‘And the picture’s black-and-white, so we can’t tell what hair color she has. They’re trying too hard. Tryhards.’ Maggie finally understood the term.
‘But none of these girls is PG or has the initials PG, and there’s no Connie.’
‘So PG is either a nickname of a staffer, or they aren’t staffers. I think PG is a nickname. It sounds like one.’
‘Or they could be girls in their dorm or somebody in some other class or activity.’
‘But I get the impression that the circle of friends is small and tight. There’s nobody else even mentioned in the notes except for PG and Connie.’
‘Is it possible that PG is a guy?’
‘It’s a girls’ school, so that seems unlikely.’ Maggie double-checked the note that mentioned PG to see if it used the pronoun he or she, but it didn’t use either. ‘Anna was lonely, and I’m getting the impression that anybody she’d be close friends with, like Jamie, wasn’t seeing anybody either.’
Kathy hesitated. ‘Do you think they’re gay? Anna or Jamie?’
‘No, I don’t get that impression from Anna. I don’t know about Jamie. Okay, I’m going to assume that PG is a girl. And none of the other notes mention a boyfriend or a guy.’
‘So let’s stay with our original assumption, that they’re lonely girls and they’re friends.’
Maggie realized something. ‘I wonder if Jamie’s running away was another reason Anna reached out for me.’
‘Right.’
‘Anna’s been going through more of a rough patch than I thought.’
‘Funny that the therapist didn’t mention Jamie to you, isn’t it?’
‘No, I’m not sure if the therapist realized how close Anna and Jamie were either. We talked about the fact that Anna didn’t have any friends.’
‘Do you think that Anna kept it from the therapist or the therapist didn’t mention it to you?’
‘It doesn’t make sense that Anna would keep it from the therapist, so I bet the therapist didn’t mention it to me. It is confidential.’ Maggie mulled it over. ‘I feel so terrible for Jamie’s parents. They have to be told about this.’
‘I know.’ Kathy nodded. ‘We could try to find them in whitepages.com.’
‘But that goes by state, doesn’t it?’ Maggie looked over. ‘We don’t know where they live.’
‘True. Maybe Facebook.’ Kathy searched in her phone, typing quickly. ‘Damn. Covington is such a common name. We could start looking, but I should probably get going.’
‘It doesn’t change what I’m going to do anyway.’ Maggie rallied, determined. ‘I have to talk to Anna about this. She has to tell us where Jamie is. I can’t sit on it. I would never do that to another family. I want to talk to Noah first, then we can sit Anna down together, after dinner.’
Kathy pursed her lips. ‘You have to. Jamie’s a young girl. Anything could happen. Anna will understand.’
‘Not right away. She’s going to be pissed.’
‘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”?’
‘No.’
Judge Gardner frowned. ‘Counsel, find a euphemism, please.’