“She was killed almost immediately after she arrived. At the time, I believed it had been my father, but there was no evidence. However, when I met him, he admitted it himself.”
“Objection, Your Honour. Hearsay at best.”
Carissa smiles sweetly. “I have another witness to call in a minute, Your Honour. What he has to say will corroborate Mrs Williamson’s assumption.”
She continues to question me. My DACA status comes out, the fake accident and the proof of my innocence. She makes the point I’m only in front of the court because of the greed of the man who crashed into me. The judge refers to the evidence that’s provided to support my case. She’s done her homework, she’s got reports from the community college about my diligence as a student, and how I’ll make a good nurse.
The judge’s face gives no indication he’s been swayed by my testimony. The men from ICE look bored as if they’ve seen and heard it all before. One keeps looking at his watch as though he wants to wrap this up.
“Ms Beacham, I have a question, if I may?” The judge needn’t ask for permission, and Carissa doesn’t withhold it. “Mrs Williamson, your notes here refer to you in your maiden name. You married after you returned to the States?”
“I did.” My eyes catch those of Tse, he’s smiling at me.
I hear a murmur of derision from the ICE table. The judge ignores them. “This wedding was precipitous?”
“Tse proposed to me before I was deported. My near death scared us both, made us realise life was too short for delays.”
“Did you marry so he could sponsor you for a green card?”
I shake my head, a smile for Tse on my face. “No, Your Honour. I married for love. I’ve already got a family member who could sponsor me, my brother Drew in another six years.”
My smile disappears as the judge’s face looks like I haven’t convinced him. That’s all before I’m dismissed, and I go and sit down. Carissa calls up Devil, and he takes my place in the witness box.
I watch with interest, not certain why he’s here.
“Mr Deville, could you tell us a little about yourself?”
“I’ll tell you what I can. Your Honour, I believe you have my credentials in front of you?” He waits for a signal from the judge, then continues. “I am a senior partner of an international security company with its headquarters in the UK. Most of my work is on a consultancy basis. I’ve worked in many countries, and for a number of years, have worked with the FBI and the CIA.”
“Yes, I can see that. And at the highest levels. I understand some details are not appropriate for a public court?”
“Thank you, Your Honour, and yes, though I am a little freer than I used to be. I’m unable to go undercover nowadays.” He doesn’t need to draw attention to his scar, we can all see it.
“How did you get involved in this case, Mr Deville?”
“Mrs Williamson is married to a man I have dealt with in the past. A man who’s provided some very useful information to the FBI on occasion. Mr Williamson enabled us to bring down a child smuggling ring.”
“How did Mr Williamson obtain this information? Was he associated with the criminals?”
A glare from Devil would make most men crumble. Even the man from ICE looks contrite. “Mr Williamson is an expert with computers. He was able to go into the dark web to get what we needed. He was working with an ex-police officer at the time. Together they exposed several officers in the Tucson police force.”
“There are notes of the case in the evidence pack,” the judge points out. “Carry on, Ms Beacham. I think we’ve established how Mrs Williamson was able to enlist the help of Mr Deville.”
Devil raises his hand. “It wasn’t Mrs Williamson. By the time I got involved, she’d been deported. The plane she was on was diverted, and Mr Williamson had lost track of her.” Devil’s taken the floor, not waiting for questions. Nobody seems to object. “When I investigated I found two ICE agents at this end had been bribed to put her on the wrong transport from theService Processing Centre. The plane pilot had also been paid a rather large sum of money. The report of a problem with the traffic control system had been fake.”
The judge’s eyebrows rise, and he addresses the agents. “Are you aware of this?”
I’m interested in their answer. Studying their faces, to me it looks like they’re sheepish. “We’re conducting an internal investigation.”
The judge just stares for a moment, then turns his attention back to Carissa. “Continue, Ms Beacham.”
“Did you discover the reason for the change in destination?”
“I certainly did. The plane was diverted to a provincial airport. The rest of the deportees were bussed to the capital, but Ms De Souza, apologies, Mrs Williamson, was collected by her father’s men and taken to his residence.
“Your Honour, you have to understand the man who’s Mrs Williamson’s father. She knew him as a violent man who broke her arm when she was young, and who raped her mother causing them to seek asylum in the United States. As we’ve heard, asylum wasn’t granted for her mother, with dire consequences. Perhaps it would have been, were the facts of the matter known. Mrs Williamson’s father is a man who falsely assumed the title of General De Souza. In fact, he had been dishonourably discharged from the army due to, let’s say, his overzealous practices. He was responsible for the mass murders of civilians. A violent man with no regard for anyone’s life, death or happiness other than his own. He later became known as the criminalEl Procurador, supplying guns and drugs to the US, as well as slave trafficking. A man the CIA were extremely interested in.
“On learning he had a son in the US, he sent his men to collect the boy who he wanted to groom as his heir. The abduction was foiled by Mr Williamson and his friends. Duringquestioning, we managed to discover the whereabouts ofEl Procurador, and where Mrs Williamson was being held.”
