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.
CHAPTER
37
By 3:00, Sunshine still hadn’t shown up. Melanie had made herself comfortable sitting on the floor in front of her door, but now her legs were starting to cramp. She stood and looked at her watch once more. She had to stop that. Checking so often wasn’t going to make the minutes move any faster.
She’d heard from Dani. They had only until sunrise to get her DNA run. Bruce had worked his magic with the guys from the lab. They’d stay all night to work on it. But first they needed to get it. And for that they needed Sunshine.
Twenty minutes later she heard the elevator door open. Walking toward her was a blond woman, her long hair pulled back in a ponytail. Her red cheeks looked like two apples, and her slate-blue eyes were fringed with thick brown lashes. The little girl holding her hand looked like a carbon copy of Angelina Calhoun at the same age.
“Ms. Quinn? Sorry we’re so