After Anna Read online

  ‘Did you hit on Anna? Is this a weird younger-woman thing?’

  ‘Maggie, don’t get crazy, none of this is true.’

  ‘Why would she lie?’ Maggie threw her hands up in the air. She felt tears come to her eyes, but she held them off. ‘Why would she, Noah? She just moved in here. She wants a family!’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘We just had a big party. Everything was nice. The only weird part of the party was you. You didn’t talk to her.’

  ‘She didn’t come up to me, either. She avoids me. I think she wants me out of here, out of my own home.’

  ‘No, I think it’s the other way around. I think you want her out of here. And it’s my home too. And now this?’ Maggie felt herself fighting to understand what was happening. She could hear Anna crying upstairs, and Noah was still shaking his head, his lips parted.

  ‘Maggie, I would never.’

  ‘I don’t know if I believe you!’ Maggie blurted out, her heart speaking out of turn, and for the first time, she heard truth.

  ‘How can you say that?’

  ‘How could I not?’ Maggie reached for the banister. ‘I’m going to ask her what happened.’

  ‘Go ahead, she’ll just lie to you.’

  ‘What if you’re the liar, Noah?’ Maggie shot back, hurrying up the stairs.

  ‘I’m not!’ Noah called back. ‘She is!’

  The bedroom was dark, and Maggie leaned against the headboard, holding Anna close as her sniffling subsided, just like she had held Anna when she was a baby, crying from colic, fatigue, or the myriad mysteries that made babies unhappy. Maggie had loved the sensation of cuddling her baby girl, a warm bundle in a flannel onesie, and when Anna would finally stop crying, Maggie would feel rewarded, affirmed that she had done something right. Mothers had a sacred duty to love, protect, and comfort their children, but after Maggie’s postpartum psychosis had crept over her, darkening those peaceful, happy moments, she felt stricken that she had failed Anna. And if Anna was telling her the truth, Maggie was failing her all over again.

  Maggie closed her eyes, anguished. Anna had said, between sobs, that Noah had tried to molest her on the driving lesson and in the powder room downstairs. The very notion turned Maggie’s stomach and shook her to her very foundations. She tried to collect her thoughts but her mind reeled. She didn’t know who to believe. She couldn’t conceive that this was happening under her own roof. She’d read the news about young women being preyed on by their stepfathers. She knew it happened everywhere, even in the nicest homes, like her own. She closed her eyes, tried to slow her heartbeat, and prayed that she could sort out what was true from what was false.

  Maggie heard Anna’s breathing settle into a soft rhythm and realized her daughter had fallen asleep in her arms, just as she had back in Congreve. Maggie thought back to that night, remembering her silent vow to never let Anna down again. A wave of guilt washed over her, and a sadness so deep she felt it to her very marrow. Tears came to her eyes, and she bit her lip not to cry. She couldn’t understand any reason Anna would lie. Even Noah had no answer for why Anna would lie. People didn’t lie without reason, did they?

  Maggie’s gaze fell on her phone when it lit up with a notification for an incoming text. She didn’t recognize the number, and the notification showed a tiny photo with writing too small to read. She picked up the phone and opened the text. The photo was of Noah, caught in motion, leaving what looked like a hotel room. A banner across the photo read:

  Enjoy your party, Maggie? Hope he wasn’t too tired.

  Maggie stared at the phone, stunned. Who was this from? What was Noah doing in the picture? In a hotel room?

  Maggie read the text again, her eyes still wet. She enlarged the photo. It was definitely Noah.

  Maggie eased Anna off her chest, shifting her onto the bed.

  Anna half-woke, murmuring, ‘Love you.’

  ‘Love you, too,’ Maggie whispered, then headed for the door.

  Chapter Fifty-five

  Noah, After

  TRIAL, DAY 3

  Noah straightened as Linda called her next witness to the stand, an attractive African-American woman in her mid-thirties dressed in a loose-fitting black pantsuit. She had a pretty face dominated by oversized wire-rimmed glasses, and she wore her hair short, with little gold hoop earrings. She smiled for the courtroom clerk, who swore her in.

  Linda stood in front of the witness stand. ‘Please state your name for the record, if you would.’

  ‘Patricia Evans.’

  ‘Thank you, and what is your occupation?’

  ‘I’m a criminalist in the Forensic Services Unit in Montgomery County.’

  ‘And do you have a degree in criminology?’

  ‘Yes, I have a criminal science degree from Drexel University.’

  ‘And how long have you been a criminalist?’

  ‘Approximately four years.’

  ‘Ms Evans, can you tell the jury, in layman’s terms, what a criminalist does for Montgomery County?’

  ‘We collect, document, preserve, and interpret physical evidence using scientific techniques, in order to support law enforcement in its investigation of crime.’

  ‘And did you collect evidence relating to the murder of Anna Desroches?’

  ‘Yes, I was called to the crime scene that night.’

  ‘Please describe for the jury the fiber evidence you collected at the scene.’

  ‘Certainly, to begin . . .’ Evans launched into her testimony, but Noah already knew the fiber evidence. They had found two white threads from his oxford shirt on Anna’s dress, and they had found a blue thread from her checked dress on his khaki pants. Noah remembered that sundress, which she’d worn to the barbecue that had turned into a nightmare. It had only gotten worse after Maggie had come down, after having listened to Anna.

  Noah! Maggie had charged downstairs into the basement. Her face had been red, her eyes had glistened with angry tears. She held her phone in the air like a flaming torch. What the hell is this?

  I don’t know what you mean. Noah hadn’t been able to see what was on the phone.

  This is a text I just got. It looks like a picture of you in a hotel room. This is you, isn’t it? Maggie had thrust the phone at his face.

  Maggie, hold on. Noah had put up his hands, reflexively. It had looked like him in the photo, going out a door. But he hadn’t known who had taken it or when.

  Who took this photo?

  I don’t know.

  Oh, come on! This is a hotel room. I enlarged the photo. You can see the notice on the back of the door. It says checkout time is noon. What time did you check out, Noah?

  I don’t know, Noah had started to say, then he’d seen the phone number that had sent the text, a number he recognized. Jordan’s. She must’ve taken the photo as he was leaving her hotel room in Miami. He remembered she’d had a phone in her hand, but he hadn’t realized she’d taken a picture of him.

  Noah, is this recent? When was this taken? Who took it?

  Babe, I can explain –

  So start explaining. Because I’m getting a suspicion that this is from Miami and it was taken by you-know-who. Maggie’s eyes had flashed with fury. How does she know about our party tonight? How could she know that unless you told her? What the hell were you doing in her hotel room? You just told me that you didn’t see her down there!

  Maggie, listen, I’m sorry, but nothing happened. Noah had tried to take her arm, but she’d smacked it away.

  You just told me you didn’t see her.

  I’m sorry –

  So you saw her? So you lied before? You really did? Maggie’s eyes had widened, her worst fears confirmed. I believed you, Noah! I believed you and I thought you were faithful to me! You told me you didn’t see her down there, but you did, didn’t you?

  Yes but –

  What am I supposed to think about this? What did you do?

  I didn’t sleep with her, I didn’t even kiss her.

&nbs
p; Bullshit! You were in a hotel room! She got a picture of you leaving!

  Because I didn’t stay. I wouldn’t stay and she was mad –

  Noah, what were you doing in her hotel room in the first place? And why did you lie to me about it? How am I supposed to believe you? And what is going on with you?

  Maggie, wait – Noah had put his hands up again, seeing that she had been losing control. Tears had spilled from her eyes. Mucus had bubbled in her nose.

  Noah, my daughter cried herself to sleep! She told me that you’ve been trying to molest her! You’re telling me you didn’t! How am I supposed to believe you now?

  Maggie, what does Anna have to do with it? These things aren’t related –

  Yes they are! How stupid do you think I am? You have no credibility with me! You’re, like, a predator!

  No, I’m not!

  You’ve got a thing for young girls. Jordan was always too young for you! It’s disgusting!

  I know that, she was a mistake, it was after Karen –

  Stop using Karen for an excuse! I’m so sick of hearing about your grief! How inconsolable you were! I’m the one who picked up the pieces! And now, when I finally get what I want, my own daughter coming home, this is how you repay me? This is what you do? Attack her in a bathroom?

  No, I’m telling you, don’t connect these things –

  How can I not, Noah? I thought you never lied to me, but you lied to me tonight. That text is proof!

  I did lie to you about that, but I’m not lying about Anna –

  Liars lie, Noah, that’s what they do! I don’t know what happened to you. I don’t know if you’re going through a midlife crisis. I don’t know if the fact that I brought Anna home made you crazy, maybe got you thinking about young women again. Maggie’s lips had curled into a sneer of revulsion. Noah, you’re forty-three! A father. A stepfather. It’s disgusting! She’s underage! I should turn you in to the police, do you know that?

  Maggie, wait! Noah had said, panicky. He’d taken a step toward her but she’d moved back into the hallway. Maggie, listen, you’re getting this wrong. I’ve never lied to you before –

  Before when? Before tonight? Before Jordan? Before Anna?

  Honey, you can’t, you have to believe me –

  The hell I do! Maggie had pointed a shaking finger at him, crying harder. Get out of this house tonight, Noah! I don’t care where you go! Go see Jordan! Bring her some effing carbohydrates!

  Maggie, no, please –

  I don’t want you in this house! I need to think and I need to talk to my daughter!

  Maggie, please, just let me explain –

  There’s nothing more to explain. You don’t have anything more to say, do you? Maggie had put her hands on her hips, her eyes boring into him. She’d been looking at him as if she’d never seen him before.

  Maggie, stop, slow down, I’m not what you think –

  That’s what I’m worried about. Now get out!

  ‘I have no further questions, thank you, Ms Evans.’ Linda turned to Judge Gardner, and Thomas rose.

  ‘Your Honor, I have cross-examination.’

  ‘Proceed.’ Judge Gardner gestured, and Linda returned to her seat as Thomas came forward.

  ‘Ms Evans, you testified that you found certain threads of the victim’s on Dr Alderman, and conversely, you found certain threads of Dr Alderman’s on the victim, isn’t that correct?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘It’s true, isn’t it, that your experience and expertise do not reveal to you how those fibers were exchanged, now do they?’

  ‘That’s true,’ Evans answered, after a moment.

  ‘And in your expert opinion, isn’t it possible that those fibers could have been exchanged while Dr Alderman was engaged in efforts to resuscitate Anna?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘You also testified that you found certain hairs of Anna’s on Dr Alderman, and conversely, Dr Alderman’s hairs were also found on Anna, isn’t that correct?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And again, in your expert opinion, isn’t it possible that those hairs could have been exchanged while Dr Alderman was engaged in attempts to resuscitate Anna?’

  ‘Yes,’ Evans answered after a moment.

  ‘Your Honor, I have no further questions,’ Thomas said, turning away.

  Noah felt like cheering, but he kept it inside. Thomas had scored off an important witness.

  But Noah didn’t know if it was enough to save him.

  Chapter Fifty-six

  Maggie, Before

  Maggie sat in the backyard in the dark, having texted Kathy and asked her to call ASAP. She could imagine what Kathy would be doing right now, hurrying the boys to bed, letting the dog out one last time, and twisting the deadbolt on her front door, believing she had locked the danger outside, keeping her family safe. Maggie would’ve been doing the same things, assuming that the bad guys were outside, somewhere else, not under her roof. But she would never think that again.

  Maggie eased back on the chaise lounge, clutching her phone. The barbecue smells hung in the air, and the lanterns were still lit, strung from tree to tree along the back fence. The folding chairs and card tables had been put away in the garage, and the cast-iron racks rested atop the grill, since Noah always insisted on cleaning them. It was almost impossible to believe that a man so picky about a barbecue grill could be the same man who would molest his stepdaughter.

  Maggie couldn’t believe she was thinking about a divorce, but she was. She loved Noah, or who she thought Noah was, but the foundation of their marriage was shifting beneath her very feet, like a domestic earthquake, the tectonic plates of their very lives, disjointed and broken.

  Suddenly her phone rang, and the screen lit up with a picture of Kathy in a tiara, from her last birthday. Maggie picked up. ‘Kath –’

  ‘OMG, that party was so great! I’m so happy for you!’ Kathy sounded like she expected a gossipy rehash, juicy fun for them both.

  ‘Thanks, but something’s the matter.’

  ‘What’s up?’

  ‘It’s bad. Very bad. Are you somewhere you can talk?’

  ‘Yes.’ Kathy’s voice darkened. ‘What’s going on?’

  ‘I don’t know where to start,’ Maggie began, but tears came to her eyes. ‘I can’t say it.’

  ‘What do you mean? What is it?’

  ‘I can’t.’

  ‘Maggie. It’s okay. Whatever you did, I love you.’

  ‘It’s not me.’ Maggie wiped her eyes on her shirt. She had put on a blousy black top and black capris for the party, her Cool Mom Outfit. It seemed pathetic now.

  ‘What’s the matter, honey?’ Kathy’s tone softened.

  Maggie prepared to say words she could never believe would come out of her mouth: ‘I think Noah may have molested Anna.’

  ‘What?’ Kathy gasped, shocked. ‘You can’t be serious.’

  ‘It’s so awful,’ Maggie found herself whispering. She couldn’t admit it aloud, even to herself.

  ‘Molested?’

  ‘Tried to kiss her and touch her breast, in the bathroom.’

  ‘No!’ Kathy gasped again.

  ‘Yes.’ Maggie was still whispering.

  ‘How do you know?’

  ‘I don’t for sure. But I think . . .’ Maggie swallowed hard, struggling to stay in emotional control. ‘I didn’t believe it myself. I wouldn’t have believed it. But then I got a text and he saw Jordan in Miami. He was in her hotel room.’

  ‘He saw her, the fetus?’ Kathy asked, in confusion.

  ‘Yes. He told me he didn’t see her but then she sent a text, and he had to admit that he lied.’

  ‘What does that have to do with Anna?’

  ‘Let me explain,’ Maggie said, launching into an account of everything that had happened, the words gushing as if she was bleeding them. She texted Kathy the photo of Noah in the hotel room, and after Kathy had gotten the photo, her tone hardened, which made Maggie’s chest tighter. ‘Kathy, yo
u think he did it, don’t you? The picture convinced you, I can tell.’

  ‘I can’t believe this, and I didn’t, but this photo . . .’ Kathy let the sentence trail off.

  ‘What’s the matter with him?’ Maggie asked, anguished.

  ‘God knows. How’s Anna?’

  ‘Sleeping.’

  ‘Where’s Noah?’

  ‘I don’t know and I don’t care.’

  ‘And Caleb?’

  ‘Asleep. I’m hoping he didn’t hear anything. I’ll check on him later and tell him that Noah had to go in to work.’ Maggie edged forward on the chair, trying to collect her thoughts. ‘Do you think Noah would do something like that? To Anna?’

  ‘I wouldn’t have before, but I don’t think it’s impossible, not since I’ve seen that photo. Something must be going on with him.’

  ‘He tried to molest my daughter.’ Maggie rubbed her face, feeling a wave of pain. ‘I can’t let him back in the house.’

  ‘No, you can’t.’

  ‘I have to protect Anna. I owe her that, as my daughter.’ Maggie heard herself saying the unthinkable. ‘I don’t know what this means for me and Noah. For our marriage. I just can’t bring myself to believe he would do such a thing. Anna didn’t even tell me the first time it happened, at the driving lesson. She didn’t want to upset me. I don’t know if she would’ve said anything if he hadn’t tried it again.’

  ‘I’m glad she did, even though it’s awful.’

  ‘I am too.’ Maggie sighed, weepy. Heartbroken.

  ‘Even if he didn’t do it, you have to err on the safe side. He should move into a hotel or rent something, for a while. You need to get her to a therapist, and him too. Do you think he’ll agree to that?’

  ‘He has to. I’ll make it a condition to his coming home.’ Maggie couldn’t believe that her life had gone from blissful to disastrous in a single week. She held back her tears.

  ‘Maybe the pressure’s getting to him?’

  ‘What pressure? The pressure isn’t any different than it has been before.’

  ‘Maybe Anna moving in, or Mike, that patient he lost? Or is it his own grief, over Karen? Somehow it’s setting him off.’

  ‘Setting what off?’ Maggie racked her brain. ‘What if he just has a thing for younger women?’