Scandal in the Secret City (19 page)

I looked at Charlie. He appeared sadder than I’d ever seen him before. ‘Miss Clark,’ he said, ‘I must insist that you stop your investigation and to never speak of it again to anyone – here or elsewhere.’

‘That was your supervisor, Miss Clark,’ Crenshaw said. ‘Now let’s see what his supervisor has to say. Dr Bishop?’

‘Morton, I will hold you personally responsible if the actions of your employee have a deleterious effect on morale, productivity or security.’

They both complied with the lieutenant colonel’s wishes but not in the same way. Charlie was unequivocal – his words were clearly etched in black and white. Dr Bishop, on the other hand, made a statement that left him room to maneuver depending on his personal analysis of any situation he faced. Was Bishop’s wording intentional? Or was I reading too much into it?

‘Now, Miss Clark, is the situation clear to you? I hope that settles this matter,’ the lieutenant colonel said, his face looking smug and confident. ‘Even outside of the fence, you will not investigate or speak of this matter ever again.’

I heard a roaring sound that made it impossible for me to think. Outside the fence? Was I about to be sent home in disgrace? Quite possibly. I had no choice – to safeguard my job, I’d play the only card I had. I didn’t know how to follow through if they called my bluff, but I’d worry about that when and if that happened. I stood, forcing my wobbling knees to hold me upright. I placed a hand on the back of the chair to steady me in place. ‘I am sure G.G. will be disappointed to learn of this. I imagine he’ll feel rather ashamed of sharing a uniform with a pack of men who are protecting a killer and obstructing justice for a poor country girl who never did anyone any harm. When I hear back from him, I’ll try to let you know what he said before he arrives here.’

I pirouetted on my toes, released the chair, held my breath and walked to the door, not stumbling or faltering by sheer force of will. A soldier said, ‘Shall I go with her and make sure she clears out?’

‘I am countermanding that order, soldier. You are dismissed.’

Had I just gotten a reprieve from the shame of termination? What a relief. Bringing up G.G. had secured my position – at least for now. I wouldn’t stop, though, until I had answers for the Nance family. I would not rest until someone was held to account for her death. But I had no idea of how to contact G.G. and someday, I might have to pay a price for my arrogant misuse of his name.

R
eturning to the lab, I did my best to put the meeting out of my mind and concentrate on the work in front of me. A backlog of reports and samples needing analysis had piled up in my absence. I jumped when Ann whispered in my ear, ‘I need to talk to you.’ Then she spoke in a louder voice. ‘It’s a personal problem, please.’

I followed her into the ladies’ restroom where Ann said, ‘Tom in the Alpha lab – you know who he is right?’

I nodded.

‘You’re not seeing him, are you? He’s all wet.’

‘No, I’m not seeing him. What about him?’

‘First he asked me to let you know that Teddy Mullins was summoned to the administrative building. When I told him that you and Charlie Morton had been taken there, a little while after Teddy, he asked me to watch for your return. He said that if you came back and Teddy didn’t, I should ask you if Teddy was still wherever you were. Does that make any sense?’

‘Oh my. This is all my fault.’

‘What’s wrong, Libby?’

‘Tell Tom that Teddy left before I did. I don’t know where he is. Then tell Tom that you can’t deliver any further messages.’

‘It’s not a problem, Libby. Really. I don’t mind.’

‘Yes but your father minds. He made me promise that I wouldn’t get you involved in my problem.’

‘What problem, Libby?’

‘I can’t tell you. Your father would be furious with me. If he even knew I was asking you to deliver one final message, he would never forgive me.’

‘Oh, horse feathers. My father thinks he controls me but he doesn’t. He has no idea of half the things I do.’

‘This time, I think you need to listen to him, Ann. You really do not want to get caught up in this.’

‘If you have a problem, Libby, I want to help.’

Placing a hand on Ann’s arm, I looked into her eyes. ‘The best way you can help me right now is to do nothing that might anger your father. I think he’s on my side at the moment – but I don’t think anyone else on the management level is. Please, Ann.’

‘OK. But if you change your mind, let me know. I consider you a friend, Libby – a good friend – I’ll help you in any way I can.’

‘We need to get back to work. Can you grab a piece of tissue and dab at your eyes a bit, like you were pouring out your heart to me?’

Ann grinned. ‘Just watch me,’ she said as she opened the lavatory door, sniffling as she stepped into the hallway.

Returning to my work station, I shuffled through the paperwork until I found the piece of paper I needed. Holding it up in the air, I spoke in a loud voice, ‘Gregg. Gregg Abbott.’ He looked up and I continued, ‘I have a few questions about the report you submitted this morning. Could you please step over here for a minute?’

Gregg walked over and said, ‘What’s the problem?’

‘This figure here,’ I said poking at the paper. Lowering my voice to a whisper, I continued, ‘Keep your eyes on the report. Nod and point as if we are discussing it. I was called before Lieutenant Colonel Crenshaw. So was Teddy. He was in there before me and left before I went into the inner office. Fortunately, Crenshaw was under the impression it was just the two of us involved in investigating Wilhelm Schlater and Irene’s death.’

‘I’ll get the word out to the group. Maybe someone else knows what happened to Teddy.’

‘I’ll have to work late tonight.’

‘I think we all will. I’ll set the meeting for nine.’

‘See you then,’ I whispered. In a louder voice I added, ‘Thank you, Mr Abbott.’

I barely got out of the lab in time for the Walking Molecules meeting. As I pushed open the side door to enter Joe’s, Ottinger was on his way out of the bar. ‘Don’t forget what I told you, Miss Clark. Trust no one,’ he said.

The comment was troubling. I looked over the faces arrayed around our table. Did Ottinger know something about one of these men that I didn’t know? Was the whole group a set-up to lead me astray? Or was Ottinger just trying to unsettle me? If so, why? What possible purpose could he have?

The moment I slipped into a chair, Tom said, ‘What happened to Teddy?’

‘I don’t really know.’

‘Why are you here and he’s not? Did you pin everything on him?’

‘No, Tom. I didn’t,’ I said clenching my teeth. Why did Tom always assume the worst of me? ‘I thought Teddy was off the hook until I returned to the lab and got the message from you that he hadn’t gotten back yet.’

‘So what about the rest of us? Are we next?’

‘I don’t think so. I didn’t mention any of you and I don’t think Teddy did. They seemed to think it was just the two of us involved.’

‘Well, you got us into this mess, what are you going to do for Teddy?’

‘Libby!’ a voice cried out from across the room. We all turned toward the sound and saw Teddy walking towards us. ‘Hey, Libby, am I glad to see you. I thought you’d been shipped out.’

‘We thought you were, Teddy,’ I said. ‘Great to see you. Where have you been?’

‘I spent most of the day wondering how I’d explain to my parents about my unexpected return home,’ Teddy said, ‘and then everything changed.’

‘What happened?’ I asked.

‘After you saw me leaving Crenshaw’s office, Libby, I was escorted back to my dorm and told to pack my things. I was ordered to stay in my room and make no attempt to communicate with anyone. I finished packing and sat there for a while before opening my door to go to the lavatory. That’s when I realized there was a soldier posted outside my door. He didn’t want to let me leave at first but when I explained the situation, he escorted me there. On the way, I passed someone in the hallway I knew who greeted me. When I responded, the soldier gave me a shove in the back and said, ‘No talking, Benedict Arnold.’ I turned around and said, ‘I’m no traitor.’ He just gave my chest a shove and said, ‘No talking.’ When I finished, I went back to my room and waited some more.

‘Finally, another private arrived along with a sergeant and they escorted me out to a jeep and drove to the gate. I handed over my badge to the guard. He went into the guard house, came out and waved the sergeant inside. They were in there a few minutes. When the sergeant emerged, he told the private behind the wheel to turn around and take me back to the dorm.

‘Course, I had a lot of questions but nobody gave me any answers. I unpacked my bags, realized there was no longer a soldier at my door and left my room to look around the dormitory for someone from the group. When I couldn’t find anyone, I came here. Nobody seemed to be following me. So, I guess I still work here. What did you do, Libby, to make them change their minds?’

‘Don’t celebrate too hard, Teddy. I bluffed them. If anyone calls my bluff, we’ll be back in hot water again.’

Joe, the quietest one of the group surprised us all by speaking up, ‘Maybe we’d better drop this investigation. Maybe we ought to walk away while we can.’

‘And let that German get away with murder?’ Tom asked.

Joe cringed at the harsh tone of Tom’s voice, making me wonder if he’d ever say a word again. ‘We don’t know that he’s the one who killed Irene, Tom,’ I said.

‘But everything we learn points in that direction. And the brass are protecting him. What other possibility could there be? And besides, as I said, he’s a German – they’re a bloodthirsty lot.’

‘Tom, please, give the man some credit. He left Germany, didn’t he?’

‘A German is still a German. Always a German. We should round them all up and lock them away.’

Thinking of Aunt Dorothy’s housekeeper, Mrs Schmidt, I was alarmed by Tom’s attitude but didn’t know how to respond.

Gregg did, though. ‘Shut up, Tom. There are a lot of Germans over here helping us beat the Nazis at their own game. And back in Germany, there are plenty good Germans living under the heel of the brown shirts.’

‘Oh, bring out the violins,’ Tom said, as he mimed playing the instrument.

‘I’m exhausted,’ I said. ‘Too tired for stupid arguments. I’m going home to get some sleep. Tomorrow promises to be another grueling day.’

Despite what I said to the group, I was in no hurry to get back home. My little house would feel extra lonely and lifeless after the day’s upsetting events. Maybe I should get a cat. With all the farms in the area, someone was certain to have a litter of kittens this spring. At least then I’d have someone to greet me at the end of the day.

T
uesday morning, I ran tests of the spectrograph. Charlie seemed to be trying to steer clear of me as much as I wanted to avoid him. I didn’t notice that Ann had entered the lab until I saw a piece of paper drop on the counter and caught a glimpse of Ann’s back on the way out of the room.

The note read: ‘Ladies’ Room. Now. Urgent.’

I checked the progress of the ongoing tests and then went down to the restroom. Pushing open the door, I said, ‘Ann, you’ve got to stop this. If your dad thinks we’re conspiring together, he’s going to forbid you from seeing me.’

‘Not this time,’ Ann said with a grin. ‘This message is from my dad.’

‘Really?’

‘Oh, yes! Let me tell you what happened last night. Dad came home and he was in a state. He mixed a drink and swallowed it down even before he said hello. Then he asked my mother what she planned for dinner the next night. When she said meatless spaghetti, he said you’re going to have to do better than that. Well, Mom didn’t like that, not one little bit. She started in on how hard she struggled to be able to serve a decent dinner every night. I almost thought she was going to start throwing things.’

‘Your mother?’ Libby asked.

‘I have never seen her angrier. But Dad calmed her down when he said that she did a terrific job and he had no complaints, it was just that he had to have someone over for dinner the next night and he needed something special so his invitation couldn’t be turned down.

‘Mom told him she couldn’t perform miracles and asked why it had to be that night and who was so all-fired important. And he said, “Because of what happened today, I need to speak with Libby and I can’t do so at the lab.” So Mom asked what happened today and Dad, of course, told her he could not talk about it. Then Mom said, “Are you going to send Libby back to Philadelphia?” And Dad looked horrified and said, “No, I’m trying to protect her from those who want to do that.” Then Mom wanted to know who wanted to do that and Dad again said he couldn’t talk about it. Mom threw up her hands and served dinner.

‘After we ate, she left me with the kitchen and dishes and she took off for the farm where she buys eggs and came back with a chicken. We’re having fried chicken tonight and you’re invited.’

‘Although the thought makes my mouth water and I really want to hear what your dad has to say, I don’t know if I can get away in time for dinner.’

‘You have to,’ Ann said. ‘You work for Charlie, Charlie works for my dad. It should be a piece of cake.’

‘Not if your dad doesn’t want Charlie to know about this invitation …’

‘Just tell me you’ll come, Libby. It must be important. I haven’t seen Dad act this way in a long time. These days, he suggests things to Mom, but he never says it has to be one way or another. At least, he hasn’t been doing that in front of me.’

‘OK. Let your mother know I’ll be there. I’ll come even if I have to return to the lab afterwards.’

‘Swell! I’ll see you tonight,’ Ann said, darting out of the ladies’ room.

All day long, I couldn’t help but speculate about what Dr Bishop had to say – it made it difficult to get my work done. Dinner time came around more quickly than I thought possible, but looking back on the completed tasks, I was pleased with what I had accomplished, despite my mental distractions.

At Ann’s house, Mrs Bishop’s welcome was even more effusive than the last visit. Dr Bishop stood quietly to the side while his wife gave me a hug. When we parted, he said, ‘Libby, I’ve asked Mrs Bishop to hold dinner for a bit while we talk. I know I’ll find it easier to enjoy my meal if we have our discussion out of the way and I imagine you will, too.’

I followed Dr Bishop into the living room as Mrs Bishop hustled her daughter into the kitchen. Sitting on the edge of a chair, I braced myself to hear the worst.

‘I was very troubled by yesterday’s meeting. Like you, I am appalled that the authorities are not interested in justice for a young country girl and for her mother who entrusted us with her care. I knew Irene …’

‘You knew her? Why have you been keeping that a secret?’ I studied Dr Bishop’s face uncertain with what was hidden there – or even if anything was. He paused long enough that it appeared as if he were making a decision – was he choosing truth over a lie or just the opposite?

He shook his head before answering. ‘I trust you will keep this to yourself, Libby. But Mrs Bishop is a very jealous woman. If I mentioned that I knew the girl, she would assume the worst.’

‘The worst? She would think you killed her?’

‘No, not that, but she’d think, well, you know.’

‘Oh.’ I wanted to ask if Mrs Bishop had good reason for being that suspicious, but that was a bit too far to push against a man who was, indirectly, my supervisor.

‘Really, Libby that’s all beside the point. I just wanted you to know that I went along with what occurred in order to be able to learn everything I could about the situation – not because I approve of any of it. I imagine it’s probably difficult for you to trust anyone right now, but I hope you will accept my sincerity.’

‘Yes, sir,’ I said, but I didn’t feel as positive as I tried to make it sound.

‘There are things you need to know that were hidden from you. First, the plan was to dismiss you that day, over my objections and, I must add, Charlie Morton strongly argued for a less draconian solution to the problem. But Charlie thought that the presence of administration higher-ups would intimidate you and get you to comply. I insisted that you were not the type of person that crumbled when confronted by bullies. I was right, wasn’t I?’

‘I’d like to think so, sir.’

‘When you threatened to contact G.G., a number of people in the room thought you were bluffing and wanted to call your bluff.’

It was a close call, then. ‘How? Were they going to call G.G.?’

‘That was suggested after you left. But those of us, including Lieutenant Colonel Crenshaw, who witnessed your meeting with General Groves, cautioned it would be a mistake. And quite frankly, in all things military, Crenshaw was calling the shots. So you get to keep your job, for now.’

‘What about Teddy Mullins?’

‘It took a little longer to convince everyone that dismissing Teddy Mullins would be a mistake. I said that I believed it would make you even more intent on securing justice for Irene Nance. Was I right?’

‘Probably. Hard to be certain how I’d react until it happened,’ I said, hedging my bets unless and until I felt more comfortable with Dr Bishop.

‘It was one of the Roane-Anderson administrators who made the argument that won the day. He said that Teddy was obviously stuck on you and because of that, easily manipulated by you and shouldn’t be punished for being young and in love.’

‘Dr Bishop, we’re just friends …’

‘Maybe so, Libby. Seeing Mullins talk about you did give credence to the argument that there was more to it, at least on his part. Anyway, Mullins’ dismissal was rescinded but I would strongly encourage you to steer clear of him, for his own good.’

‘But, sir …’

He raised his hand, palm up. ‘Hear me out, Libby. For his own sake, you need to cut him off completely. If your interaction continues, Crenshaw might reconsider and decide that dismissing him would serve as a warning to you.’

I nodded even though I had no intention of doing as he said. However, I would take care that Teddy and I would not be seen together. All the while, I needed to keep in mind that what Dr Bishop was saying might be honest and open. Or it might be a disarming move. He could be taking this stance with me with Crenshaw’s blessing or because he was trying to steer my investigation for some reason that wasn’t apparent.

‘But I know you will need assistance to get to the bottom of all of this. I’m willing to step in and serve in that capacity. I am in a position to aid you far more than Teddy Mullins ever could.’

‘After that meeting, you want to help me?’

‘It’s because of that meeting I want to help you. I don’t like the military putting on pressure to hide the facts. I know it will require you to place a lot of trust in me. I know that will be difficult after what you’ve experienced. But I really do think I can make a positive contribution to your effort.’

Ottinger’s words danced through my head. ‘Trust no one.’ But I couldn’t be that absolute in my thinking. Risk was essential to progress. ‘Do you know anything that could help the investigation now?’

‘Yes,’ Bishop said with a nod. ‘I know that Dr Smith, whom we both know is Wilhelm Schlater, could not have attacked Irene Nance on Christmas night. One of his children brought the mumps home the last weekend of school before the holidays and Schlater came down with them mid-week. He was in bed and miserable for a few days. He did not leave the house until after lunchtime the day after Christmas,’ Dr Bishop said. His face turned red as he added, ‘I do not doubt that he was homebound because, well, I don’t want to go into any details but rest assured that an adult male with mumps would not be moving around anywhere.’

I blushed in response, not quite sure what he meant, but understanding it involved men’s private parts. ‘Sir, are you certain he had mumps? Or is it possible that is just the story they concocted to protect him?’

‘That’s what they told me, Libby, and I have no reason to doubt it.’

‘Really, sir? After this morning, you are still willing to accept what they say at face value?’

Bishop sighed. ‘You make a good point. But, what—’

‘What about Mrs Bishop? Does she know Mrs Smith? Could she find out if it was true?’

‘I can’t drag my wife into this situation,’ Bishop objected so forcefully that I didn’t try to convince him otherwise. It was quite touching that he didn’t want to involve his wife in anything remotely sordid.

‘Anyway,’ he continued, ‘I have another possibility for you: Dr William Ottinger. You know him?’

‘I met him briefly when he visited Charlie last week in the lab. And I bumped into him the other night at Joe’s. I don’t, however, recall seeing his name on the list.’ The second those words came out of my mouth, I realized my mistake.

‘What list? Where did you get a list?’

Panic clutched my chest. I couldn’t tell him that Ann drew up the list. I shrugged as nonchalantly as I could and forced a blasé tone into my voice. ‘Oh, nothing much. Just a roster of Y-12 scientists floating around the lab. There are a lot of chemists who think they’ll be out of work when the war’s over and they want contacts to help their career when it’s time to leave.’

‘You need to be careful of that sort of thing, Libby. It can easily be misconstrued. If you see it again, you’d better destroy it before someone gets into serious trouble.’

I blinked hard to keep the expression on my face as placid as possible as I pictured the list sitting in a dresser drawer under my stack of nightgowns. ‘If I see it floating around the lab, I’ll make sure it goes no further.’

‘Good,’ he said. ‘Now back to Dr Ottinger. I know a few things about him. He doesn’t work at Y-12. He’s at K-25.’

‘I’d heard that facility was progressing rather quickly but I don’t know anything about the work they’re doing there. Do you?’

‘No,’ Bishop said, shaking his head. ‘I don’t know what is being done at K-25. And I don’t know what Ottinger is doing since he’s come here. But I do know that he has worked on isotope separation in the past.’

‘Are they duplicating our efforts or are they using a different methodology?’

‘Don’t know with any certainty, at all. I can only postulate and my assumption is that they’re not using the same mechanical process that we are.’

‘Do you know anything else about Ottinger?’ I asked.

‘Just what I’ve heard from my wife. Mildred mentioned that the Ottingers were having marital difficulties. Nell Ottinger confided that she had threatened to leave him on a number of occasions because of his long history of philandering. Mildred said that Nell never followed through because she had four small children, had no money of her own and since they’re Catholic, divorce would not be an option.’

‘That rotund little man is a Casanova? I certainly can’t see the appeal.’

‘You’d be surprised how easy it is to impress the country girls around here if you can put doctor in front of your name. Most of them never left their native counties before the war.’

‘But, surely, the military would have no interest in covering up the tracks of his adulterous behavior.’

‘It depends,’ Bishop said. ‘I think that the possibility he is doing vital work at K-25 is very high, making him someone the governmental and military authorities would want to protect. The fact that his past history of indiscretion didn’t stop them from hiring him reinforces that fact, I think.’

‘He made me very uneasy, Dr Bishop. He’s told me twice now that I should trust no one. I don’t know why he’s warning me like that …’

‘Maybe, it’s a simple case of intimidation. Maybe he’s afraid of you. Maybe he thinks you’ll find something he’s hiding. And maybe that something has to do with Irene,’ Dr Bishop speculated.

‘You may be right, sir. But that sounds like a big leap of faith, rather than a solid deduction. Can you find out anything more about him?’

‘I will try. I’ll have to be discrete but I’ll pass along anything I learn. There is something I need to know from you, Libby. Did you recruit anyone besides Teddy to help you? It seemed to me that you would but the others at that meeting thought otherwise.’

As much as I wanted to trust him not to betray me, I certainly had no faith at all in his protective feelings toward any of the others. ‘You have no idea of how difficult it was for me to make one friend among my fellow scientists. There are a lot of them who don’t think women belong in any field of scientific endeavor.’

‘Ah, well, patience on that front. It will change with time.’

Eager to change the subject before he could ask any additional questions along that same line, I asked, ‘Did you know that they moved Irene’s body from the high school bleachers to a spot outside of the fence?’

‘I knew from the first part of the meeting, before you and Teddy came in, that you were claiming that. It wasn’t until the end of the meeting, though, that they actually admitted doing it.’