Mary led him toward the dry dock where the keels for two new Fletcher-class destroyers had been laid down. As much as he wanted to talk about ships, he wanted to hear about Mary more.
Jim swallowed the last of his hot dog and wiped mustard from his lips. “How have things been around here since the arrest?”
“Much quieter. More peaceful.” But she frowned.
“A big uproar in the papers.”
“For a day or two, but now they’re more interested in the World Series coming up. Some people aren’t happy about that. They expected national outrage, and there isn’t any.”
Jim shrugged. “No national outrage when theRobin Moorwas sunk, or theSteel Seafarer, or when a U-boat fired on theGreer. I don’t know what it takes.”
Mary sipped her Coke. “The uproar over Mr. Kaplan was muted to begin with. The FBI is being circumspect. I hope it’s because they doubt his guilt. I pray so, because he isn’t the saboteur, and I feel awful that my notes helped put him behind bars.”
He stopped so she’d have to face him. “Why do you say that?”
“The things he said, that I recorded, they sound so incriminating.”
“But you don’t think he did it.”
“I know he didn’t. Oh, Jim, you should have seen his face. Yes, he tried to frame Mr. Bauer, which was horribly wrong. But he was motivated by a vigilante sense of justice. He was convinced Bauer was the saboteur and needed to be arrested. Once he realized Bauer was innocent, he instantly regretted his actions. You could see it.”
Jim squinted at her. “Which means Kaplan isn’t guilty, and our saboteur is still out there.”
“Yes.” Mary’s shoulders slumped. “But not one clue since Kaplan was arrested.”
“Looks like you have some detective work to do while I’m gone, eh?” He offered her a smile and his elbow. “Now, show me those Fletchers.”
At Dry Dock 2, they gazed down at the two bare hulls side by side on their wooden scaffolds.
“TheGuestand theHutchins,” Mary said. “I can see why you sailor boys are so eager to sail in them.”
He laughed at her sarcastic tone. “Just you wait. Our Gleaves-class destroyer is only 1630 tons, but the Fletchers will be 2100 tons and 28 feet longer. They can carry more guns and torpedo tubes, and are more rugged. Sleek design too.”
“Interesting.”
Was it? Was it interesting to a young woman? “I’m boring you, right?”
“Never.” A lock of hair covered her mouth, but not the amusement in her eyes. “Remember, this is my business too.”
A surge of emotion rose inside, and he lifted his hand to brush away her hair, to linger.
But she beat him to it and shook her hair off her face.
He used his raised hand to scratch the back of his neck. Either a drooling fool or a frozen one. He’d chosen his path—why couldn’t he follow it?
Mary stayed close to Jim’s side. Two hundred men and officers of the USSAtwoodcrowded the wharf, all in gleaming white uniforms, along with wives and sweethearts and children. What an honor to be invited to see Jim ship out.
All around, women cried into shoulders or put on brave stoic faces. She understood their fears. The sea itself was dangerous, especially the frigid storm-tossed waters of the North Atlantic where everyone knew—but no one could say—theAtwoodwould be sailing.
In those same seas, U-boats sank dozens of ships each month. Only a matter of time until an American warship was sunk, until they went to war.
But the Bible said, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear,” and Mary would rest in that. If she loved Jim—and she was pretty sure she did—then fear had no place. Her fear would only burden him and paralyze her. The Lord loved Jim and would keep him safe, even if safety lay in heaven rather than on earth.
Jim faced her, breathtakingly close in the press of the crowd. “I’ll miss you.”
She wanted to drink in the warm expression on his face, to etch it into her memory. “I’ll miss you too.”
“It’s good to know you’ll be here when I get back.”
