Sabotage in the Secret City Read online

  I lowered the letter in dismay. Most of the time, I am successful in banishing my mother from my thoughts. I always resented it when my conflicting emotions towards her were pushed to the surface. Aunt Dorothy knew that. I had to trust that she had a good reason for making me go to that troubling place. I returned my attention to her correspondence.

  Your mother is ill – very ill. Most prisoners gain weight behind bars. Annabelle, on the other hand, has shriveled up. She used to be thin and now she is gaunt. She appears to be in very bad shape – almost as wretched as the photos of people we’ve seen recently at the liberated Nazi prison camps.

  I had to press her to tell me what the problem was. She said that she has a lump in her breast that grows with each passing month. I asked her what the doctor said and she told me she hadn’t seen one. I offered to facilitate a medical visit for her and she shook her head. She said, ‘I know I am going to die in here and the sooner the better. Why prolong it? Why undergo disfiguring surgery to delay the inevitable?’

  I argued with her, thinking at first it was her vanity speaking. But her commitment to no treatment went deeper than that. She believes her death will be a relief to many, including you and your brother. You probably are wondering why I am telling you all of this. It’s not to convince you to make peace with your mother and bid her farewell before she dies. If that is what you want to do, that’s fine. However, you are an adult and have no obligation nor do I have any expectation for you to do so.

  Little Ernie is the source of my concern. In his eyes, his mother is a hero. She saved his life on the day she took his father’s life. He wants to thank her and tell her he loves her. I don’t think he’d forgive any of us if we did not give him the opportunity to tell her goodbye.

  I know Annabelle has forbidden both of you from visiting her. Nonetheless, I am willing to face her displeasure and accompany little Ernie to the prison. I am going to send her a letter explaining why she needs to agree to see him. I am hoping you will encourage her to do that in your next letter.

  Thank you, darling and so sorry to bother you with my concerns but I felt it was necessary. Enjoy the books and tasty treats. When you have a chance, drop a line to let me know the package arrived safely.

  Love,

  Aunt Dorothy

  I remained seated on the floor while familial obligations and work expectations clashed in my thoughts. My mood turned dark until G.G., with string in mouth, circled around me and collapsed his fury little face on one of my feet. The welcome diversion made me laugh. I teased him with the string for a while, tossing it out and reeling it back towards me. He’d crouch with his chin nearly on the carpet and his haunches stuck up high in the air, wiggling in place. Once he’d built the suspense to an excruciating level, he pounced and jerked the string out of my hand.

  After playtime, my spirits were lifted and I rose from the floor with the new stack of books in my arms. I looked around the room and set them down on the tiny dining table. Maybe Ruth was right. I did need a proper bookcase. But where would I put one in this itsy bitsy place?

  I listened to the news while I ate my dinner on the remaining table space. The broadcast was filled with giddy reports about the progress of the war in Europe. ‘Dateline Paris. American armies, which have already virtually bisected Germany, broke into the prize cities of Leipzig and Magdeburg yesterday as British tanks tore loose on a 22-mile sweep that carried them within 25 miles of the great port of Hamburg.

  ‘Dusseldorf, the last major city in the Ruhr still held by the Germans, was entered by Doughboys who have now whittled down the Ruhr pocket to 125 square miles from its original 3000 square miles.

  ‘German Radio Commentator Max Krull said that “with the enemy breakthrough from the West and another from the East, and with wedges pointing from both directions towards Berlin, the organic structure of the German front has ceased to exist. The terms West Front and East Front have lost their meaning.”’

  That good news along with a report on the state of the German generals made me believe optimism might well be warranted. Of the fourteen of the Third Reich’s generals in power before the beginning of the war: two were murdered by the Gestapo; two were executed for a plot against Hitler; one committed suicide after our success in the D-Day operation; one was an Allied prisoner; one was relieved of his command; two others had lost their prominent positions in 1942 and 1943; one other general had not been heard of since last year’s purge, and an additional military leader was under arrest and facing trial. The announcer concluded the piece by crowing that there was only one of the generals still in command on the western front. ‘How the mighty have fallen.’

  It was all good news but still the difficulties in the Pacific Theater continued. It seemed to me that no matter how many island-hopping victories we had, it would take an attack on the Japanese mainland to end that conflict. Would we march in and die in the streets of the Land of the Rising Sun or would the work I was doing end up raining death and destruction on soldiers and civilians alike? Or maybe the optimists were right. With the announcement that much of our European-based equipment was now being redeployed to the Pacific Theater, perhaps Japan would decide that surrender was the only way to save their nation. I certainly prayed for the latter but rated its probability as low. I dreaded facing the near future events and the possible role I played in making them come to fruition.

  SEVEN

  Ping-ponging thoughts ricocheted in my head as I walked to the regular Wednesday night meeting of the Walking Molecules at Joe’s. The war, my work, the current chaotic situation in my family. I felt as if everything was demanding my attention and nothing could be resolved in an efficient and satisfactory manner. No matter what good resulted from any of it, a trail of negative consequences would be bound to follow in their wake.

  I entered the back room noticing that I was the last to arrive. It was the same old gang, minus Tom who was at his father’s funeral and Marvin whose body we’d found in the woods last year. I had advocated enlarging our circle with Charlie, the head of my lab, and Jessie, the K-25 worker who was instrumental in uncovering the espionage agents. In the chaos of the spy chase, the identities of more members of our group had been exposed to Crenshaw and the military – a fact that made none of us happy. That resulted in the growth of group paranoia that made many of us more insular and suspicious than we had been before. Both of my suggested recruits were rejected. On the other hand, they had forgiven Gary’s lapse of judgement and allowed him to return after he’d spent a couple of months as an outcast

  After I was seated with a weak Barbarossa beer in hand, Gregg asked, ‘So what’s everyone’s theory about the rat invasion?’

  ‘Hey, Teddy,’ Rudy said as he stubbed out one cigarette and lit another. ‘Was it you and your buddies in the Alpha lab trying to show us up?’

  ‘Don’t forget, Teddy is not the only man in the room from Alpha,’ Dennis said.

  ‘Yeah, that’s right,’ Gary said.

  Teddy laughed. ‘Nah. Dennis, Gary and I are far too busy to worry about you plodders getting overloaded by our efficiency in sending you more product than you can handle. I think it was a plot by the Calutron girls to get our workload so backed up that they could take a day off.’

  ‘Personally, I think they were German rats,’ Stephen joked.

  ‘You didn’t notice their slanted eyes – they’re Jap rats. Definitely,’ Dennis said.

  ‘Seriously guys,’ Gregg pleaded, ‘does anyone have a sensible idea? I, for one, find it hard to believe that we were working in a heavily infested lab without knowing it. Did anyone see any rat droppings around? I know I didn’t.’

  ‘I can resolve that for you,’ I said. ‘But, of course, it needs to stay between us.’

  ‘Okay – that goes without saying,’ Gregg said, looking around the table and collecting nods from everyone.

  ‘I wish Charlie were here with an update but this is what I know so far. Charlie spoke to the supervisor of the crew that came in t
o catch or kill the rats. Right before I left the Y-12 grounds, that man told Charlie that they had not found any signs of nesting which means the rats were new to the environment. Charlie was sticking around to see if that changed. But I haven’t spoken to him since.’

  ‘What exactly does that mean?’ Teddy asked.

  ‘It means someone placed them in there – probably last night, well after midnight. At 12.30 a.m., there were no indications of their presence in the lab.’

  ‘How do you know that?’ Teddy asked.

  With Crenshaw’s warning that ‘this expedition never happened’ thundering in my ears, I said, ‘I was there but I am not at liberty to explain why.’

  ‘Aw, c’mon, Libby,’ Teddy complained, banging his mug down on the table.

  ‘Why she was there does not have any relevance,’ Gregg said. ‘What does matter is that not like just anyone can get into the lab – there’s all of us and the people we work with in the two labs. We are the suspects.’

  ‘No, wait a minute,’ Dennis objected, ‘except for our supervisor, none of us working in Alpha have clearance to enter your work space which puts us in the clear. It has to be one of your people.’

  Stephen stood, his white-as-a-worm face turning as red as an overripe strawberry. His agitated jerky movements sloshed beer on to the table and floor. ‘Why would we put rats in our own lab?’

  ‘Hold on, Stephen,’ I interrupted. ‘If the pest control supervisor’s initial impression is correct that is exactly what Crenshaw will think when and if he learns that the rodents were a recent addition. Don’t jump on, Dennis. He is just stating an obvious deduction. We’ve got to figure out who among us could be responsible or why none of us are. We need to be prepared for Crenshaw.’

  ‘For example,’ Gregg added, ‘he could believe that someone from Alpha borrowed one of our IDs – with or without permission – and thus gained entrance to our lab.’

  Dennis nodded. ‘I can see that. I imagine that would make just one person above suspicion.’

  ‘Who?’ Stephen asked.

  ‘Libby.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘For the obvious reason,’ Dennis answered. ‘She’s the only woman and she would be noticed by the guard on duty and remembered for that reason. But Libby, that makes your visit to the lab after hours last night relevant, with all due respect to Gregg’s assertion to the contrary.’

  Great. Another tightrope to walk. ‘I was there but I was not alone. Someone was with me every moment.’

  ‘Who, Libby?’ Teddy said. ‘I don’t mean to be a stickler but that does matter under these circumstances.’

  ‘I’m not at liberty—’ I began.

  ‘You’ve got to tell us,’ Gregg said. ‘I now agree with Teddy. It does matter because it makes you Crenshaw’s main target.’

  I rubbed my eyes. I hated being in this position. I felt cornered but I knew that I would be demanding answers if the situation was reversed. ‘Crenshaw can’t suspect me because he was the individual who accompanied me in the lab.’

  ‘That puts you in an even worse position,’ Teddy said.

  ‘How do you reach that conclusion?’ I asked.

  ‘If Crenshaw knows you are not involved, he will pressure you more for information since he won’t consider you a suspect.’

  ‘I doubt that, Teddy,’ I said. ‘Remember I was present at the fire and I discovered the first rat, he probably looks at me as public enemy number one.’

  Multiple voices asked the same question: ‘What fire?’

  I described Monday morning’s incident but stopped short of telling them about the middle-of-the-night rendezvous. I didn’t hesitate on that point not because I didn’t trust them, but rather because I believed that the less they knew the better off they all would be if Crenshaw questioned them. I hoped I made the right judgement call but like so much in this place, I could not be comfortable with any assessment at any time.

  ‘Secrecy,’ Dennis said, ‘creates an impenetrable murkiness for everything in close proximity to it. I can’t wait for this war to end.’

  Murmurs of agreement went around the table. I let it die down before speaking again. ‘We need to assess all the people in both labs and look for any scientist who has turned against the ultimate goal of our work.’

  ‘Easier said than done,’ Rudy said with a hearty exhale of smoke. ‘Since we aren’t supposed to know what that goal is and we’re strictly forbidden from discussing it, how do we manage that?’

  ‘Besides,’ Stephen added, ‘wouldn’t that be like spying on our peers. Isn’t our objection to doing that a big part of why we formed this group in the first place?’

  ‘Nobody said that we need to turn anyone in to the military or the administration,’ I said. ‘But if the fire and the rats are connected and we can identify who is responsible, then we can discourage that person from doing anything further. Make sure that he understands that Crenshaw is on his tail and that we know who he is.’

  ‘How can we distinguish between someone who is ethically bothered by our work, from the person who is willing to take action against it. I think many of us are disturbed – or at least conflicted – about our ultimate goal. Essentially, we are helping to create something that we really hope will never be used,’ Rudy said.

  ‘Speak for yourself. If we had the gadget right now, I say we deploy it as close to Hitler as possible. And then do the same to the Japs,’ Stephen snapped back.

  ‘Stephen, that is an irresponsible attitude,’ Dennis said. ‘You are talking about the death of civilians as well as possible—’

  The entrance of the waitress brought the conversation to a dead halt. ‘More beer,’ she asked with a big smile that quickly faded when she picked up on the tension in the room. ‘Well, ya’ll just holler if you need me.’ She backed up a few steps, spun around and speed-walked out of the room.

  ‘As I was saying,’ Dennis continued, ‘not only the immediate death of large numbers of innocents but the possibility of unknown long-term effects.’

  ‘Innocents? There’s not an innocent person in Germany or Japan. We ought to wipe them all off the face of the earth,’ Stephen said.

  In response, the room went silent. Stephen’s face reddened. ‘Don’t tell me none of you agree with that?’ His glance traveled around the group where most members stared down at the table top. I, on the other hand, kept my gaze riveted on his face. He kept his eyes focused on me as he shoved out his chair, rose and stomped out of the room.

  I half expected him to barrel back and lambast us for a lack of patriotic fervor but two minutes passed before Teddy broke the silence. ‘I hope there are cooler heads in Washington.’

  ‘I can’t say I trust the generals to choose the route of fewest casualties to our enemies,’ Dennis said. ‘But I did trust our president. When Roosevelt was holding those reins, and weighing the consequences, I was convinced he wouldn’t use the gadget until all other options had been considered. I just hope our new President Truman will do the same.’

  When Joe cleared his throat, everything turned quiet. He seldom spoke up in the group but when he did, we all knew he’d been digesting and analyzing from the start. ‘I believe Stephen gave us another question to consider. I have never heard him talk quite like that before. Have any of you?’

  He looked around at all of the shaking heads. ‘What if he is trying to cover up his trail to brush away any suspicion? What if he set the fire and released the rats or is in cahoots with the person who did?’

  It was an unsettling thought. As I looked over these men who I trusted with my life, I wondered if I really knew any of them. Were they all wearing masks to hide their true intentions?

  Gregg stood and asked, ‘Aren’t we all getting a little ahead of ourselves? A fire in an unoccupied building and a short-term invasion of rats: does anyone here think it would be possible for these pranks to stop the project?’

  ‘Just how do you know that building was unoccupied?’ Rudy asked. He took a deep draw on h
is cigarette and exhaled a large cloud of smoke. ‘Were you there when the fire started, Gregg?’

  It felt as if all the oxygen had been sucked from my lungs. Gregg still stood, his jaw slack and his arms hanging uselessly at his sides. All around the table mouths opened as if to speak and then closed without uttering a sound.

  ‘Really?’ Rudy said, shaking his head. ‘Let’s not pussyfoot around here. The prime suspects are all here in this room. There’s no sense in pretending otherwise. If we can’t ask the blunt questions, how can we get answers?’

  ‘I think we may be overlooking another possibility,’ Dennis said. ‘Something more sinister. What if the military was responsible? What if their goal was to destroy our trust in one another? To break us all apart?’

  ‘If they are, they are doing a fine job,’ Gregg admitted and adjourned the meeting.

  Lost in a cloud over the unexpected turn of tonight’s meeting, I did not realize that Teddy and Dennis were both following me until their voices rose in obvious disagreement. I stopped and both bumped into me.

  I turned with arms akimbo as they spluttered apologies. ‘What are you two arguing about?’

  ‘I was just explaining to Dennis that I always walk you home after the meetings and there was no need for him to tag along,’ Teddy explained while donning a look of total innocence.

  ‘He wasn’t exactly that polite. I told him that I wanted to talk to you privately and he refused to give me that opportunity,’ Dennis said in his defense.

  Another piece of evidence that men may be more trouble than they are worth. ‘Teddy, first of all, I have told you repeatedly that I am a grown woman and I don’t need to have an escort to walk home. I am actually capable of accomplishing that feat on my own. And Dennis, if you wanted to talk to me privately, why didn’t you tell me instead of Teddy. He is not my keeper.’

  They both stared down at the ground as if waiting for me to say more. I remained quiet for a minute hoping that one of them would speak up, concede, or something. When neither did, I said, ‘Teddy, go home. Dennis, let’s talk.’