‘Dr Alderman, please direct your attention to Commonwealth Exhibit 52.’
Noah turned to the screen, cringing inwardly.
Mr Carter: What took place during your driving lesson on April 27 that gave rise to this petition?
Ms Desroches: It was kind of dark and my stepfather Noah and I were in the parking lot, and no one was around. Well, maybe there were a few cars but they were far away, and I was practicing trying to get in and out of the space by the stanchion, like, where the light was.
Mr Carter: And were the two of you alone in the car?
Ms Desroches: Yes. I asked Noah if my stepbrother Caleb could go with us, that’s his son, but he said no, that I needed to concentrate. Anyway, I was reversing out of the space, and he was showing me how to use the rearview mirror on the outside, so my head was turned away, and all of a sudden, I felt, like, his hand up my dress on my thigh. I was so surprised I knocked my phone off the console.
Mr Carter: Did you say anything?
Ms Desroches: No, I was so startled and I was about to say something but I didn’t know what to say, so I, like, pretended it wasn’t happening.
Mr Carter: Did he say anything?
Mr Owusu: Objection, calls for hearsay.
Mr Carter: Your Honor, as you know, PFA hearings don’t adhere strictly to the rules of evidence, and his client is free to rebut this testimony when he testifies.
The Hon. Jane Hamilton: Overruled.
Mr Carter: Thank you, Your Honor.
Mr Owusu: Thank you, Your Honor.
Mr Carter: Do you remember the question? It was, ‘Did he say anything?’
Ms Desroches: He said, ‘How does that feel?’ And he moved his hand farther up, you know what I mean.
Mr Carter: Anna, I know this is difficult, but you have to explain what you mean.
Ms Desroches: But it’s so awkward and I feel so weird.
Mr Carter: I understand that, but please try to explain it more particularly.
Ms Desroches: He moved his hand closer up my thigh, like, close to my underwear, and he said, ‘I can teach you a lot of things more important than driving. Your first time should be nice, and I know how to do that.’
Mr Carter: And what did you say, if anything?
Ms Desroches: I didn’t know what to say, I was so shocked, and I said, ‘What are you doing?’ and he acted all innocent and pulled out his hand. He said, ‘I thought you dropped your phone.’ And I said, ‘Don’t do that ever again or I’m telling Mom.’
Mr Carter: And what did he say, if anything?
Ms Desroches: Nothing.
‘Dr Alderman, you recall the incident to which Anna is referring, don’t you?’
‘No, that isn’t what happened,’ Noah answered, consistent with his testimony in the PFA hearing.
‘Didn’t you take Anna driving on the night in question?’
‘Yes.’
‘Isn’t Caleb your ten-year-old son?’
‘Yes.’ Noah felt a deep pang, thinking of Caleb. He only saw his son twice a month, when Maggie’s best friend, Kathy, brought him to MCCF. They kept the conversation light, but Caleb was always nervous, wide-eyed at the other inmates in the visiting room, who would cry or even fight with their families. Worse, Noah could tell that Caleb saw him differently, acting more guarded, which was understandable. It tore Noah’s heart out to think of what he had done to Caleb, and his only consolation was that the boy was home with Maggie, who loved him to the marrow.
‘Dr Alderman, isn’t it true Anna requested that Caleb come along on the driving lesson, but you declined, saying she had to concentrate?’
Noah hadn’t been asked that in the PFA hearing. ‘Yes, that is true. But the real reason I didn’t ask Caleb is because my wife asked me to take Anna out alone, so we could spend time together.’
Linda’s eyes flew open. ‘Your testimony is that you took Anna driving alone at your wife’s request?’
‘Yes.’ Noah ignored the spectators in the gallery, turning their heads to look at each other.
‘You didn’t testify as to that in the PFA hearing, did you?’
‘No, because I wasn’t asked specifically.’
Linda frowned in an exaggerated way. ‘So you may have been asked, but it wasn’t specific enough, is that your testimony?’
‘Yes,’ Noah said, knowing it was the wrong answer but the only one he had.
‘So you’re testifying now that the reason you took Anna driving without Caleb was because your wife asked you to?’
‘Yes.’
‘But that’s not what you told Anna, is it?’
Noah blinked. ‘No.’
‘Dr Alderman, when Anna asked you if Caleb could come, you told her that he couldn’t because she had to concentrate, isn’t that right?’
‘Yes.’
‘So you lied to Anna, isn’t that right?’
‘Yes.’ Noah heard shifting behind him in the jury box, not that he needed that to let him know how badly his testimony was going. And Maggie was in the courtroom.
‘Isn’t it true that you put your hand on her thigh?’
‘No, that’s not what happened.’
‘Dr Alderman, please answer yes or no. Did you or did you not put your hand on Anna’s thigh?’
‘It’s not susceptible to a yes or no answer, and I can explain.’ Noah spotted Thomas looking at him in disapproval, but it couldn’t be helped. ‘What happened was I put my hand on her leg, maybe on her thigh but certainly not under her dress, because her phone dropped from the console and fell in her lap. She said, “Oops, my phone fell,” and I went to get it. My hand may have been in her lap, but I was reaching for the phone and I didn’t get it, so I stopped.’
‘So even though Anna told the truth about Caleb, she was lying when she said you put your hand under her dress?’
‘Yes.’
‘And even though Anna told the truth about Caleb, she was lying when she said that you told her that you could teach her for her first time?’
‘Yes.’
‘Dr Alderman, weren’t you referring to her virginity?’
‘I didn’t say anything like it.’
‘But you know if Anna was a virgin?’
Noah wondered if Maggie remembered their conversation. None of this had come out at the PFA hearing. It had been more broadbrush. He didn’t know whether to lie or tell the truth. The truth would get him in worse trouble, so he lied. ‘I believe she was.’
‘How did you know?’
‘My wife told me.’
‘Dr Alderman, didn’t you proposition her sexually during the driving lesson?’
‘No.’
‘Your testimony is that you put your hand in Anna’s lap to get her phone?’
‘Yes, I thought she wanted me to.’
‘But she didn’t ask you to get her phone, did she, even according to your version of the incident?’
‘No, but I thought it was implied. She said, “Oops, my phone fell.” ’ Noah realized they hadn’t asked this at the PFA hearing, either.
Linda frowned. ‘Dr Alderman, your testimony is that you think it’s implied that when a young girl’s phone drops into her lap, you are entitled to plunge your hand between her legs to retrieve it?’
‘Objection, Your Honor.’ Thomas jumped up. ‘That mischaracterizes my client’s testimony.’
Linda faced Judge Gardner. ‘Your Honor, that’s the substance of what Dr Alderman just testified to.’
Judge Gardner shook his head. ‘Sustained. Ms Swain-Pettit, I’m going to ask you to rephrase.’
‘Thank you, Your Honor,’ Thomas said, sitting down.
‘Your Honor, I’ll strike the question and ask another.’ Linda turned to Noah. ‘Dr Alderman, isn’t it true that you used the dropped phone as an excuse to put your hand into Anna’s lap?’
‘No.’
‘Isn’t it true that you had growing lustful urges toward Anna?’
‘No.’
‘Let’s explore that further,’ Linda said, motioning to her paralegal.
Chapter Thirty-two
Maggie, Before
Maggie drove home from the dealership with Anna, glancing in the rearview mirror to see Simon in the black Range Rover, followed by another black Range Rover, like a caravan of Bulgarian diplomats.
‘Are you mad at me?’ Anna asked, shaky. ‘Please, don’t be mad.’
‘I’m not mad, but I wish you hadn’t done it.’ Maggie chose her words carefully. She was trying to build their relationship and she didn’t want to hurt their new closeness.
‘I thought I was doing a good thing.’