The 9 by Madalyn Morgan (tools of titans ebook .txt) 📕

know, but they shouldn’t be too long. If you want to talk, Ena, I’d be happy to listen.’ Ena shook her head. ‘I’m here if you want to get anything off your chest?’

Ena looked at Tilly, her eyes wide with disbelief. ‘Get anything off my chest?’ she said, with incredulity. ‘I haven’t done anything to get off my chest!’ Ena’s eyes filled with tears – and she didn’t blink them back. ‘I thought you believed me.’ She fell into her seat and buried her head in her hands.

‘I love my job,’ Ena said, when she finally lifted her head. ‘Not many people can do the job, because it’s so complex, so…. intricate.’ A hint of a smile crossed Ena’s face as she thought about her work. ‘It’s a bit fiddly to tell you the truth. The fine wires-- I shouldn’t be talking about it, I’m sorry. It’s just that Mr Silcott… Oh God,’ Ena cried, ‘What will Mr Silcott say – and my friend, Freda. What will Freda think of me?’

Tilly Anderson put her hand on Ena’s arm. A gesture that told Ena the young Wren was sympathetic to her predicament. ‘I do believe you, Ena. I just thought, if you had mentioned your work to someone… Walls have ears, and all that.’

 ‘But I haven’t. And for the record, I wouldn’t tell anyone. No one knows what I actually do in my job, not even my parents. They think I’m an apprentice engineer, which I am. I was only taken off the factory floor because I’m good at precision work, and I’ve got a knack with numbers and can work out stuff. And I couldn’t tell them what happens here because, other than it having something to do with communications, I don’t know.’ Ena began to cry. ‘I love my job, Tilly. I don’t want to lose it. To tell you the truth, I am proud that I’m trusted to do sensitive work for a place like Bletchley Park.

‘It’s ironic,’ Ena continued. ‘I’m in trouble, suspected of all sorts by Commander Dalton, but if his people had sent the petrol coupons, as they should have, I wouldn’t even have been on the train. Mr Silcott and I would have brought the work down by car.’

Lifting her head, Ena rubbed her eyes with the heel of her hands and turned to Tilly. ‘What if the Ministry of Defence takes the contracts away from Silcott’s? What I do is only a small part of the work the factory does for the different branches of the armed forces. If they don’t give us any more contracts a lot of people will lose their jobs. Most of the workforce are women, mothers, whose husbands are away fighting. They depend on what they earn at Silcott’s to pay the rent, the bills, and feed their children. What if--’

There was a sharp rap on the door. Tilly got up to answer it. Ena, worn out with emotion, leant back in her chair and closed her eyes. She could tell it was a man’s voice, but she was not able to hear what he was saying because he spoke in a whisper. She wiped her hand across her face, too distraught to care.

‘Commander Dalton would like to see you, Ena,’ Tilly said, returning to the table. She picked up Ena’s coat and handbag and offered her her hand. ‘I’ll take you to his office.’

Exhausted, Ena pushed back her chair, pulled herself to her feet, and let Tilly lead her out of the interrogation room.

Commander Dalton stood up when Ena entered. ‘Sit down, Miss Dudley.’

Without looking at him, Ena sat heavily on the chair in front of his desk.

‘One of our intelligence people has telephoned Silcott’s Engineering.’ Ena sat up, eager to hear news of her boss. ‘On the pretext of requiring a quote for work in the future, he asked to speak to Herbert Silcott and was told by Miss King that Mr Silcott was away on business, not expected back in the office until later in the day.’

Ena’s hand flew up to her mouth. ‘Where is he?’

‘Our man said he had spoken to a Miss Dudley on a previous occasion and asked if he could speak to her. Miss King told him that Miss Dudley had accompanied Mr Silcott and wouldn’t be in the office until tomorrow. She asked if she could take a message. Our man thanked her and said he was getting quotes from other factories and would ring back. He then telephoned Mrs Silcott in case her husband had missed the train and returned home.’ Ena crossed her fingers. ‘He hadn’t.’

Ena’s eyes widened. ‘The man with the wet shoes!’ The commander tilted his head and looked at her curiously. ‘Mr Silcott didn’t return home because the man in the compartment must have kidnapped him or something. How else would he get Mr Silcott’s hat and coat? I didn’t see his face because he was holding onto his hat, Mr Silcott’s hat, and his face was hidden. I thought the man who left the Gents’ lavatory and ran for the train was Mr Silcott because he was wearing Mr Silcott’s hat and coat. I didn’t see the hat in the compartment but that only means he got rid of it. He could have thrown it out of the window for all I know. Or he could have put it under the coat. He’d tried to disguise it by turning it inside out, but I saw Mr Silcott’s camel-coloured coat on the overhead rack.’

A worried frown crept across Commander Dalton’s face. ‘I suspect you are right, Miss Dudley. I also suspect the man was a spy.’ The commander gathered up the folders on his desk and stacked them into a neat pile. ‘You were targeted, Miss Dudley. Targeted.’ Ena felt fingers of ice grip her spine. She shivered. ‘And, if what you say is true, you were lucky you