Page 32 of Grave Danger

“We look at the same set of facts. I see a woman in desperate need of help to save her husband. You see a devious scheme by the US government to support its own diplomatic position.”

“I didn’t say itisa scheme. I said I have questions.”

Andie fell into her pillow. “You make me furious.”

“You’re not even listening to my side of it.”

“I’ve been listening to your side of it for nine years.” She rolled onto her side and showed Jack the back of her head. “I’m tired of the aggravation, Jack. This is fucked up.”

Jack lay in the darkness, staring up at shadows on the ceiling, afraid to ask if by “this” she meant the Ava Bazzi predicament. Or their entire marriage.

Chapter 12

The hearing resumed at 9:00 a.m. in courtroom 9, Judge Carlton presiding.

Jack hoped the next witness would shift the focus away from Ava Bazzi and bring the hearing more in line with a traditional Hague proceeding, where a petitioner like Farid would focus on his own rights to the return of his child. But Jack had no more control over the strategy of his opposing counsel than the State Department had over his.

“The petitioner calls Nouri Asmoun,” Beech announced in the crowded courtroom.

It was another appearance by videoconference from Iran. As the witness came into focus on the LCD, Jack discreetly checked with his client.

“No idea who he is,” Zahra whispered, but his opening testimony fleshed out the details. He was fluent in English, so there was no translator.

Asmoun was a thirty-year-old banker who had lived in Tehran all his life. He was a handsome man who was mindful of his appearance. His hair was neatly trimmed, as if he’d just come from the stylist, and his suit was worthy of aGQmagazine cover. His hands were folded and resting on the tabletop, fingers interlaced. Jack couldn’t be certain by video, but it appeared that his nails were buffed and manicured.

“Mr. Asmoun, did you know Ava Bazzi while she was married to my client, Farid Bazzi?”

So much for Jack’s hope that the hearing would move past Ava.

“I did,” he said.

“Did you know Farid Bazzi?”

“No. I never met him.”

“How did you know Ava Bazzi?”

He hesitated, then answered, a hint of shame in his voice. “We were... romantically involved.”

The courtroom rumbled. Jack jumped to his feet and objected, but the judge was one step ahead of him.

“Ms. Beech, yesterday this court agreed with you that Mr. Swyteck’s client has no legal right to custody as an adoptive parent if Ava Bazzi was still alive at the time of the adoption. My ruling was clear and narrow: evidence relating to Ava Bazzi is relevant to this proceeding only if it shows that she is alive or dead.”

“Understood, Your Honor,” said Beech. “Ava Bazzi’s extramarital affair with Mr. Asmoun shows that, as the Iranian government has said for the past two years, Ava had every reason to flee the country, did in fact flee, and is alive and well in hiding.”

Jack doubled down on his objection. “Judge, this is a smear tactic against a woman who is unable to defend herself because, sadly, she is no longer on this earth.”

“I understand your position, Mr. Swyteck,” said the judge. “Ms. Beech, how does an extramarital affair tend to prove Ava Bazzi is still alive?”

“Adultery is a criminal offense in Iran,” said Beech. “Technically, it’s a capital offense. Even though no woman has been executed in quite some time, it is still a serious enough crime to cause a married woman like Ava to flee the country. As this court ruled yesterday, if Ava Bazzi fled the country and is still alive, Zahra Bazzi’s adoption of Yasmin is a nullity, and this court must order Yasmin’s immediate return to her father.”

It was obvious that Farid and his lawyer were pandering to the Iranian government, parroting the regime’s position on Ava Bazzi’s disappearance. Jack was reluctant to inject the US-Iranian diplomatic crisis directly into the hearing, but he was no less forceful in his objection.

“Judge, the only thing the petitioner proves by calling Mr. Asmoun as a witness is that, in death as in life, Ava Bazzi continues to be an abused woman. This is malicious victim shaming.”

Beech laid her hand on Farid’s shoulder, responding with complete indignation. “Let’s be clear about who the victim is here, Your Honor. Myclient’s first wife cheated on him and fled the country, bringing shame to him and their daughter in their abandonment. Then his sister-in-law defrauded him into marriage and immediately ran off with his daughter.”

“Enough argument,” said the judge. “I will overrule the objection. However, there will be no lurid details. Ms. Beech, you can establish how long the affair lasted, and that will be the end of the matter.”