Page 50 of Grave Danger
“Absolutely. I felt like a fool.”
Beech adjusted her tone to be more understanding. To Jack, she sounded like a radio-show psychiatrist.
“Mr. Bazzi, what has your life been like since the day that Zahra took your daughter?”
“Hell on earth.”
“What have you done since then?”
“I stayed in the UK. I spent thousands of hours trying to locate my daughter and have her returned to me. When I wasn’t doing that, I wasbuilding my hotel business under the Entrepreneur visa program. That has been my life for more than a year.”
“If this court returns Yasmin to you, what is your plan?”
“We will settle in London. My first hotel and restaurant are already a success. In two months’ time, we can apply for British citizenship.”
If Farid had been his client, Jack would have ended right there, keeping Farid above the controversial debate as to whether Ava was alive or dead. But Farid was not his client.
“Finally, Mr. Bazzi, we’ve heard a lot about your first wife, Ava, in this proceeding. I want to ask you briefly about that relationship.”
“Okay.”
“Would you describe your marriage to Ava as a happy one?”
“Yes. Especially when we lived in London.”
“Did you love Ava?”
“Yes. With all my heart.”
“Did there come a time when you stopped loving her?”
Farid hesitated. Jack sensed this might be the moment that all trial lawyers dreaded—when the client’s answer is off script, something other than what his lawyer expected, something different from what they’d rehearsed.
“I don’t think so,” he said.
Beech did her best not to appear surprised, but Jack could read her body language. She continued. “Let me be more precise with my question. Did you stop loving Ava after she abandoned you and your daughter?”
“Objection,” said Jack, rising. “The record does not show that Ava Bazzi abandoned anyone. Only that she is dead.”
“Actually, Mr. Swyteck, the record is inconclusive either way. Nonetheless, your objection is sustained.”
“I’ll rephrase,” said Beech. “Did you stop loving Ava after the Iranian government informed you that she fled the country, abandoning you and Yasmin?”
Farid paused, seeming to struggle for a response. “I—it’s hard to say how I felt.”
Again, Jack was reading body language, this time both the lawyer’s and the client’s. Without a doubt, Farid was off script. Beech continued, doing her best to get him back on track. “Surely you stopped loving her after her affair with Mr. Asmoun.”
Farid blinked slowly, and then cleared his throat. “If Ava cheated on me, as Mr. Asmoun testified, I was the last to know. In fact, I didn’t know anything about it until I found out that Mr. Asmoun was going to be a witness in this proceeding. My feelings for Ava—”
“That’ll do,” said Beech, cutting off her own client.
Jack rose. The response had clearly taken Farid’s lawyer by surprise, and Jack wanted to hear the rest of it. “Your Honor, I don’t think the witness has finished his answer.”
“Judge, Mr. Bazzi answered my question,” said Beech.
The judge looked down from the bench. “Mr. Bazzi, did you finish your response?”
Farid’s eyes welled. Jack noticed. The judge noticed. His lawyer glared at him, a stern warning not to say anything to lose the case. He looked down at his hands and spoke in a sad, quiet voice.