Page 35 of Grave Danger
“Some men were executed too,” Asmoun said, then he quickly realized that he was helping Jack’s case, not his own. “But I don’t know what for.”
Jack could have stopped, but this was his only opportunity to completely discredit Asmoun’s testimony.
“Mr. Asmoun, you said you were unmarried. But do you have other family in Iran?”
“Yes. My parents. And my younger sister.”
“Are you a close-knit family?”
“Yes, very much so.”
“Fair to say that you would do whatever you could to prevent any harm from coming to your family?”
Farid’s lawyer was on her feet. “Judge, I object. The insinuation that this witness is being strong-armed by the Iranian government has gone on long enough.”
“Sustained. Mr. Swyteck, I believe you’ve made your point.”
“Yes. I believe I have. Thank you, Your Honor. No further questions.”
Chapter 13
Judge Carlton adjourned the hearing for a long lunch break, so Jack and Zahra returned to his office to prepare for the afternoon session. Jack’s longtime assistant met him at the door and followed him to his desk. Bonnie was affectionately known as “the Roadrunner” for the way she kicked into high gear in times of crisis, and she was in full crisis mode.
“Jack, I’m so sorry I let you head off to court unprepared for today’s witness. I didn’t pull a single exhibit for you to use.”
“Bonnie, there’s no one better than you. But not even Clarence Darrow could have anticipated that a witness we’ve never heard of would appear by videoconference from Iran and claim to be Ava Bazzi’s lover.”
“Maybe so,” she said as she laid a folder on his desk. “But I pulled together a witness file on Mr. Asmoun. The whole timeline is here with supporting documents, starting with the date Ava and Farid got married, the day Yasmin was born, the date they moved to London. I was even able to track down the exact date of their return flight to Tehran: two months before Ava was arrested. It’s everything you’ll need—just in case you have to cross-examine Mr. Asmoun again.”
Jack wasn’t sure why Bonnie thought all that information was relevant to Mr. Asmoun, but it was beside the point.
“Thank you, Bonnie. But there’s zero chance Mr. Asmoun will reappear as a witness.”
She was openly disappointed, as if truly wishing to redeem herself for something that wasn’t the least bit her fault.
“I’ll keep this file at my desk,” she said, “if you need it. Lunch is in the kitchen. Zahra’s waiting for you.”
Jack thanked her and went to the kitchen. He took a seat at the table, across from his client, and unwrapped his sandwich. Zahra didn’t touch her kale salad. She was too nervous to eat.
“You certainly made that witness look like a liar,” said Zahra. “I hope you know itisall a lie. Ava would never have cheated on Farid.”
“She loved him?”
“No. She would have been terrified to cheat on him.”
It was an interesting point, and it made Jack realize that his opposing counsel was indeed clever. Beech wasn’t just pandering to the Iranian government by painting Ava as an adulteress. She was preempting Zahra’s testimony that Farid was an abuser.Your Honor, if Farid really was violent, wouldn’t his first wife have been too afraid to cheat on him?
“Do you think that witness truly is being threatened by the regime?” asked Zahra.
“It’s the most logical explanation until we hear another one,” said Jack. “He did say he had a younger sister. She could be in some kind of trouble over the protests, and this is his chance to make things good for her.”
Zahra poked at her salad, but she didn’t eat. “Have we heard the last about Ava?” she asked.
“If it were up to Farid’s lawyer, I would say yes.”
“Do you really think Farid’s legal strategy is controlled by the regime?”
“Not controlled. Beech wouldn’t risk her law license over this. But clearly Beech is advancing the Iranian government’s propaganda about Ava. There’s a quid pro quo that we don’t know about. The regime could be paying Farid’s legal bills or promising him some kind of help down the road if the judge rules against him.”