Fatal Convictions

74

Like her counterparts on the defense side, Taj Deegan had been working late every night. She hated not seeing the kids, but it was part of the price she paid. And so, on the night before trial, when the babysitter’s number showed up on Taj’s phone screen at work, it was a welcome break. It would give her a chance to tell the kids how much she loved them before they settled in for the night.

But when she answered and heard the panic in her babysitter’s voice, Taj Deegan’s blood ran cold. For an instant, it felt like her heart had literally stopped.

“You need to come home right away.” The woman was breathless. She refused to tell Taj what was wrong. “You just need to see this. The kids are both okay.”

The fifteen minutes it took Taj to get home seemed like five hours. When she arrived, her daughter was crying. Her son, only in the fourth grade, tried to keep a stiff upper lip. The babysitter pulled Taj aside and showed her the note. If Khalid Mobassar is convicted, there will be at least one more beheading.

“I found this on your daughter’s pillow,” the sitter told Taj.

Taj felt the rage boiling within her as she struggled to maintain her composure. The sitter had handled the note and had probably destroyed any fingerprint evidence. “Pack an overnight bag for the kids,” Taj said. “I want you to take them to my mom’s. I’ll have several police cruisers sitting outside her house tonight. I’ll be there myself by midnight.”

Taj immediately dialed Chief Stargell and told him about the threat. She made it clear that she wanted to personally work with the CSI team.

Once the call was completed, Taj slipped into mom mode. She pulled the kids together on the living room couch and tried to reassure them. She put her arms around both of them and held them close.

“I’m scared,” her daughter said. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

“There’s nothing to be scared about,” Taj said. And she meant it. “Mommy’s going to make sure this guy spends the rest of his life in jail.”