The witness said he and his friend, Bojanovic, steadfastly insisted that they had nothing to do with the Muslim Army. “We are just waiters. We work all the time, we don’t have time to fight.” Draga stared at them intently as they begged him to believe them. When they had finished, he sat back down. “Very well, you have had your chance. I will take you at your word. If we see you in a Muslim uniform, you are dead.”
Draga told the two men they were free to leave. They scurried out of the warehouse and back into the witness’ car. They couldn’t believe that they had survived an encounter with the Black Dragons.
While they were driving home, according to the witness, Bojanovic wanted to tell a Muslim Army commander whom he knew about the location of the warehouse. He convinced the witness to drive up in the lower part of the hills so he could give the Muslims the location of the Black Dragons’ command center. Bojanovic directed the witness to an area where the Muslim army apparently was hiding.
When the witness stopped the car, Bojanovic got out and began running towards the trench. Suddenly, a shot rang out. Bojanovic fell to the ground. The witness looked back towards where the shot came from. He had a clear view of Draga, just lowering his rifle. Draga and his men then stormed the trench where the Muslim Army was hiding.
The witness was yanked from the car and thrown to the ground. He stayed there for about an hour while the Dragons launched grenades into the Muslim position. He heard screams from inside the bunker as explosions ripped it apart. When all was quiet, the Dragons stormed into the trench. All the Muslim soldiers were apparently dead.
Draga came over to the witness after the fighting was over. He picked him up off the ground and dragged him to the body of Bojanovic. Bojanovic was clearly dead. “You two were very foolish,” he said. “But thank you for the escort.” He dropped the witness back to the ground on top of Bojanovic’s body, and left. The witness was taken by other Black Dragons and later turned over to the Bosnian Serb Army. He was transported by bus to the prison camp at Foca, where he remained for a month before being exchanged for Serbian prisoners.
Bradford Stone looked at the judges, making sure they had understood every word of the witness’ testimony. “Were you ever a member of the Muslim Army?” he asked.
“Never.”
“Was Bojanovic?”
“Never. We were just waiters.”
“Is there any doubt in your mind that it was Draga who fired the shot that killed your friend the waiter?” Stone asked in conclusion.
“There is no doubt. I saw it with my own eyes.”
Stone turned to the judges, and removed his glasses. “I have no further questions of this witness.”
Kevin was out of his chair, ready to start his cross-examination, but Judge Orozco called for the lunch recess. Kevin sat back down. He would have to wait.
Diane went back to the office while Kevin dropped in on Draga in the holding cell. “Got a minute?”
“Just one. I’m late for an appointment.”
Kevin smiled. “Did you shoot that guy?”
Draga looked at Kevin. “Hell, yes, I shot that guy. He was going to tell the Muslim Army the location of our operations.”
“What happened?”
“It was just like the witness testified. He’s told it exactly the way it happened.”
“Why did you let them go?”
“I figured they would lead us to the Muslim Army, and they did. We killed about 50 men in that bunker that night. Then the Bosnian Serb Army used it. It was a very strategic position.”
Kevin was silent.
“Was that a war crime?” Draga asked.
“It depends on whether Bojanovic was an innocent civilian or a military person. This is what we call Monday morning quarterbacking. You make a decision in the midst of a war, then eight years later the lawyers are picking it apart under a microscope.”
“Well, the witness told the truth. I’ll just have to accept the consequences.”
“He didn’t tell the whole truth.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll see this afternoon.”
“Well, speaking of quarterbacking,” Draga said, brightening. “What is our wager on the Super Bowl? The Giants are seven-point favorites. Will you give me the Ravens and seven points?”
“Six points.”
“You are a weasel. How much is the final wager? I need to make up my 70 Euro deficit.”
“10 Euros.”
“Oh, come on, for the Super Bowl. It won’t even make the game interesting to watch.”
“What do you want to wager?”
“A hundred Euros.”
“That’s chump change for you,” Kevin said, laughing.
“I know, but I figure it’s the most you can afford to lose.”
“It’s a deal. You can have the Ravens and six points for a hundred Euros.”
Draga and Kevin shook hands on the deal. “One more thing,” Draga pulled out a piece of paper with a large number of squares on it. “Do you want to buy a square in the prison football pool?”
“You are incorrigible! You’re going to get three years for bookmaking on top of your war crime sentence.”
Kevin went back into the courtroom. He double-checked his folder for the witness. The ammunition his friend Nihudian had gathered in Bosnia was there. A wave of sadness swept over him as he remembered the night Nihudian had died.
Kevin sat down and went over again how he would detonate Nihudian’s ammunition that afternoon.
“Good afternoon,” Kevin began in a friendly voice.
“Good afternoon.”
“Did I understand you to say that you were never in the Muslim Army?
“Yes”
“And neither was Bojanovic?”
“That’s correct?”
“Were you ever in any military unit of any kind?”
“No.”
“Was Bojanovic?”
“No.”
“At the time of this incident with Draga you were both civilians?”
“Yes.”
Kevin realized that he was repeating damaging information that Stone had already brought out, but he needed to close off all avenues of escape. He turned to the Court.
“Your Honors, with the assistance of the usher, I would like the witness to be shown what has been marked as defense exhibit 2.”
The usher placed the document before the witness and distributed copies to the judges and prosecutor. “Sir, this is a certified copy of an application for widow’s benefits filed by Bojanovic’s wife. Do you see her name there?”
The witness studied the document. “Yes, I do.”
“I’d like to offer defense exhibit 2 in evidence.”
“Any objection, Mr. Stone?” Judge Orozco asked.
“Well, Your Honor, we’ve just received this document. We weren’t aware of it before now.”
“Very well. It will be admitted, subject to reconsideration if the prosecution lodges an objection.”
“Thank you, Madam President,” Kevin said. He turned to the witness. “Do you see where Bojanovic’s widow stated that her husband had been on active duty with the Bosnian Muslim Army at the time of his death?”
The witness’ eyes were fixed on the document. “Yes, I see that. But, I have not seen this paper before.”
“I understand that. Do you know why Bojanovic’s widow would state that he was in the Muslim Army?”
“Maybe she wanted to get some benefits from the government, I don’t know.”
“That would be dishonest, wouldn’t it?”
The witness shifted in his chair. “I guess so.”
“Do you see where she signed it under penalty of perjury?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Are you suggesting that your friend’s widow committed perjury to collect benefits from the government?”
“I don’t know.”
“But you do know that Bojanovic was a civilian at the time of his death?”