Final Witness by James Scott Bell
"Final Witness" by James Scott Bell is a Christian suspense novel that intertwines the themes of good versus evil, faith, and redemption within a gripping legal thriller framework. The story begins with the brutal murder of Dimitrov Chekhov, which sets off a complex investigation involving organized crime in Los Angeles. Central to the narrative is Rachel Ybarra, a paralegal who grapples with the moral dilemmas of her profession while confronting significant personal threats, particularly from the sinister crime figure Jaroslav Supevsky and his henchmen.
As Ybarra navigates her new job at the U.S. district attorney's office, she becomes embroiled in a high-stakes trial where witness credibility is constantly challenged, and the lines between justice and corruption blur. The novel explores her spiritual journey as she interacts with various characters, including Deanna Natale, a troubled witness seeking redemption, and her pastor, Manny Mendoza, who embodies unwavering faith amidst adversity.
Throughout the plot, Bell highlights the transformative power of faith as characters confront their past mistakes and seek a path to redemption. "Final Witness" is not only a tale of suspense and legal intrigue but also a reflection on the struggle between evil and the hope found in belief, making it a thought-provoking read for those interested in moral complexities within the thriller genre.
Final Witness by James Scott Bell
First published: Nashville, Tenn.: Broadman & Holman, 1999
Genre(s): Novel
Subgenre(s): Evangelical fiction; thriller/suspense
Core issue(s): Faith; fear; good vs. evil; love; prayer; redemption
Principal characters
Rachel Ybarra , a paralegalAlan Lakewood , a prosecutorDimitrov Chekhov , a drug smugglerJeff Bunnell , an FBI agentSam Zagorsky , another FBI agentJaroslav Supevsky , a crime lordPaul Dedenok , a hit manJessica Osborn Holt , a criminal lawyerDeanna Natale , a witness for the prosecutionManny Mendoza , Ybarra’s pastorGrigory Viazmitin , also known asFred Stefanos , a former KGB assassin and now a hit man
Overview
As the novel Final Witness opens, Dimitrov Chekhov is watching a movie at home when two men enter his house, tie him up, pour gasoline over him, and burn him to death. The reader eventually learns that the two men are hit men Grigory Viazmitin and Paul Dedenok and that they are working for crime lord Jaroslav Supevsky. The investigation, the arrests of Dedenok and Supevsky, Supevsky’s trial, and his attempts to manipulate the American legal system drive the action.
Rachel Ybarra is a Christian living with her grandmother when she interviews for a paralegal position at the U.S. district attorney’s office in Los Angeles. The person interviewing her is the head of the criminal division, Alan Lakewood, and she gets the job. On Ybarra’s first day, she attends a meeting in which Jeff Bunnell, an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), briefs those attending the meeting on organized crime activities in the Los Angeles area. Later, Bunnell and his partner Sam Zagorsky arrest Dedenok. When Dedenok implicates Supevsky, Lakewood selects Ybarra as his assistant for Supevsky’s trial. Supevsky retains Jessica Osborn Holt as defense attorney. She will use all legal means to prevent his conviction. Supevsky will use all the illegal ones.
Bunnell and Zagorsky are guarding Dedenok, whom they are hiding in a hotel room. They play Yahtzee while Dedenok watches television. While Bunnell is out buying their lunch, Zagorsky is knocked unconscious and Dedenok dies from an apparent suicide. Bunnell is blamed and removed from the case.
His main witness dead, Lakewood sends Ybarra to New York to meet another potential witness, Deanna Natale. Forty years old, Natale is living with her mother and is in a methadone program to treat her heroin addiction. She has knowledge of some of Supevsky’s illegal activities and overheard him give the order to kill Chekhov. When they meet, Ybarra prays with her and persuades her to consider becoming a Christian. Natale eventually agrees to testify.
Ybarra meets Fred Stefanos, a true-crime writer, when they go to court for pretrial motions. Stefanos later invites Ybarra to dinner, but when they meet, he kidnaps her. (He is really Viazmitin, and he wants to learn the identity of the government’s secret witness.) Ybarra escapes for the time being, but when she gets home, Stefanos calls her and threatens her grandmother’s life. Fearing for her grandmother, Ybarra keeps Stefanos’s threats a secret. She meets him again at a Chinese restaurant, but again she refuses to reveal Natale’s identity. Stefanos leaves her to pay the check and punctures her tires. Ybarra then calls Manny Mendoza, her pastor, who comes to pick her up. When they get home, they find that her grandmother has not been harmed. However, Stefanos has followed them and continues to follow Mendoza when he leaves.
Lakewood and Ybarra return to court to meet with the judge and Holt. Ybarra presents a legal precedent that the prosecution is not required to reveal the name of a confidential informer until trial. In the meantime, Bunnell has launched his own investigation of Dedenok’s suicide, starting with the medical examiner’s discovery that there was a trace of chloroform on Dedenok’s clothes, which would indicate murder rather than suicide. Bunnell goes to Zagorsky’s house and notices that there is a new Lexus automobile in the garage. The average FBI agent, especially one with a family, cannot afford a Lexus. When Bunnell confronts him, Zagorsky pulls out a gun and confesses that Dedenok’s suicide was really a murder. They struggle, and Zagorsky dies. No one believes Bunnell, who is placed on administrative leave while the incident is investigated.
Natale comes to Los Angeles and is hiding in a Los Angeles motel when Ybarra sees her again and talks to her about Jesus. Back in court, Holt moves to dismiss the case because of Ybarra’s misconduct, specifically her talking to Natale about Jesus and praying with her. The judge denies the motion but warns Ybarra to stop having conversations with Natale regarding Jesus. Lakewood eventually takes her off the case, although she is allowed to attend the trial. Lakewood establishes a connection between Supevsky and Chekhov on the first day of testimony.
On that day, Bunnell is interviewed by two FBI agents from Washington about the death of Zagorsky, and he is later arraigned in state court and hires a lawyer. He was supposed to meet Ybarra, but she is abducted once again by Stefanos, who binds her and imprisons her in a soundproof room in a house in the country. On the second day of the trial, Lakewood puts Natale on the stand, and she describes the conversation in which Supevsky ordered Chekhov’s murder. However, Holt’s cross-examination succeeds in shaking her credibility as a witness by bringing up the details of her past. Lakewood rests his case, and Holt declines to call any witnesses. Closing arguments are scheduled for the third day while Bunnell is in jail and Ybarra still a prisoner.
Christian Themes
Winner of the 2000 Christy Award in suspense—designed to “nurture and encourage creativity and quality in the writing and publishing of fiction written from a Christian worldview”—Final Witness juxtaposes characters who are evil, those who are good but unbelievers, and those who are Christian and turn to God and their faith to surmount the evil in their lives. This Christian suspense novel therefore combines the features typical of suspense fiction with Christian characters confronting evil.
When Rachel Ybarra chose a career in law enforcement, she knew that she would have to confront evil. What she could not expect as a lowly paralegal was that evil would directly confront her as well. The man she knows as Fred Stefanos not only is a physical threat to her and her loved ones but also, raised in the former Soviet Union as an atheist, seeks to destroy her faith in God and make her his sex slave. He has already corrupted Sam Zagorsky with money. Highly cultured and a fan of American jazz music, he is completely amoral, a cold-blooded killer.
One of Ybarra’s loved ones is her pastor Manny Mendoza, whom Stefanos beats to teach Ybarra a lesson. However, Mendoza never loses his faith and even in his hospital bed is more concerned about Ybarra than he is about himself. Jeff Bunnell was raised in a Presbyterian home, but he eventually fell away from his faith after becoming an adult. When he spends one night in a jail cell, he turns to God, who helps him get through the night, and decides to return to his faith. When Stefanos kidnaps Ybarra, she prays, not just for herself but also for those whom she loves. She is more afraid for them than she is for herself.
When she was in high school, Ybarra’s younger brother was killed in gang violence. She blames herself and seeks redemption through a career in law enforcement. Before Mendoza became a Christian, he was a biker and involved in the drug trade. He redeemed himself by becoming a Protestant minister and converting his former lieutenant and chief enforcer. Deanne Natale starred in pornographic films, was mistress of a crime lord, and was addicted to heroin. She turns to Jesus and redeems herself by testifying against her former lover in open court.
Sources for Further Study
“Author James Scott Bell Visits APU.” http://www.apu.edu/around/6066. Account of the author’s visit to Azusa Pacific University, including a report on a discussion of how Christians can use fiction writing to spread God’s word.
Bell, James Scott. “Author Chat: James Scott Bell.” http://www.dancingword.net/jamesscottbellchat.htm. Interview with the author that includes discussion of how he writes.
Bell, James Scott. “The Cross and the Pen: A Greater Glory.” http://www.crosswalk .net/fun/books/1199514.html. Interview with the author on the role of Christianity in his fiction.
Bell, James Scott. “The Suspense Never Rests.” http://www.jamesscottbell.com. The author’s official Web site.
Bell, James Scott. Write Great Fiction: Plot and Structure. Cincinnati: Writer’s Digest Books, 2004. This nonfiction book by the author of Final Witness is sprinkled with information about the author’s life and lends insight into his method of writing his novels.
Bell, James Scott, and Tracie Peterson. City of Angels. Bloomington, Minn.: Bethany House, 2001. The first book in Bell’s Kit Shannon series, about a female Christian attorney living around 1900.