Chapter 38 Ingrid
Ingrid
The night before Ada’s scheduled hearing, Ingrid hardly sleeps, then she wakes long before dawn, mentally rehearsing what
to say to her superior when she sees him. Crenshaw has been mostly out of the office, so ever since learning about her sister’s
subpoena, Ingrid’s efforts to speak with him about it have come to naught.
She will make the time, though, before the intended hearing. It might be happening today, but so are countless other hearings.
Ingrid will find Crenshaw and encourage him to call the whole thing off—a plan that has little chance of succeeding, but all
she’s got for now. If she has to recount her entire report to convince him this is unnecessary, she will. Ada’s position is
already abundantly clear.
She leaves for the hearing before Lars rises. Typically, she would rouse him long enough to kiss him goodbye, or the night
before he would remind her to wake him if she leaves early. They have not done either since their argument.
Despite the lump that lodges in her throat, Ingrid pushes the thought deliberately from her mind as she hurries to the Cannon House Office Building.
The stately government buildings have always brought her comfort, symbols of freedom and justice and everything she came to this country to find.
Everything she hopes to ensure for her sister.
This is her investigation. And yet no one bothered to consult her about the plan to subpoena Ada. Ever since the news of the
hearing, a strange feeling has settled in her chest, one that grows stronger every time she considers why she was not included
in the decision. It makes no sense, not when she was the one assigned to uncover Ada’s loyalties. If there is something she
does not know, something that was not in her report or that came from another source and led to this, someone should have
told her.
Outside the Caucus Room, throngs have already gathered, as they have ever since the public learned celebrities would be appearing
before the committee. Ingrid doesn’t notice Ada. Either she’s not here yet, or she’s already inside. She pushes through the
crowd. No sign of her sister in the Caucus Room either. Ingrid lets out her breath. She has time.
Shoving down the coil of tension in her chest, Ingrid hurries to the front of the room where her employer lingers. Crenshaw
is here; Ada is not. Ingrid will convince him that this hearing is unnecessary, and then her sister will be told there’s been
a mistake and she isn’t needed after all.
“Mr. Crenshaw, speaking with Ada Worthington-Fox today is unnecessary. I spent months with her, sir; she doesn’t know anything
beyond what we already know, and she is not a Communist. As you know from my report. We should call off the hearing and allow
the committee to put its time to better use—unless there’s something you know that I don’t, in which case I’d like to be informed,
because I found no reason to subpoena her.”
“Who receives a subpoena is not your decision, Mrs. Van Essen, and I don’t give a damn about what you think is or isn’t necessary.
We’ve worked too long to secure this hearing.”
Ingrid stares; he can’t mean that the way it sounded. “To secure this hearing?”
Crenshaw scoffs. “Do you think Stieber and I give a damn about the actress or her private life? She’s a cautionary tale—influential
enough, questionable enough, easy enough to be an example to her industry. All we needed was a convincing case and someone
willing to build it: you.”
“No, I didn’t. I never— Sir, our job is to seek the truth, not to tarnish the integrity of the work through lies or manipulation,
not to use innocent people.” Ingrid nearly loses her voice to the tremble that overtakes it. “My findings did not warrant
this.”
She has been committed to this job, to justice. She is a fascist’s daughter dedicated to democracy—not because it is within
her power to atone for her mother’s views, but because she can take a stand against them. And despite it all, her efforts
have led to this.
A cautionary tale. An example. A convincing case.
“The entertainment industry won’t miss another vapid actress, nor will I miss an easily replaceable woman if I need someone
to blame—because the report, therefore the responsibility, is yours.” He lets the threat remain there. “Sit down, shut up,
and do your fucking job. Or you are finished here.”
Without awaiting her response, he storms away.
Her urge to protest feels empty, useless, so incredibly stupid. This was the plan all along. To plant evidence against Ada
if needed, whatever it took to bring her before the committee, to condemn her. To use her.
To use Ingrid.
And if anyone finds out Ada was set up, all Crenshaw has to do is blame Ingrid.
He has her report. She has no idea what he’s done to it.
If the findings have not been reported honestly, she has no way of proving he tampered with them.
It will look like Ingrid developed the falsified account herself to portray Ada as subversive, as a Communist, as whatever she is about to become when this hearing begins.
Or if Ingrid herself disputes the hearing, she will be contradicting her own supposed findings and, once again, condemned for allegedly submitting false information.
The urge to scream, or else to sob, nearly overtakes Ingrid before she pushes it down. She will not let this end poorly. Ada
isn’t here yet. She’ll intercept her, explain everything, and advise her on how to get through this hearing unscathed—if doing
so is even possible at this point. But she must cling to hope because they have nothing else.
Before she can slip into the hall, suddenly everything around Ingrid disappears. Everything except the elegant dark-haired
woman standing near the door. A woman in a pale pink dress that cinches at her waist, delicate and feminine, with hair styled
in her signature bold waves. A woman regarding Ingrid as never before, with a look combining understanding, fury, betrayal,
and heartbreak.
Ingrid is too late. Ada is already here.
And by the looks of it, she has drawn her own conclusions regarding why.