Unintended Consequences - By Marti Green Page 0,87
him hydrated.”
She thanked Dr. Dolman and hung up.
When Jonah awoke, Dani could see from his whitewashed pallor and the perspiration beading his forehead that he was still sick. She fixed him a breakfast of scrambled eggs, but after two forkfuls he said, “My tummy needs a respite.” The day proceeded slowly, with Jonah lethargic and only reluctantly sipping the hot soup and drinking the warm tea Dani prepared for him.
By the time Jonah finally fell asleep that night, Dani felt drained. “I don’t think I should go tomorrow,” she told Doug during their honeymoon hour. “Jonah prefers when I take him to the doctor.”
“Whatever is going on with Jonah is not going to change if I take him to see Dr. Dolman.”
“Sure, but—”
“I know. You’ll feel better if you’re with him. But do you really think it’ll be the same for George if Melanie is by his side instead of you?”
Dani sighed. Doug was right, of course, infuriatingly right. Once again she felt the tug of war raging within her. Mother or lawyer? Which came first? Motherhood, of course. Jonah’s well-being always took precedence. But if she was honest with herself, she knew he would be fine with his father.
She lay her head on Doug’s shoulder. “It’s so hard for me to let go.”
“I know. “
Dani looked up at the clock. She needed to call Melanie before it got too late if she wanted her to fly to Indiana in Dani’s place. As she lowered her eyes, she spotted Jonah’s backpack on the chair across from the couch. The one he’d used in kindergarten had sported pictures of Barney, the giant purple dinosaur. Now it was the Jonas Brothers. He’s growing up. I’ve got to accept that. Dani lifted her head and looked at Doug. “I’m going to Indiana tomorrow. You’re right. That’s where I need to be.”
CHAPTER
33
Two Days
Once again, Dani flew to Indianapolis, this time with no airport delays. She arrived early enough to get her rental car and drive to Michigan City the same day. Being away from home so often had been hard for her, but handling a case from the beginning had given her a connection to the client that she’d missed when only handling the appeals. That was both good and bad. Her connection to George Calhoun was so strong that the thought of losing her battle for his freedom devastated her. She pulled up to the Holiday Inn and found a parking spot right in front. With her overnight bag in hand, she approached the front desk.
“Ms. Trumball, nice to see you back here,” said the young lady behind the counter.
“Thank you, Angie,” she said, reading her name from the tag pinned to her shirt.
“I have Room 229 for you. That’ll be two nights, right?”
“Yes.”
“If there’s anything we can do for you while you’re here, just call down to the front desk.”
Dani thanked her and went up to her room. She unpacked her toiletries and placed them on the bathroom vanity. She turned on the TV and watched CNN for a few minutes before turning it off. It was too early to eat dinner, and she was too nervous to relax. She picked up the phone and called Tommy.
“We’re missing something,” she said to him when he answered.
“What do you mean?”
“There has to be something else we can do to find this woman. I just keep thinking there’s something we should have done and it’s right there in front of me and I’m missing it.”
“Look, I know what you’re going through. I’ve been second-guessing myself all weekend. But we’ve done everything we can. The courts have failed us, that’s what’s happened. And it’s not because you weren’t brilliant. Your arguments were strong, you presented them well. The system just got it wrong this time.”
“What about the funeral home, the one that buried Trudy Harrington? They must have an address for Sunshine.”
“Already checked and came up empty. Nancy was their contact person.”
“The woman who lived across the street, the one whose daughter was friends with Sunshine—maybe her daughter kept in touch and knows where she is now.”
“Checked and checked. Nada.”
“Social media sites?”
“I didn’t expect to find anything without her married name, but I tried anyway. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn. A bunch of smaller ones, too. Nothing.”
Dani knew she was grasping at straws. She’d asked to have Tommy on her team because he was the most thorough investigator in the office. Top drawer all the way. Of course he had followed up on any possible strand.