Taken: Day 11

Word Count: 66,054

Summary of Events:

Mitchell heard back from the union that he'd gotten a job at a shipyard that started on Monday so, after spending as much time as possible over the weekend with Dolly, Mitchell went to work. Because he had no experience with ships, but yet had a working knowledge of auto mechanics, he was assigned to do automotive work. At lunchtime he joined Oswald "Hammy" Hamilton, and several other men whom he knew only by the nicknames Oswald had given them, whom he decided to ask discreetly about Marion Edgar . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

“So who’s the boss around here?” Mitchell asked.

“With us, it’s Bertie,” Nellie replied.

“Grover’s the foreman of this yard,” Jokes said.

“And Mary’s the big boss of the whole union,” Oswald said.

“Mary?” Mitchell asked.

“Marion Edgar,” Bertie replied. “Hammy doesn’t care if the nickname is girly, if it’s the first one that pops out of his mouth that’s what it is.”

“So if you value your life don’t call me Nellie,” Nellie said. “Hammy’s the only one who’s allowed to do it.”

“So then what do I call you?” Mitchell asked.

“Nelson,” Nellie replied.

Mitchell nodded. “But who’s Marion Edgar?”

“You must be a recent arrival if you don’t know Mary,” Oswald said. “Especially as of late.”

“He’s a Communist,” Jokes said.

“Well that’s not really surprising, seeing as this is a union,” Mitchell said.

“It will be soon,” Nelson said. “The union’s looking to get rid of all the Communists in it’s ranks, they don’t like the connotations, considering what’s happening in the USSR.”

Mitchell nodded.

“And he can’t even pretend he’s not one to stay in,” Web said. “He’s made it so abundantly clear over the years to everyone — especially in the union — that he’s a Communist that it’s common knowledge.”

“Well,” Mitchell said. “Why haven’t they shipped him out yet?”

“He’s been good,” Bertie said. “Real good. They don’t want to necessarily ruin his reputation if they can avoid it, besides, I don’t think they have someone lined up who could replace him effectively and seamlessly yet.”

“They want to give him time to resign,” Nelson said. “Let him leave with his dignity.”

“Has that been in the papers lately?” Mitchell asked.

“No,” Oswald replied. “His daughter’s been in the papers.”

“Didn’t realise the girl had ever come to visit her dad until I saw that in the paper,” Bertie said. “He and his wife divorced the same year I started here and mother and daughter went off to Seattle where all mother’s family lived.”

“You work in the shipyard though Bertie,” Web said. “Do you really expect to know if she comes to town to visit her daddy?”

“You’d think a body would see it in the papers though,” Bertie said. “I mean, seeing how much he’s in the papers for appearances at highfalutin’ events, you’d think if she came to visit she’d be at highfalutin’ events too, whether on her own or with her daddy.”

“Oh, I guess that is true,” Web agreed.

“Here it’s been eighteen years since I heard anything of Odessa Edgar and all of the sudden she’s front-page news everywhere because some young soldier just back from the war apparently played a little rough with her,” Bertie said.

“He’s been in a rough-and-tumble life for the past few years,” Jokes said. “Only make sense that he got a little carried away.”

Mitchell smiled inwardly; he was glad to hear that these men didn’t seem to believe Odessa’s story. It was nice to accumulate a larger group of people who were on his side.