The Tribunal

CHAPTER 31

“What do you mean ‘make the transfer’?” Ellen asked Hans when he had finished talking on his cell phone.

“We’re going to take you to the man who will bring you back to your family.”

Her eyes sparkled. “Then I’m going home today?”

“Possibly,” said Hans, casting a glance at Anna.

Ellen walked over to Anna and gave her a hug. “I’m going to miss you guys.”

Anna returned the hug. There were tears in her eyes.

Ellen went over to Hans and hugged him too. He awkwardly embraced the girl. Then he said to Anna, “We’ve got to talk.”

The hotel room was cramped for three people and a dog. Ever since Ellen had woken up at 6 a.m., she had been bored. Hans and Anna seemed preoccupied. They were watching television, listening for any news about Jan. There was no mention of his arrest – only a story about Draga’s trial. The announcer reported that no defense had been offered for Draga and said that a verdict in the trial was expected tomorrow.

Hans told Ellen that he needed to speak to Anna in private about something. “You know enough of our language now that we can’t even talk Dutch in front of you,” he said. “So I need you to go into the bathroom for a few minutes while we talk out here.”

Ellen shrugged her shoulders. “It’s okay. Come on, Johanna.” She led the puppy into the bathroom and closed the door.

Ellen’s eyes scanned the bathroom. She spotted a drinking glass sitting upside down next to the sink. She picked it up and held it to the wall. She could hear perfectly.

“I’m supposed to take her to the guy in about three hours,” she heard Hans saying in Dutch. “I don’t think he’s going to let her go.”

“What do you mean?”

“They’re not even waiting until the trial’s over. They’re positive that Draga is going to be found guilty.”

“What should we do?”

“It’s really risky for us here in a hotel,” Hans replied. “We can’t stay here forever. I’ll feel a lot better when we’ve gotten rid of her.”

Ellen felt sad as she listened in the bathroom.

“I don’t want anything to happen to her,” Anna said.

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Hans said. “When I took this job, I just thought we would be babysitting the girl until the trial was over. I didn’t care what happened after that. But now that we’ve gotten to know her, well, things are different.”

“Why don’t you find out what their intentions are? Our deal was we hold her until the trial is over. They can wait for one more day.”

“That’s a good idea.”

Ellen heard the bed creak and quickly put down her glass.

Soon, Hans called for her to come out.

Ellen and Johanna came out. “Hey, can we order room service?”

“Sure,” Anna replied. “It’s lunchtime anyway.”

“I’m going out for awhile,” Hans told Anna. “Make sure she’s in the bathroom when the waiter comes to the door. And Johanna, too. We’re not even supposed to have pets in this hotel.”

Hans went out and closed the door behind him.

He hopped on the first bus and rode it for a few miles. He got off in a shopping district and found a public phone. He placed another call to Mihajlo Golic.

“This is Hans,” he said when Golic answered. “I didn’t want to use my cell phone any more. My partner may have given the number to the police by now.”

“Does he know about me?”

“No. Let’s meet in Leiden. Get off the train at Utrecht and take a local train to Leiden Central station. Go downstairs and I will meet you in front of the snack bar. Then we’ll make the arrangements to transfer the girl. I had to get rid of my van because I think it’s hot.”

“Okay. I should be there in about two hours.”

“I’ll be there,” Hans replied. “I’m throwing my cell phone away. I’ll call you from a public phone if I don’t see you at the station.”

“All right,” Golic said, and hung up the phone.

The big man was anxious to get it over with. He would take the girl out in the woods tonight after sundown. He checked his watch. It was 2:30.

The judges looked attentive as Kevin rose to the podium and began his closing argument. “It is true, as Mr. Oswald said, that this is a case about murder, torture, and rape. Unquestionably, all of those things took place during the war in Bosnia. But neither Mr. Zaric nor any of the men under his command committed any of these heinous war crimes. And for that reason, you must find him not guilty.”

Kevin went on for the next fifteen minutes reviewing the war crimes described during the trial and the persons who committed them. Not one was a bona fide Black Dragon. He explained that Draga’s public statements were a method of propaganda that was part of his military objectives of intimidation to encourage surrender rather than armed resistance. He argued that if the prosecution truly had a legitimate case against Draga, there would have been no reason for them to conceal evidence and suborn perjury during his trial.

“Yes, this is a case about murder, torture, and rape,” Kevin continued. “But it is also a case about courage.” He slowed his pace and looked directly at Judge Davidson. “The witnesses who have testified during this trial have shown extraordinary courage to survive the horrors of the war and then to relive them again in this courtroom. A little eleven-year-old girl, who had nothing to do with the war, my daughter Ellen, has courageously endured a month of confinement during this trial. And now, her life depends on your courage.”

The judges – all three – were glued to his every word.

Kevin fought to keep his composure. “I know it will take tremendous courage on your part to render an unpopular verdict, but one that is compelled by the evidence. This Tribunal will be judged, ten, twenty, a hundred years from now, not by how it exacted revenge for the war in Bosnia, but by how it dispensed justice. When you write your verdict, you will be writing a page in history. History is replete with great men and women who had the courage to do what was not popular, but was right.

“And so I ask you – no, beseech you with every ounce of my waning strength – to do the right thing. There is not a shred of evidence that proves that Mr. Zaric, or anyone under his command or control, committed a single war crime. Dragoljub Zaric is not guilty. Please have the courage to say so by your verdict. Thank you.”

Judge Orozco leaned forward towards her microphone. “Thank you, Counsel. The court will now deliberate in its chambers on the verdict. We will announce the verdict at 9:30 tomorrow morning.”

Kevin rose warily as the judges left the bench, giving no sign of what their verdict would be. “That was a stirring argument,” Diane said when Kevin had sat down. “You did your best. I know.” She placed her hand over his.

Kevin looked back toward Draga, who was being led out of the courtroom. His client flashed a thumbs-up. Kevin remembered seeing Ellen do the same thing at his last trial in San Francisco.

Kevin walked back with Diane to their office. Kevin felt exhausted, as he did after every closing argument. It was not so much the strain of the argument, but the knowledge that the trial was over, that it was now out of his hands. The time spent waiting for a verdict was the most stressful moments of Kevin’s life. By the time they had reached the office, the butterflies had already started fluttering in Kevin’s stomach.

Diane called Detective Weber.

“Golic is coming by train,” Diane reported to Kevin when she got off the phone. “They expect him to arrive at Amsterdam Central Station any minute.”

“My God, we could have Ellen home before the verdict. I’d love to have her in court with me tomorrow.”

Diane started to frown, but then changed her mind.

“Me, too,” she said.

Mihajlo Golic never made it to Central Station. As Hans had arranged from the public phone, Golic went to Leiden, where Hans was waiting for him at the snack bar.

“Where’s the girl?” Golic asked.

“At the hotel.”

“I have the money for your services, as agreed,” Golic opened his jacket, showing Hans an envelope in his inside pocket. “One hundred thousand Euros. I will give it to you when you give me the girl.”

Hans said nothing.

“I need a van, and some rope and tape,” Golic continued.

“My partner has probably told the police about me by now. I think it would be better if you got those items yourself. Why don’t you do that in the morning and you can pick up the girl tomorrow afternoon?”

“Very well,” Golic replied.

It was getting late today. He needed time to rent a van and buy his supplies.

Hans gave Golic a business card for the hotel where they were staying. “No more phone calls,” Hans said. “Just be in the lobby at noon. By then, the trial will be over, yes?”

“Perhaps.”

“What are you going to do with the girl?”

Golic looked at Hans with steely eyes. “That’s of no concern to you. You’ll have your money.”

Hans nodded uncomfortably. “Until tomorrow.” He walked off into the crowd.

At six o’clock, Kevin couldn’t stand the waiting. He called Detective Weber.

“Has Golic arrived yet?” he asked.

“Something has gone wrong. We’ve checked every train arriving at Amsterdam Central Station. There’s been no sign of Golic.”

“What about the cell phone?”

“It hasn’t been used since this morning. We found the blue van abandoned in Amsterdam, and we’ve been all over the area, but there’s no sign of Ellen or the kidnappers.”

“What are you doing now?”

“Still looking,” the detective replied. “We’re canvassing all the hotels around Amsterdam. We’ve got surveillance on Vacinovic and the embassy. Pete Barnes has got his people scanning all kinds of communications from Serbia. And we’ve contacted the families and friends of the two suspects who are holding your daughter.”

Kevin related the conversation to Diane, trying to put a more positive spin on it.

“Let’s go home,” he said. “There’s nothing more to do here, and I’m exhausted.”

Diane drove while Kevin sprawled out in the passenger’s seat. He couldn’t sleep, but his body was drained of energy. If the police didn’t find Ellen tonight, then it would come down to the verdict after all.

Kevin and Diane went through the motions of changing clothes and eating at home. They called Detective Weber every two hours. After the ten o’clock call, Kevin fell asleep on the couch in his clothes.

Kevin awoke at the sound of the telephone. He looked at the clock. It was 7:15 a.m. When he picked it up, he heard Diane already answering on the upstairs phone. It was Detective Weber.

“Barnes’ people picked up a call from Golic to his wife in Serbia early this morning. He’s in Amsterdam, said he had some business to take care of today and would be back in Belgrade tomorrow. We’ve got Golic’s cell phone number now, and the CIA is monitoring it.”

“Maybe he’ll release her today,” Kevin said.

“I hope so. What do you think your chances are in court?”

Kevin hesitated. “I think they’re pretty good, but I’m not willing to gamble Ellen’s life on it.”

“Maybe we should try to get the judges to postpone the verdict,” Diane suggested.

“I don’t think they would,” Kevin said, “or even that we should try. I feel okay about it and any delay might make the kidnappers suspicious. Plus, the press has been really bad. The Serbs might expect a guilty verdict and not wait for it. What do you think, Detective?”

“I’ve never heard of anyone being acquitted by the Tribunal,” she admitted. “Do you really think you are going to win?

“I do. Their case was nothing more than smoke and mirrors. It fell apart.”

“I’m thinking we should let things play out then,” she said. “I feel that we’re close to finding Ellen. But as I said before, it would be much safer if they released her voluntarily.”

The detective wished the Andersons luck in court today and hung up.

Diane frowned when Kevin came upstairs. “I hope you’re right, Kevin. Maybe you’re so wrapped up in the trial that you’re reading it wrong.”

Kevin thought about that. He did get to believe his own arguments by the end of a trial – all trial lawyers did. But he usually could tell when he was going to win.

“I don’t think so,” he said thoughtfully. “After twenty years in this business, I think I have a pretty good sense of how a trial will come out.”

“Not in this court,” Diane muttered as she walked away.

Kevin went to his desk and picked up the lucky stone that Ellen had given him years ago. She had insisted he bring it to his verdicts. He clutched the stone, then put it in his pocket.

When Kevin walked into Courtroom 1 with Diane an hour later, he saw that the visitors’ gallery was packed with reporters and various court personnel, including his old friend Mrs. Kelly, who waved unabashedly at him.

“All rise! Veuillez vous lever!”