on Facebook made them a real family, a thought even she realized was ridiculous.
‘I posted some other pics of us. It’s fun.’ Anna scrolled down, showing a photo of Ralph looking out the kitchen window. ‘He always looks thoughtful.’
‘Really he’s just wishing treats would jump into his mouth.’
‘I know, I gave him some. Caleb showed me where you keep them.’
Maggie burst into laughter, thinking of the two kids in cahoots. ‘I really appreciate how nice you’re being to Caleb. You couldn’t have been interested in trains at dinner.’
‘I was! It was cute.’
Maggie sighed, happily. ‘Well, I’m beat. You’re going to go to bed sometime, aren’t you?’
‘Soon. I’m just doing some research. I’m trying to learn as much as I can about my class. You know, scope out some friends.’
‘That’s a good idea.’
‘And you know what? I don’t really have any clothes for school. Remember, we had a uniform at Congreve, and the only things I have are weekend clothes.’ Anna made a sad-emoji face. ‘Do you think we can go shopping?’
‘Of course.’ Maggie remembered her own school days, out of nowhere. It was funny how having Anna around was bringing back a lot of memories. ‘I used to have a new outfit every first day of school. My mom and I went shopping for it every year.’
‘Aw, you sure you don’t mind? I know you have work and everything.’
‘Not at all. I’m taking the week off to get you situated. I missed years of going clothes-shopping with you and I’m happy to make up the time.’
‘Great.’ Anna’s gaze returned to her laptop. ‘I’m starting a new Insta and Snapchat, and I was looking on Facebook, and you can see the clubs at school that have Facebook pages.’
Maggie looked over as Anna clicked to the Poetry Club page, which showed a group of long-haired girls and boys with man buns relaxing on the lawn behind the school. ‘They look nice. That would be perfect for you.’
‘I know. The poetry magazine is called Phrases. They also have clubs for the literary magazine, the newspaper, and the yearbook. They have tons of clubs.’ Anna clicked through a bunch of Facebook windows, all of which had been open. ‘There’s the musical theater club, choir, select chorale, then there’s all the girls’ sports. Since it’s spring, it’s tennis, lacrosse, and track.’
‘Do you play any sports?’
‘No, I’m an indoor cat.’ Anna wrinkled her nose. ‘What about you?’
‘I walk, but Noah works out religiously.’ Maggie smiled. ‘I’m the one with the Dad Bod.’
Anna smiled back. ‘You guys are so much fun. I mean, you’re really happy together, right?’
‘Right.’
‘It’s cool, there’s three last names and four people in this house. But I like that your last name is my middle name. Anna Ippoliti Desroches.’
‘I like it too.’ Maggie had insisted on it, way back when. ‘And don’t worry about school. You’ll make friends.’
‘I didn’t at Congreve.’ Anna shot her a skeptical look.