Unintended Consequences - By Marti Green

Chapter

19





He’d stared at the computer screen for twenty minutes, transfixed by the half-column story in the Indiana Star. He’d almost missed it. Now he couldn’t take his eyes off it. “Indiana State Superior Court denies bid to exhume dead child’s body.” That was the headline. He had just scanned the page when the name “George Calhoun” screamed out.

Okay. He had to calm down. It had been denied. They weren’t going to dig her up. But he knew that rulings got appealed. Maybe this wasn’t over. Damn! His hands were clammy. His chest felt tight. He struggled to take a breath. Was he having a heart attack? He almost wished he were. Then this would be over. The terror of being discovered would be gone.

Slowly, the tightness subsided and his breathing relaxed. He was okay. He would come through this. God hadn’t spared him only to trip him up now, like some sort of cosmic joke. He thought about it. Was there another appeal? Maybe it was too late now. But if there was enough time, if they could appeal and the court let them exhume the body, then what? Even if they learned it wasn’t the Calhouns’ daughter, they still wouldn’t know who was buried in that anonymous grave. Only he knew the name of the child. Only he knew he’d caused her death, burned her body beyond recognition, and discarded her like worthless trash.

He’d done what he had to to protect himself. And he’d do whatever needed to be done to continue protecting himself.