Noah had stayed silent. He’d thought about what Caleb had said in the backyard.
You have to make this right, Noah. We need to earn her trust in the beginning. Some things you just can’t come back from. Sometimes there’s just too much damage done.
I know, and I’m sorry, Noah had said again, losing count of his apologies. He’d felt exhausted, the awful events of the day catching up with him. His eyes had begun to close, and he’d fallen into a restless sleep.
Noah looked over when he noticed Judge Gardner shifting backwards into his tall chair, then swiveling to face the jury.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, my apologies.’ The judge gestured to the courtroom deputy. ‘Please take the jury into the jury room while counsel and I sort this out. We’ll recess for twenty minutes.’
Chapter Thirty-eight
Maggie, Before
‘Come in, honey!’ Maggie opened the front door for Kathy, who held a cardboard carrier with two large cups of coffee and a bag of doughnuts.
‘Good morning.’ Kathy grinned, stepping inside in her fleece top with jeans. ‘This is so exciting! Anna is moved in and everything?’
‘Yes, isn’t it amazing? I’ll show you her room in a minute. Coffee and doughnuts first.’ Maggie led her into the kitchen, where she pulled out two stools at the island. Wreck-It Ralph sat at the far end, which was permissible, if vaguely unsanitary.
‘Meanwhile, you got a new car?’ Kathy sat down, setting the coffees and food on the island. She opened the bag and took out a doughnut oozing strawberry jelly.
‘It’s not ours, it’s Anna’s. She bought it herself, with cash.’
‘What cash?’ Kathy’s eyes flared with surprise.
‘Wait’ll you hear.’ Maggie sat down next to Kathy, took a sip of coffee, and launched into an update on Anna’s arrival, her inheritance, the Island of Misfit Toys, and the Range Rover fight.
Kathy’s brow knitted. ‘Noah yelled at you? That’s not like him.’
‘I know, he apologized.’ Maggie was trying to let it go. ‘It’s because of Mike.’
‘Give him time. He’s trying. He gave her his home office. He’ll have to adjust to having Anna here, and that can’t be helped or rushed. So cut him a break.’
‘You’re right.’ Maggie took a final sip of coffee. ‘Maybe tonight will get us back on track. It’s her first day of school, and I’m making Indian food. Noah’s going to apologize to her, too.’
‘Good. You need to settle into each other, that’s all.’ Kathy rose. ‘Show me her room. I’m dying to see.’
‘I have to go get paint chips today so she can choose a wall color. I’m thinking blue, but you can let me know what you think.’ Maggie rose, taking the lead, and they went upstairs to Anna’s room. Anna had unpacked and moved in all of her things, and Maggie felt pleased at how the room looked, with the pretty bed, bureau, and bookshelf full of textbooks, novels, and volumes of poetry.
‘What a transformation!’ Kathy walked to the bed, touching its frilly canopy with her fingertips. ‘I love the canopy.’
‘She picked it out.’
‘And how cute is this?’ Kathy went over to the bookshelves. ‘So many books!’
‘I know. She’s a big reader.’ Maggie scanned the hardbacks of the entire Harry Potter series, took one off the shelf, and flipped through the pages. A line of Hermione’s dialogue was underlined, where Anna had written a margin note that read, awesome! ‘Aw, she likes Hermione.’
‘Don’t we all? Hermione is Nancy Drew with a British accent.’
‘She really likes poetry. That’s her thing.’ Maggie replaced the Harry Potter book and slid out a volume of Sylvia Plath.
‘Sylvia Plath? Now there’s a fun gal.’
‘She was a good poet.’
‘But she dies in the end. I know, I saw the movie. Gwyneth Paltrow, my girl crush.’
‘I didn’t know that about you.’ Maggie looked over with a smile.
‘Now you do. I subscribe to Goop. How else will I know where to eat in Barcelona?’
‘You’re not going to Barcelona.’
‘What if I do and I’m hungry?’
Maggie replaced the Sylvia Plath book. ‘Anna wants to join the Poetry Club at school, like I was telling you. The Misfit Toys.’
‘Don’t sweat it. Teenagers choose their friends. You can’t help it.’
‘What if they choose the wrong ones?’
‘Then you’ll deal.’ Kathy slid one of the textbooks off the shelf. ‘You say she gets good grades?’
‘Yes.’ Maggie had been so proud to see Anna’s transcript from Congreve, emailed by James. ‘Even in math.’
‘Oh look at this.’ Kathy thumbed through an algebra textbook and plucked a piece of paper from the pages, chuckling. ‘They pass notes in class, like we did.’
‘Really?’ Maggie leaned over to see the note. ‘I recognize Anna’s handwriting from the Harry Potter book. It’s the second line.’
‘The one with smaller print.’ Kathy nodded, and they read together:
Please God make it stop
It won’t be on the midterm anyway
She’s the worst teacher in the history of teachers
Boogie alert – check her left nostril
OMG too funny
She’s literally wearing mucus
What a hag! She could be a Wiccan
LOL guaranteed
Maggie smiled. ‘I remember when we used to make fun of teachers.’
‘Now I’m the teacher, and kids are making fun of me. Meanwhile, do I have a boogie in my left nostril?’
Maggie laughed, returning her attention to the note. ‘I wonder if this is between Anna and her friend Jamie, who left school.’
‘Left school? That’s too bad for Anna.’ Kathy replaced the note, flipped through the other pages, and pulled out another note. ‘Oh look, here’s a second.’
Maggie looked over. ‘This time, the first line is Anna.’
She spits when she talks
That’s part of her charm
I bet she chews with her mouth open
I know she does
How
High tea on parents weekend, remember? She ate a raspberry scone. You can’t unsee that.
I wasn’t there
Oh right sry
So there are advantages to having no parents
Take mine
Maggie felt a wave of guilt. ‘The poor kid. How much does it suck to be on Parents’ Weekend with no parents? I should’ve been there for her.’
‘You can’t own everything. Sometimes people are working against you, and Florian did that, and he won.’ Kathy put the book back, and another note fell to the rug.
Maggie bent down to pick it up.
I’m so over this place and my family. I’m leaving
For real?
Yes
When
Tomorrow night after dinner. PG and Connie are getting me a bus ticket. My parents would know if I put it on the amex.
Don’t go
I have to. I’ll be happier. PG agrees.
Don’t. You’re my one and only friend
I’ll stay in touch
Promise
I promise
‘Oh no,’ Maggie said, taken aback. ‘This must have been between Anna and Jamie, and it looks like Jamie ran away. I didn’t get that impression from Anna when we talked about it.’
‘Maybe she didn’t want you to know?’ Kathy arched an eyebrow.
‘I wonder if Jamie has been in touch with Anna since she ran away.’
‘She might have lied.’ Kathy pursed her lips.
‘I hate to think that.’
Kathy shrugged. ‘It happens. Jamie was her only friend from school, right?’
‘Yes, but she said they weren’t that close.’
‘They look close from these notes.’ Kathy shot Maggie a knowing look. ‘Maybe Anna lied to you about that too.’
‘Right.’ Maggie had to admit it made sense. ‘We don’t know if Jamie got in touch with Anna after she left.’
‘But she promised to. That matters with kids.’
Maggie mulled it over. ‘If Anna knows where Jamie is, we should tell Jamie’s parents.’
‘Agree. Also, Connie or PG, whoever they are, might know where Jamie is, since they bought the bus ticket for Jamie.’
‘Right. They’re probably on the poetry magazine. That was the circle of friends. PG has to be initials, doesn’t it? Unless it’s a nickname.’
‘We can look for the Congreve Poetry Club on Facebook. Maybe they have a page.’ Kathy slid her phone from her pocket.
‘They might not. The school keeps the privacy settings high. Anna’s therapist said they discourage social media.’
‘What’s the name of the poetry magazine?’ Kathy scrolled through her phone to Facebook.