Page 88 of After Anna

“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 a 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.