Page 35 of After Anna

“And that text was sent on May 10, the night Anna was murdered, was it not?”

“Yes.”

“The text was sent at 6:55P.M., the night Anna was murdered, was it not?”

“Yes.”

“And the name at the top of the screen is Anna, is it not, signifying the text was sent to Anna?”

“Yes.”

“You didn’t receive an answer to this text, did you?”

“No.”

“Let me show you Commonwealth Exhibit 44, which has already been admitted and is a copy of the records from Anna’s iPhone.” Linda signaled her paralegal, and the screen showed Anna’s text history. “Dr. Alderman, can you see that it shows that Anna received the text from your phone approximately one minute after it was sent?”

“Yes.”

Linda signaled the paralegal, who reverted to the previous screen showing the text. “Dr. Alderman, didn’t you send this text to Anna in order to lure her to your home so you could make another sexual advance on her?”

“No.”

“But doesn’t the text read, ‘Anna, will you meet me at my house at 9:15?’”

“Yes.”

Linda frowned. “I’ll ask you again, didn’t you send this text to Anna in order to get her to your home?”

“No.” Noah blinked, waiting for the next question. He couldn’t see Thomas because Linda was standing in front of him, blocking his view. He suspected she was doing it intentionally.

“Then what did you mean when you texted Anna, ‘Anna, will you meet me at my house at 9:15?’”

“I didn’t send this text. It came from my phone, but I didn’t send it.”

“Pardonme?” Linda’s mouth dropped open. Spectators in the gallery looked surprised, and the courtroom sketch artist started scribbling. Thomas hadn’t wanted him to go here, but he had no choice.

Maggie still was nowhere in sight.

Chapter Eighteen

Maggie, Before

Maggie drove home with Anna, who looked fresh and pretty with her hair in a ponytail. She had on a cute blue-checked sundress that matched her eyes, with a jeans jacket. Maggie had never been happier. She never would’ve believed she was driving home with her daughter.

“This is the street,” Maggie chirped like a tour guide. “Merion Avenue.”

“Oh, it’s so nice! And there’s so many trees.”

“Wait’ll you see my garden.”

Anna looked over with a smile. “I always wanted to learn how to garden.”

“Me too,” Maggie said, and they both laughed. She steered downhill toward the house, passing the old stone homes and massive oak trees. Her neighbors were clipping hedges, mulching beds, and unloading SUVs. None of them knew she had a daughter, but they would find out soon enough.

“Is our house on the right or the left side?”

Our house. “The left. There, with the yellow shutters.”