Instead of telling him it wasn’t his business, Logan stared at him. Creed couldn’t help thinking the arrogant son of a bitch actually looked like he wanted to tell him. Logan’s eyes darted uphill, then back over his shoulder at Maggie.
“DARPA has research facilities all across the country,” he told Creed, keeping his voice low. “They operate with a lot of independence. That’s the way the head guys like it. Something goes wrong, the head guys can’t be held accountable if they didn’t know what the hell was going on, right?”
“Are you saying you don’t even know what this facility was working on?”
“We have a general idea.”
“You haven’t located the director yet?”
Creed watched Logan’s entire face stiffen before he said, “Yesterday your dog found all that might be left of her.”
Jason had told Creed last night about the hand they’d recovered.
“How do you already know it’s hers?”
“I’ve only met Dr. Shaw a couple of times but I recognized her signature red nail polish. She wore a diamond ring on her thumb. Of course, we’ll still run fingerprints.”
“The rest of her body is probably buried here somewhere,” Creed told him.
“All I know is that my boss has his panties all in a twist. Congressional hearings are going on this week—right now. That’s why Ben Platt couldn’t be here. The Senate’s looking for scapegoats for something that happened over fifty years ago.”
“What does that have to do with this?”
“Are you kidding me? Please don’t tell me that you’re still that na?ve, dogman. This slide couldn’t have happened at a worse time. And I’m the new guy. I haven’t been on the job a year, but it’s my ass that’s on the line.”
“But you just said you can’t be held accountable for something you don’t know.”
“You missed the part about me saying it’s the head guys who can’t be accountable.”
“So what is this, Logan? Because if you have me involved in another cover-up, I’m not sticking around.”
“Another cover-up?” Maggie asked, standing less than four feet behind them.
49.
Washington, D.C.
They’re ready for your testimony, Mr. Sadowski.”
Frankie hadn’t gotten any sleep last night. Too many strange sounds outside his hotel room door. That, and his concern that he wasn’t sure he could trust anyone. He regretted bringing Susan with him.
The strobe lights blinded him. If the clerk hadn’t guided him to his seat he might not have been able to find his way. Already he was perspiring and his pulse raced.
Senator Quincy asked him some basic questions. Then he went into a lecture about Project 112 and Project SHAD. He kept saying that he wanted Frankie and the others to understand what these projects were according to the Department of Defense.
“These series of tests were conducted between 1962 and 1974 by the Department of Defense. During these projects, the Department of Defense has admitted a number of weapons containing chemical and biological agents were tested. It is believed that some of these chemical and biological agents included VX nerve gas, Sarin nerve gas, and E. coli.”
The senator was reading from what was obviously an extensive document. Frankie could see him flipping pages.
“The purpose of these tests, according to the Department of Defense, was to identify the United States’ vulnerabilities to attacks with chemical and biological warfare agents. They had hoped to use these tests and their results to develop procedures to respond to such attacks. They sought to find out how chemical and biological agents behaved under different climatic, environmental, and other conditions.
“During a variety of these tests, a chemical or simulant of a chemical was sprayed from military jets. In the case of Project SHAD, the chemical was sprayed over a ship. Sailors were trained how to decontaminate a ship after a test and how to conduct air samplings.
“In some cases the chemicals were sprayed over a particular area and drift tests were conducted. One such test”—Senator Quincy pushed his glasses up before continuing—“was Project SHAD’s Shady Grove. Tests took place at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida outside Pensacola. It’s my understanding that this is one of the tests that you believe you were exposed to, Mr. Sadowski, allegedly without your consent or knowledge of what the test involved. Is that correct, Mr. Sadowski?”
“It wasn’t just without my consent or knowledge of what the test involved. I simply didn’t even know I was part of any test at the time. We were never told.”
“What did you think you were taking air samples for if it wasn’t a test?”
“I never took air samples. But I was stationed at the base when Shady Grove took place.”
“How do you know that if you didn’t even know what Shady Grove was at the time?”
Frankie wiped at his forehead. He had expected this to be tough but he hadn’t expect it to be an interrogation.
“I only know about Shady Grove now, after reading about it.”