Treason in the Secret City

by Diane Fanning

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Recent Titles by Diane Fanning From Severn House

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Author’s Note

  Recent Titles by Diane Fanning from Severn House

  The Libby Clark Mysteries

  SCANDAL IN THE SECRET CITY

  TREASON IN THE SECRET CITY

  The Lucinda Pierce Mysteries

  THE TROPHY EXCHANGE

  PUNISH THE DEED

  MISTAKEN IDENTITY

  TWISTED REASON

  FALSE FRONT

  WRONG TURN

  CHAIN REACTION

  TREASON IN THE SECRET CITY

  A Libby Clark Mystery

  Diane Fanning

  This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

  This first world edition published 2016

  in Great Britain and the USA by

  SEVERN HOUSE PUBLISHERS LTD of

  19 Cedar Road, Sutton, Surrey, England, SM2 5DA.

  Trade paperback edition first published 2016 in Great

  Britain and the USA by SEVERN HOUSE PUBLISHERS LTD.

  eBook edition first published in 2016 by Severn House Digital

  an imprint of Severn House Publishers Limited

  Copyright © 2016 by Diane Fanning.

  The right of Diane Fanning to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs & Patents Act 1988.

  British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

  A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

  ISBN-13: 978-0-7278-8615-6 (cased)

  ISBN-13: 978-1-84751-716-6 (trade paper)

  ISBN-13: 978-1-78010-777-6 (e-book)

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents

  are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Except where actual historical events and characters are being described

  for the storyline of this novel, all situations in this publication are

  fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead,

  business establishments, events or locales is purely coincidental.

  This ebook produced by

  Palimpsest Book Production Limited, Falkirk,

  Stirlingshire, Scotland.

  With love and appreciation to my first reader and best friend, Wayne Fanning

  ONE

  In the early hours of May 30, 1944, an unknown noise roused me from sleep. I listened to the silence for a moment, uncertain whether I had actually heard something or merely dreamed it. When I heard nothing out of the ordinary, I fluffed my pillow and rolled over to my other side. A sharp sound of knuckles on glass brought me to full alert, sitting straight up. I looked up to the high window by my bed and saw a face. I opened my mouth to scream in terror, but stifled it when I realized the face was very familiar.

  I pulled a blanket in front of my pajamas as I stood up on the mattress. ‘Marvin, what in heaven’s name is going on? You scared me to death.’

  ‘Sorry, Libby. Sorry. I just didn’t know who else … I’m sorry. Go back to sleep,’ he said, turning away.

  ‘Marvin, you get back here right now. Don’t wake me up and then tell me to never mind. What did you want to say? Is something wrong in the lab?’

  ‘Oh, no. No, no. It’s nothing that can’t wait.’

  ‘Marvin! You obviously didn’t think that a couple of minutes ago.’

  ‘Uh, uh,’ Marvin stammered, appearing as if he might flee without warning. ‘Uh, Europe? Does it worry you that we’re getting less solid news out of there than out of that theatre in the Pacific lately?’

  ‘I’ve noticed that, too. I don’t know what it means, Marvin, none of us do. But I hardly believe that you woke me up in the middle of the night to get my opinion on what might be happening on the other side of the Atlantic. What’s the real reason?’

  Even in the dim lighting, Marvin’s reddened face shone like a beacon as he once again stammered senselessly, then said, ‘It’s kind of personal.’

  ‘Go around to the front door. I’ll make a pot of coffee. OK?’

  Marvin nodded and disappeared from view.

  I sighed as I slipped into my full-length blue chenille robe and slid my feet into the matching bedroom slippers. Walking to the door, I wondered if Marvin was a lovelorn sad sack looking for advice about what to say to the girl of his dreams. So many of these young chemists had their noses in books all the way through college and were terrified of approaching a female. I keep telling them that the men are so outnumbered by the women here, they could probably say anything and still get a date. It was rare for any woman here on the reservation to be overloaded with male attention; there were a few but most of the girls went hungry.

  After letting Marvin inside, I went into the kitchen and filled the percolator with water and coffee and set it down on a burner on the stove. While fixing a tray to carry everything into the living room, I asked, ‘So, Marvin, what brought you out at this hour?’

  ‘There’s a box of sand behind the chair in the living room.’

  I bit back a sharp retort about his blatant equivocation, wondering if the progressive diminishing of my patience was simply a part of growing up or if it was caused by the stress of work or the fact that we were at war – I was weary of waiting for it to end. I leaned on what little reserves I had remaining and tolerated Marvin’s evasiveness until we were both seated with coffee in hand. ‘That’s for G.G.,’ I said.

  ‘G.G. visits you here?’

  I laughed out loud – first sucker. I admit, I was looking for that kind of reaction when I decided on that name for my little kitten. In my defense,
I originally thought of it because of my respect for and gratitude towards General Groves – the original G.G. If I’m being honest, though, the deciding point in its favor was my perverse desire to sow momentary confusion. Still chuckling, I walked out of the kitchen. ‘Not that G.G. Here, kitty, kitty.’

  A black kitten with white whiskers, chest and paws bounced out of the bedroom, coming to an abrupt halt when he saw a stranger. He arched his back and hopped sideways in the comical way that all kittens think is menacing and awe-inspiring. Then he darted into the kitchen.

  ‘That’s G.G,’ I said. ‘I’ll give him some food and then we can sit down and talk.’

  ‘Don’t you want to put him out?’

  ‘No. There’s skunks and weasels and heaven knows what else out there, particularly after dark.’

  ‘We always had cats in the barn but if one ever slipped into the house, Mom would have a fit. She’d grab her broom and chase it around until she got it outside. I never thought of doing anything else.’

  ‘A lot of people keep their cats inside now. They live a lot longer and stay a lot healthier. People keep dogs in their houses, too.’

  ‘I knew that. We didn’t with ours, but I know a lot of regular folks have made them house pets. I guess it’s the cat’s turn now. You ever wonder if they really like it better or if they miss their freedom?’

  With the coffee poured and doctored, I leaned back in the chair and said, ‘That’s a pretty serious question considering we’re in the middle of a war to protect our own. But there’s a reason food, water and shelter are called our creature comforts – it’s a basic need and an undying yearning that we share with all the animals. Enough philosophy – let’s get to the reason you’re here.’

  ‘I had second thoughts once I saw you in the window. I’m scared and confused, Libby. I need to be sure I can trust you.’

  ‘Really? How can you doubt that? Haven’t we been through enough together? Didn’t I keep your name and those of the rest of our group from Lieutenant Colonel Crenshaw?’ I asked, referring to the Walking Molecules, our secret gathering of scientists formed to talk science without censorship, which had gone beyond their original mission and defied the authorities and solved a murder, earlier that year. ‘Spill it, Marvin.’

  Marvin exhaled a jagged breath. ‘First, let me say, Frannie is not a spy, no matter what anyone says. She was tricked. She thought she was helping the war effort. She had no idea …’

  ‘Hold up. Who’s Frannie?’

  ‘Oh, my cousin, Frannie. Frannie Snowden. She works switchboard. She’s a good girl. She always follows the rules. She doesn’t make trouble. She was a Civil Air Patrol volunteer before she got her job here.’

  ‘So what’s the problem?’

  ‘She’s been charged with treason.’

  ‘Treason?’ My stomach somersaulted over the implications; this was no silly problem. It was deadly serious for anyone and everyone who was involved in it. ‘Has she been arrested?’

  ‘Not yet. And not ever if I can help it.’

  ‘Do you know where she is?’

  ‘Yes. I have since the day that they came for her and she slipped away. See, she helped this scientist named Hansrote make some phone calls to some guy named Raymond. She said he told her that other guy was a spy delivering information to help the allies and she fell for it. She realized too late that the scientist had lied to her – that he was actually the spy and he was giving information to the enemy. Inadvertently, Frannie gave herself away. Once he knew that she knew, he reported her as a spy to save his own skin.’

  ‘OK, Marvin, I want the whole story. Start from the beginning and tell me everything you know on your own and all the details she shared with you.’

  ‘I’ll start with my meeting with her after she was in trouble. A couple of nights ago, me and my roommate Jubal went to dinner and we were talking about how disappointing the baseball season was with so many of the major league players enlisted or drafted to fight in the war. On the way back, we were debating which one was the biggest loss to the sport and had narrowed it down to Hammerin’ Hank Greenberg, Joe DiMaggio and Stan Musial.’

  ‘Get to the point, Marvin.’

  ‘OK, we heard somebody say something – thought they were offering an opinion about baseball at first. Then I realized that it was my cousin Frannie hiding in the shadows. Of course Jubal thought it was a girlfriend but I set him straight on that and told him to get lost since I could tell Frannie seemed upset. I figured it was some silly girl thing or some stupid family squabble. Oh, I’m sorry, Libby. I don’t think that just because you’re a woman that you get upset about silly girl things, but my cousin – well, she’s another story.’

  I nodded and with as much patience as I could force into my voice, said, ‘Yes, Marvin, go on please.’

  ‘Then, she asked me if she could stay in my dorm room. I thought that was loco and I told her and warned her we could both lose our jobs. Then, she told me what had happened and I knew it was not a silly problem at all – it was deadly serious.’

  I listened as Marvin recounted the elaborate and detailed story that Frannie had shared with him. It sounded incredulous at first but with each added detail, the credibility of the story strengthened in my mind. If it were true, the fact that it was happening here was nothing short of shocking.

  TWO

  The sun had slipped below the horizon by the time Frannie had finished her shift at the switchboard and walked outside. The soft darkness creeping over the ridges surrounding Oak Ridge and laying claim to the streets one foot at a time was very peaceful and pleasant.

  ‘It was so nice,’ she told Marvin, ‘I decided to walk back to the dormitory rather than catch the bus. I wasn’t worrying about a single thing. I had no personal problems to fret over at all. I was trying to decide if it would be worth my while to go into Knoxville on my next day off and then I made up my mind to do it. You know me, Marvin, I love to shop even if I don’t buy a thing.’

  She said that she was humming under her breath and enjoying the evening when out of the corner of her eye, she saw a stealthy movement in the shadow of the buildings to her right. Then she heard, ‘Miss Snowden’ whispered in the dark. She turned to look at the emerging figure, and felt goosebumps run up her arms. ‘I saw a man wearing a hat with the brim pulled down low. Then I was really nervous, it felt like there was this hard knot in my chest. I wanted to turn and run but my feet wouldn’t – couldn’t – move. I was frozen there. I swear Marvin, if he were a snake, he could have bit me and left me for dead.

  ‘The man said, “Ms Snowden. Don’t be alarmed. You know me.” He sure didn’t look at all familiar. I finally got my feet to take a couple of steps backwards but I felt like I was in a gangster movie and I was the one with cement shoes – my legs felt so heavy. And then he laughed – sort of like that chuckly laugh my dad does when he can’t believe I did something too silly to be true. You remember the way Dad always did that, don’t you, Marvin?’

  ‘Sure, Frannie, but then what happened?’

  ‘The man said, “Oh, I’m sorry. You’ve talked to me on the phone but have never seen me face-to-face, have you?” He stuck out his hand. “Dr Hansrote. Edwin Hansrote.” So I said, “Oh, Dr Hansrote, you gave me a fright.” But I was thinking that even though he was acting a little scary, he couldn’t be all bad – not many men offer to shake hands with a woman. I took that as a good sign that he respected me. I said, “Good evening, sir. Is there something I can do for you? I won’t be back on the switchboard until tomorrow morning.”

  ‘Then, he asked me an odd question. “You are a good American, aren’t you, Ms Snowden?” And I said, “I like to think I am, sir.” And he said, “You want to do your part to win the war, don’t you?” I told him that was why I was here and that’s when he asked for my help. I sure couldn’t think of anything I could do to help anyone but then he said, “I need to talk to someone without the censors listening in.”

  ‘Well, of course, Marvin, I told
him that I couldn’t do that. It was against all the rules and I could get in a lot of trouble and he would, too. But he kept on me. He said that I had to help him – that the future of the whole country was in my hands. I still said no and then he told me something that turned everything upside down.

  ‘He said that he was hoping he didn’t have to tell me the whole story that I’d just take his word for it and believe what he was doing was vital for the war effort. He said that it was really top secret but if I was going to help, I probably deserved to know what was going on. I asked what he was talking about and he told me that there are enemy spies right here in Oak Ridge. I started looking around – I mean if they were here, they could be spying on the two of us right at that moment, couldn’t they? But Hansrote did one of Dad’s chuckles again and said that they were not where I could see them and even if I could, I wouldn’t recognize them because they were so crafty. He said, “Believe me, Ms Snowden, they are here and they are helping the enemy every day. We need to stop them from getting information to the Axis by setting a trap for them.”

  ‘I thought that sounded pretty dangerous and I told him. He didn’t deny it but he said, “Good Americans have to be willing to stick their necks out to make sure the right side wins this war. I am willing to take risks for my country, aren’t you?” What could I say to that, Marvin? Just hearing him say that made me want to stand tall and salute,’ Frannie said, straightening her spine and bringing a hand to her forehead. ‘I told him that I was willing to do anything for the United States of America. I reminded him again, though, that he was asking me to break the rules. That I was specifically forbidden to get off the line, that I was supposed to monitor it unless I had to turn it over to a censor because it sounded suspicious.