Scandal in the Secret City

by Diane Fanning

  ‘That’s when everything went bad. They starting asking about how often Irene went down to the hutments. And that’s when Hank snapped his cap.’

  ‘He was insultin’ my sister,’ Hank said. ‘Irene didn’t spend time down there with those colored folks and I knew he was implying somethin’ even worse. I could tell by the leer on his face. My sister had a decent upbringin’. She didn’t socialize with coloreds. She was not that kind of girl. She was a little wild but she wasn’t bad.’

  I recoiled from the racism blazing in his statement but didn’t object to it. A grieving man was not receptive to social commentary or a change of attitude. ‘But what happened?’

  Ruth sighed. ‘Hank lunged at the officer. A couple of MP’s grabbed a hold of him and tossed him outside. That made me pretty mad. They didn’t have to be so rough with him. Anyway, I told them that I didn’t understand why they were doing my family wrong like they were.

  ‘And this guy wearing a lot of brass who hadn’t had anything to say up to that point, spoke up and said, “What if I told you it was a matter of national security?” And I said, “I’d say that you’re lyin’.”

  ‘He kept staring at me as he stood up and walked out of the room without sayin’ another word. Then they started in on me with one question after another, trying to get me to promise I wouldn’t say anything, saying that all the scientists loved their country and my scientist friend would shut up and not back up my story. And if I didn’t forget about this, I would regret it.

  ‘Well, that’s when I took it too far – it didn’t seem that way to me but it sure did to them. I told them I can’t forget about my sister. She was murdered and I would do everythin’ I could to find out who did it and get him put in jail. And that’s when the main officer, the one behind the desk said, “What do you mean, you would do everythin’?”

  ‘And I said that means everythin’, anythin’. I’ll talk to anyone, any time. I’ll tell them about every secret I know about this place – but, Libby, you know I don’t really know any secrets, I don’t even know what I’m doing watchin’ those dials, I just follow instructions.’

  ‘I know, Ruthie,’ I nodded.

  ‘Well, he didn’t. He pounded a fist down on his desk and said, “That’s it. You’ve said enough. You are no longer employed here. You no longer work here. You are dismissed in the name of national security. And if you even whisper a word about the work we are doing here, you’ll be charged with treason. Now go, pack up your personal belongings and don’t try to take anythin’ else, you will be searched before you can go through the gate.”

  ‘That really ticked me off and I just gave him the evil eye. And he said, “Go now. Get your things and say your goodbyes. If you are on the grounds tomorrow, you will be arrested.”’

  ‘Oh, good grief. What a mess. What can I do, Ruthie?’

  ‘Did you really mean it when you said you wanted to help?’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘OK. Me and Hank, we have this idea—’

  ‘Plan,’ Hank interjected. ‘We have a plan.’

  ‘Idea, plan? What difference does it make?’ Ruth exclaimed.

  ‘A lot. A plan sounds like we thought it through. An idea is just like the lightbulb in the funny papers,’ Hank said.

  ‘Still, Hank, it can’t be a plan until she agrees to do it.’

  ‘But a plan sounds like we’re serious—’

  ‘Please,’ I said, interrupting the little bout of sibling rivalry, ‘just tell me what you want me to do.’

  Ruth sighed again. ‘We can’t be here, Libby, or we’d do this. Somebody has to find out what happened to Irene. We were hoping you would do that for us.’

  ‘I could try, Ruthie, but I just don’t know—’

  ‘Ruthie told me how smart you are, ma’am,’ Hank said. ‘If anybody can, you can. And if you agree to do it, I’ll leave my car here so that it’s easier for you to get out and talk to the sheriff and all.’

  ‘Your car?’

  ‘Yes. I leave next week to report for duty. I imagine I’ll be going to Europe or the Pacific – don’t know which one – just know I won’t need my car wherever I’m goin’. And I’ve got these gasoline ration coupons,’ he said, pulling them out and handing them to me.

  ‘How are you going to get home?’

  ‘We already took care of that. Ruthie and me will take the bus into Knoxville and stay there overnight. In the morning, we’ll go home on the train – the same train that’s taking Irene home to her restin’ place.’

  Ruth moaned, ‘Oh, Irene.’

  My eyes welled up in sympathetic tears. ‘I’ll try. I’ll do my best. I just don’t know …’

  Ruth wrapped her arms around me. ‘Libby, your best is all we can ask for. We need to know what happened to our sister and you’re our only hope.’

  The burden of that sentiment settled heavy on my shoulders. I felt the stomach-churning lump of the fear of failure that haunted me throughout my university years and during my first few months working in the Clinton lab. Now it grew exponentially larger making my chest feel tight and my throat clench. This was a far greater responsibility than anything I’d faced before. It involved a human life – now gone – and the grieving heart of a friend. Ruth’s faith in me was reassuring but her expectations hung as heavy as a freighter-sized anchor on a row boat for two.

  FIFTEEN

  On the morning of Wednesday, December 29, I ran a sample through the spectrograph. As soon as I reached the point in the developing process that I could turn the light back on, I slipped out of the smaller lab to return to my main work station. I had some time before I had to take the photographic plate out of the sodium thiosulfate solution. I was just about to go back to do that when a soldier walked into the doorway and barked, ‘Elizabeth Clark.’ Instead of looking straight ahead, his eyes were focused on the ceiling. I followed his gaze upward, saw nothing there and realized he probably was concerned that he’d see something he shouldn’t and never hear the end of it.

  ‘Is there an Elizabeth Clark here?’ he repeated.

  ‘Yes, I’m here.’

  ‘I need you to come with me, immediately.’

  ‘Where are we going?’

  ‘To the security offices, miss.’

  ‘Why?’

  He lowered his chin, his eyes opening wide. Obviously, he’d expected me to obey without question.

  ‘I have no idea, miss. I was simply instructed to accompany you there immediately.’ His chin went back up to its original position and he stared again at the ceiling.

  ‘Right now, I am in the middle of a procedure that I need to complete before I can leave.’

  ‘I’m sorry, miss, I have orders to bring you back immediately.’

  For some reason his serious demeanor struck me as funny. I laughed and checked the clock – two minutes until I could remove the plate. To buy a little time, I tried to divert his attention, hoping I could get him to loosen up. ‘Soldier, are you telling me I should desert my post when I am performing a vital task for the war effort?’

  ‘Miss, I don’t know what you do here and I don’t want to know. I just want to follow my orders. I do not want to use force.’

  ‘You would forcibly remove me from my work?’

  ‘Miss, I really do not want to do that.’

  ‘Tell me, soldier, where are you from?’

  ‘I can’t be taking time for idle conversation. I have a job to do.’

  ‘Oh, c’mon, you can answer a simple question. Where is home?’

  ‘The eastern shore of Maryland, miss. Near Salisbury. Really, Miss Clark, we need to go.’

  Just one minute more. ‘Do you jitterbug in Salisbury?’

  ‘Miss?’

  ‘Jitterbug. You know, dance?’

  A grin crossed his face. ‘Yes, ma’am, I cut a rug with the best of them.’

  ‘Do you ever go to the dances here at the Recreation Center?’

  ‘I’ve been a time or two.’

  ‘Next
time, look for me. I’m pretty good myself.’

  ‘Will do, Miss Clark. Can we go now?’

  ‘Just a minute,’ I said, dashing off to the spectrographic lab over the soldier’s loud objections. I pulled the plate out of the solution, placed it under running water and set the timer for thirty minutes. Back in the main lab, I asked Gregg to finish up the process if the timer went off while I was gone. Turning to the soldier with a smile, I said, ‘Yes, let’s go,’ offering him my elbow.

  ‘Miss, I don’t want to be rude or anything, but I don’t think on-duty soldiers are supposed to be linking arms with persons of the opposite sex.’

  I laughed as I walked off quickly, leaving the soldier struggling to catch up with me.

  The laughter was really more for my own benefit. I was fairly certain that the timing of this summons was no coincidence. It had to be connected to Ruth and her sister Irene’s death. They’d probably try to bully me just as they had done with Ruth.

  The private pulled up in front of the administration building that everyone called the castle on the hill. After opening the jeep door, I looked down. The gap was too wide for me to jump across it to the boardwalk – particularly not in front of this building, where it was said others had sunk up to their hips in the mud.

  ‘Hold on, miss. Don’t move.’ For a moment, he disappeared from view. When he reappeared, he clutched a long board under his arm. He used it to bridge the space between the jeep and the boardwalk. I thought he’d want me to walk across it but he held up a finger and said, ‘Wish me luck,’ before stepping out on it. He bounced a couple of times and when it didn’t crack or dislodge, he reached into the jeep. ‘Pardon me, miss,’ he said as he scooped me up out of the seat.

  I squealed involuntarily as he swung me up and over to the solid surface of the walk. I started blushing even before I was back on solid footing. I felt the muscles of his arms tense as they wrapped under my legs and the bare vestiges of stubble on his chin as it brushed my cheek. I smelled a faint aroma of tobacco and a strong male scent. It was a giddy, stimulating moment and then it was over, leaving me with a sense of disappointment.

  ‘Well, that worked well, didn’t it? Hope you weren’t offended but I’ve seen some of the others do that and I thought I’d give it a shot.’

  ‘T-thank you, private,’ I stammered. ‘That’s was very kind.’

  He led me inside and to the office of Captain Smedley. I stood in front of his desk, waiting for an invitation to take a seat. It was not forthcoming. I was offended by his rudeness when he looked up and said, ‘We understand that you are involved in a situation questioning the authority and competence of the Oak Ridge Police.’

  ‘May, I have a seat, sir?’ I said, using Aunt Dorothy’s dignified and proper tone of voice, hoping I’d knock him off balance and force him to return to more chivalrous behavior.

  When he turned red from his neck to his ears, I couldn’t help but smile. ‘Please, miss. Where are my manners? Yes, please, have a seat.’

  ‘Thank you,’ I said as sweetly as possible, taking as much time as possible making my descent. I ran my hands beneath my skirt, smoothing it as I settled down in the chair. ‘You were saying?’

  ‘Miss Clark, your former roommate, Ruth Nance, was in here yesterday making crazy allegations about her sister’s death. Are you aware of this?’

  ‘I am aware that Miss Nance came to the security office for help but I was not aware that she said anything crazy.’

  ‘She claimed that the two of you found her sister’s body under the bleachers at the high school and the police moved the body to cover up their involvement in the crime.’

  ‘She said that?’

  ‘Yes, miss.’

  ‘She used those words?’ I pushed, knowing she hadn’t.

  ‘Not exactly,’ he admitted. ‘But that was the general meaning.’

  I stared at him as I made deliberate moves, crossing my legs and folding my hands on the raised knee. ‘I suspect, sir, she did not use the phrase “cover up” and I also doubt that she accused the police of being responsible for her sister’s homicide.’

  ‘Well, that might be, but—’

  ‘And yes, Miss Nance and I did find Irene’s body under the bleachers. Then the police and some army folks went there, and, poof, the body was gone. We don’t think it was an act of magic and we do not know who moved the body outside of the fence. Whoever it was did not want the body found either in that location or that time. Doesn’t that sound logical to you?’

  ‘No. Yes. I mean it sounds logical but there’s no truth in it. I have talked to the police. There was no body under the bleachers.’

  ‘Follow this train of thought, sir. Miss Nance and I arrived on the scene, discovered the body and I went for the police. We were the first ones there, aside from the person who committed the crime. Therefore, we saw the scene before anyone had the opportunity to tamper with it.

  ‘The police arrived second, after both of us touched the body, thereby altering it in at least a microscopic way. Our previous presence alone gave law enforcement a scene not as fresh as the one we had. Are you following me, sir?’

  ‘Yes, miss.’

  ‘And yet you are telling me that instead of believing the people who observed most accurately what that scene looked like, you want to believe the people who only had a secondary, later look. Does that sound logical to you?’

  ‘No. But that is not the view we are taking here in the security department. You and Miss Nance did not see the scene you are alleging you saw. It did not exist. It never happened. We do not know if you two are fabricating this story. Or if in distress over Miss Nance’s sister, you both had a mutual hallucination. We do not know. But we do know this: Miss Nance did not accept our version of events – the real version of events – and she was sent home. She will not be returning to work. Is that clear, Miss Clark?’

  ‘Perfectly clear, captain,’ I said, rising to my feet. ‘I am surprised I am not being sent home, too.’

  ‘General Grove’s actions during his last visit here made it clear that was not an option.’

  ‘Oh, really? Interesting that who one knows is more important than who one is. Ruth Nance is at least as trustworthy as I am, maybe more. May I get back to my work now? Every minute lost is an advantage to Germany.’

  As I suspected, a call to patriotism brought an immediate, positive response. I did believe in the importance of our work here but it saddened me to see how easily platitudes could be used to manipulate others. I was ashamed of myself. The ends do not always justify the means. It’s hard to remember that in a time of war.

  Every day that I went to work, I grew more certain that the goal was a nuclear bomb. The quicker I worked and the better I worked, the sooner people would die. It was difficult to accept and even harder to live with that knowledge. One thing kept me going: somewhere in Germany, scientists were working to the same end and my country needed to get there first.

  The rest of the week crawled along slower than a toeless sloth. I often worried about Ruth going through the funeral for her sister and coping with the loss of her job. I also thought a lot about the conversation in the security office. I had to keep my promise to Ruth and no one should be able to dictate what I did in my free time. No matter what the colonel said, questioning authority was part of being a good scientist and I was determined to ask those questions until I found the truth. Saturday, I’d drive to Knoxville and hope the sheriff could offer some answers.

  SIXTEEN

  I hadn’t driven a car for months and I’d never driven one on the dirt, gravel, mud and pothole-filled streets of Oak Ridge. I was very apprehensive when I climbed behind the wheel on the Saturday morning. During the past week, I’d thought about driving it to the A&P or to work but I worried that I’d use up the gasoline ration coupons Hank had given me and wouldn’t be able to get any more.

  Hank’s car was old – a 1932 black two-door coupe with a rumble seat. It appeared as if he’d taken excellent car
e of it but its boxy roof made its age apparent. The newer cars had rounder, almost voluptuous lines in comparison.

  I started the car, said a prayer, made a wish and eased the vehicle away from the curb. I didn’t want to do any damage on my first trip out. I breathed a sigh of relief once I passed through the Solway gate and reached the state-maintained road without getting stuck or running into anything.

  The twenty miles of countryside looked a lot like the rolling foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains back in Virginia. I imagined this piece of Tennessee would be as beautiful as Virginia in the spring when the trees budded out and the ground turned green. Still, although the limbs were bare and the grass was brown, it was nice not to be surrounded by anything but the bare dirt of a new community under construction.

  I got confused about where I was going and stopped at a restaurant for directions. Following the turns provided by a waitress, I finally found the sheriff’s office. The old building smelled a bit musty compared to the fresh scent of construction I’d become used to in all the structures behind the fence. My nose wrinkled up in objection as I walked up to the front desk. I greeted a woman whose steel-gray hair was pulled so tightly back from her face, it looked painful. She was reading a document on her desk and didn’t seem to notice I was standing in front of her.

  ‘Excuse me, ma’am.’

  ‘Can’t you see I’m busy,’ she snapped.

  So much for southern hospitality. I mustered the patience to wait without further interruption. As I did so, I watched the uniformed deputies moving in and out of the front room, picking up forms, dropping off completed documents, stopping to exchange a few words with another officer. It seemed to be a busy place.

  I was startled when, at last, the woman spoke. ‘I’m sorry. That was rude of me. But I’m doing the work of three people. Every time I get a new girl trained to help me, she gets a job out there on that government project. More than aggravating. How may I help you?’