Chapter 31

Andie went straight from the park to the gym.

Chasing bad guys required a certain level of stamina, so physical strength and endurance was certainly part of the FBI’s continuing

fitness requirement. But it was also about stress reduction. For Andie, forty-five minutes on the treadmill was pure mental

therapy, a time to turn off her brain and clear her head. Unfortunately, she’d made the mistake of turning on the TV app.

The cable news headline was impossible to ignore:

miami judge rules for iranian mother in controversial child abduction case .

Andie kept running but turned up the volume to listen through her earbuds.

Judge Carlton’s ruling was breaking news in every media outlet, so Andie switched from one network to another to get the total

picture. The consensus among talking heads was that while the judge did not expressly find that Farid Bazzi murdered his wife

for defying Iran’s hijab laws, that was one reasonable interpretation of Yasmin’s testimony. Another reasonable interpretation

was that he tried to kill or at least hurt her—reason enough for Ava to have fled the country.

Andie’s cell rang. Isaac was calling. She hit pause on the treadmill, wiped the sweat from her face, and answered.

“Hey, kiddo. Congratulations.”

He sounded like his old self again, but Andie had no idea what he was talking about.

“For what?”

“Your application to the international corruption squad was approved.”

Andie caught her breath. “What?”

“You haven’t heard?”

Andie didn’t want to jump to conclusions, especially with Isaac. But he’d undergone a serious attitude adjustment since their

last phone conversation, and it was too soon after her “pep talk” from the CIA to be a coincidence.

“I haven’t heard a thing,” she said, deciding not to mention her walking companion.

“I guess word travels faster here at headquarters. I’m so proud of you. Well deserved.”

“Um, that’s great news.”

“What’s with the ‘um’? You’ve earned this. Let yourself be happy about it.”

“I am happy,” she said. “Also a little confused.”

“What about?”

If Isaac knew about the pressure from the CIA, he would deny it, so Andie didn’t bring it up. But he was fully aware of the

pressure from the State Department.

“Apparently the United States government is just as happy with Jack trying to prove that Ava Bazzi was murdered by her husband

as it is with the Iranian government’s claim that Ava Bazzi fled the country and is still alive.”

“I’m not sure I follow your concern,” said Isaac.

“You must be aware of the judge’s ruling in Jack’s case.”

“Yes. A good day for both of you.”

“Jack wins. I get a promotion. What a coincidence.”

“Coincidences do happen.”

“Isaac, cut the bullshit. One thing has come clear today. The only public narrative the US government has a problem with is that the Iranian government killed Ava.”

“You knew that long before today.”

“But today puts things in the proper context. Isn’t it a bit odd that the only version of Ava’s disappearance that was not supported by Yasmin’s testimony is the theory that Jack originally advanced in Zahra’s case: that Ava was murdered by the

morality police in an Iranian prison?”

“Jack was wrong. You should feel vindicated.”

“I don’t.”

“What’s your problem now?”

“For all the times that Jack has taken a position in the courtroom that embarrassed or even infuriated me, he has never been so dead wrong.”

“There’s a first time for everything.”

“Do you really expect me to believe that?”

Isaac’s tone changed again, more like that guy on their previous call. “Andie, be smart. Leave this alone.”

“Thanks for the advice,” she said, and ended the call.

There was a double celebration at Zahra’s town house. At his client’s insistence, Jack was there to raise a nonalcoholic toast

to the courtroom victory and to fend off any unwanted journalists. Righley and a dozen other girls had come to wish Yasmin

a happy seventh birthday. Andie drove her straight from after-school dance classes.

“Tavallod-et mobaarak, Yasmin!” said Righley—literally, “May your birthday be blessed.”

“Ah, you speak Farsi?” said Zahra.

“No. My mom googled it.”

Zahra laughed and took both girls by the hand. “Come on, Yasmin. Let’s introduce Righley to your friends.”

They headed into the family room, leaving Jack and Andie alone near the long line of shoes the guests had taken off near the

front door. Jack and Andie removed theirs and then moved into the living room, stopping at the stack of colorfully wrapped

birthday gifts on the coffee table.

“I guess congratulations are in order,” said Andie.

“Yeah. I guess.”

“Oh, come on. Don’t act like it was just another day at the courthouse. This was big.”

“Definitely big,” said Jack. “But I have to say I’m a bit ambivalent about the way it went down.”

“Ambivalent in what way?”

“Maybe it’s the criminal defense lawyer in me. I understand better than anyone that this was not a trial by jury, and that

Farid wasn’t entitled to all the rights afforded to a criminal defendant. But it just doesn’t sit well when a man gets accused

of murder, and the judge doesn’t give his lawyer the chance to cross-examine the only witness against him.”

“That witness just turned seven today, Jack.”

“I get it. I really do. The rules are different in a Hague proceeding.”

“And the reason they’re different, I assume, is to protect children like Yasmin.”

“That’s totally true. But still, things need to be... fair.”

“Are you saying Farid didn’t get a fair shake?”

Jack took a breath. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy Zahra and Yasmin are together. It was the right result. It’s the way we

got there that makes me uncomfortable.”

“I’m sure everyone in the courtroom was uncomfortable. From what I heard on the news, it must have been shocking.”

“I can deal with ‘shocking.’ What makes me uncomfortable is that someone could look at this objectively and say it played

straight to the worst stereotypes of ‘the abusive Muslim man.’”

“The key witness against Farid was his own daughter, Jack. I hardly think Yasmin is Islamophobic.”

“I’m talking about the way the judge reacted. Arguably, over reacted. Shutting things down immediately and ruling from the bench.”

“You think the judge is Islamophobic?”

“I don’t know. You don’t have to be an outright bigot to have prejudices. He wouldn’t be the first.”

Andie walked over to the coffee table and added the gift from Righley to Yasmin’s stack.

“I hope you’re wrong,” she said. “But if it’s any consolation, there’s someone else in the room who has every reason to celebrate

but doesn’t feel like it.”

She was clearly talking about herself, but Jack was still confused. “Celebrate what?”

“I applied to the international corruption squad here in Miami. I got it.”

Jack was familiar with the squad, which had put one of his former clients in federal prison. “Well, that’s great news. But

now I feel like a schmuck of a husband.”

“Why?”

“I should have been supporting you all this time. But honestly, I guess I just forgot you’d even applied.”

“You didn’t forget. I didn’t tell you.”

Jack didn’t quite comprehend. “You didn’t tell me? Andie, this is a huge step. It means moving on from your undercover work.”

“That’s kind of why I didn’t tell you.”

“I don’t understand.”

She stepped a little closer, lowering her voice. “This was when things were pretty shaky between us. I spoke to the marriage

counselor about it, and she agreed. Undercover work requires time away from family for extended periods. That’s not the best

gig for a single mother.”

Jack took a moment, but there was no way to read a happy Jack-and-Andie ending into her words. “But she would still have me,

and we would be equal parents.”

“But what if we weren’t in the same city? Would you want her pulled out of school for weeks at a time?”

Jack was still trying to comprehend. “Let’s get out of the weeds and go back to the beginning. So, you went into marriage

counseling thinking you were going to come out a single mother?”

“Jack, please. I wasn’t being pessimistic. I was being...”

“Realistic?”

“I was going to say ‘practical.’ Jack, like I said, things were at a low point then. We’re better now.”

“I guess I didn’t know how bad things were.”

“But we’re better now, right?”

“Uh, yeah,” he said without heart. “Better.”

Zahra’s doorbell rang. Jack was standing just a few feet away from the front door. Zahra was in the family room trying to

fasten birthday hats on a dozen overexcited girls who appeared to be incapable of standing still.

“Jack, could you get that, please?” Zahra called from across the room.

Jack answered the door. The man on the porch was dressed in street clothes but flashed a badge with his photograph on it.

He had court papers with him.

“Are you a process server?” Jack asked.

“Yes. I’m here to serve Zahra Bazzi.”

On another day, Jack might have slammed the door on him. He didn’t see the point, especially with an FBI agent as witness.

“I’m her attorney. I’ll accept service.”

The man made a notation on his return-of-service form and handed Jack the papers. Jack closed the door, asked Andie to get

Zahra, and stepped away from the party to a quiet place in the dining room. He was just finishing a quick first read through

the papers as Zahra entered.

“What is it, Jack?”

“Farid has filed another lawsuit against you.”

All signs of happiness drained from her expression. “But we just won our lawsuit.”

“That was in federal court under the Hague Convention. This lawsuit is in state court.”

She stepped farther into the room. “What kind of a justice system is that? Farid loses before one judge, and he can just file

another lawsuit in front of another one?”

“The Hague Convention is a treaty with a very specific focus,” said Jack. “It deals only with the question of whether one

parent wrongfully abducted the child and took her to another country.”

“And we won that case. It’s over.”

“There’s a catch,” said Jack.

“A catch?”

“A Hague proceeding is not a custody case. Judge Carlton ruled that your defense to child abduction was valid. But he didn’t enter a child custody order. He didn’t rule that you have sole custody of Yasmin. Custody decisions are made in state court.”

She seemed to grasp the legal distinction. “So, this new case. It’s a lawsuit to decide who should have legal custody over

Yasmin?”

“It’s a little different,” said Jack.

“Different how?”

“Farid alleges in his complaint that he already has an order from a court awarding him full custody over Yasmin.”

“From what court?”

“Family court. In Iran.”

Her confusion turned to horror. “Is that valid?”

“We’ll find out. He’s not asking the Florida state court to decide custody. He’s asking the court to enforce the order already

entered by the Iranian court—which gives him custody.”

She lowered herself slowly into the chair, stunned. “That’s what Farid’s lawyer meant when she came up to us and said ‘This

isn’t over.’”

“I presume so.”

She looked at him with fire in her eyes. “We have to fight this, Jack.”

“Yes,” said Jack. “We will.”