Unintended Consequences - By Marti Green

Chapter

36





Dani called Joe Guidry and the words rushed out of her mouth like a swirling tornado. “We’ve found her, Angelina Calhoun. We can prove she’s not the girl found murdered. You can’t let the execution go forward. He’s innocent, just as we’ve said.”

“Whoa. Slow down. You have someone who claims to be Angelina Calhoun?”

“No, not exactly. She probably has no memory of her first few years. But you’ve seen the affidavit from that nurse at the Mayo Clinic. And we’ve gotten word from the doctor who treated Sunshine Harrington that her medical records match Angelina Calhoun’s.”

“So you have Sunshine Harrington.”

“Yes, sort of. She’s on her way home. She lives in New York, just two blocks from our office. Isn’t that incredible? My associate spoke to her and she’s waiting at her apartment.”

“That’s all interesting, but without DNA, how can you be certain they’re the same person.”

“Well, we can’t, of course. Not a hundred percent. But how could the governor let an execution go forward now? You have to give us time to get the DNA tested.”

“How much time?”

“One more week. That should do it.”

“I’ll have to get back to you.”

Dani gave him the phone number for the warden’s office. She was torn between waiting for Joe’s call and going back to the cell to let George know the latest development. She decided to wait. She didn’t want to raise George’s hopes only to deflate them if they didn’t get the extra time. She went outside the office to let Coates know she was off the phone.

“So, what’s the story?” he asked.

“We found a woman we believe is George’s daughter, Angelina. That means the little girl found in the woods is someone else and George didn’t kill her.”

Coates went into his office and sat at his desk. He motioned for Dani to take a seat across from him. “So, does this mean the governor will stop the execution?”

“I’m waiting to hear back from her.”

The warden opened his bottom right desk drawer, thumbed through some files and pulled two out. “These are the reasons I was happy George Calhoun contacted you.” He placed both folders in front of Dani. “Both of these men were on death row in this prison. The first one, Johnny Tubbs, was before my time here. He’d been convicted on eyewitness testimony. His attorney came from the public defender’s office, a kid still wet behind the ears. He never investigated Tubbs’s alibi, never examined the prosecution’s evidence. After a two-day trial, the jury sentenced Tubbs to die. He spent five years on death row. The kid was lucky, though. Two weeks before his execution date, some good-hearted attorney who’d volunteered his time got Tubbs a stay, then a new trial. He showed that none of the prosecution’s evidence supported Tubbs as the perpetrator. If this attorney hadn’t taken on Tubbs’s case, Indiana would have executed an innocent man.” Coates pointed to the second file. “Carl Jones. I was already working here, assigned to death row. Carl had been on death row fifteen years by the time I arrived. He was a quiet man, meek almost. He’d been convicted of murdering a shop owner and customer in the course of a robbery. When decent lawyers got involved, they were able to show that the witnesses against him had lied. Jones came within two days of execution before he got a stay and retrial. If a lawyer hadn’t believed in him, it would’ve been my job to walk him to the room where he’d get a lethal injection. I would have been escorting an innocent man to his death. That’s a hard thing for a man to live with. So”—he took a deep breath—“you and I are on the same page now. I’d welcome the governor calling and telling me to hold off so you can get your testing done. Like I told you the first time we spoke, I like a man to get every chance possible to prove he’s innocent.”

Just as the warden finished, his phone rang. He answered it and handed it to Dani. “Joe Guidry,” he whispered.

“Joe, give me some good news.”

“I’m just calling to let you know I haven’t been able to reach the governor yet. She’s been tied up in a meeting. I had a note sent in to her, but she hasn’t come out yet. I don’t know how much longer she’ll be, and I didn’t want you waiting around without knowing what’s happening.”

“Thanks, Joe. Call me as soon as you know something.”

It didn’t make sense to continue to wait in the warden’s office. Dani thanked him for the use of his office and followed a guard back to George’s cell.

He sat on his bed and stood quickly when he saw her. “Anything?” he asked.

“We’ve found your daughter.”

George sat down again, placed his hands over his face and rocked back and forth. When he finally stopped and looked up at Dani, she saw that his cheeks were tear-stained.

“She’s alive,” George whispered. “My angel is alive.”

Dani hated to give him bad news right now, but she had to. “I don’t know whether this is sufficient for the governor without the DNA. I’m waiting to hear back from her. We’re not out of the woods yet.”

George stood again and paced. “She has to give me time. I thought it would be enough just to know she’s alive, but it’s not. I want to see my daughter. I want to hold her in my arms.”

Dani nodded. Of course he did. He’d sacrificed so much for this child. She reached out and took his hands. This man had endured seventeen years of isolation, almost twenty years of not knowing if he’d made the right decision, twenty years of silence about that decision. Was he wrong to risk a death sentence for only the smallest possibility of saving his daughter? Dani didn’t know what she would have done. She only knew that George deserved to see the results of that decision. He deserved to be part of Sunshine’s life.

“There’s something else, George. You have a granddaughter. She’s just about three years old.”

George fell back onto his bed and began to cry again. Dani sat next to him and they waited together for the governor’s call.


An hour later, Dani was summoned again to the warden’s office. The phone was off the hook, waiting for her, and the office was empty. She picked it up, expecting to hear Joe’s voice, and was surprised to hear a woman speak.

“Ms. Trumball, this is Governor Timmons. Joe has filled me in on your request for a stay and your reasons for believing Mr. Calhoun is innocent. Frankly, it seems rather tenuous. It seems a leap to go from a nurse harboring suspicions about the appearance of a daughter in her colleague’s life to assuming that girl is Angelina Calhoun.”

“Madame Governor, the girl’s medical records are the same as Angelina’s.”

“Isn’t leukemia the most common cancer in young children?”

“Yes, but—”

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to cut you off, but I’ve left an important meeting that I have to get back to. The bottom line is I’m not convinced you’ve given me enough to postpone the execution.”

“But DNA testing would be conclusive. Then there’d be no doubt.”

“If it comes back the way you think it would. If it doesn’t, the state would have postponed the execution a second time, at considerable expense.”

“Please, Madame Governor,” Dani begged, struggling to hold back tears. “We just need a little more time.”

There was silence for a few seconds. “Executions are mandated to take place before 6 a.m. The practice has been to conduct them just after midnight. I’ll instruct the warden to hold off until 5:50. Get your DNA proof before then. That’s all I can give you.”

“Thank you, Madame Governor.”

Dani hung up the phone and sat down, stunned by the governor’s decision. Now she had to go back downstairs and face George.