The Tribunal

CHAPTER 21

When Ellen awoke on Sunday morning, she got out of bed hoping it would be her last day on the farm. She got dressed and knocked on her door.

Anna soon came and opened it.

“Do I get to go home today?” Ellen asked hopefully.

“Not today.”

“I have to be back for school tomorrow.”

“I don’t think you’re going to make it.”

“Why? Does my dad have to pay some money to get me back?”

“I don’t know. I’m just hired to take care of you while you’re here.”

“I want to go home.”

Ellen ran into the bathroom and slammed the door.

When she came out of the bathroom, she ate her cereal in silence at the kitchen table. “I guess I’ll do my homework,” she told Anna when she finished eating. “Otherwise, I’ll be way behind when I get back.” She went into her room and returned with her backpack. Soon, her books and papers were spread out all over the kitchen table and Ellen was diligently working through her assignments.

“You know it’s against the law to keep a kid out of school,” Ellen complained.

“We don’t want to break the law,” Anna replied facetiously.

“Good. Tomorrow you can be the teacher and I will be the student and we’ll have school right here.”

“I don’t know how to teach school.”

“It’s easy. You just teach me from the textbook, and then assign me a bunch of homework. I have all my books. I’ll help you prepare a lesson plan if you want.”

“We’ll see. I’m not being paid a teacher’s wage.”

“Who’s your boss?” Ellen asked. “Is it Hans or Jan?”

“That’s none of your business, young lady.”

“Does this have something to do with my dad’s trial?” Ellen asked.

“You sure ask a lot of questions. Now, get back to your school work.”

Ellen spent the next hour studying. Anna tried to read a book, but Ellen kept asking questions. “What’s eight times twelve? How do you spell ‘manufacture’?”

When she had finished, Ellen packed up her backpack and brought her books into the living room. “This will be our school.” She took out a piece of paper and wrote, “Anna’s schoolhouse.” She taped it to the door.

“What are we going to do today?” Ellen asked.

“Today’s Sunday. We rest.”

“I don’t want to rest, I’m bored. Can we bake bread? My mommy showed me how to do it.”

“No, but we can feed the chickens. They need to eat every day. And the cows need to be milked.”

Ellen made a face. “Can you do the squeezing part and I hold the bucket?”

Anna didn’t respond. She and Ellen got their coats on and went out to the barn. Anna grabbed the feed bucket and carried it outside. The chickens and roosters scrambled over to meet them. Ellen reached into the bucket, and spread the feed around.

They were just finishing up when Ellen spotted a small brown and white dog sniffing around the barn. Ellen walked slowly toward the dog. When she was close enough, she knelt down and petted it. The dog licked her fingers.

“You’re just a puppy. Where did you come from?” Ellen lifted the dog into her lap. “You don’t have a collar.” The brown and white puppy curled up inside Ellen’s lap as Ellen stroked its back. “Where’s your family? I’m missing my family too.”

The puppy hopped out of Ellen’s lap and played in the grass. When Ellen stood up, it got on its hind legs as if to imitate her, only to fall forward and try again. “Silly puppy, dogs can’t stand on two legs.” Ellen scooped up the dog and walked over to Anna. “Whose dog is this?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen it before.”

Ellen ran over with the puppy to Hans and Jan. “I found this puppy. Do you guys know who it belongs to?”

The men shrugged.

“Can I keep it? Please!”

There was no reply.

“Thank you so much,” Ellen blurted out, “I’ve always wanted a dog. He’s so cute. Wait ’til my mom and dad see this!”

Ellen put the puppy down gently on the ground. It started sniffing everything. “Come on,” she said to her new friend, “we’ve got to make you a little home.”

“Is it a boy or a girl?” she asked Anna.

“A girl.”

“Great. I don’t like boys. No offense.”

Anna’s face broke into a wan smile.

“Girls rule!” Ellen proclaimed, giving Anna the thumbs up sign.

“I’ve got to think of a name,” Ellen said. She picked up the puppy and studied its face. “I’ve got it!” I’m going to name her Johanna. J for Jan, H-A-N for Hans, and A-N-N-A for Anna.”

Ellen ran after the puppy. “Johanna, come here!”

At the Anderson home, Kevin and Diane waited for news from the police. The call from the kidnappers had been brief, and Kevin knew the prospects for tracing it were poor. By late morning, Detective Weber arrived and told them that all they could determine was that the call had been made from a cellular phone somewhere in Holland.

They played and replayed the tape of the conversation. Kevin wished he had gotten the man to talk longer. The caller had a slight accent, but his English had been good. Given the fact that he had demanded Draga’s release, Kevin was surprised that the caller did not have a Slavic accent. While he was still unwilling to completely rule out the CIA, Kevin knew that the goal of the kidnapers meant a wider field of suspects.

“I’d like to go visit my client,” Kevin said. “If someone did kidnap Ellen on his behalf, maybe he might have some ideas about who.”

“Does Draga know you have a daughter?”

“Yes.”

The detective frowned. “Does he know she goes to the American School?”

“Yes.”

“Maybe he had something to do with it.”

“I really don’t think Draga would have Ellen kidnapped. He’d probably kidnap Bradford Stone’s child rather than mine. He would know that I’m the person at the Tribunal with the least ability to get him released.”

“What do we do now?” Diane asked. “They may never call again.”

“The call may not have been from the people who have Ellen,” Detective Weber replied. “It could be some cruel hoax. The caller sounds Dutch or German. A high profile case like this brings out all sorts of crazies. It’s strange to kidnap someone and then demand something that the victim has no control over.”

“I want to go talk to Draga. I feel like he might be able to help.”

“I’d like to have the conversation recorded,” the detective said.

Kevin was silent for a minute. “I’m uncomfortable about that. We have an attorney-client privilege. And I feel strongly that he’s not involved. He’s too smart, and he wants to get his trial over with. How about if I just talk to him in private for now?”

“Well, that’s your decision. If we have the conversation on tape, we can analyze it for small things that might tip us off if he is lying. But, I understand your concern.”

Diane spoke up. “For God’s sake, Kevin, we’re dealing with Ellen’s life. You have to do everything to help the police.”

“I really don’t think Draga is involved. I know him pretty well by now.”

Diane stood up and walked away from the table.

Kevin took a deep breath. He didn’t want to upset Diane. She was holding up amazingly well under the strain. Her daughter had been gone for two days now. But he didn’t want to violate the law or Draga’s trust either.

Kevin and Detective Weber were followed by a group of reporters when they left his house. When they arrived at the jail, he was led into the interview room.

Draga was already there, and he stood up as soon as he saw Kevin.

“I’m sorry about your daughter, Kevin. You look like hell.”

“I feel worse than I look.”

They shook hands.

“I’ll do anything I can to help,” Draga said. “Do you think this is about the trial? There’s been all kinds of speculation on the news.”

Kevin told Draga about the call that morning. Kevin watched Draga closely for signs he knew something about the kidnapping. “Do you have any idea who might be behind this?”

Draga thought for a minute. “I hate to say this, but there are all sorts of idiots in Serbia who might think up something like this. The thing that throws me off is that they think the caller might be Dutch or German.”

“Are there any of your supporters that come to mind who might do this?”

“Lots of people. Just about any of the old Dragons on that list I gave you might have gotten some people together thinking this would help me. But they don’t speak English, and they don’t really know any Dutch or German people.”

“The police think there’s at least a possibility that the call might not have even been from the kidnappers. It might have been a copycat or hoax or something.”

Draga nodded.

“I gave the CIA reports and tapes to the police detective. We can probably get them back if we decide to use them in your trial, but I had to turn them over. I thought the CIA kidnapped my daughter to get the reports back. Pete Barnes came to my house yesterday morning and denied it. I don’t know whether to believe him or not.”

“Let me know what I can do, Kevin.”

Kevin shook Draga’s hand before he left. “I really appreciate your attitude. It’s funny, but you’re the person I trust the most right now.”

“I’m sick to think that your daughter has been kidnapped because of me.”

Kevin left the visiting room and met up with Detective Weber. He told her what Draga had said.

“I’m positive he’s not behind this,” Kevin said.

When they left the detention center Kevin asked about Vacinovic. “Can I go talk to him?”

“We’re still gathering intelligence information on him. Let’s sit tight for a while. Everywhere you go, the reporters follow. If he is involved, I don’t want to spook him.”

When they returned to his house, Kevin told Diane about his conversation with Draga. She didn’t ask if he had recorded it. Kevin suspected she already knew the answer.

“Judge Orozco’s assistant called,” Diane told him. “The Judge is offering to postpone the trial.”

“No. I have to get Draga acquitted.”

He took the phone number and called the Tribunal’s legal officer. “I appreciate the Judge’s consideration,” Kevin said, “but please tell Judge Orozco that I don’t want the trial delayed. I’m prepared to be in court tomorrow.”

An hour later Kevin received another call from the legal officer. Court would begin as scheduled at 9:30 in the morning. Kevin was beginning to feel exhausted again.

Detective Weber left Diane and Kevin with one officer to monitor any calls, and two officers outside their front door.

“What are we going to do, Kevin?” Diane asked. “I feel so helpless.”

“I’m going to try to win Draga’s trial. That’s all I can do.”

“If that call was from the kidnappers, it sounds like they’re prepared to hold her for a long time,” Diane said.

Kevin agreed. “I hope they’re treating her well.” He did not express his next thought: I hope she’s alive.

Kevin went to bed at eight o’clock that night. He tossed and turned, searching for the magic words he could say in court that would win Draga’s acquittal and get his daughter back before something terrible happened to her.