“Are you saying we should take Khalid’s case and dump Ghaniyah’s?”
“No. I’m just saying that Khalid is making a big mistake.”
They decided to wait until the morning so it would seem like they had given it a great amount of thought. In truth, they both knew where the decision was headed.
“You’re sure about this?” Shannon asked.
Alex was surprised to feel a tinge of regret. How often do you get to try a case where you can really make a difference? But that regret was nothing compared to the burden that would be lifted from his shoulders.
“I’m sure,” Alex said.
“One hundred percent?”
He hesitated. “A good ninety-nine.”
46
On Wednesday morning, for the third day in a row, Hassan Ibn Talib followed Taj Deegan to work. The prosecutor made it almost too easy. She drove her kids to school every morning in a Chrysler minivan, taking the same route to school and then work. She parked in the same public parking lot in approximately the same spot, as close as possible to the commonwealth’s attorney’s office. Her court appointments were a matter of public record. She never left the building for lunch. But most importantly, when she parked the van, she tossed the keys into the center console and locked the door. When she returned, she unlocked the door using the keypad on the outside.
His first step would be to obtain the access code for the keypad.
Using a telephoto lens, Hassan had watched her work the code-left, right, left, right, middle. He recorded a video of her working the keypad. She managed to keep the precise numbers hidden, but Hassan had a solution for that as well.
In the early morning hours he had paid a visit to her house and washed off the keypad with a solution that would erase all fingerprints. Now, one hour after she disappeared into the office, he checked the parking lot and made his way to her van. He quickly dusted the pad for prints and found that three of the buttons had been pushed-the 2/3 button, the 6/7 button, and the 8/9 button.
Armed with that information, he returned to his car and watched the video he had taken earlier. Deegan’s shoulder was in the way, but it wasn’t hard to figure out. Based on the movements of her hand and the information he had just gained, he narrowed it down to two or three combinations. He memorized the combinations, put on a pair of plastic gloves, and walked to her van a second time. Two minutes later, he was in.
Somebody was angling toward him in the parking lot, so he sat in the driver’s seat and pretended to talk on his cell phone. After the person ambled by, he grabbed the garage door opener and returned to his car.
Later, he would gain access to Deegan’s garage, disable her alarm, and enter her house. From there, the plan was simple. If she had a spare key, he would simply make a copy. If not, he would unscrew one of the window locks, cut off the bottom of the screws, and replace the lock and screws. The window would look secure, but he would be able to break in anytime he wanted.
He would inform his superior and wait for further orders.
The American justice system was no match for the zealous disciples of Mohammed.***
Alex worked from his condo until almost ten. He and Shannon had agreed to call Khalid at eleven, so Alex headed to the office so they could use the speakerphone.
When he entered the waiting area at 10:45, he was surprised to see his grandmother sitting behind the reception desk. He blinked, trying to make sure he wasn’t seeing things.
“Must be nice to keep banker’s hours,” she quipped. “You’re just in time for lunch.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I heard about Sylvia’s… departure, and I thought you could use a little help until you find a new assistant.”
By now, Shannon had joined them. “Did you know about this?” Alex asked.
“I found out when I got to work,” Shannon said. “Of course, that was several hours ago.”
Alex wasn’t an emotional person, but for some reason, he had to blink back tears. “Thanks,” he said to his grandmother.
Ramona pointed to the sign on the wall, listing the firm’s hourly rate. She had crossed out $200 and listed the starting rate at $250. The sign now said that the firm charged $400 “if you want to advise us on how to do our job.”
“From what I’ve heard about the imam’s daughter, you’re going to earn every penny,” Ramona said.
Alex smirked. “I see you’ve been talking to Shannon.”
“She told me about your meeting yesterday,” Ramona said. “And if you want my opinion, Mr. Mobassar obviously has no idea what he’s doing.”
“Can we talk before we call him?” Shannon asked. From the look in her eyes, Alex knew what was coming. She probably couldn’t sleep last night. She would want to take the criminal case and pass on the civil one. How could they let an innocent man go to jail?
Before she even made her argument, Alex had calibrated his response. He would put up token resistance, only because he wanted to be able to say “I told you so” if the case went south. In truth, Alex was ready to take the criminal case too.***
Twenty minutes later, Alex and Shannon broke the news. Khalid should get someone else to handle Ghaniyah’s case. The firm would need a retainer of $50,000 for his. The billing rate was $200 an hour. Unless Nara stays involved, Alex wanted to say. But this was no time for levity.
There was silence on the other end for a few moments. “I’m not surprised you made that decision,” Khalid eventually said. “I told Nara you would… and I’m glad you didn’t make a liar out of me.”
“So am I,” said Alex.
Khalid cleared his throat. “Can I share a little secret with you?”
Shannon gave Alex a look. “Of course,” Alex said tentatively.
“There were some people in my community-even some in my own family-who questioned whether you were truly committed to my case. They thought that perhaps you only wanted a lucrative settlement in Ghaniyah’s case and would then drop mine. I decided to take a Solomonic approach to the issue.”
Alex immediately picked up on the reference to King Solomon. To determine which of two women was the real mother of a baby, Solomon threatened to split the child in two. He knew that the actual mother would give away the baby before she would allow the child to be harmed.
“By demonstrating your willingness to forgo Ghaniyah’s case, you’ve proven that you were not just in this for the money,” Khalid concluded.
“Are you saying you don’t really see a conflict with our firm handling both cases?” Alex asked.
“I just need a firm committed to proving my innocence.”
At that moment, Alex wasn’t quite sure how to respond. On the one hand, he wanted to reach through the phone and strangle his client. On the other, he was relieved that they could handle Ghaniyah’s case as well. But Alex knew one thing for sure: he would keep a skeptical eye on Nara Mobassar. Everything seemed to have turned chaotic from the moment she came on the scene.
He thought maybe he should confront Khalid about lying to his lawyers but decided to let it go. For now, there was nothing else that needed to be said. It was time for Madison and Associates to get to work.
47
On Thursday morning, Alex received a frantic call from Khalid.
“They’ve got a search warrant for the mosque,” his client said. Alex could hear loud voices in the background. “They’ve already taken my work computer.”
Alex pictured the cops ransacking the mosque, emptying out Khalid’s drawers and filing cabinets, creating the same mess they had at the imam’s house. “Get the officer in charge and give him your phone,” Alex said.
“It’s Detective Brown,” Khalid said.
A few minutes later, Khalid was back on the line. “She said she can’t speak to you now.”
“Sit tight and don’t touch anything. I’m coming over.”