Page 75 of The Women of Oak Ridge
I felt like a frightened hare, trapped with no way to escape. If I went along with his plan, I’d be guilty of betraying my country. Yet if I didn’t agree to hide the stolen papers, Clive would ruin my life. Not only would I lose my job, but I’d go to prison. Just last week, Prudence excitedly whispered to several of us that a lab technician at K-25 had failed a lie detector test and was taken into custody. I didn’t know how those types of tests worked, and I didn’t want to find out.
“I’ll hide your stupid documents,” I spat, not bothering to conceal my fury.
He laughed, clearly enjoying his superiority over me. “Espionage isn’t so bad, Mae. What we’re doing is going to help a lot of people. You’ll see.”
We drove the remaining miles in silence. When we reached the dormitory, Clive parked but didn’t turn off the engine. He pulled a manila envelope from beneath his seat.
“This envelope is sealed and needs to remain sealed.” His gaze narrowed on me. “I’ll know if you open it, Mae. I’ll get it back from you the day after Christmas.” He handed the thick packet across the space between us.
I couldn’t move. I just stared at the horrid thing, knowing that the moment I touched those papers, I was as guilty as Clive. It didn’t matter that I wasn’t the one who’d stolen them or passedthem on to whomever Clive was working for. My involvement would be seen as traitorous, a betrayal of the trust President Roosevelt had put in me, a citizen of the United States.
“Take it, Mae.”
I refused to look at him. If I had to see his smug face one more time, my fist might end up meeting his nose. I grabbed the packet and exited the car. A light snow had begun to fall, and tiny white flakes landed on the envelope.
“You know the motto around here, Mae. Mum’s the word.”
I slammed the door while he laughed and marched toward the dormitory without a backwards glance. The sedan roared away. Tears threatened to spill, but I had to keep them in check until I reached my room. The wintery weather had brought people outside, laughing and chasing each other, while others tried to catch the fluffy flakes on their tongues.
“Hi, Mae,” Prudence Thorpe called from a short distance away where she and other young women stood chatting. “Come join us.”
I begged off. “Sorry. I’m not feeling too well.”
Her eyes traveled to the packet in my hands, before returning to my face. “Any word from Sissy?”
I shook my head and continued on my way. The last thing I needed was nosy Prudence asking questions. After I locked myself in my room, I flung the packet onto Sissy’s bed.
“This is all your fault,” I hissed, imagining Sissy sitting across from me. Tears blurred my vision. “If you hadn’t gone on that first date with Clive, he would’ve moved on to someone else. Now look at the mess I’m in.”
I sank to the floor. My shoulders shook with silent sobs. I wanted to scream, yell, lash out at the injustice, but I couldn’t let anyone overhear me. I had to give the appearance that everything was fine. That I wasn’t hiding confidential documents in my room.That a spy for Russia hadn’t threatened me with dire consequences if I didn’t help him.
When I couldn’t shed another tear, I turned on the lamp and sat up. The loathsome packet mocked me where it lay on Sissy’s bed. Daring me to open it. Daring me to turn it over to the authorities.
Daring me to be brave.
But I wasn’t brave. I was a coward. Worse than that, I was a traitor.
I glanced around the room. I needed to find someplace to hide the packet. No one should be in my room if I wasn’t home, but Mrs. Kepple had a key and could access it if necessary. When I’d seen her in the hallway yesterday, she mentioned that unless Sissy returned soon, I would have a new roommate assigned to me. I could only hope that didn’t happen until after I returned the documents to Clive.
The tiny space had limited options for concealing anything. The closet was too obvious. I ruled out tucking the packet under a mattress for the same reason. I could wrap it in one of Sissy’s blouses and put it in the laundry basket, but anyone could easily dump it out and discover the envelope.
My gaze landed on the headboard on Sissy’s bed. With only one way to arrange the sparse furnishings in the cramped room, the headboards for each of our beds were anchored to the wall. I moved to sit on her coverlet and studied how the wood was held in place. If I loosened the screw in the upper right corner, I might be able to create a gap wide enough to slip the packet in. The problem was I didn’t have any tools. I could borrow something from the shop tomorrow, but that didn’t help me right now.
I glanced at my purse. The knife was still hidden within. Thankfully I hadn’t had to use it against Clive, but it would come in handy for this project.
I retrieved the utensil and quickly had the screw loosened. Thewood gapped just enough for me to push the packet down, out of sight. Unfortunately the screw wouldn’t tighten all the way, but it didn’t matter. No one would notice.
Exhaustion crawled over me. I wasn’t cut out for espionage.
The sooner I returned the documents to Clive and washed my hands of this whole mess, the better.
