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 mehovered 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?”
