‘I understand.’ Anna looked more sad than angry. ‘You’re just trying to do the right thing.’
‘Yes, exactly.’ Maggie felt pleased. ‘The question is how do we accommodate Jamie’s safety and your privacy. So Noah and I are not going to call the school or her parents.’
‘Good, thank you.’ Anna met Maggie’s eye, pained. ‘I know you won’t understand this, but those girls, they never really liked me. They tolerated me, even Jamie. If you called the school or Jamie’s parents, it would be so embarrassing.’
‘I get it. That said, here’s a compromise. I’m going to ask you to get in touch with Jamie and ask her to go home or, at least, to call her parents.’
‘But I don’t know if I have her number.’ Anna frowned. ‘She probably got a new phone.’
‘Try her old one or ask around to see if anybody has her new number. Try and see if you can call PG, Connie, or somebody on The Zephyr. If you get that message to her, I would sleep better at night.’
Anna groaned. ‘So you want me to start calling people from Congreve? They’ll just snark me.’
‘If something terrible happened to Jamie and you hadn’t tried to help find her, you’d never forgive yourself.’
‘Okay, I’ll do it,’ Anna answered, with a sigh.
‘Great, and I’m sorry things have been so rough lately.’ Maggie gave her a hug, feeling close to her again.
‘I know, it has been so hard.’ Anna broke the embrace, her eyes searching Maggie’s. ‘I hate all this drama. I thought it was going to be hard at school and easy at home. But instead it’s easy at school and hard at home.’
‘We’re going to fix that.’ Maggie ignored the ache in her chest. Hearing Anna say it made it worse. ‘Listen, I have an idea. Do you like the beach?’
‘I love it.’ Anna perked up. ‘I used to go with my grandparents. They had a house in the south of France.’
Maggie smiled. ‘We’re talking the south of New Jersey, as in Avalon.’
Anna burst into laughter. ‘Hey, fine with me, I would do that.’
‘We’d make it a family day, just us four.’
‘Okay.’ Anna wriggled her shoulders. ‘I can get my tan on.’
‘It’ll be fun.’ Maggie sensed Anna was trying. ‘And next weekend, on Saturday night, I’d like to have a barbecue to introduce you to our friends. You’re the guest of honor.’
‘Me?’ Anna smiled, surprised.
‘Yes.’ Maggie started to feel better. ‘I think it’s time that our friends met you, don’t you? Ask Samantha to come, too.’
‘That’s so nice. I will.’ Anna beamed, then looked past Maggie toward the street. ‘Oh, here comes Noah. This is awkies.’
‘No, don’t worry. I have an idea.’ Maggie watched as the Audi SUV pulled up in front of the house, then Noah cut the ignition and got out, shouldering his messenger bag.
‘Quite the welcoming committee!’ Noah walked up the flagstone path with a smile, and Maggie smiled back.
‘Noah, I decided that we need a reset. I’d like you to meet my daughter, Anna.’
‘Okay. Anna, pleased to meet you.’ Noah grinned, extending his hand to her.
Anna hesitated, then shook his hand. ‘Pleased to meet you, too, Noah.’
‘Anna, I’m the kind of a guy who means well, but sometimes I say dumb things in the heat of the moment. I’m sorry.’
Anna managed a smile. ‘I’m the kind of girl who overreacts and slams doors. I’m sorry, too.’
Maggie interjected, ‘Anna has agreed to try to get a message to Jamie, telling her to call her parents, so we don’t have to call the school or anybody else.’
‘That’s great.’ Noah turned back to Anna. ‘I’m still up for that driving lesson, if you are. Tomorrow night? Eight o’clock?’
‘Perfect.’
‘It’s a date.’ Noah turned to Maggie. ‘And by the way, who are you?’
‘Your loving wife.’ Maggie kissed him on the cheek, but she felt a new remoteness from him. She hoped they could set it right this weekend.
‘Caleb, I’m home!’ Noah called out, as they went inside.
Chapter Forty-seven
Noah, After
TRIAL, DAY 5
‘Dr Alderman, you testified earlier that the Petition in question was filed by Anna, didn’t you?’
‘Yes.’
‘Please direct your attention to paragraph three of the Petition.’
Noah turned to the screen and read:
I am filing this petition on behalf of:
___ Myself
x Another Person
‘Dr Alderman, you see that the box that’s checked is Another Person, isn’t that correct?’
‘Yes.’
‘Let’s look farther down in paragraph three.’
Noah watched the screen change, and it read:
Indicate your relationship with plaintiff:
x Parent of minor plaintiff
___ Applicant for appointment as guardian ad litem of minor plaintiff
____ Adult household member with minor plaintiff
____ Court-appointed guardian of incompetent plaintiff
‘Dr Alderman, the box that is checked is parent of minor plaintiff, isn’t that correct?’
‘Yes.’
‘The parent referred to is your wife Maggie Ippoliti, isn’t that correct?’
‘Yes.’
‘So your prior testimony was misleading when you stated that the Petition was filed by Anna, wasn’t it?’
‘No.’
Linda frowned. ‘Dr Alderman, wasn’t the Petition filed by both Anna and your wife Maggie?’
‘No.’ Noah and Thomas had discussed how to handle this line of questioning. ‘Anna’s handwriting is at the top. Anna wrote her name in the Plaintiff box and my name in the Defendant box. Anna filled out the form.’
‘But doesn’t this form clearly show a box checked, indicating that the Petition was filed by a parent of a minor plaintiff?’
‘Regardless, it was filed by Anna. My wife had to sign only because Anna was a minor.’
‘Dr Alderman, are you suggesting that your wife didn’t agree with the allegations that Anna made in the Petition?’
‘Yes, they were Anna’s allegations, and my wife only signed to enable Anna to file, like a cosigner.’
Linda’s eyes flew open. ‘Is a young girl trying to protect herself from sexual abuse like somebody getting a car loan?’
‘No, I was trying to explain. It’s an analogy.’
Linda nodded to her paralegal. ‘I’m going to call to the screen the very last page of the Petition. Please read it yourself and we’ll discuss it.’
Noah turned:
VERIFICATION: I verify that I am the Petitioner designated in the present action and that the facts and statements contained in the above Petition are true and correct to the best of my knowledge. I understand that any false statements are made subject to the penalties of 18 Pa.C.S.A. section 4904, relating to unsworn falsification to authorities.
Margaret Ippoliti
Anna Desroches
‘Dr Alderman, isn’t it true that two signatures appear there, Anna’s and your wife’s?’
‘Yes.’
‘Your wife was smart enough to understand that she was subjecting herself to penalties of perjury if she signed a Petition she believed to be false, wasn’t she?’
‘Yes.’
‘So isn’t it true that your wife’s signature on the Petition shows that she believed the allegations to be “true and correct”?’
‘No, because you have to consider that the PFA Order was not issued. After the hearing, my lawyer and I went to the attorneys’ conference room to await Judge Hamilton’s decision, but there was a knock on the door. We assumed it was the bailiff telling us that the judge had decided, but it was my wife. She initiated a settlement, which I think shows that she was ambivalent about whether Anna’s allegations were true.’
Linda scoffed, her impatience plain. ‘Dr Alderman, isn’t it true that you settled Anna’s Petition because you knew that Judge Hamilton was going to issue a PFA Order against you?’
‘No.’
Linda shot him a skeptical look. ‘Why would you settle if you thought you were going to win?’
‘I settled because it made sense for all of us.’
‘Dr Alderman, wouldn’t it have been a disaster for your medical practice as a pediatric allergist if a PFA Order had been issued against you for sexual abuse of Anna, a minor?’
‘Yes.’
‘So it was consistent with your self-interest to settle, was it not?’
‘Yes,’ Noah had to admit.