Kevin decided to pick up some pannekoeken for Draga and the guards. These were huge Dutch pancakes, the size of a Frisbee, which were made with fruit, cheese, meat, or just powdered sugar on top. The Dutch ate them for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
“Have you ever had pannekoeken?” Kevin asked Draga when the two men met in the interview room.
“Pan-a-what-kin?”
Kevin opened the box and showed them to Draga.
“From the size of the portions, I like them already,” Draga said.
As the two men dug in – cutting the large, thin pancakes with plastic knives – Draga pulled out the sports section and a piece of paper.
“You got lucky last weekend,” he said. “You’re ahead by 50 Euros. But not for long.”
“If you want to give your money away, I’ll take it. Let’s see the lineup for this week.”
Draga handed Kevin the paper and went back to work on his food.
“These are good,” Draga said through a mouthful.
After Kevin had made his picks and endured Draga’s predictions of doom, Kevin brought up the case. “I want to be clear with you what motions I’m filing on your behalf. I’m filing a motion to dismiss your case based upon an illegal arrest, as well as a motion for disclosure of intelligence agency files – the graymail motion. I want the Court to make the intelligence agencies reveal any information they have on you or the Black Dragons.”
“What’s the point of that?”
“Like I told you, sometimes there are secrets they don’t want to reveal. Every once in a while they decide to drop a prosecution rather than have to reveal them.”
“Dream on. You’d be better off spending your time studying the football teams.”
“I seem to be doing pretty well so far. You’re the one who needs to study.”
“All rise! Veuillez vous lever!”
The hearing on Kevin’s motions gave him his first opportunity to see Judges Orozco and Linares. Alone at the defense counsel table, Kevin rose as the three judges entered Courtroom 1. On the opposite side of the courtroom, Charles Oswald and Bradford Stone stood confidently.
“Good morning, counsel,” Judge Orozco said pleasantly. Her English was marked with a Spanish accent. “Mr. Anderson, do you wish to be heard on the motion to dismiss based upon the circumstances of your client’s arrest?”
Kevin rose. “Yes, Your Honor.”
Before he could speak, Judge Linares of the Philippines interrupted. “Counsel, I think we can save ourselves a lot of time here. Even if the arrest was illegal, you are not entitled to have the case dismissed. There is no precedent in support of the remedy of dismissal of the charges against the accused.”
Kevin was about to offer a polite response when Judge Davidson broke in. “In any case, you don’t have any proof that the arrest was illegal, counselor. These police reports you submitted are a bunch of hearsay. The prosecutor has submitted documents which categorically deny any U.N. involvement in your client’s arrest.”
“If you grant me a hearing, I will bring in the witnesses with firsthand information.”
“We’re not going to waste our time, counsel,” Judge Davidson growled. “Your motion is denied. Court is adjourned.”
The other judges looked surprised as Judge Davidson abruptly got up and began exiting the courtroom. Then Kevin realized that there had been no discussion about his graymail motion.
“Your Honors,” he shouted, “there is one more motion to be heard today.”
Judge Orozco had risen from her chair, and Judge Davidson was already on his way to the door.
“What motion is that, counsel?” Judge Orozco asked.
“My motion to require the prosecution to provide intelligence agency information.” He did not want to refer to it as a “graymail” motion in open court.
Judge Orozco gave Kevin a puzzled look. She sat down and said, “I don’t believe I’ve seen that motion.”
“We don’t know what counsel is talking about,” Bradford Stone piped up.
Judge Davidson was still standing. “There are no other motions pending, counsel.”
Kevin dug frantically through his papers. “Here it is, Your Honors. It was filed the same day as the motion challenging the arrest of Mr. Zaric.”
Kevin offered the paper to the usher to be shown to the Court. “We have no record of any such motion being filed,” the Deputy Registrar told the judges.
“We never received anything,” Bradford Stone volunteered.
“What are you trying to do, counsel?” Judge Davidson asked gruffly.
“I have the stamped copy showing it was received by the Registrar, Your Honor. I filed it myself.”
Judge Davidson was still standing. “There’s nothing before the Court, counsel. Court is adjourned.”
The judge turned to leave.
“May I file it again, Your Honors, since it has apparently been misplaced?”
Judge Davidson glared at Kevin; he had lost his patience.
“No,” Judge Davidson shouted. “The time for filing motions has expired. Court is adjourned.” He strode briskly off the bench, with the other judges following closely.
CHAPTER 12
Four days later, Kevin was sitting at the dining room table having dinner with Diane and Ellen when suddenly there was a thunderous knock at the front door.
Ellen raced to the door. Before Kevin and Diane were even out of their seats, she had thrown open the door.
Two black figures yelled out in Dutch and threw something into the house.
“They came!” Ellen shrieked. “They came!”
Kevin saw confetti and small round brown cookies strewn along their hallway. A brown burlap sack had been left by the door.
Ellen picked up a cookie and popped it into her mouth. “Yum, pepernoten!”
It was December 5th, the day the Dutch celebrated the arrival of Sinterklaas, their version of Santa Claus. Instead of elves, his helpers were “Black Piets,” descendants of the ancient Moors who were said to have met up with Sinterklaas in Spain and helped him distribute gifts to children who had been good. In reality, the “Piets” were neighbors, who had been given gifts by several parents to be delivered to their children.
Ellen scooped up some confetti and threw it in the air. “This is great!” she exclaimed. “I wasn’t sure if Sinterklaas even came to American houses.”
Kevin reached down, picked up one of the pepernoten, and took a bite. It tasted like a spicy graham cracker. “Hey, these are good.”
Ellen spied the burlap sack by the door that had been left by the helpers. She looked inside and pulled out a large box. “Look, it has my name on it!” She tore at the wrapping paper, and then opened the box. “Ice skates!” She pulled out a pair of white leather ice skates. “The canals just have to freeze over this winter!”
The next morning, Kevin received a present of a different kind: a stack of witness interview reports from Nihudian. The reports were grim, and presented an unchanging pattern of brutality. The Black Dragons who first invaded a town acted with military professionalism and did not harass the civilians. They were men who were thought to be from Serbia and were unknown to the witnesses. Then, once in the camps, other men wearing Dragon uniforms – local Bosnian Serbs – appeared, and they routinely subjected the prisoners to beatings, rape and execution. The prisoners often knew these men. Kevin began to make a list of their names as he read the reports.
When he finished, Kevin called Nihudian and thanked him for his work.
“I don’t feel successful,” Nihudian replied. “I’m not sure I found anything helpful to you.”
“It helps to know what to expect. What are these witnesses like? Believable?”
“You ought to come and see for yourself, Kevin. Most of them would talk to you. Maybe you can get a better idea what to ask them in court if you meet them in person. There are quite a few witnesses in Sarajevo. Why don’t you come for a few days?”