by Thomas Gatta
Kate looked at Scott and continued, almost whispering. “Do you know, just in my mind, I sometimes even refer to Sean as ‘Dark Heart’? That’s what he has. His heart is full of hatred. He enjoys killing and inflicting pain. He tells himself that what he does is the right, patriotic thing to do. He says he’s fighting the war on terror. But he’s not. He put his conscience on hold a long time ago. Now, the violence, it’s part of who he is, part of his machismo.”
Kate stopped and gazed at her half-empty wineglass. She picked it up, took a swallow, then put it back down slowly. Kate looked up again at Scott and said, “You know, I think that’s what scares me the most. The callousness. Sean just doesn’t see that what he does is wrong. But I think it is. And I have to be truthful about what I know, even if the cost is high.”
Scott said quietly, “Kate, you say you have to be truthful, but why do I get the sense that there is more to this story with Sean? That you’re not being completely honest with me?”
She grimaced. “Oh, there’s more, but I don’t think it’s relevant to your case.”
They both started as the waiter, whom they hadn’t seen arrive, interrupted their conversation with a cheery “Well folks, how about some dessert and after-dinner coffee now? We have an ‘out-of-this-world’ cheesecake on the menu tonight.”
- 50 -
Simon looked at his client who was lounging on the seat across from him and sipping from a glass of Jim Beam. Bennett was wearing a dark suit, but his muscles were stretching the seams. With his honey-brown hair cut short, he looked more like a soldier than a businessman. At Bennett’s request, Simon had agreed to meet at a bar in Reston. The place was dim and filled mostly with dark cherry wood and men in suits. Not quite the place he’d thought Bennett would pick, but it probably was convenient to Bennett’s office at the SU.
Simon had outlined for his client how he saw the trial proceeding and what he planned to do to sow doubt with the jury that MEJA applied to Bennett’s case. Bennett focused on his drink and said little while Simon discussed the implications of MEJA potentially not applying.
Simon finished his explanation and asked Bennett, “So, do you have any questions about the MEJA defense we’ll be making as well as the self-defense angle we’ll continue to pursue?”
Bennett said, “Nope. I just met with some of the SU lawyers, and they told me they might be helping you with that MEJA stuff. They also said I was not, under any circumstances, to take the stand. But, I want to. That’s why I asked to meet with you tonight. I want to tell the jury how things went that night. I was the one there, and it’s my right.”
Bennett took another swig of his whisky and said, “Besides, the prosecution is trying to paint me as one evil dude. That’s just not the case. I killed terrorists, not cute little schoolboys. They were the evil ones, not me. I need to make the jury understand that.”
Simon sighed. “I agree with the SU lawyers. I don’t want you on the stand. We don’t know what the prosecution will do, what kind of pressure they will subject you to. Sean, it’s just a bad idea. As your lawyer, I have to tell you that you are risking your case, if you take the stand.”
Bennett stared at Simon and said, “I want to take the stand. I want to tell my side. It’s my right.”
Simon nodded. “Okay, let me think about it. Let’s see how things go during the next few days. If it looks like having you take the stand will help, maybe we’ll have you do it. But let’s see how things go with the MEJA angle first.”
“Sounds like you’re trying to weasel out on me, but, okay, I’ll wait. Just don’t think you can duck this one.”
Bennett dropped some bills on the table, finished his drink, and got up to leave. He looked at Simon and said, “See you tomorrow. Think about it. My testifying will help.”
Simon sat at the table and drank his iced tea. He reached across the table to collect Bennett’s cash, got the waitress’s attention, and paid his and Bennett’s bill.
As he left the bar, Simon noticed one of the SU attorneys, Hank, sitting at a table between his table and the door. Simon nodded to Hank as he passed, but Hank got up and followed Simon out to the parking garage.
Simon stopped near his car and looked at Hank. “So, what is it today? More instructions? The legal brief was good, by the way. And, no, I don’t intend to put Bennett on the stand, but I’m tempted to. You folks need to back off. I can defend my own client.”
Hank smiled and said, “Yes, we know. We just want to help. And you may find it useful to know that we will not allow Mr. Bennett to take the stand. We have a national security justification prepared to prevent that.”
“What? That doesn’t make much sense? This is his trial. Why now?”
“We don’t want him on that stand. And we are taking the position that anything he might say could reveal sensitive information. So we intend to prevent that.”
Simon frowned. “Oh. And I guess you also intend to prevent him from saying anything that might incriminate him? Or, probably more important to the SU, doing a data dump on what he knows?”
Hank continued smiling at Simon and waved as he headed toward the back of the parking garage. Then Hank stopped. He turned back toward Simon, struck a pose, put his hand over his heart, and said, ‘Wrest once the law to your authority. To do a great right, do a little wrong.’ Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice. Occasionally we need to bend the law. Have a nice evening. See you in court tomorrow.”
- 51 -
Kate opened the door of her condo and headed to the kitchen to make a cup of herbal tea in her owl mug. The dinner with Scott had gone better than she’d expected. Scott, like Maddie, had been nice, but also like Maddie, he’d been sharp. He wanted information and was smart enough to know she wasn’t telling him everything. Kate wasn’t sure he’d let her off the hook the next time they met to go over what she’d say on the stand. She knew the prosecution was anxious to wrap up their argument, though, because of political pressure and instructions from the judge to move things along. So maybe she could deflect Scott’s and Maddie’s probing. Maybe they didn’t need to know everything about what happened in Kabul.
Kate had told Assadullah. Karla knew. Nonetheless, Kate didn’t think she’d be comfortable telling Scott what happened, much less a courtroom full of people. Maybe Maddie, but not Scott. She liked him, and she didn’t want him to think less of her or to pity her. She needed to call Karla.
Kate took her tea into her bedroom and set it down on her nightstand. Then she went back into her living area, checked the lock on her door, and turned off the light in her kitchen. She picked up her purse and dug through it for her cell phone as she headed back into her bedroom. She dropped the purse on the small desk in her bedroom and sat down in the rocking chair next to her bed, where she could reach her tea. Then she called Karla.
Karla picked up after two rings.
Kate said, “Hi, I’m sorry to be calling you so late.” She glanced at the clock on her nightstand—10:36. “But I missed talking with you earlier and wanted to check in.”
Karla said, “No problem. I know you called earlier—I got your voicemail—but I was at a church board meeting. We were discussing mission priorities.”
“How did it go?”
“About as I expected. Some on the board are eager to move forward to help support a child rescue center in Liberia. Others don’t want to let any money out of the local area.”
“And you, of course, suggested ‘why not do both?’”
“Of course. That’s my job. Aid the afflicted and afflict the complacent. And I enjoy it.”
Kate laughed. “I know. And I’m really glad.”
They chatted for a few minutes more about what was happening with Karla’s congregation and with her ‘at risk’ students. Then Karla shifted the conversation to Kate. She asked about her work and then moved on to the trial.
Karla said, “So, I guess sitting in the courtroom hasn’t been easy for you? How are you doing with that?”
Kate let out a sigh and took
a sip from her owl mug before answering. “I guess I’m okay, sort of. The prosecutors have made a good case, but the defense is focusing on the self-defense angle and is likely to say that the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act—MEJA—doesn’t apply to Sean. That means the basis of prosecution could fall apart.”
“Oh dear.”
“Yes. I told the prosecutors what Sean told me in Kabul and gave them some recordings I made here when he called me and left some pretty descriptive messages on my voicemail. Now the prosecutors want to play the recordings in court and have me testify.”
“And what do you want to do?”
“I said I’d do it. I met a man in the courtroom, Assadullah. He was watching the trial like me. His brother, Haji, was one of the boys Sean killed. Karla, Assadullah’s story is heart wrenching. I can’t not testify.”
“So, did you tell the prosecutors all of your story?”
“No. Not yet. I don’t know if I can.”
“And if you don’t. What then?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it doesn’t matter.”
“Is that what you think?”
“Maybe. No. Not really.”
“If you don’t tell what happened, then what?”
“You asked that already.”
“Yes, and you didn’t answer.”
“Maybe no one else will know.”
“And if they do, if you don’t tell and they find out?”
“I’ll look bad. Some people will pity me. Others will say I deserved it.”
“What about the case? What will be the effect?”
“Well, I don’t know. Isn’t it just one more thing to add to the pile of Sean’s wrongs?”
“Hmm. Maybe. What about your credibility as a witness? What about how it might reflect on your honesty?”
“Oh, you would have to bring that up.”
“Yes.” Karla paused, then asked, “Are you afraid?”
“Of course. Constantly. Of losing my job. Of losing what little I’ve accomplished thus far. Of what Sean will do. I think I’d be crazy not to be afraid.”
“Yet, you don’t seem happy with what you’ve got—your job, what you’ve accomplished. The moral ambiguity. And why do you still tolerate Sean around?”
Kate sighed, then she responded, “No, you’re right, I’m not happy. That’s partly why I decided to go to the Oversight Committees. I felt I had to come clean—to tell them about what I knew. And I guess that’s why I agreed to help the prosecutors. I told one of them this evening that it was time I stopped my moral fence sitting.”
“So, you’re afraid, but convinced that what you’re doing is the right thing?”
Kate said, “I guess that about sums it up.” Kate paused. “Is this where you’re going to tell me ‘in for a dime, in for a dollar’ and to tell the prosecutors the rest of what happened?”
Karla answered, No. That’s up to you. You have to decide. Just know that I’ll be here as will my spare bedroom.” Karla paused then continued, “And as a pastor, I have to tell you, too, not to forget that you are God’s. You might consider turning to God and asking for a clear mind, an open heart, and the strength that God can provide to help you be who God would have you be. You don’t have to be afraid. But you do have to choose.”
Kate replied, “Yes, but it’s hard. To be honest and to trust.”
Karla sighed and then responded, “Hey, I didn’t pick an easy business, nor did you. Let me know if you want me to make up my spare bed. Oh, and if you do decide to visit you can meet my new cat, Murgatroyd.”
“Another cat? You’re kidding, right? You already have three.”
“Nope. Not kidding. One of my students gave him to me. Orange tabby kitten. Chubby. Likes stinky tuna cat food and meatballs.”
- 52 -
It was late. Nonetheless, Maddie had called in Scott, Cohen, and Sommers. She needed to meet with them before questioning Kate on the stand tomorrow and playing Kate’s recordings. Maddie had to tell them what she’d learned from Kate this evening, after Assadullah’s testimony. And Kate wanted support and advice. She was afraid she was in over her head.
After the end of the court session today, Kate had waited by the door of the courthouse and waved to Maddie to get her attention as she left the building. Maddie had gone over to her, and Kate had asked if she would be willing to meet with her one more time before her testimony the next morning. Maddie had agreed, and they’d gone to Maddie’s office to talk.
After they’d gotten coffee and scooped up the remains of some blueberry coffee cake someone had left in the snack room, they’d sat down at the table in Maddie’s office. Kate had pulled out her small recording device and told Maddie, “I have something else, and I think you’d probably better hear it. When we met the other night to discuss my testifying, Scott asked if there wasn’t something else that I wasn’t telling him. I put him off, but he was right. There is.”
Kate looked down at the device and fidgeted with her coffee cup. “I was hoping not to tell you, but I think I have to. Sean may tell his lawyer, and it could affect your case.”
Maddie nodded and looked at Kate, without interrupting her.
Kate said, “I didn’t make this recording, but I made a copy of it. Sean made it on his cell phone the night he came to visit me in Kabul, after the raid in Khandahar. He sent it to me later, asking if I wanted more.” Kate swallowed and continued, “I didn’t. I don’t. I’ll play it for you, and you can see what you think about your case.”
Maddie nodded again, picked up her pen, and pulled her writing pad in front of her. Kate pushed play.
- 53 -
Maddie was afraid she was going to throw up. She’d had no idea.
When the tape started, Bennett clearly had been drinking and was boasting to Kate about what he’d done. He’d said it was unfair his managers were sending him back from Khandahar early. He’d told her he’d “exterminated,” “whacked,” “purged” “a bunch of vermin” at a school in Arghandab. He’d done it while they slept, “easy peasy…..” Bennett had talked of how’d he’d gone into the boys’ room alone, leaving his Afghan troops in the outer area, “probably pissing in their pants,” while he stalked his prey. He’d claimed he was “depopulating the province of future terrorists,” “bringing down the next generation of IED makers.” Bennett had crowed, “Hey, I was really surprised, they even bled red, the cocksuckers.”
Kate had tried to quiet him as his voice rose, but he was roily. She’d told him it was over and suggested it was time for Bennett to return to his own quarters and get some sleep. Kate had said her roommate would return soon and would want to crash before her next shift, so it was time for Bennett to leave.
Bennett had ignored Kate and her repeated efforts to get him out of her room. He’d continued to describe his role in the raid, how he’d single-handedly killed more than a dozen “future terrorists.” He’d told Kate, “Nobody can do it better.”
Then he’d raped her. And it was on the recording. All of it. Kate shouting “no,” a muffled scream, the sound of fabric ripping, slapping, grunting, more screaming, crying. To Maddie, it seemed as if it had gone on for hours, but her wall clock told her it was all over in minutes.
Then Bennett’s voice had come on again, overlaying sobbing from Kate, “See, no one does it better. I’m the best, aren’t I? I should get a medal, don’t you think? Hey, you’re not answering. I’m the best, aren’t I? Aren’t I. Say it. Say it. No one does it better.”
Maddie heard Kate respond softly, “No one.”
Then Maddie heard banging and someone yelling, “Hey, why’s the bolt on? Kate, are you there? Let me in. It’s Mona.”
Bennett had yelled back, “Hey, give us a minute, okay? We’re fucking in here.” Silence for a few seconds, then Kate’s strained voice saying, “Please…leave, now.” Bennett had responded, “Okay. See you cupcake. I’ll send you the sound play.”
Then the recording stopped.
Kate looked at Maddie and said, �
��So, now you know pretty much all of it.” My roommate, Mona, knows what happened. She called the nurse out there, who came to see me and told my management.” Kate shook her head and said, “It was horribly embarrassing. The managers talked to Sean, who said it was consensual, and that ‘I liked it rough.’ And that was that. My managers did nothing. Oh there was an investigation—a quiet, confidential one, they said. It went on for months. And still, nothing, nothing from my managers. Finally, about a year ago, I got a memo. They were closing their investigation. They said they had no substantiation that would bear out my claims. The memo questioned my honesty.”
Maddie asked, “The recording? Why didn’t you play the recording for your managers?”
Kate shrugged and replied, “It wouldn’t have made any difference to them. They simply would have claimed we’d both been drinking, which was true. I’d had only one glass of wine, though. Besides, I think they really agreed with Sean, that what he did was fine—the killing and the other.”
“You mean the rape?”
“Yes. They wouldn’t see it that way. They’d take Sean’s side, that ‘I liked it rough.’”
“But you’ve continued to see Bennett? Why? Particularly given the circumstances? And why didn’t he avoid you with the investigation going on?”
Kate snorted. “Bennett didn’t think what he did was wrong. Any of it. Or that he’d get into any trouble for what he’d done. After all, he’s the golden boy.” She looked at Maddie and said, “And why did I keep seeing him? I don’t know. Guilt maybe. I couldn’t do anything to fix what he did—to me or to the others. In a way, I felt like maybe I deserved it. And I guess I’ve been afraid to tell him off. But I’ve been careful to meet him only in places where there are other people. I don’t want to be alone with him again. Ever.”
Maddie replied, “Kate, I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say to you just now. I need to process this and talk to Scott. I think we have to use this recording.”
“I figured. I also figured it was better for you to know now. I’m concerned that what happened could affect my credibility as a witness. If Sean tells his lawyer, the defense may try to twist my testimony, tomorrow, maybe claim that the reason I’m testifying against Sean is that I’m a ‘woman scorned,’ or something like that. I’m afraid they may say that I’m lying, maybe concocting things to make Sean look bad.”
