Sabotage in the Secret City

by Diane Fanning

  As the infamous fork in the road appeared in the beam of our flashlights, sharp gasps of breath echoed in our midst. I didn’t dare close my eyes for even a second because I knew the visions of Marvin’s body tied to that tree not too far up the right-hand fork would flood my mind again. I could tell from the expressions on their faces that the men were experiencing the same sense of dread.

  Dennis and I traveled up the left fork. The further we went, the thicker the branches and brambles crowded in around us. We reached the clearing – a clearing in name only as weeds had already infiltrated the space up to the door since we’d come here a short while ago. I called out to Tom.

  ‘Dennis, stay right where you are. Libby, you can come up to the door.’

  ‘That’s Tom all right,’ I said to Dennis.

  ‘It may still be a trap. Keep your eyes open and don’t hesitate to call me.’

  I walked the rest of the way up to the door alone. ‘I’m just outside, Tom.’

  The detached door pushed up a bit giving me enough space to move inside in a crouch. He pulled the door shut behind me and struck a match to light a kerosene lantern. His up-lit face appeared as ghoulish as any in a horror film.

  ‘Have a seat,’ he said.

  I lowered myself onto an old apple crate, hoping I would not rise filled with splinters. ‘Okay, Tom, here I am. Tell me why you are here, why you never attended your father’s funeral.’

  ‘I did get on the train to go home, but I met a man.’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘It doesn’t matter. We met in the club car and he asked me if I worked and lived behind the fence. I asked him, “What makes you think that?” And he said, “Lucky guess. You don’t look like a local and you don’t talk like a local.”

  ‘That made sense to me so I dropped it and we started talking about the war and FDR’s death. He said his brother-in-law worked in the White House and he’d learned a lot about our new president over the years and didn’t trust Truman one bit. He said he was a rube. He said that FDR kept him in the dark about a lot of things and that meant he could be easily manipulated by the Pentagon. He said that Truman wouldn’t think twice about using the secret bomb on a bunch of slant-eyed Japs just to prove he was as strong as Roosevelt.

  ‘I asked, “What secret bomb?” He just laughed and said, “Go ahead, play dumb. You won’t fool me. The level of security around that place doesn’t just speak of weapons development, it screams it from the mountaintops. And, I know, you can’t confirm. Doesn’t matter. Someone needs to slow you all down until the soldiers defeat the Japs. If you are not impeded, innocent men, women and children will die for the sins of their over-reaching emperor.”

  ‘After he got off the train, I thought about everything he said. I decided he was right, our work needed to be delayed before it was too late. One stop before my hometown, I disembarked and exchanged my return ticket for an earlier train back to Knoxville.’

  ‘And then the fire?’ I asked.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘How did you know that was the rendezvous spot? How did you know you wouldn’t kill me?’

  ‘I was careful, Libby. I followed you a long time ago simply out of curiosity and I never forgot it. I had no idea that I’d ever have any use for that information but that’s how it is in this place. You never know what incidental thing will be a vital key to something you need to do.’

  ‘And the rats? How? Where did you get them?’

  ‘All the barns around here. It was easy. Easier than I thought it would be. I followed the cats. When a cat had one cornered, I pounced. Got scratched by a few angry cats and bit by a couple of rats but almost always I held on to my prize. I was nervous about getting into the building that night. I piled the crates filled with rats on a cart and rolled them in past a sleepy guard. I told him it was experimental equipment that had just arrived on a late train. He knew better than to ask any questions about the work we do.’

  ‘And you kept going?’

  ‘I admit that I was enraged when I punctured those tires. Through the first couple of vehicles, my anger escalated with each stab, then my fury started to drain a little bit every time I raised my arm. I finished the last jeep just for the sake of completing what I started. The next day, my hand ached and I couldn’t lift my arm more than a few inches. Flooding the bathrooms was kind of goofy but it was less strenuous and it did serve its purpose. It caused a delay. Every minute lost was one that might save lives.’

  ‘Tell me about the bridge, Tom.’

  He bent over with his face in his hands. His shoulders heaved but he made not a sound. When he raised his head, tears glistened on his eyelashes. ‘No one was supposed to die, Libby. I thought I was so careful. I’d stop the incoming supplies but no one would be hurt. I don’t know what I did wrong. Maybe I underestimated the speed of the train. Maybe I overestimated the ability of the engineer to react. Maybe my math was all wrong. I don’t know. But you have to believe me: I did not intend to kill anyone. You do believe me, don’t you?’

  I kneeled in the dirt beside Tom and put an arm around his waist. ‘Yes, Tom. I believe you. Tell me what happened.’

  ‘I attached the explosives to the west end of the bridge.’

  ‘Where did you get the explosives?’ I asked.

  ‘I can’t tell you that. I can’t put the blame on someone else. I tricked him and got what I needed.’

  ‘Okay, Tom, and what happened next?’

  ‘I put signs up on both sides of the tracks. I thought I placed them so that the train would have plenty of time to stop. When I finished that I set off the explosion. Honestly, I was shocked. I had no idea that it would do that much damage. I looked at it and still couldn’t believe that a whole section of bridge had fallen. I thought I heard a train in the distance. I ran in that direction. I wanted to wave them down just in case they didn’t see the signs.

  ‘Then I heard the terrible squeal of the brakes. I smelled something burnt and metallic. And it didn’t stop in time. The engine hung over the abyss. I didn’t know what to do. The rest of the train started to inch toward the hole. I saw a couple of men running on the roof of the cars. One of them scrambled down to the first overturned car. He released the connector. He started climbing back up but wasn’t fast enough. He sentenced himself to death to save the lives of the soldiers crammed into a couple of passenger cars down the line.

  ‘I simply wanted to die. That man’s sacrifice haunted me. I can’t live with myself any longer but every time I think about taking my own life to escape the guilt, I realize that I’m too much of a coward. I’m frightened of hell and I know that is where I’m going.’

  ‘Intent is the worst part of any crime,’ I said. ‘Your soul is not tainted with evil intent.’

  ‘It doesn’t matter, Libby. I killed those men as surely as if I pointed a gun at their heads and pulled the trigger.’

  Tom threw his face in his hands again and this time he sobbed loudly then raised his head and wailed. I sat there numb and filled with an infusion of his pain. How could he go on living with that agony?

  When he grew quiet again, I asked, ‘What are your plans now, Tom?’

  ‘I haven’t had the courage to do anything but hide. I knew if I told someone then I would be forced to do something.’

  ‘But what, Tom?’

  ‘I haven’t decided yet but know now that I have to take action. I either turn myself in or I flee – maybe to Mexico where I can drink mescal all day until it kills me. At least, I’d die with a numbed conscience.’

  ‘What do you want me to do now?’

  ‘Give me a day, Libby. One day. I’ll either be long gone or you’ll find me sitting in your house waiting for your return from work. I’ll play with your kitty until you get there. Might be my last chance ever to stroke a cat and sit in a real house.’

  THIRTY-ONE

  When I emerged from the shack, Dennis said, ‘Will he see me?’

  I shook my head. ‘Not now.’

  ‘When?�
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  ‘Let’s go meet the others. I really don’t want to repeat myself more than necessary.’

  We started walking back to the fork. Dennis said, ‘Give the broad parameters then, without detail. Just brief me on the basics.’

  ‘Tom is responsible for the pranks and the train wreck.’

  ‘That can’t be true. Are you sure?’

  I stopped and looked at him. ‘I just talked to Tom. What do you think?’

  ‘Tom believes he did it but that does not mean that he did.’

  Resuming our walk, I said, ‘What are you getting at, Dennis?’

  ‘Maybe he’s covering for someone. That someone took advantage of his grief and manipulated him into a confession. Libby, this is not the Tom we know.’

  ‘You’re right about that. He didn’t make a chauvinist comment once.’

  ‘You know I don’t mean that. You know—’

  ‘Dennis, please, we’re only a couple of minutes away from the others. We can hash this out together. We probably ought to talk with Gary, too.’

  ‘That chicken. He’s got a yellow streak up his back and it colors everything he says and does.’

  ‘Maybe he’s not chicken. Maybe he just has a strong self-preservation streak.’

  ‘Same thing in the long run, isn’t it?’

  ‘Nonetheless, he probably knows Tom better than any of us.’

  ‘I’ll concede that,’ he said and we walked in compatible silence to where the others waited.

  Rather than setting off down to civilization, we decided to stand where we were and flipped off our flashlights to preserve batteries for our trek back down the hill. I conveyed the conversation I had with Tom trying to recapture the essence if not the actual words of what we had said to each other.

  Gregg was the first to speak. ‘What if he’s just the fall guy and feels an obligation to shoulder someone else’s blame?’

  ‘All I can say,’ I said, ‘is that he seemed open and honest. He seemed shattered by the consequences of his actions. I think, for now, we need to accept what he said at face value. I expect that whatever decision he makes in the next twenty-four hours will provide clues to the truth of his confession.’

  ‘What do you mean by that, Libby?’

  ‘Tell me if you think I’m wrong – any one of you. I believe that if Tom is covering for someone else, he will run away as fast as he can. If he did, I suspect that Tom’s guilt will drive him to turn himself into the authorities and accept the punishment as what he deserves. Does anyone disagree with giving Tom a day or with my assessment of Tom’s motivations in his choice?’ I asked.

  Heads shook all around me. ‘What worries me,’ Rudy said, ‘is what might happen to him before the twenty-four hours are up.’ He turned and stretched his arm towards the path that led to the tree where Marvin died.

  Teddy winced and said, ‘Let’s not revisit that possibility until we’re out of these woods or we will get paranoid about every scurrying animal sound we hear.’

  ‘Let’s move out,’ Gregg said. ‘This spot is rubbing us all raw.’

  ‘We could further this discussion back at the reservation,’ Rudy suggested.

  ‘I know I would benefit with having a little time to digest this information on my own first. Maybe we could get together for an early breakfast at the cafeteria in the morning,’ I said.

  ‘I think Libby is right,’ Gregg said. ‘Any disagreement with that plan?’

  No one responded but Dennis asked, ‘When? About 7?’

  ‘Any objections?’ Gregg asked. ‘Hearing none, we’ll all meet for breakfast at 7 a.m. in the cafeteria.’ He turned to look at the back of the line. ‘Did you all hear that?’

  ‘Yes, Gregg. Seven a.m. at the cafeteria.’

  Back at home, I scooped up G.G. and sat on the sofa with my legs folded up under me. I held him tight and stroked his ears while he purred and kneaded my arm. I tried to think up reasons why I shouldn’t accept Tom’s statements at face value and could find none that held up past a few seconds of reasoning. I then turned over another question: who would Tom be willing to protect at the cost of his own life or freedom? At one time, I would have said Gary, but not any longer. Lately, Tom had made it perfectly clear that Gary’s slavish devotion to him was flattering at first but it had become too annoying.

  I felt that in the right circumstances, Tom might protect me to his own detriment but I knew I wasn’t involved. The only other person that I thought Tom would want to help that much was Charlie. Nonetheless, I couldn’t imagine Charlie, who obeyed the rules with a reverence akin to religious devotion, would have done any of the deeds that Tom claimed he had done. Charlie only considered ever bending a rule if he felt pushed into a corner.

  No matter how much I tried to map out alternative theories, I always circled back to the simple and forthright conclusion: Tom had done everything that he said.

  THIRTY-TWO

  The first thing Saturday morning, I raced to my front door to see if there was another note under the Mason jar. Nothing. Not one little scrap of paper. Feeling keen disappointment, I attempted to undermine the emotion with the reminder that I had just seen Tom the night before and therefore had no logical reason to expect any communication this early in the day.

  G.G.’s wails of hunger and exasperation at my neglect of his needs grew louder as I stood and stared at the jar. With a sigh, I stepped inside, closed the door and went into the kitchen. I filled the kitty’s bowl and he rewarded me with grousing growls as he chewed.

  I gulped down a cup of coffee and hurried to the cafeteria. I arrived at ten minutes before seven and spotted Gregg back in a corner all alone. ‘You got here early,’ I said as I sat down across from him.

  ‘I woke up two hours ago and couldn’t get back to sleep. I tossed and turned for an hour or so, then gave up, dressed and came here. The smell of the bacon and sausages have made me regret not getting in line before I sat down. But I saw an empty, isolated table and felt it was my responsibility to requisition it.’

  ‘Go, get in line. I’ll keep the table secure while you get something to eat.’

  ‘No, Libby, you go first.’

  ‘Gregg Abbott, stop playing the gentleman. I’ve had a cup of coffee already and you’ve not had a thing. Go,’ I said pointing to the short line queuing up near the food.

  ‘If you’re sure, I am really famished. Just don’t tell my mother. She’ll think I’m a barbarian.’

  By ten after seven, the whole gang, including Gary, had arrived and taken a seat with plates and cups full. ‘Where do we start, Gregg?’

  ‘As I see it we have two problems and a world of possible actions. Problem number one: Joe and Charlie are still in custody. Number two: what can we do to ensure Tom’s safety before and after he turns himself in.’

  ‘There is one other possibility,’ Dennis offered. ‘What will we do if Tom decides not to surrender to authorities? If he does, supporting him seems automatic, in my mind at least. But if he doesn’t, what are our options?’

  ‘Agenda item number three,’ Gregg said. ‘Let’s tackle them one at a time. Joe and Charlie: what do we need to do to get them released?’

  ‘There’s not much any of us can do,’ Gary whined.

  ‘Not true, Gary,’ Teddy said. ‘I doubt that the three of us would have been released if Libby hadn’t badgered Crenshaw. Maybe she should go see him again.’

  ‘I think we should give Crenshaw a little more time,’ I said.

  ‘Brown-nosing the commanding officer again?’ Gary said with a sneer.

  Hands slapped on the table as Teddy and Dennis barked, ‘Shut up, Gary.’

  I didn’t think any further acknowledgement of Gary’s remark was necessary. I plowed ahead. ‘Crenshaw kept his commitment to me and because of that Gregg, Dennis and Teddy were able to join us for breakfast this morning. For that reason, at least for now, I think we need to trust that he will continue his efforts until Joe and Charlie have returned, too.’

  �
��Makes sense,’ Gregg said. ‘A show of hands of those in agreement.’

  Everyone raised a hand except for Gary who sat with his arms folded across his chest and pouty lips on his face. I regretted ever advocating for his return to the group after his last boondoggle.

  ‘Moving on, what can we do to protect Tom, now and when he goes to Crenshaw?’

  ‘As for now, I don’t see any option but to wait and hope. We don’t know where he is. Sure, we could go hunting for him but if we don’t show up for work, it will draw more attention to the problem,’ Dennis said.

  ‘I think Dennis is right about that,’ Teddy said. ‘And then, after he turns himself in, he’ll be in military hands and we’ll never know if he’s here or if they take him elsewhere.’

  ‘We can negotiate his surrender,’ I suggested.

  A grin spread across the faces of Teddy and Dennis. I could tell they got the gist of what I was proposing. Furrowed brows told me the others didn’t have a clue.

  ‘Let’s say he comes to my flat-top tonight. He can sleep in my spare bed and …’

  Pale-as-a-worm Stephen pushed away from the table and turned the color of a fire hydrant. ‘We cannot endorse that plan. We cannot allow that to happen.’

  ‘Excuse me, Mr Albright,’ I said.

  ‘Just what do you mean?’ Teddy added.

  ‘I’m sure it’s obvious to everyone but you, Teddy. You are blind when it comes to Libby. She is not a married woman. She cannot have a man under her roof all night long. It would reflect badly on all of us if we condoned her childish suggestion.’

  Now, I lurched to my feet. ‘Stephen, you are not my parent. You are not my minister. You are not responsible for the state of my mortal soul. You would never say that about a man in this room. How dare you presume to do so to me?’