‘Then I kinda went a little loco. I tried to get back to Irene but they wouldn’t let me. Then, I felt something stick in my arm and the next thing I remember, I was in the hospital bed. What’s going on, Libby?’
‘I don’t know, Ruthie. What did that man in a suit look like?’
‘He had a nice height and short hair,’ she said with a shrug.
‘Did he have blue eyes?’ I asked, thinking of the man I met in Captain Wilson’s office.
‘I don’t know if I noticed. Oh, wait a minute,’ she said stopping and closing her eyes. ‘Yes. Yes he did. I remember when he looked at me and told me Irene wasn’t there. His eyes were blue – not blue like Irene’s, not that soft, pretty blue – but a cold, icy blue that makes you feel like an ant.’
The rest of the way back to my flattop, we were quiet. I imagine Ruth was as lost in her thoughts as I was in my own. What should I do now? What and who should I believe? Were the police lying to me? Were soldiers moving bodies? Were there any other possibilities? Could the killer have returned and taken the body? But how could that be possible – Ruth would have seen him if he’d gotten there before the police and soldiers arrived. And I can’t quite imagine someone waltzing up and walking away with the body right under their noses. Police don’t move bodies. And they wouldn’t let anyone else do that. Not before investigating the scene. And they don’t find bodies and pretend they didn’t exist. Or do they? But why? Nothing made any sense.
The evening was tumultuous. Ruth alternated between sorrow and remorse, wondering what she should have done differently. I comforted her as well as I could. When she seemed calm enough to handle it, I pulled out the little blue fawn pin and asked, ‘Ever seen a pin like this before?’
Ruth gasped. ‘Where did you find that?’
‘In the athletic field.’
‘She was there. Irene was there. She got that for Christmas. She pinned it to her coat. This proves she was there. If we show it to them, they’ll have to admit it, won’t they?’
‘I don’t know. I just don’t know, Ruthie. Right now, I don’t know if giving it to them is a good idea. Once they have it, they can deny ever seeing it.’
Ruthie slumped in her chair, looking even more morose than she had before.
‘Hey, why don’t we see what’s on the radio,’ I said as I turned on the set. We tried to listen to a program but my thoughts kept drifting away from the story and, glancing over at Ruth, it didn’t seem as if she was able to concentrate on the storyline, either. When I finally turned the radio off, I couldn’t even remember which program had been airing.
I tucked Ruth into bed a little later. I didn’t expect to sleep well and, unfortunately, I was right. My slumber was haunted by chase scenes. Once I ran off a cliff, another time off the top of a building. Both dreams startled me awake in the middle of a fall. Before I realized they were figments of my mind, I’d felt a surge of bile in my throat as my hands desperately slapped out for purchase on the mattress. Each time, I had to stare at the ceiling for an hour or more before I could slip away from consciousness. Just two days ago, I could look down the road to the future and see nothing but sunny skies and happiness. Now I sensed a brewing storm and feared it would sweep in without warning and carry me away.
THIRTEEN
I was out of eggs so we went down to the central cafeteria for breakfast the next morning. When we got back home, I perked a pot of coffee and we sat down in front of the coal stove.
‘I feel as if I am living in a nightmare – a long, dark, horrible nightmare. I don’t even know if I can trust my own eyes any longer,’ Ruth said. ‘We did see Irene under the bleachers, didn’t we?’
‘Yes, Ruthie, we did.’
‘But where did she go?’
‘I wish I knew.’
‘If she was there, what did they do with her? And why would they lie about it, Libby?’
‘I don’t know. But I do know she was there. And I do know someone moved her body.’
‘What if we were wrong, Libby? What if she got up and left as soon as I crawled out from under the bleachers? What if she snuck away? Who knows where she is now!’ Ruth jumped to her feet and paced the small room.
I had to remain calm, for Ruth’s sake, if not my own. Ruth was right about one thing: this was a total nightmare. I placed a hand on each of Ruth’s upper arms, and said, ‘Ruthie, please. I’m so sorry. I wish I could tell you that there was a chance that Irene was alive. But that would just be delaying your pain. You have to accept it and move forward. I know it’s hard.’
Ruth lifted her chin and looked straight into my eyes. ‘Are you sure you’re not as confused as I am?’
‘I am confused, Ruthie. I’ve never been more confused in my life. But I know that Irene was murdered. The signs were evident. And I know I can trust what I saw – what we saw. I know you don’t want to believe it, but that doesn’t make it any less true.’
Ruth stepped back and slumped into the chair. ‘You’re right, Libby. I don’t want to believe Irene is gone. My mind keeps trying to come up with a way to make it not true.’
‘It’s a natural reaction, Ruthie.’
‘I’ve only seen one other dead person before. It was my grandmother. I went in one morning to bring her a cup of tea – and there she was in bed. It was like her life just faded away. It seemed nice, peaceful. But Irene …’ Ruth doubled over, sobbing.
‘I am so sorry,’ I said, patting her back before retrieving my coffee cup and returning to the opposite chair. ‘Any time you want to talk about Irene, I’m here. Or anything. You can talk to me about anything. And it all stays right here with me.’
‘Oh I know you can keep a secret,’ Ruth said, laughing weakly. ‘We’ve all been trained to do that. Who knew you could get this many women together in one place and still keep a secret?’ Ruth sniffled and forced a smile.
‘We all do that every day now, don’t we?’ I said, plastering a smile on my face.
We settled back in uneasy silence. After a few minutes, Ruth said, ‘Thank you, Libby.’
‘You think nothing of it, Ruthie. I’m your friend now and always. We best be getting to work. Your shift starts in ten minutes.’
When I pulled the door open, I gasped. A uniformed soldier stood on my stoop, one fist raised up in front of his face as if he were about to knock.
Without any greeting or introduction, he blurted, ‘I’m here for Miss Nance. Miss Ruth Nance.’
‘Miss Nance is here. But we’re running a little late for work.’
‘I’m just here to pick up Miss Nance and take her to the police station.’
Ruth’s face turned ashen and her hands trembled. ‘What is it? Did you find my sister?’
‘I don’t know anything about your sister, miss. I was just told to transport you to the police station.’
‘Libby, come with me,’ Ruth pleaded, her eyes rimmed with tears.
‘Of course, Ruthie.’
At the police station, we sat in chairs by the front desk. I asked to use the phone and called Charlie to let him know that I was involved in a serious personal problem and I’d be in as soon as I could. I was relieved that he didn’t press me for more information because I didn’t know what I was allowed to say about the situation.
Finally, we were ushered back into the captain’s office. ‘Please have a seat,’ he said gesturing first to one chair, then the other. ‘I have some bad news, Miss Nance. Your sister’s body has been found.’
Ruth wailed, doubled over in the middle and placed her face in her hands. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and handed her a handkerchief. Ruth sobbed, rocking back and forth in her seat.
‘Where did you find her?’ I asked.
‘Well, we didn’t, actually. The Knox County sheriff’s office did. The deputy here will take you to Knoxville to identify the body.’
Looking up, I noticed a man in a brown uniform standing in the corner. He nodded at me and said, ‘A couple of boys fishing this morning found her body o
n the riverbank, not far from the Solway Bridge.’
‘Thank you,’ I said, then turned to Captain Wilson. ‘Are you and the sheriff’s department going to work together to figure out how her body got from the bleachers to the riverbank?’
‘Ma’am, as I told you before, there was no body at the bleachers. There was no body found inside of the gates. The body was found outside of our area in Knox County. No crime happened here. It is not our case.’
‘So you’re going to do nothing?’
‘It’s not in our jurisdiction.’
‘Liar!’ Ruth shrieked.
I knew he was lying, too, but I didn’t want to alienate the deputy so I kept my mouth shut. I stared at Wilson and willed him to read my mind. He wouldn’t even look at me though, and I was sure if he did, I’d see shame in his eyes.
The man with the cold, blue eyes stepped into the office. ‘Is there a problem here, captain?’
‘Miss Nance is just a bit upset,’ he said.
‘Upset. You bet I’m upset. He’s lying to me. You lied to me. You’re all lying,’ she said flaying her arms about wildly. ‘Whaddya think? I’m a German spy or an agent for Hirohito?’
‘I suggest that you calm down right now, Miss Nance,’ the man said. ‘We have some patience with grieving family members but it is not limitless.’
Ruth spluttered but before she could say anything further, I wrapped an arm around her again, ‘C’mon, honey, let’s go get this over with.’
During the drive, I comforted her as best I could and tried to prepare her for the ordeal ahead. ‘Do you understand what we’re going to do?’ I asked.
‘Maybe it’s not Irene.’
I didn’t know what to say to that. Mistakes do happen. What if it was some other person? Would it mean they may never find Irene? ‘Deputy?’ I said.
‘Yes, ma’am.’
‘How did you know it was Irene?’
‘Can’t say I did, miss. They gave me an envelope, said it had her identification badge in it and sent me out to your police department to find someone to identify the body. I didn’t know she had family here. I’m sorry I had to do this.’
‘Were you out to the spot where they found the body?’
‘No, miss.’
‘Do you know what they found?’
‘No, miss.’
‘Did you know that Miss Nance and I found the body yesterday morning by the high school?’
‘Miss, I’m just a lowly deputy – newest one in the department. They’ve told me I have no need to know so many times, I’m beginning to think it’s my name. They don’t tell me anything about any investigations. They just tell me what to do and I do it.’
Seeing his eyes in the rear-view mirror, it seemed as if he was telling the truth. ‘Deputy, will the sheriff be there when we arrive?’
‘I doubt it, ma’am. He doesn’t spend a lot of time in the office.’
I turned back to Ruth. ‘Listen, when we get there, you grab hold of my hand and you just squeeze as hard as you want.’
Ruth nodded and leaned on my shoulder. I felt slight tremors rocking her body while she cried.
We followed the deputy into the morgue. It seemed with every step, Ruth got more wobbly. I gripped her harder, praying she wouldn’t pass out. The smell in the air in the morgue wasn’t helping – a swirling odor of antiseptic and underlying rot that made me feel light-headed and nauseous. I imagined its impact was even worse on Ruth. I stifled a gasp at the sight of a series of tables bearing sheet-draped shapes that I didn’t want to believe were bodies.
The deputy directed us towards the closest one. A man in surgical scrubs, quietly and gently pulled down a sheet, taking care not to uncover Irene’s throat. Either the scarf was still there or he didn’t want to reveal the angry welt left in its place.
I eased Ruth up to the table, glad to see someone had shut Irene’s eyes. An intense surge of pain blasted up my arm as she nearly crushed my hand. Ruth emitted a shrill shriek that sounded more animal than human as it reverberated in the utilitarian room. I winced as I tightened my grip on Ruth. I struggled to push the rising images of my father, brother and cousin’s charcoaled bodies out of my mind. I could not allow myself the distraction – Ruth needed me.
She fell forward, wrapping her arms across her sister, laying her warm cheek next to the cold one. I gave her a moment and then tugged on her shoulders. ‘C’mon, honey, c’mon. Let’s get out of here, OK.’
‘But Irene, Irene …’
‘I know, Ruthie, I know. Let’s go. We need to call your family.’
Outside of the morgue, the deputy helped us find a phone in one of the offices in the sheriff’s side of the building. Ruth said, ‘Hello, Ma …’
While she talked, I pulled the deputy to the side. ‘I want to speak to an investigator.’
‘I’m sorry, ma’am. I can’t do that. I was given strict orders. Pick you up and take you straight back. No detours. In fact, I might get into trouble for letting her make this call.’
‘Well, why don’t you take Miss Nance back and I’ll just stick around in town.’
‘No, ma’am, I can’t allow that. I was told to bring you back – both of you – and under no circumstances …’
I waved him off as Ruth set down the receiver and rushed back to her side.
‘Oh, Libby, that was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my whole life. Ma was heartbroken.’ Ruth put her hand over her mouth and made a choking sound. ‘I talked to my brother Hank, too. He enlisted when he turned eighteen this month, but doesn’t report for another week. So he can drive up here to get me to take me back for the funeral,’ Ruth said, her voice cracking on that last word. ‘Funeral. It’s such an ugly word. So final. So ugly. I just wanna die.’
Back at my house, I made sure Ruth had everything she needed before I left for the lab for the rest of the day. I returned home late and we sat up until well past midnight. We slowly nibbled away at the rest of the Fifth Avenue candy bar, trying to figure out what to do next. I had to keep working, even though Ruth would not be expected to report for duty under the circumstances. She’d meet her brother at the gate with a pass when he arrived the next day. Then, Ruth and Hank would go talk to a security officer about the problem with the police.
‘Ruth, I was wondering, do you think Irene’s boyfriend could have been a local?’
‘I don’t know. She said he was a scientist – an important one – but I guess he could have been born here. Does it matter?’
‘It might. I don’t know, either. But you know how much some of the locals hate all of us. Did Irene ever go outside the gates?’
‘Most Monday nights she took the bus into Knoxville to shop. Other than that, I don’t think she went outside till we went home for Christmas. I think I would have known if she had. She would’ve told me.’ Ruth’s brow furrowed and her mouth twisted at an odd angle.
‘Just trying to make sense of it, Ruthie. Don’t mind me. It all puzzles me so. Nothing is making sense – and I don’t like that.’
‘That’s the scientist talking, Libby. And I know that science stuff is important to you but it’s the friend in you that I’ll never forget. I couldn’t have made it through all this without you by my side.’
‘You’d have done the same for me, Ruthie.’
‘I sure would like to think so,’ she said with a rueful smile. ‘I’ll probably be gone before you get back from work, Libby. But I’ll leave you a note about what happened.’
‘And, please, Ruthie, let me know what I can do while you are away. If you have any problems when you and your brother talk to security, let them know where to find me.’
‘Are you sure you want to stay all mixed up in this?’
‘You try and stop me.’
FOURTEEN
All day while I worked, I worried about Ruth and wondered about the meeting that she and Hank had with security.
Walking home, I couldn’t stop the smile on my face that still happened the moment when my home c
ame into view. Tonight, though, I was startled by the car parked by the segment of boardwalk that ran past my house. And there was a light shining from inside my house. I walked as fast as I dared without risking another pratfall into the thawed mud.
I opened the front door to find Ruth and a man I assumed was her brother Hank standing in front of the coal stove with steaming cups in their hands. ‘Ruthie?’ I asked filling the one word with a dozen questions.
‘Oh, Libby, I didn’t think you’d ever get finished at work,’ Ruth said.
‘I’ve had longer days,’ I said, smiling at her.
‘Oh and this,’ Ruth said holding up her cup, ‘it’s chicory. I didn’t use your good coffee.’
I was a bit ashamed that I felt so grateful that my little stash of coffee was still secure. Abashed, I said, ‘Ruthie, you are welcome to my coffee. Why are you still here?’
‘Well, things didn’t go quite as planned,’ Ruth said.
‘But we have a new plan,’ Hank added.
‘Oh, sorry, Libby. This is my brother, Hank,’ Ruth said.
I nodded at him but turned right back to Ruth, anxious to hear about her day.
Ruth plunged into her story. ‘See, I told them everything about finding the body and the strange way the police were acting and what did they do? They called the police and asked them. Then they turned back to me and said, “There was no body found by the high school.”
‘I got a little aggravated then. I told them that I didn’t imagine it, that there was a scientist with me and she saw the body, too. So, they wanted your name – I hope that’s OK.’
‘I already told you it was, Ruthie. Then what happened?’
‘I told them that they needed to investigate Irene’s murder and they said it was out of their jurisdiction – it was on civilian land and it was up to the authorities in Knox County. And I said that they were wrong. The murder of my sister happened here. Someone who lived here was responsible.
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