Once Teddy had moved off reluctantly, I said, ‘Okay, what concerned you about tonight?’
‘Everything. I’ve never seen us at each other’s throats like that. But that’s not why I wanted to talk to you.’
‘What then?’
‘I wanted to know if you and Teddy were serious.’
I knew exactly what he meant but I didn’t want to give him that satisfaction. ‘Serious about what?’
‘Each other?’
‘Why does that matter to you?’
‘Teddy makes it sound like you are everything but engaged.’
‘Does he? And that is your business, because …?’
‘I’m not saying it is. I simply wanted to know the lay of the land before …’
‘Before what, Dennis? Aren’t you engaged to a girl back home?’
‘I was. Annie was very disappointed that I took this job instead of going on the front line and fighting for our country. I could never explain what we were doing and how important it was. So, I guess she decided I wasn’t good enough for her. Last week, she married a soldier on leave. She didn’t even have the courtesy to send me a “Dear John” letter. I had to hear it from my mom.’
‘Sorry about that, Dennis, I really am. But what does that have to do with Teddy and me?’
‘I just wanted to know before I made a fool of myself asking you out to a movie or dinner or something.’
I walked the last block saying nothing and could feel discomfort radiating off Dennis. When we reached the foot of my stairs, I turned to him. ‘Dennis, I am not going to describe my feelings towards Teddy to you. Right now, I’m not even going to talk about my attitudes toward marriage. But I will say this: if you want to go out with me, ask me sometime. Just don’t do it now. At this moment, I am irritated with you and with Teddy. You will not like my answer.’
I turned and mounted the steps. When I reached the door, he remained rooted to the spot. I shook my head and stepped inside.
I couldn’t really blame them. I was raised in the same society they were: an environment where the ultimate goal for women was getting a husband and having children. They both seemed to logically understand that I was different, but emotionally they were still rooted in the past. In their hearts, I don’t think they could comprehend that some women would rather be alone than be a pampered pet in a cage.
EIGHT
Thursday morning, I was eager to get back to work and make up for lost time. I was dismayed when I entered the lab. Charlie was waiting with a depressing message: ‘Crenshaw will have a car here to pick you up in ten minutes.’
‘I can’t, Charlie. I have too much to do,’ I objected.
‘It’s Crenshaw, Libby. You must go. Look on the bright side. If he wanted to arrest you, he wouldn’t give you advance warning.’
‘That is some comfort. I’ll redistribute some work and hopefully that will help keep the backup under control.’
I was outside exactly ten minutes after speaking to Charlie but no one was there. I waited ten more minutes and then went back inside to inform him.
‘Go back out. I’ll call up to his office and find out what’s happening.’
I sighed and went back to my position on the boardwalk.
Charlie joined me a couple of minutes later. ‘They had to change all the tires first.’
‘What? Why?’
‘They said that all the tires on all the vehicles at Crenshaw’s disposal “were in need of replacement.”’
‘And they just realized that this morning?’
‘That’s all they told me, Libby. If you find out anything more, let me know if you can. I suspect it was not normal maintenance.’
A few moments later, a jeep jerked to a halt in front of me and a private jumped out, stood at attention and started to raise his hand in a salute before dropping his arm. ‘Miss Libby Clark?’
‘Yes, private, I’m Libby Clark.’
‘I’m here to escort you to Lieutenant Colonel Crenshaw’s office, ma’am.’
Before he had the sentence finished, I was seated in the front passenger seat. He scrambled in beside me, his long legs banging into the steering wheel in the process.
‘You changed the tires this morning?’ I asked.
‘Yes, ma’am. Even if you drive slow, you can bend up and ruin the rims when the tires are flat like that. You see—’
I raised a hand to interrupt. ‘I understand how that works. Were all the tires flat?’
‘Yes, ma’am, flatter than a stale pancake.’
‘How did that happen?’
‘Something sharp, ma’am, ripped right through the rubber.’
‘Are you saying it was intentional?’
‘If you ask me, it had to be.’
‘And this vehicle wasn’t the only one?’
‘No. We had a dozen jeeps up there and every single one of them had four flat tires – too much of a coincidence to be accidental.’
‘What does Crenshaw think happened?’
‘For all I know, he thinks it’s gremlins.’
‘Gremlins?’
The private laughed. ‘We G.I.’s blame gremlins for everything that goes wrong. But seriously, I can only assume Crenshaw sees it the way I do, but I sure can’t tell what he’s thinking and he sure wouldn’t be sharing his thoughts with me.’
As we reached the administration building, the private swung the jeep into a U-turn to allow me to step directly onto the walk. It was definitely an improvement over the early days when I’d been lifted from the car onto safe ground.
Of course, I had to sit and wait once I arrived even though Crenshaw knew exactly when I’d be there. I was never sure if he did that to communicate that he was more important than I was or if his motivation was to ratchet up my anxiety before I sat down across from him. Whatever it was, it was annoying.
When I was finally summoned into his presence, he gestured to a chair, a straight-backed, armless wooden seat that made slouching to feign indifference impossible. He turned to his aide and said, ‘Bring Miss Clark a cup of coffee from the fresh pot. A little cream but no sugar.’
I was amazed that he knew that. I couldn’t recall when we’d had coffee together or if we ever had. If not, how did he know how I liked it? Once again, the man had unsettled me. I straightened my posture in response.
‘Just bear with me for one more moment, Miss Clark,’ he said. He looked over and signed two sheets of paper. The aide returned, set down my cup and retrieved the documents before going out of the door and closing it behind him.
‘I have a few questions for you and the sooner and more fully you answer them, the quicker you can get back to work.’
I sat still and stared at him across his desk.
‘Do you understand, Miss Clark?’
‘Of course, I do.’
‘Tell me everything you know about Gregg Abbott.’
‘He is a chemist. He is dependable. I rely on him to fill in for me whenever I am forced to abandon my work as I was required to do this morning in order to meet with you.’
‘And …?’
‘What else do you want? The color of his hair or eyes, his weight or height?’
He closed his eyes and exhaled. ‘You know very well what I mean. Is he disgruntled?’
‘About what, sir? His accommodations? The food at the cafeteria?’
‘Don’t play the Dumb Dora with me, Miss Clark. Does he have doubts about the work he is doing here? Is he likely to act on those doubts with destructive actions?’
‘Are you referring to your shredded tires, sir?’
‘How did you know about that?’
I was not about to turn the private into a target. ‘Logic, sir. Why else would all the tires need to be changed at the same time?’
He peered at me with a furrowed brow. ‘Answer my question about Mr Abbott.’
‘No, sir, I cannot imagine Mr Abbott destroying tires, smuggling rats or starting a fire.’
‘Teddy Burke – what do you k
now about him?’
‘He’s a chemist. He does not work in my lab, he’s in Alpha.’
‘Is he disgruntled?’
‘I cannot imagine Mr Burke destroying tires, smuggling rats or starting a fire.’
‘Joe Barksdale?’
‘He’s a chemist. He works in my lab. And no, I cannot imagine Mr Barksdale destroying tires, smuggling rats or starting a fire.’
Crenshaw leaned back in his chair, his arms folded across his chest, his face looking as if he had just inhaled a very bad odor. ‘Mr Morton?’
‘Charlie? Are you kidding me? I call him Mr Stickler. He’s so devoted to following the rules, he should be in the military.’ Charlie wasn’t quite that bad – not by a long shot – but …
‘You’re a curious woman – always asking questions and forming theories – so who do you think is responsible?’
‘Gremlins, sir.’
He folded his hands in front of his mouth and stared hard at me. I sat straighter and made sure I didn’t squirm. ‘You are not acting as if you are in any hurry to get back to work.’
‘You are not acting as if you have any respect for my work,’ I snapped back.
‘You know, Miss Clark, after the fire, I was certain that a scientist was responsible. But now, I look at the primitive approach with the tires and rats and I think that perhaps it is someone with less sophistication, less education.’
I felt some of the tension seep out of my body but kept listening for any nuance in the words that followed.
‘Perhaps it has nothing to do with the work here per se. Perhaps, these are acts of petty revenge from someone who feels as if they’ve been treated badly here.’
I wasn’t sure where he was going but I knew he was toying with me and my anxiety inched up to its original level.
‘Perhaps it was someone who just returned here to work after being away for a while. Perhaps someone like Miss Ruth Nance.’
If possible, I was now coiled even tighter than when I’d entered the room. I swallowed hard to hide my dismay.
‘She did return here the day before the fire, didn’t she?’ he asked. ‘That’s when it all started. Well …’ He shrugged his shoulders and splayed his hands
‘Miss Nance is an honest, hard-working young woman. She does not have a duplicitous bone in her body. She might tell you off to your face but she would never go behind your back. You need to drop that line of inquiry.’
‘Or what, Miss Clark?’
I exhaled through clenched teeth making my lips rattle against the enamel. ‘You know I have no bargaining chip here, lieutenant colonel. You know how valuable I have been in previous investigations. You can have my support to find the culprit or you can turn me away. However, I will not go away quietly if you unjustly come after someone who matters to me. I will find the truth despite you.’
‘And if I get in the way, you’ll call General Gates, right?’
‘Despite the problems that you have created for me, I have not done that yet. But yes, if I felt it was essential, yes, I would.’
‘Someday, Miss Clark, someday … You are dismissed.’
I remained seated, staring at the wall, refusing to acknowledge his command.
‘Do I need to have you forcibly removed?’
I smiled. ‘Thank you for your time, Lieutenant Colonel Crenshaw. And for the lovely cup of coffee. I really must be going now.’ I stood and reached my hand across his desk.
Taken by surprise, he shook my hand but I could tell by the look on his face, he’d be fuming about this moment all day.
NINE
I received a lot of questioning looks when I returned to the lab. I ignored them and got to work.
Gregg sidled up to me a while later. ‘What was all that about?’
‘Crenshaw.’
‘Charlie told me that much. What did he want?’
I was reluctant to discuss the morning’s interrogation until I had the time to process it and draw a few conclusions. ‘Gregg, I’m very busy right now. But when the day is over I would like to talk to you, Teddy and Joe. I don’t want to go through the story multiple times and answer the same questions over and over.’
‘Okay. I’ve got plenty to keep me busy until then. Are you all right?’
I nodded. ‘A bit unsettled but I’m fine.’
‘I imagine Crenshaw has that effect on a lot of people.’
Joe and Gregg were waiting for me on the walkway when I left the building at dusk. ‘I sent word into Teddy,’ Joe said. ‘He’ll be here in a minute.’
Feet shuffled and small talk started and died. I could tell both of them had questions to ask but were trying to keep them stuffed inside while we waited for the last member of our party. A long seven minutes later, Teddy emerged and hurried over to the group. They all started talking to me at once making it impossible for me to understand a word.
I held up a hand. ‘Listen first, okay. Questions later.’ I related everything I could remember as precisely as I could recall.
‘Aside from the three of us and Charlie and your friend Ruth, did he mention anyone else?’ Gregg asked.
‘No and that surprised me. He was acting rather smug and I anticipated that meant he had something up his sleeve – like a name from our group that we were unaware that he knew.’
‘He probably thought he’d put you off-balance by naming Ruth,’ Teddy suggested.
‘Maybe. Or maybe it was a warning. Maybe Ruthie is in the line of fire.’
‘He can’t really believe that on her first full day back she’d start causing trouble,’ Teddy objected.
‘He is a very suspicious man. Who knows what goes on in that paranoid mind of his?’
Joe cleared his throat and said, ‘Don’t overlook the possibility of psychological warfare.’
My eyebrows shot up to my hairline. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Maybe he’s trying to isolate you or make you feel that way – suspicious of everyone. Or, as Dennis would say, he’s following the example of a pack of coyotes who separate one from the herd in order to take him down.’
I didn’t know what to say but Teddy filled in the gap. ‘I suspect we all felt a bit that way after last night’s meeting. I know I spent the evening wondering if I really knew any of you – if I really could trust you.’
‘And did you reach any conclusions?’ Gregg asked.
‘Yeah, I’m not going to take any Tokyo Rose or Axis Sally seriously even if he’s in uniform with more bars and medals than I can count.’
I stopped by Ruth’s dormitory on my way into work the next morning hoping that I remembered her new room number. My doubt caused me to hesitate for a moment before knocking.
I’m barely average height but the woman who opened the door made me feel like an Amazon. She looked as cute as a pixie with her short haircut and diminutive size. ‘May I help you?’ she asked.
‘Is this Ruth Nance’s room?’
‘Why yes, it is,’ she said with a smile. ‘I’m Isabel Rosendale, her roommate. Ruth isn’t here just yet. May I give her a message when I see her?’
‘Has she left for work already?’
‘I imagine she’s at the cafeteria or will be there soon. She’s working the overnight shift this week and usually goes by the cafeteria for breakfast before coming back.’
‘Does she always work nights?’
Isabel cocked her head to the side and asked, ‘Who did you say you are?’
‘Oh, I’m sorry. I’m Libby Clark.’
‘The lady scientist?’
‘That’s me.’
‘Oh, come in. Come in. Ruth has told me so much about you. I’m Isabel Rosen— oops! Told you that already. Just call me Izzie.’
I stepped inside and waited while Izzie searched for writing materials. ‘Ruthie has a fill-in position. She goes wherever she’s needed most. Next week she’ll be on day shift and we’ll be able to go in together.’ She handed me a stub of a pencil and a wrinkled piece of paper. ‘Will this do?’
/> ‘It’ll do fine. Has Ruth settled in well?’
‘Ruth? You’ve got to be kidding. I thought I was going to have to show her around and introduce her to people. Instead, she’s introducing me to girls I had never met. She knows everybody.’
‘That sounds like Ruth,’ I said with a chuckle.
I jotted down a quick note inviting Ruth to supper early Sunday afternoon, folded it in half and propped it on her pillow.
‘You know,’ Izzie said, ‘you can wait here for her if you want. I have to go to work but I’m sure it’ll be okay.’
‘I’ve got to get into work, too. But thanks. It was a pleasure to meet you, Izzie.’
‘If you’re like most people, I’ll spare Ruth the tedium of having to answer one more time. I am almost four foot, eleven inches high. It’s not much but I’m scrappy,’ she said with a grin.
I walked out of the room amused by the image of tall, thin Ruth paired up with tiny, little Izzie. I imagined they must be joshed about that a lot.
On Friday, I made a lot of progress with testing and analysis giving me high hopes of being on top of everything by Saturday’s end. My plans were dashed when a loud siren blare forced me to cover my ears.
Charlie rushed out of his office. ‘Fire alarm! Evacuate the building. Don’t push. Don’t shove. Move in an orderly fashion through the doors and out to the street. Now! Don’t dawdle.’
Instead of panicking, my lab group tested Charlie’s patience by being overly polite to one another. ‘After you,’ was the most common phrase heard in between our supervisor’s loud exhortations to hurry.
Outside, three groups of people gathered in the street. The largest one, by far, was the predominately female cluster of workers from the Calutron area. All the women were in overalls, wearing either short bobs or hairnets. Next was our much smaller group of scientists and then the gang from Alpha lab.
I explored the top and sides of the building searching for any signs of smoke or flames but saw none. And I couldn’t smell anything burning. Even the Calutron girls grew silent when the clanging fire truck pulled up and firemen leaped to the ground and raced into the building.
Everyone spoke only in whispered tones for a while but, in time, the cacophony of a multitude of conversations filled the air again. The noise grew more annoying to me minute by minute as I fretted over the work that needed to be done inside. I had committed to another shipment on Monday but the longer I remained outside, the more doubts I had about my ability to deliver on my promise.
Sabotage in the Secret City Page 5