The Bletchley Riddle: Chapters 44–65

A surge of adrenaline explodes within me and in my state of high alert, flashbulbs of facts pop through my mind:
Ambassador Kennedy called Fleetwood.
While waiting for him to arrive, he probably called Gran.
Fleetwood will haul me away from Jakob, away from the investigation, away from Colin and Marion.

“You didn’t try to flee?” asks Kennedy.
“Flee? I’m fourteen, alone, and vulnerable amid my grief, Mr. Ambassador. I can’t even begin to convey the myriad of dangers I had to dodge when Mr. Fleetwood abandoned me and made off with our family’s valuables. I had to navigate on my own, all the way to Llangollen.”

“I told them abandonment wasn’t exactly correct. When I explained that you had celebrated our departure with a few toasts they crossed out ‘abandonment’ and wrote down ‘gross negligence.’ But you’re American, so I’m not sure they can prosecute you here...."

Marion throws herself face down on the bed in distress. “I’ve jeopardized the whole operation!”

In Hut 3, one team translates the German into English. Another analyzes the intelligence in each message: what it means, level of priority, who needs to see it.

Turing and Welchman are just coming out from Hut 1 as I walk past. I get a quick look inside at the prototype of Turing’s codebreaking machine.

“She liked a challenge. She never felt her talents were being used at the embassy.”
“I see. She felt resentful toward her boss. Tempted by a challenge. Wanted a more exciting life. Do you know what you’re describing?”
“What?”
“Many of the classic motivations of spies.”

“Yes, I am in mourning.” I lay a hand to my forehead. “I’m a war orphan. Life has taken everything from me, and now you’re tearing me from my brother and my friends. You and Gran are the epitome of cruel, Mr. Fleetwood...”

“...You may have won this match, but never underestimate the intellect and guile of women with goals.”

Defiance lights within me.
I will continue my investigation however I am able.
I am undaunted. I am unstoppable.
I am Lizzie Novis.
And I will show them all.

“Disguise? Oh, Lizzie, no. You didn’t.”
“Of course I did....we concocted a plan and used Willa’s veil from Dad’s funeral. Truly fortuitous that I overpacked coming to Bletchley.”

“You’re a brilliant mathematician, Jakob, but sadly you’re just not perceptive. You miss details. If you were perceptive, you would have noted that I don’t have a suitcase here. I came to Bletchley with a trunk. Therefore, the suitcase I was carrying was not mine, which would indicate that I was not the one getting on the plane. The suitcase was Marion’s. It was all there before you. We swapped clothes in Colin’s room under the guise of leaving him a note.”

“Quite,” Jarvis agrees. “Still, some of what Kent says is fascinating. He wasn’t working alone, for instance. We’ve asked him for a list of accomplices. Guess whose name came up?”
I try to swallow the lump in my throat. Can’t quite do it.
“You got it,” he says. “Willa Novis.”

“I’ve discovered that you’re running a secret codebreaking operation. You see, most people here are compartmentalized. They report to work and complete their isolated tasks without the benefit of seeing the big picture. As a messenger, I have a different perspective. I’ve had the advantage of racing around every inch of the Park, and in doing so, have observed exactly what is going on, all of the machines involved, and how the work in each section integrates.”

“And from this point forward”—the Colonel leans forward and stares at me—“you will report only and directly…to me.”
I exit the mansion trying to determine whether I’ve just been reprimanded, promoted, or both.