Fatal Convictions

98

Hassan saw a few empty spots along the wall halfway up the right side of the courtroom. He grabbed his briefcase and moved there as Fatih Mahdi took the stand. Hassan was enjoying an unusual sense of clarity and peace in these last few minutes of his life. It seemed like the world had slowed down and he could now peer into other men’s souls.

Mahdi settled into place, his square jaw thrust out in defiance. Hassan thought Mahdi knew what was coming. Allah would be honored. The judge, on the other hand, was self-absorbed, oblivious to the danger right under his nose. Alex Madison, like a snake, slithered into the well of the courtroom for his final examination.

Soon all of his words would be meaningless.***

“Did Ghaniyah Mobassar ever embrace her husband’s reformist views?” Alex asked the witness.

Mahdi was in combat mode this time, his face etched in a scowl. He gave Alex a look that made it clear the infidel was not worthy of his time. “To my knowledge, she adhered to a more orthodox view of the faith.”

“Would you call her a true believer?”

“It makes no difference what I would call her. Allah will be the sole judge.”

“So you were married to a woman who had embraced Christianity, and Ghaniyah Mobassar was married to a man who had rejected orthodox Islam. Is that right?”

Mahdi looked at Taj Deegan, but no objection was forthcoming. “That is correct, but I see no relevance to this case.”

“Maybe this next question will help you,” Alex said. He took a few steps, eyes on the floor as he framed the question. “Do you love her?”

Mahdi feigned indignation. “Ghaniyah Mobassar?”

“Yes, Ghaniyah Mobassar. The woman you had an affair with years ago. Do you still love her?”

Taj Deegan started to stand for an objection, but Judge Rosenthal looked at her and gave a small shake of the head. Deegan sat down, and the witness stared at Alex in defiance. Alex was determined to wait him out.

“No. I have always appreciated her commitment to the Muslim faith, but I do not love her. It is insulting for you to even ask these questions.”

Now Alex was getting someplace. Mahdi’s face was flushed with anger. Rage bubbled just below the surface.

“Did you conspire with Ghaniyah Mobassar to kill your wife and frame her husband for the crime?”

“Objection!”

“That’s a lie!” Mahdi snapped. He looked at the judge. “Why do you allow him to insult me without so much as a shred of evidence?”

The veins in Rosenthal’s neck pulsed at the rebuke. He didn’t like it when witnesses called him out. “Objection overruled. Answer the question.”

“It’s a lie.”

“Isn’t it true that you ordered the honor killing of your own wife, Ja’dah Mahdi?” Alex asked, his voice tinged with disgust.

“Another lie,” Mahdi hissed.

“And after researching the Patriot Act, did you not tell Ghaniyah Mobassar to send text messages from her husband’s phone to the killer’s phone so that Khalid Mobassar would be blamed?”

“Absolutely not,” Mahdi said. The answer did not surprise Alex, but he was startled to hear his own client interject.

“She would never do that,” Khalid Mobassar blurted out, loud enough for Alex to hear. Alex glanced over his shoulder and saw Shannon put a hand on their client’s arm.

To the witness, Alex said, “And didn’t you tell Ghaniyah to obtain her husband’s password for the mosque’s financial accounts and do a search on his office computer for Sandbridge rental listings?”

“You have a vivid imagination,” Mahdi said. “But none of this is true.” The witness had regained his composure. He attempted to brush off the questions as if they were nothing more than the ravings of a lunatic.

“And then you and Ghaniyah decided that she should fake an injury so she would never be suspected?”

Mahdi smiled and gave a little chuckle. “You are truly mad,” he said. “Ghaniyah Mobassar is going to run her car into a tree so that she won’t be suspected?”

“You don’t trust Ghaniyah to navigate the in-depth police interviews without a crutch, so you concoct a plan that will minimize her interrogation. And if she forgets something or gets mixed up, you can blame it on the brain damage.”

“Objection! That’s a speech, not a question.”

“Is it true?” Alex asked, without waiting for Rosenthal’s ruling.

“It is ludicrous,” Mahdi sneered. “Where do you come up with such things?”

“I’ll show you.” Alex walked to his counsel table, and Shannon handed him a packet of documents. Before he could turn back to the witness, Khalid grabbed Alex’s arm and pulled him closer.

“You’ve got to stop,” Khalid whispered, his voice desperate. “I don’t want another word said about Ghaniyah. I don’t care if I go to jail.”

Alex nodded. He looked into his client’s desperate eyes and reminded himself that the highest duty of a lawyer was defending an innocent man… even when that man wanted no defense. “No more questions about Ghaniyah,” he promised Khalid. “But I’ve got to finish my job.”