‘Oh, for heaven’s sakes. Then come along. Scientists!’
FORTY-SIX
Crenshaw’s decision to sit next to me in the back of the jeep invoked a keen sense of discomfort and apprehension. My unease expanded when he acted human. ‘I understand you’ve recently lost your mother, Miss Clark.’
I certainly did not give him any credit for caring but, at least, he was trying. ‘Yes, sir. I returned Friday from her funeral.’
‘I’m surprised your stay wasn’t lengthier – there must be many matters needing your attention, most particularly the needs of your half-brother.’
Disturbed that he knew details of my private life, I reached the conclusion that he wanted me out of the way for an extended time. Logic or paranoia? ‘The needs of my country are of paramount importance to me in this time of conflict. Sublimating my personal desires is a sacrifice that many Americans make every day.’ I knew my answer sounded stiff and wooden but with Crenshaw, I always felt as if every word I spoke brought me a step closer to stamping on a land mine.
‘I’d like to believe that, Miss Clark, but some of your actions and your reluctance to answer all my questions completely and fully make me doubt your expressed sentiment.’
‘Could you ask the driver to stop? I’d rather walk the rest of the way.’
‘Don’t be childish,’ Crenshaw snapped.
I focused my gaze on the passing scenery. Fortunately, he was not obtuse enough to continue the conversation.
When we arrived, Crenshaw told Dennis to wait in the lobby area while I gave my statement. Dennis, however, would have none of that. He stood and said, ‘I’m sorry, sir. I made a commitment. Miss Clark will not leave my sight for one moment.’
Crenshaw glared at him. ‘Corporal, secure that man.’
I rose to my feet and interjected. ‘Lieutenant Colonel, if you want my statement, you will retract that order and allow Mr Jance to accompany me.’
With a sharp jerk of his head, Crenshaw turned the malevolent look on me. ‘One day, Miss Clark, you will push me too far. When that happens, I will make sure that you will be unable to communicate with anyone. What General Groves does not know will eliminate any possibility of his intercession on your behalf. And if you think one of your co-conspirators can reach him, think again. The general’s aide de camp will never let those calls go through. Corporal, take them both back to the interview room.’
The soldier latched onto my upper arm. Dennis stepped forward and laid a hand on the man’s shoulder and in a quiet, yet firm, voice said, ‘Let go of her.’
The corporal raised his head, sized up Dennis and released me. Dennis wedged between the two of us and placed a hand on my shoulder blade for the walk down the halls.
Once we were alone, I said, ‘Dennis, don’t push your protectiveness too far. You’re putting yourself at excessive risk.’
‘What a nice, cheerful room,’ Dennis said.
‘Cheerful? It’s dull. It’s boring. And you’re changing the subject.’
‘Ah, but you have not seen the rooms in the basement. This one is freshly painted. It is clean. It doesn’t smell like mold. And it has a window to the outside world. I think our status has risen.’
‘Okay, Dennis, if it will make you happy, I’ll agree: it’s a lovely room. Now, back to the point I was making …’
‘Alright. You deserve a full disclosure of my motivation. In my mind, there is nothing excessive about the risk I’m taking to stand up for you, Libby. Admittedly, I have a strong affection and great respect for you but, to be honest, it is more than that to my dogged persistence. And that is Ruth Nance. I will never, under any circumstances, back down on standing up for you because Ruth would never forgive me if I did. That is a risk I cannot bear to take. Nothing that the army could do to me is more frightening than the specter of Ruth’s disapproval.’
What a delightful surprise – I didn’t know matters between them had progressed that far, I thought but only asked, ‘She means that much to you?’
As his mouth opened, so did the door. Crenshaw stepped inside, followed by a WAC stenographer and a major. The first two sat at the table with us and the nameless officer leaned against the back wall.
‘Start at the beginning and tell us the whole story of your involvement with Tom O’Malley,’ Crenshaw ordered. ‘I will only interrupt if you make an unclear or incomplete statement.’
I chose to begin my narrative with the night I fed Tom, offered to negotiate on his behalf and provided him a place to sleep. I related his disappearance in the middle of the night but never mentioned the Mason jar notes or the involvement of anyone else. I wrapped up with the discovery of Tom’s body by me and unnamed others.
‘We need the names of those who accompanied you in the woods when you made the discovery,’ Crenshaw said.
‘No. You don’t need them. You simply want them. I have no intention of satisfying your curiosity.’
Crenshaw turned to the stenographer and said, ‘Thank you. Please transcribe your notes and bring a copy back for Miss Clark to sign.’
She closed the door behind her as she left and Crenshaw turned to Dennis. ‘I suppose you were also there. Am I correct?’
‘Yes, sir,’ Dennis said.
‘I understand that westerners take great pride in their strong sense of patriotism unlike the effete attitudes in the northeast. I expect, therefore, that you will want to inform me who else was in the group that discovered the body.’
‘Then, sir, you have made a mistaken assumption.’
‘If you were military, I would have grounds to throw you both in the guard house.’
Dennis and I looked at each other but said not a word. The silence that followed felt bigger than the room itself as if the slightest pressure would make the walls explode outward, obliterating us all.
Finally, a timid knock at the door broke the spell. ‘Enter!’ Crenshaw barked.
The WAC slipped in and slid a piece of paper on the desk in front of the lieutenant colonel. ‘Is that all, sir?’
‘Yes. You’re dismissed.’
Crenshaw scanned the document and pushed it in front of me. The major stepped up and handed me a pen. I was halfway through reading it when Crenshaw interrupted. ‘Just sign it, Clark.’
I looked up at him. ‘I will, sir, as soon as I have finished checking it for accuracy. And not until I do.’ I continued to stare at him until I got a response.
‘Read then. Read, read, read,’ he said with a dismissive flip of his hand. ‘Just be quick about it.’
His impatience caused a momentary surge of pleasure but I was as anxious to get out of there as he was. I bent my head to the document and read it to the end before reaching for a pen, signing it and passing it over. Crenshaw had the major and Dennis sign as witnesses and then he added his flourish at the bottom.
‘Major, arrange for their transportation, please,’ Crenshaw said and left the room.
Back at my place, the cacophony of questions ended only when Dennis boomed, ‘Sit down and shut up! Give Libby a chance to explain.’
The roar faded to a murmur and then to nothingness. I related the events of the evening emphasizing Dennis’ strong support. I did not, however, repeat what he said about Ruth to the group. I asked for follow-up questions.
Rudy spoke first. ‘Did Crenshaw send out a recovery team to bring back Tom’s body?’
‘I assume so,’ I said.
‘But did either of you hear him order anyone out there?’
‘I didn’t,’ I said. ‘Did you, Dennis?’
‘No. But what else could he do? He certainly wouldn’t just ignore what we told him.’
‘I agree with Dennis,’ I confirmed. ‘He wasn’t with us every moment. I assumed that he was doing just that while we waited in the room for his arrival. Frankly, my big worry now is about Tom’s aunt. I’ll have to call her tomorrow and I’m dreading it.’
‘Shouldn’t an official be doing that?’ Gary asked.
‘I doubt tha
t they will but even if they do, Gary, Tom’s aunt deserves a more personal contact from someone who cares about her nephew.’
‘Why even bother to tell her? They won’t send the body home for burial. Knowing could only be a source of pain,’ Stephen said.
‘Strong pressure on the authorities made it possible for Irene to come home,’ Ruth said.
‘Good point,’ Dennis said. ‘How can we pressure them, though? Tom, by his own admission, is guilty of serious crimes and he committed suicide.’
‘His aunt can apply the pressure – not us,’ Gregg said. ‘Once she knows what happened, there’s no security reason not to release the body to her.’
‘But then there is another problem,’ Joe said. ‘Tom’s family is Catholic. Suicides cannot be buried on church ground.’
‘Why can’t we tell her it was an accident? Why can’t we say he fell from a tree? I mean, that’s not a lie – that’s precisely what broke his neck,’ Teddy said. He looked around the room at an array of shocked faces. ‘What? Wouldn’t that be an act of kindness?’
‘Yes, it would,’ Joe said. ‘We would, however, need to get Crenshaw’s blessing. He could throw the truth in her face if he wanted to do so.’
‘But why would he?’ Dennis asked. ‘Doesn’t he always want to conceal ugly facts? We’ve just offered him an easy out. He can cover up Tom’s activities and bring peace to a grieving family.’
‘He can’t cover up the train incident. People died,’ I said.
‘You underestimate Crenshaw, Libby,’ Joe said. ‘He can say the stories about explosives being involved in the derailment are nothing but idle rumors and irresponsible speculation. He can weave a tale about the heroism of the men who died – who gave their lives for the soldiers in their care. The situation is abounding in propaganda potential. For all we know, he could be engineering just that as we speak.’
‘Okay. Here’s my plan. I call Tom’s aunt. I’m sure I can do that from Charlie’s office tomorrow morning. I’ll tell her that Tom’s body has been found. I will insist that I can’t tell her anything more until I learn more. It skates so close to dishonesty, it repulses me but it seems for the best at this moment. As soon as I can tomorrow, I’ll go see Crenshaw and try to persuade him to go along with this deception as being the best for everyone involved.’
‘Make sure when you’re making that last point that you do a little flag waving – he certainly does that with us often enough,’ Dennis said.
‘And find out about Tom’s body. Make sure it’s been collected. And be clear that you want Tom sent home for a proper burial if he wants the truth to be buried with him,’ Joe said.
‘That sounds like a threat,’ Teddy objected.
‘I sure hope it does. A plea to his finer principles does not affect him as much as a veiled threat,’ Joe said.
After that, the room went silent for a few moments until Gregg asked, ‘All in favor of Libby’s plan with the added provisions, raise your hand.’
Every palm stretched to the ceiling including Ruth. A couple of the men looked surprised that she was still in the room but no one objected to her vote. ‘The ayes have it,’ Gregg said. ‘Go with God, Libby. Now we need to clear out and let these two ladies get some sleep.’
Dennis and Teddy lingered after the others. Ruth and I gave our respective fellas a kiss goodnight and soon they were gone.
Ruth was over the moon when I told her what Dennis had said about her. She sighed herself to sleep in record time. I tossed and turned for a few minutes before I remembered my father’s long-ago advice: ‘Tomorrow will take care of itself, girl.’ I smiled, too, at that memory and joined Ruth in dreamland.
FORTY-SEVEN
I stood in Charlie’s office, staring at the black phone on his desk. I felt mildly nauseous and my heart raced. I picked up the receiver, realized the only name I knew for Tom’s closest living relative was Aunt Gertrude. I returned the phone to the cradle. I wracked my brain but although I knew the woman’s maiden name was O’Malley, I didn’t recall ever hearing her married surname.
I’d have to call her Gertrude. It felt rude and overly personal but I had no other choice. I began the call again, connecting with the switchboard and listening to the far away ringing of Gertrude’s telephone.
When Tom’s aunt answered, I said, ‘Ms Gertrude, I finally have some news for you.’
‘Is this Libby? From Tom’s work?’
‘Yes, ma’am.’
‘The tone of your voice does not sound as if you are calling with good news.’
‘No, ma’am. I am sorry. Tom’s body has been found.’
‘His body? He’s dead? No. It can’t be true. Please, tell me it’s not true.’
‘I wish I could, ma’am. Sadly, your nephew Tom O’Malley has passed away.’
‘What happened?’
‘Again, I apologize but I cannot tell you anything more about what happened. The military is recovering the body. After they have, we should all know more.’
Gertrude sobbed, blew her nose and cleared her throat. ‘Thank you, dear. I know this had to be difficult for you. Please keep me informed. Do you know who I need to call to bring him home? I want to bury him next to his father.’
‘I will call you back with as much information as I can obtain.’
Gertrude thanked me again and I muttered my condolences one more time and disconnected the call. I hung my head and blinked as quickly as I could to stop the tears that wanted to fall.
When I looked up, Charlie was standing across from me. ‘I just talked to Gregg, Libby. He told me about your plan and the need to talk to Crenshaw to get his agreement. Why don’t you go up there now instead of waiting until the end of the day? I’ll fill in for you at your station while you’re gone. I won’t be as quick at the procedures as you are but I will plod away.’
‘Are you sure?’ I asked.
‘Yes. Go, Libby. Resolving this matter as soon as possible will be a good thing for all of us.’
An hour later, I was still sitting in the waiting area. The intercom buzzed and Crenshaw asked his aide to step into the office. I stood at his return.
‘Sit, sit, sit, Miss Clark. Not yet. The lieutenant colonel knows you are here. He assured me that he would see you just as soon as he wraps up a pressing matter. I need to take care of something for him on another floor but I’ll only be gone about ten minutes. Can I bring you a glass of water or a cup of coffee when I return?’
‘No, thank you,’ I said, sinking back into the chair. I listened to the aide’s fading footsteps as he walked away. I jumped up, glanced down the hall to make sure that he was gone and then approached Crenshaw’s office door, wrapping a sweaty palm around the knob.
I took a deep breath and rushed inside. ‘Lieutenant Colonel Crenshaw, I am sorry to interrupt but I have an urgent matter—’
The man in the chair in front of Crenshaw’s desk turned and stared at me. He was in uniform with no badge of rank but the star insignia worn only by officers sparkled on his shirt collar. His blue, penetrating eyes turned on me in surprise. I knew those eyes. I’d seen them on the train. I swallowed hard and clutched my hands together in a vain attempt to hide their shaking.
‘So, we meet again,’ the man said with a chuckle.
‘Lieutenant colonel, sir, arrest this man.’
Crenshaw wiped an open palm across his face. ‘Sit down, Miss Clark.’
‘I don’t know how he’s managed to manipulate you, sir,’ I said as I walked backwards. When I felt the door frame against my back, I stepped sideways to stand in the open entry, ready to run.
‘Miss Clark, for heaven’s sake, have you lost your mind?’
‘Call the MPs now, sir. This man is dangerous.’ I kept my eyes on Crenshaw’s face praying for his look of incredulity to fade. All the while, I could feel the heat of the other man’s stare burning on my skin.
‘Miss Clark, you are being hysterical. Come in, have a seat and we’ll talk this out,’ Crenshaw said.
&
nbsp; I didn’t like the look in Crenshaw’s eyes. It felt as if he were humoring me, trying to lull me into a false sense of safety. ‘No sir, please listen to me.’
‘Miss Clark!’ Crenshaw’s aide said from behind me. He grabbed my upper arms in a firm grip. To the lieutenant colonel he said, ‘Sir, I’m sorry, sir.’
‘Stevenson, I told you I was not to be interrupted,’ Crenshaw barked.
‘But sir, you sent me—’
‘No excuses, soldier. Escort Miss Clark to the chair on my right, place her in it and then leave, closing the door behind you. We will discuss this matter later.’
I twisted my body trying to escape the aide’s grasp, throwing him a bit off balance and loosening his hold on me for a moment – but not long enough. He latched on to my waist, lifting me in the air and swung me around. Before I touched ground again, I landed a sharp back kick in his shin.
He cursed under his breath but his grip grew painfully intense.
‘Miss Clark,’ Crenshaw shouted, ‘for God’s sake, I simply want to talk to you.’
Stevenson plopped me into a chair and I popped back up. He pushed on my shoulders and pressed down. I slid forward and did a prat fall on the floor.
‘Perhaps, you need to call G.G.,’ the man said, ‘and let him know that his pet monkey is out of control.’
‘Shut up, Cooper. You’re not helping,’ Crenshaw said. ‘Will you please just talk to me, Clark?’
‘I will not be willing to stay in the same room with the man who killed Tom O’Malley as surely as if he put the noose around his neck.’
‘I’ve heard that there’s only a thin line between genius and madness but I’ve never seen it demonstrated before my eyes,’ the man said.
‘Agent Cooper, give us a moment alone,’ Crenshaw said.
‘Really, Crenshaw—’ Cooper objected.
The lieutenant colonel stepped up to the man. ‘I cannot pull rank on you, Cooper, but I know who can. Leave us.’
As the look of disbelief on Cooper’s face mutated into acceptance, he shook his head. ‘Crenshaw, these scientists are not good for your health.’
Sabotage in the Secret City Page 21
