Page 47 of The Women of Oak Ridge

I’d awakened to a pitch-black room sometime after midnight.

My body was stiff from lying on the hard wood, and I’d been confused as to why I was on the floor.

The bulb on the lamp had burned out, but the moment I flicked the switch to the overhead light and saw Sissy’s Christmas gifts from her family, fresh agony flooded my entire being.

Clive killed Sissy.

Those awful words rolled through my brain, over and over, like a record album with a deep scar.

There was no other explanation for Sissy’s sudden disappearance.

While I had assumed she was home with her family, they thought she was safe in Oak Ridge.

Her mother’s letter, however, revealed the truth. Clive had lied. About everything.

I’d stayed awake the rest of the night, vacillating between grief and despair, fear and revulsion.

I’d cried until I had no more tears left.

After that, I became angry. I railed at God for letting this happen, demanding answers.

Sissy believed in him, so why didn’t he protect her?

Why allow Clive to get away with the evil things he’d done?

After I readied for work and caught a bus to K-25, different questions poured into my mind.

What should I do now? Who could I tell? Would anyone believe me?

The evidence pointed to Clive’s guilt, but his position at Clinton Engineer Works afforded him a level of respect someone like me didn’t possess.

Although I could hand over the documents hidden behind the headboard to the authorities, they would only prove that he was a spy.

It would be much more difficult to convince anyone he was involved in murder.

Other than finding Sissy’s badge in his trailer, I had no tangible proof of his guilt. No proof that Sissy was even dead.

A grisly thought nearly brought me to my knees as I clocked in for the day.

Only the discovery of Sissy’s body would lead to Clive’s arrest.

The very idea brought on nausea, making me grimace when I walked into the maintenance shop. Mr. Colby stood just inside the entry, talking to one of the workers, but when he glanced my way, his expression told me I must look a fright.

After he finished with the employee, he said, “Willett, my office. Now.”

Once the door was closed and we’d each taken a seat, he asked, “What’s going on, Mae? You look awful.”

The fact that he’d used my first name caused tears to spring to my eyes. How I wished I could tell him the truth, but I’d sound like a raving lunatic. Until I had more evidence, I had to pretend everything was fine.

“I didn’t sleep much last night. I don’t feel well.”

“You don’t look well.” He hesitated. “Is there something else you want to tell me?”

My head shot up. Had Clive gotten to my boss? Told him more lies? “About what, sir?”

His gaze narrowed on me. “Ever since that MP showed up, you’ve been different. I have a mind to call Morrison in here and get to the bottom of things.”

My eyes widened. “Please don’t do that, sir.”

He studied me for a long moment before he leaned back in his chair.

“Did you know I have a daughter?” At the shake of my head, he continued.

“Belle is ten years old, and as precocious as they come. I’d do everything in my power to keep that girl safe.

I’d do the same for you, too, Willett. So, if there is anything— anything —you want to tell me, now is your chance. ”

My heart hammered.

How I longed to blurt out the entire, horrific story, right here in the privacy of Mr. Colby’s office.

But the only thing I could prove with any certainty was Clive’s traitorous behavior.

If he was arrested for spying, would the military police look into Sissy’s disappearance?

Doubtful, since people left Oak Ridge every week with little to no notice.

It wasn’t unusual for someone to simply not show up for work or disappear from the dormitory.

The authorities would be more concerned about Clive’s espionage than a missing girl.

As much as I loved my country and despised what Clive was doing, proving he was responsible for Sissy vanishing was far more important to me than the secret documents he snuck out of K-25 and gave to the Russians.

I shook my head. “There’s nothing to tell, sir.” Not yet, I added silently. But I would keep searching, keep watching Clive, until I knew what happened to Sissy. Then I would take Mr. Colby up on his offer and make sure Clive Morrison paid for what he’d done.

My boss didn’t look happy with my answer but didn’t press the subject. “Go home, Willett. You can’t do your job if you’re sick, and I don’t want you spreading something around to the other employees. If you need tomorrow off too, take it.”

I thanked him and left the office. I knew I wasn’t contagious, but I welcomed the time off. To think. To process. To plan.

The same guard who’d checked my ID badge when I’d entered the plant a short time ago checked it again as I exited. I thought he might question me, but he simply returned the badge and moved on to the person behind me.

Because it wasn’t time for a shift change, there were no lines when I arrived at the transportation terminal.

I walked toward a bus going to town, but a glance to the west brought my feet to a halt.

I stared at the tree line beyond K-25 to where a dirt path disappeared into dense foliage.

It was the same road Clive had taken the evening he told me about Oak Ridge’s secret.

The same road he took when he and Sissy drove out to the river, including the day she vanished.

I shivered, but it had nothing to do with the crisp December air.

If Clive killed Sissy, as I was now convinced, he would’ve had to bury her body somewhere.

By his own admission, they’d driven to their favorite spot just past S-50 to talk.

While I couldn’t bear to think about what happened to my friend that day, if a fresh grave existed, it would be easy to detect.

Finding it was the only thing that would convince the authorities to arrest Clive for murder as well as espionage.

And I was the only one who knew where to look.

If I was going to do this, I had to get to S-50.

It was only a couple miles, I guessed, but someone walking down the road would draw unnecessary attention.

I didn’t have clearance for S-50 and would be in trouble if I got caught.

Even if I could get one of the bus drivers I was familiar with to ignore rules and transport me to the plant this one time, I didn’t want anyone to know where I was going.

The fact that I even knew about another uranium enrichment facility could cast a shadow of suspicion around me.

With my mind made up, I turned toward the west and started out on foot.

I’d simply have to keep aware of oncoming traffic and dart into the woods before anyone saw me.

Luckily it hadn’t rained lately, so the road was dry.

I’d traipsed around our mining community my whole life—up and down hills and hollers, and along animal paths in thick woods—so walking long distances wasn’t difficult.

Yet the terrible mission I was on made my steps heavy.

I didn’t know why the burden of proof fell to me, but Sissy had been my roommate and friend.

She deserved to have the person responsible for harming her held accountable.

Every so often, I turned to look behind me.

It felt as though the trees had eyes, watching my every step.

Thankfully only one car passed by, but I’d ducked into the brush.

I wasn’t certain what I would say should someone stop and ask what I was doing way out there.

Maybe I’d tell them Mr. Colby sent me on a confidential errand.

With so many secrets in play in Oak Ridge, no one would know if I was telling the truth or not.

The sound of a train rumbling on the other side of the woods to my right brought me to a standstill. I couldn’t remember if the tracks crossed the road or ran parallel, but I didn’t want an engineer or railroad workers to spot me. I let the train pass before I resumed my journey.

After walking for nearly an hour, S-50 came into view.

Once again, I found it shocking to see the plant.

The train I’d heard pass was now stopped near a large structure with three tall smokestacks that belched some kind of smoke or vapor.

Men worked to unload the string of railroad cars, although I couldn’t see the cargo they toiled over.

With so many people nearby, I left the road and walked to the edge of the Clinch.

Unlike most riverbanks, this one had been scraped clean of vegetation when S-50 was built, with no brush or trees to offer cover as I followed the water’s edge past the plant.

While I didn’t run, I did pick up the pace and was soon around the bend, hopeful no one had noticed me.

When I reached the area where Clive had parked the car the day we’d come here, I stopped to catch my breath.

Piles of unused building materials were scattered here and there.

Thick forest grew untouched across the river, but the Clinch was wide.

One would have to drive to the Gallaher Gate and cross over the bridge to get to the woods.

To the north, behind S-50, were more woods.

My shoulders sagged. A grave could be anywhere.

Tears sprang to my eyes, but I wouldn’t let myself give up. Sissy needed me to do this. I set about searching. The piles. The woods. Everything in between. I had just sat on a fallen tree to take a rest when I heard voices.

“Let’s check over here,” a man said. “She can’t be far.”

My heart nearly leaped out of my chest. I couldn’t get caught. I’d lose my job. I might even be arrested. As quietly as possible, I scrambled to crawl behind the log and pressed my body up against it, trying to still my ragged breath.