The general responded, You interpret it that way. I interpret it as a man protecting his reputation.

Karla said, The men obeyed the order. Would you agree the men believed he was their commander?

It does not seem that way to me.

Karla pressed, So, the men follow his orders while they are on military missions together because he is their commander. Back from their assignments, the group is disbanded and they are not under his command. But he orders them to guard the door of a house where women are being raped and they obey.

She moved to the general’s left side. She had noticed when William was questioning that the general was agitated by this and she learned that he had no peripheral vision in his left eye, a war wound.

Karla moved in and out of his vision, said, And if the accused posted a guard on the door, does this not suggest he knew someone inside needed protection?

No, it does not.

Then what does it suggest?

They would not know what was going on inside. They were just doing what they were told.

Obeying orders?

Karla glanced at William. Boxed in.

—

After making love, the eyes are soft, the jawline soft. I love the delicate colour under the cheeks. I love the human face. Day after day for weeks, when the blind was down in the gallery, I listened to the voices of the interpreters and tried to imagine the faces of the women who spoke.

Now the blind was up. I watched the strained tilt of Dragić’s head to the right become more pronounced, and the deepening crease between the eyebrows and the jaw clenched hard. His head was balding below the crown and his hair loss had quickened. I saw a new anxiousness in a twitch in his left eye and though I could not see his feet, his continuous restless shifting seemed to begin in his legs. He often dipped his chin and turned his head to stretch the sides of his neck. Stillness made him wary. Sometimes I imagined him on the mountain, prowling through darkness, alert to the broken twig revealing the hidden mine. He would no doubt perceive odd movements in half-light and hear sounds others did not. His men depended on his senses to keep them alive. On the mountain he was a skilled survivor.

Here, in the court, he was expert in nothing, a nearly illiterate unofficial soldier. He continually opened his mouth and rubbed his tongue over a back tooth. I watched the delayed television transmissions and saw how his eyes widened revealing the whites all around, the pupils dilated, his expression defensive and wild.

Steyn questioned Dragić about Edina.

He said, She kissed me, and I tried to refuse her behaviour but she put her hand on my mouth.

Steyn said, You are strong. You could have stopped her.

She kept kissing me, Dragić said. She would not allow me to talk. She looked like a vegetable because the others did so many things to her. How could I be attracted? I claim this as truth that she fondled me, for ten, fifteen minutes, and did everything to excite my manhood. So I followed through.