Page 57 of Grave Danger

“It’s all such a blur,” said Jack. “These Hague proceedings move so fast. Too little time to verify the facts.”

“All you can do is go with what your gut tells you.”

“I suppose,” Jack said in a voice that faded.

Theo rested his forearms on the bar and looked at Jack. “Somethin’ else is eatin’ you. I can tell. What’s up?”

Jack looked away, then back. “Andie called me from DC. She was at a bar having a drink with her old supervisory agent from Seattle. Isaac is his name.”

“So?”

“So, what if she’s thinking about taking a job at headquarters?”

“And do what? Commute home on the weekends? She wouldn’t leave you and Righley like that.”

“No,” said Jack. “But she might leave just me.”

Theo’s jaw dropped. “Dude, Andie is crazy about you. This case is making you paranoid. Your wife is not going to take your daughter and run off.”

Jack turned very serious. “Ten minutes after Andie called me, I got a call from my old law school roommate. He happened to be in the same bar. He saw them alone in a booth on his way to the bathroom.”

“Stop acting like a middle-schooler. Just because a woman goes into a bar with a man doesn’t mean she’s playing footsie with his balls under the table.”

“He said they were holding hands.”

“What? Come on. Maybe your friend didn’t see what he thought he saw.”

“Maybe.”

“What’re you gonna do about it?”

“Talk to Andie when she gets home. What else can I do?”

“Study for the DC bar exam?”

Jack didn’t laugh.

“Sorry, bad joke,” said Theo. He opened a bottle of beer and set it before Jack. “On the house.”

Jack watched a drop of condensation work its way down the bottleneck. When it finally reached the label, he took a drink.

“I don’t feel like ripping into Farid tomorrow,” said Jack.

“Get over it, dude.”

“Yeah. You know I will.”

Chapter 20

Jack approached the witness, shrouded in courtroom silence.

“This court reminds the witness that he is under oath,” said Judge Carlton. “Mr. Swyteck, proceed.”

As a young lawyer, Jack had learned the hard way that the key to effective cross-examination was to control the witness, and the key to control was a full command of the facts. That morning, as he stared down Farid, Jack had only his client’s version of the facts. As Farid stared back, sizing up the lawyer, he seemed to know Jack’s limitations. With only one side of the story, Jack wasn’t playing a game of control. It was more like a game of blackjack—a dealer’s game, but the wrong card might still turn up.

“Mr. Bazzi, I want to ask a few questions about my client’s adoption of your daughter, Yasmin.”

Opposing counsel was quickly on her feet. “Objection, Your Honor. Without Ava Bazzi’s consent, there was no adoption. Which is why this is an open-and-shut case.”