“Please excuse the interruption,” Judge Emmett Shue said, settling back on the bench.
Ellie noticed his flushed face, hunched-up shoulders and white-knuckle grip on some documents. He looked beyond upset. He looked angry. Something happened in chambers.
He adjusted his glasses.
“First off, let me say that yesterday I spoke with an old friend, a General with the Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps in Washington. At my request, he spoke with a JAG major in charge of marriages between U.S. military personnel and Iraqis. The major said that First Lieutenant Richard Radford did in fact once talk to him about the possibility of marrying an Iraqi woman, but he did not mention the woman’s name. A month later Lieutenant Radford was unfortunately killed in action.”
Ellie saw Nafeesa Hakim begin fingering her worry beads.
“The major also spoke with three officers of the 34th Brigade Combat Team who were with Lieutenant Radford the entire day and night on the date of his alleged wedding. But not in Baghdad. They were with him in Basra, three hundred miles south that entire week.”
Ellie heard whispers creep through the courtroom.
Nafeesa fingered her prayer beads faster.
“The major then visited the Iraqi Social Status director who issued the Radford-Hakim marriage certificate. The director swore that the date and wedding location on the certificate were absolutely accurate. He remembered Nafeesa Hakim in great detail. But for some reason couldn’t recall whether Lieutenant Radford was white, black, short or tall, or aged twenty or fifty.”
“The JAG major also learned that none of Lieutenant Radford’s, or any of Ms. Hakim’s friends, were aware of the alleged wedding. And that the priest and the only two witnesses at the alleged wedding, are unable to confirm the wedding, since they are all, sadly, deceased victims of the war.”
The courtroom fell graveyard silent.
“In view of the US Army’s proof that Mr. Radford was on patrol in Basra on the date of the alleged wedding in Baghdad, and all other surrounding circumstances, the court can find no basis on which to support the claim that Ms. Hakim was legally married to Lieutenant Radford. Therefore, this court has no alternative but to deny this petition.”
“And, in view of the potentially fraudulent circumstances surrounding the marriage certificate itself, this court has requested that U.S. Immigration assist Ms. Hakim with her prompt return to Iraq.”
Ellie noticed Nafeesa staring daggers at Falcone as though he’d promised her a far better outcome. But when Falcone refused to turn and look at her, she buried her face in her hands and wept.
The judge cleared his throat.
“Now, with regard to the petition of Ms. Ellie Stuart, let me say that this case presented the court with a major problem. Contradictory DNA results. To resolve the contradiction, the court enlisted Dr. Robert Simon, a distinguished geneticist and Associate Dean of Medicine at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. His team conducted three multi-sample tests that came back with the same result. Namely, that Ellie Stuart she is a chimera with two individual sets of DNA, one of which matches the DNA of Mr. Leland Radford with a 99.9999% accuracy rating.”
“In conclusion, based on irrefutable DNA proof and on all other corroborating evidence, this court finds that Ellie Stuart is the biological daughter of Jacqueline Moreau and Leland Radford …”
Quinn placed his hand on Ellie’s.
“ … and based on the written and witnessed document, expressing Leland T. Radford’s desire to leave his estate to his surviving child … .”
“ … and lastly, based on Kentucky law that states a surviving child shall inherit the estate of a deceased single parent, this court rules in favor of the petitioner, Ms. Ellie Stuart, finding that she is sole heir of Leland T. Radford’s entire estate, with the exception of the generous allowances he bequeathed and devised to his household staff.”
Tears spilled down Ellie’s face as she buried her head in Quinn’s shoulder.