Unintended Consequences - By Marti Green

Chapter

38





Five Hours


It felt like déjà vu to Dani. She could only imagine what it felt like for George. They were back together, enduring the long wait. Only this time it was taking much longer. Coates had bent his rules even further and allowed her to stay in George’s cell overnight. He’d brought in a cot and a blanket for Dani. “Hell, the rules say it’s supposed to happen right after midnight. If that can be changed, I don’t see any reason why I can’t allow him your company overnight,” he’d said. Coates stayed in his office overnight as well, ready to answer the phone if the test results came back.

Dani encouraged George to try to sleep, but he couldn’t, and neither could she, so they talked quietly.

“You should have seen Sallie when I first met her. We were in high school together, both freshmen, and she really was the prettiest one in the whole class. I almost passed out cold when she said she’d go out with me, I was so surprised. She could’ve had her pick, but she chose me. … I know it sounds corny, but she’s the only girl I ever loved.”

“There must have been something about you that attracted her.”

“I suppose. It’s funny, we were so worried back then in high school that she’d get pregnant. We’d seen it happen to buddies of ours and it sure messed them up. We couldn’t have been any more careful. Then, when we wanted to have a baby, it took us the longest time. But, oh, Angelina was worth waiting for. What a beauty! People just stopped us on the street all the time to ooh and aah over her.”

“I suppose all parents think their children are beautiful, but I have to admit—I’ve seen pictures of Angelina and she was exceptionally pretty.”

“You have kids of your own?”

“I do. A son. His name is Jonah.”

“I bet he means the world to you.”

“Yes, of course.”

“You know, I never blamed Sallie. Not once. It was grief that made her say we killed our Angelina. I think she believed we did.”

“Have you had any contact with Sallie since the trial?”

George stared in the distance and shook his head slowly. “I tried writing to her, but she never answered. My mom went to visit her once, drove a long time to get there, too, but Sallie wouldn’t see her.” He turned to Dani. “You’ve seen her, haven’t you?”

I nodded.

“Is she doing okay? I mean, is she holding up inside?”

“She’s been treated well by the other women, but it’s been hard for her. Not prison. I think she feels she belongs there. But I don’t think she’s ever been able to reconcile leaving Angelina.”

They were both quiet for a while.

“Are you afraid of dying?” George asked.

“I suppose so. I try not to think about it.”

“They wanted me to speak to the preacher, but I said no. God is going to understand what I did or not, and there’s nothing I can do about that now.”

“I understand what you did. And I think your daughter will understand, too.”

“That’s all that matters to me.”

Feeling herself getting sleepy, Dani knew she needed to move around to rouse herself. She wanted to be awake for George, whether he needed to talk or just silently contemplate what was to come. As she stood, she heard the faint ring of the telephone in the guard’s station down the hall. Moments later, footsteps approached. “Ms. Trumball, there’s a call for you in the warden’s office.”

Her heart did acrobatics in her chest. It was 4 a.m. The call could mean only one thing: The DNA results were in. George looked up at her, his eyes moist. “Whatever happens, thank you for believing in me,” he said. Dani nodded and followed the guard upstairs to Coates’s office, where she found him at his desk, looking anxious. Unlike with her earlier phone calls, he remained in the office.

“Dani,” Bruce said. “It’s a match. One hundred percent certainty. Sunshine Harrington is George and Sallie’s daughter. I’m faxing over a copy of the report to you right now.”

She was too overwhelmed to respond. She looked at Coates and nodded. He understood. They both knew what this meant. George Calhoun would live.