Saving Sophie: A Novel (15 page)

“I suppose that could have been what I was thinking, but it wasn’t. That’s ancient history. I was really thinking about more current times.”

“But we did, didn’t we? I mean we took it at the flood, we got together again after all these years.”

“Well, we did, but…”

“And we’re doing great. Aren’t you happy with the way things are?”

“I’m not unhappy, Liam, that’s not the point. It’s about more than just ‘doing great.’ I mean, is this the way you want to keep things? Just being together?”

Liam shrugged. “Why not?”

She stood, turned her back, and walked to the kitchen.

“Catherine? Did I say something wrong?” Liam rose from the couch and followed her. “Wait a minute, okay? I get it. We’re not getting any younger, the talk about families, the talk about relationships, about you and me. Am I right? Work with me here, you know I’m a little dense. You wanted to talk about things, I can talk. We can talk.”

Catherine shook her head. “Jesus, Liam. Never mind.”

“C’mon, Cat. I didn’t mean to be flip.” Liam walked behind her into the kitchen. “I just didn’t want to push things, you know. You had a bad marriage and maybe…”

“Maybe what? That I’d never want to marry someone ever again?”

Liam put his palm on his forehead. “I’m not going to get out of this in one piece. I just didn’t want to push it, that’s all. Things are going well, so I didn’t want to upset the applecart.”

“Look, my marriage to Peter was a failure because I let him and his fast, jet-set style change me. Not because I can’t carry off a marriage. I let the most shallow of indulgences—possessions, parties, social circles—become important in my life. I wasn’t myself then, Liam. That’s why my marriage failed.”

“Your marriage failed because Peter was a crook and a philanderer.”

“It wasn’t just that. I had lost my moral compass.”

“But I’m me, Cat. And we’re good for each other. We can talk about getting married anytime you want to.”

“Thanks for the reassurance. What do you want for dinner?”

“Was that your pocket veto?”

She shook her head in exasperation. “Dinner, Liam. What do you want to do about it?”

“I don’t care.” Liam left the room to finish his beer. After a while, he brought the empty bottle back into the kitchen and flipped it into the recycle can. “Before the meeting came up, I was planning on going down to Louisville tomorrow.”

“Is it Derby time already?”

Liam smiled. “Not for three months. I was going to go down to pay a visit to Sommers’s sister.”

“Did you make an appointment?”

Liam shook his head. “She refused to talk to the FBI. She told Miller that she knew her rights and she didn’t have to talk to him and he better not come back to her house without a court order. I didn’t think she’d want to talk to me either.”

“But you’re planning on going down there?”

“Right. I might catch her off guard. Put on me Ulster charm. No woman can resist.”

Catherine smiled. “It always works on me.” She walked over and gave him a kiss. “I do love you, you know.”

T
WENTY
-
FOUR

L
UBANNAH WALKED QUIETLY INTO
the living room. “She’s finally asleep, Arif. I sang to her. Every lullaby I know. She’s very unhappy.”

“She’ll get over it.”

“Earlier tonight, I asked her again to play the piano. I took her downstairs, put a pillow on the bench, just like we used to do for Alina. I showed her the music that Alina played. It even had hearts on the page that Alina drew when she was six. It only made her sadder. Sophie says she will only play her own piano. At her own home in Chicago. And then she cries because she misses her mother and her father. It’s so sad.”

“She’ll get over it.”

“I do not mean to question your wisdom, Arif, but I worry that we have done the wrong thing, taking her away from her home. She begs me to go home. ‘Talk to Jaddi,’ she says, ‘and tell him to take me back to my daddy.’ She cries and cries and clings so tightly to her stuffed bear.”

“You do not mean to question my wisdom, but you question my wisdom. She’ll get over it. And that bear, I think we should remove it. The bear reminds her of her life in America. It is too strong a connection.”

Lubannah put her hands on her hips. “Now I draw the line. If you throw away her bear, she will be inconsolable. What are you trying to do, drive her to hysteria?”

“No, I’m trying to raise Sophie as I would have raised Alina. Alina was lost to me, my only child, my only descendant. Sophie is the only one left of our bloodline, Lubannah. Does that mean nothing to you? Are the al-Zahanis merely to disappear from the earth? No, Lubannah, she will become what Alina would have been. What Alina should have been.”

“She is not Alina, Arif. Alina is—”

“Stop, woman. I will not have this argument. Sophie will be raised in our home as our daughter. Out of respect for you, I will not destroy her bear. At this time.”

Al-Zahani stood and walked toward the door. “I have a meeting. I’ll be back late. Do not wait up.”

*   *   *

T
HE GROUP OF TEN
met at the apartment. By previous agreement, they arrived several minutes apart and from different directions. When they were finally assembled, Nizar said, “So, were you followed this time, Rami?”

“Not that I am aware. I did not see the woman, but who knows with the IDF?”

“We have seven weeks left,” Fa’iz said. “Is the warehouse secure?”

“It is ideal. One of a thousand identical warehouses in Jerusalem, but with a locked cold-storage vault and an inside garage,” Ahmed said.

“And what about the bags, what is our progress?”

“On schedule,” al-Zahani answered. “That will not be our problem. The bus and the deliveries. Those are our only problems.”

“What about the tour bus?”

“A beauty to behold. Safe in the garage. It needs only stenciling. Undetectable from the Israeli tour bus. But we still have plenty of time before we switch them,” Rami said.

“What about a practice run?” Nizar said.

“There will be no practice run,” Fa’iz said. “The bus, the bags, they will go out as scheduled.”

T
WENTY
-F
IVE

“S
ELECTION SUNDAY IS ONLY
two weeks away, Victor,” George said, trying to keep his voice loud enough to be heard in the noisy arena. “Where do you think we’ll be slotted?”

Kelsen shrugged. “Maybe Midwest. I think the Deacs will probably be a second or third seed. Tough one tonight, though. MSU is on an eleven-game winning streak.”

They stood as the color guard carried the flags to center court for the national anthem and the arena grew silent. George removed his blue Deacons cap and placed it over his heart. He leaned over and whispered to Kelsen, “You think we’ll cover three points tonight?”

Kelsen smiled and shrugged. “Giving us three on our home court is a pick ’em. I stayed away, George.”

“Even from the over-and-under?”

Kelsen smiled again. “That’s a different story.”

*   *   *

A
FTER DINNER, CATHERINE SAT
at the table and resumed reading the trial transcript. On the fourth day, al-Zahani took the stand to testify on behalf of Lubannah and himself. Once again, Catherine flagged certain sections of the testimony.

(Direct Examination by Petitioners’s Attorney Jerome Gibbs)
“Doctor, please say your name for the court record.”

“Dr. Arif al-Zahani.”

“What is your profession, sir?”

“I am a doctor of medicine and a research physician. I have a private practice in Hebron in general medicine. I am on staff at Al-Alia Hospital in Hebron, a teaching hospital, the government hospital.”

“Am I correct, sir, that you were formerly chief of staff at your hospital?”

“That is correct, although we did not call it that.”

“Have you practiced at any other hospital?”

“I have practiced at the Islamic Charitable Hospital in Jerusalem and for a while at the Augusta Victoria Hospital in Jerusalem. But no longer.”

“And your wife, Lubannah, what is her profession?”

“Lubannah was a nurse many years ago. She stopped working when we had our only child, Alina. She stayed at home, raising our daughter, making her dinners, teaching her, nurturing her. She was an excellent mother.”

“Calling your attention, Doctor, to October 2011, did you have occasion to hire a private investigation firm?”

“Yes. I became concerned for my granddaughter’s welfare. When I was in Chicago for my daughter’s funeral, I could see that John Sommers was emotionally disturbed, and I was worried about Sophie’s safety.”

(
By Harold Fine
) “Objection to the witness rendering an opinion on the mental condition of my client.”

(Witness)
“Do not question my credentials, sir, I am a licensed doctor and I have completed a rotation in psychiatry.”

(
Judge Karr)
“I’m assuming it’s not offered as an expert opinion, but as a predicate for what happens next, is that right?”

(
By Jerome Gibbs
) “Correct, Your Honor.”

(
Judge Karr
) “Then it’s overruled on that basis. Move on.”

(
By Jerome Gibbs
) “What were your instructions to the private detective?”

(Witness)
“Just to keep an eye on Mr. Sommers and Sophie and report to me. I was really hoping that everything would be okay, that Mr. Sommers would get himself together, that we would not have to intervene, but the reports came back very bad. Drugs, alcohol, depression, hysteria. I knew I had to act quickly to protect our granddaughter.”

(
By Harold Fine)
“Objection.”

(
By Judge Karr
). “Sustained. Move on.”

(
Witness
) “But, Your Honor, the reports told me that Mr. Sommers was in psychotherapy, was on psychotropic medication, was suffering from depression, and as a grandfather, I—”

(
By Harold Fine
) “Objection, objection. This man cannot be allowed to ramble on with hearsay testimony.”

(
Witness
) “I have to protect my grandchild. What is hearsay? I get reports. I get pictures. I know it’s true.”

(
By Harold Fine
) “Objection, Your Honor.”

(Judge Karr
) “Sustained. Doctor, wait until there is a question asked before you speak. And you cannot testify about what someone else said. That’s hearsay. You can only testify to what you’ve seen and heard. Now, Mr. Fine, please sit down. I hear your objections. I understand the hearsay rule. I think I know what’s evidentiary and what’s not—what I can consider and what I shouldn’t. Mr. Gibbs, let’s get on with the testimony.”

(
By Jerome Gibbs
) “Doctor, without saying what was in the reports or what you were told, how many reports did you receive?”

(
Witness
) “One each week for about eight or nine weeks. I also talked to my investigators on the phone. And Sommers wasn’t getting any better. Maybe worse.”

(
By Harold Fine
) “Objection, Your Honor.”

(Judge Karr
) “The objection will be sustained.”

(
By Jerome Gibbs
) “After reading these reports and talking to the investigators, what did you do?”

“I contacted you. I want to take Sophie to my home, where she will be well cared for.”

*   *   *

C
ATHERINE STRETCHED HER LEGS,
poured a cup of tea, and then moved ahead to the part where al-Zahani was cross-examined by Jack’s attorney.

(
By Harold Fine
) “Dr. al-Zahani, on direct you described a warm and loving home in Hebron. Are you a warm and loving person?”

“I guess you would have to ask others about that.”

“No, sir, I’m asking you. Are you a warm and loving person? Tell the judge.”

“Yes, of course I am.”

“I mean, you are asking this court to award guardianship of a young, five-year-old girl to you and your wife, six thousand miles away from her home and her father. Are you truly capable of providing a warm and nourishing relationship?”

“Absolutely.”

“Do you expect that you will care for Sophie as warmly and lovingly as you would care for your very own child?”

(
Witness does not answer
)

“Dr. al-Zahani?”

“Of course.”

“As warmly and lovingly, for example, as you treated your daughter, Alina?”

“It is different.”

“Answer the question please.”

“Yes.”

“Just as warmly?”

“I said yes.”

“Did either you or your wife attend Alina’s wedding?”

“Regretfully, no. I was too busy with my practice to leave the country.”

“Was your wife busy with her practice as well?”

“She does not have a practice. She cannot travel without me.”

“You mean you wouldn’t let her?”

“It is not proper.”

“Since the wedding, how many times have you visited Alina?”

“I have not.”

“Well, all right then. After your daughter had her baby, your grandchild, how many times did you visit?”

“I did not.”

“Busy again?”

(
Witness nods
)

“For five years?”

“You have no idea. There are not many doctors in Hebron. I have a very busy practice.”

“Do you have a telephone, Doctor?”

“Of course.”

“How often did you speak to your daughter over the past eight years?”

“I don’t know.”

“Isn’t it true, sir, that before your wife had her heart attack, you did not see or speak to Alina since she left Palestine eight years ago?”

“My wife was writing to her.”

“And you, sir?”

“I let my wife write, I was very busy.”

(Respondent identifies Exhibit #1)

“I show you a letter we have marked as Respondent’s Exhibit One. Do you recognize the handwriting?”

“It is Lubannah’s.”

“And is that her signature?”

(Witness nods)

“The letter is in Arabic. Would you please read and translate into English the first three sentences.”