Time Will Tell

by Mary S. Palmer

  “Okay, Nick. I’ll do what I can. Be glad to. But I don’t have my equipment here, of course. What can we do?”

  Nick was taken aback. Why hadn’t he thought of that? He groaned. Another problem was more than he needed. He thought fast.

  “It’s Saturday. Dentists won’t be working. Could you come to Pensacola? Who do you know in this area who might let you use their office, Joe? Think fast. Time is imperative.” As he spoke, Nick wished he could tell his friend why time was so important, but he didn’t feel comfortable with that. In fact, he felt a little guilty telling lies about Rob having a toothache; more fabrications would just complicate matters.

  McNally came back quickly. “Matter of fact, I do have a college fraternity brother who practices in this area. I know you pledged with another group, but maybe you remember him. I think he was in an English Lit class with both of us. You know, the one that skinny lady we called Stick Woman taught. His name’s Marvin Lucas.”

  “Lucas? Was he that guy who never brought his book to class and he always borrowed paper?”

  “That’s him.”

  Nick flipped through the phone book. “Okay. His office isn’t far from where you are. It’s on the other side of Santa Rosa Island.” He called out the address.

  “What’s that phone number? I haven’t figured out yet how I’ll explain this, but I’ll give him a call. From what you’ve told me, Nick, I think that tooth’s going to have to come out.”

  Dr. Marvin Lucas was not in his office. The squeaky-voiced assistant offered more information than an answering service would have. She told Dr. McNally, “Oh, I’m sorry, we’re closed. And Dr. Lucas is on vacation until August 1.”

  After swearing to himself, McNally thought fast. “This is Dr. McNally, and I’m also a dentist. Dr. Lucas is a very good friend of mine.” Implying that he was local, he began to tell lies of his own. “I have a patient with an emergency — it’ll require some special instruments that I don’t own. Dr. Lucas told me that he recently purchased those, and I’d like bring my patient there and use them, if I may.” He waited for a reaction.

  The girl was extremely upset. “Oh, I’m sorry, Dr. McNally, but I really don’t have the authority to agree to anything like that. I never heard of anything like this happening. I — I er-r — ”

  She sounded flustered. McNally took advantage of the pause. Her insecure hesitation gave him an opening to use his most authoritative voice. “Oh, it’s quite all right, miss. By the way, what’s your name?”

  “Danielle.”

  “Well, Danielle,” he continued in a deep voice with a chatty tone, “We often share our facilities in cases like this — it’s kind of an experimental case,” he lied. “I’m surprised that you don’t know about that. How long have you been working for Dr. Lucas?”

  He caught her off guard and when she replied, “Oh, just three weeks, and Dr. Lucas had to leave and everything seemed to get behind. That’s why I’m here today catching up on filing.”

  Dr. McNally knew he’d get what he wanted. McNally took charge. “That explains it. All right, I can meet my patient there in thirty minutes. Rest assured that there’ll be no repercussions. By the way, Danielle, are you a dental assistant?”

  “Yes, doctor. I just got my associate’s degree in May.” With pride in her voice, she added, “And this is my first job.”

  “Great. Look, this shouldn’t take more than an hour. If you can stay and help me, I’ll pay you a hundred dollars.”

  He heard a gasp on the other end of the phone. “Oh, yes, sir. I’ll be glad to do that.”

  Dr. McNally hung up and dialed another number.

  When the phone rang, Romano said a little prayer. In relief, he heard a masculine voice telling him, “Everything’s all set. You have to pass by here to get to Dr. Lucas’s office. It’ll save time because you know the way, don’t you? Why don’t you just pick me up at the hotel? How long will it take you to get here?”

  “We’ll be there in no more than half an hour.”

  In five minutes, the doctor, Mona, and Rob were on their way.

  As they crossed the bridge to Santa Rosa Island, Mona watched the whipping wind pound the waves against the shore. Hurricane Dennis showed his stuff, and it would only get worse. Rob squinted, unable to see clearly because of his distorted vision. Accepting his plight good-naturedly, he joked, “Well, I can see twice as much as you.” However, behind it all, he was worried sick about his condition. Although he tried to ignore it, in the back of his head, one thought hovered. If the diagnosis determined a tooth had to be pulled, several things could happen. The prognosis that he found most formidable was that with the tugging on the tooth an implant containing explosive material could be activated. That could be the end of him. He hoped that if that happened, he would not take others with him. But there was such a risk. If there was an implant, nobody knew what was in it or the power it had.

  But a brighter side to the picture was also a possibility. It was the remote chance that if a tooth were removed, the double vision might be reversed and the object could be either nonexistent or it could be removed with no ill results. That was the most desirable, but the least likely, scenario.

  “Just five more miles,” Dr. Romano announced.

  So, Rob thought, good or bad, we’ll soon know what will happen to me.

  Nick Romano had failed to write down Joe McNally’s room number. So while he went to the desk to find out what it was, Mona and Rob inconspicuously walked around the back side of the building to avoid possible contacts with other hotel guests. Since Navarre was close enough to Mobile to be frequented by Port City citizens, recognition was possible. Mona and Rob decided it was best to keep out of sight.

  Halfway guiding Rob, Mona took his arm and led him around to the Gulf side of the hotel. Not many people would be there with a Hurricane coming. In fact, the hotel was almost empty. Evacuees left much earlier. Especially on the beach, it was highly unlikely that they’d see anyone they knew.

  But much to Mona’s dismay, as they reached the side of the building, she heard a loud, familiar voice. She grabbed Rob and pulled him into an alcove and shocked him by engaging him in a passionate embrace.

  Passing by with the hotel manager and a policeman, Frank Dees’s voice boomed out, “Suicide! He was depressed, but I didn’t expect this. He was just a kid who had a hard life all the way.” They’d rounded the corner before he added almost in a whisper, “My poor sister. I’m glad she’s not around to see this. Of course, I don’t suppose it would have happened if she’d lived to raise him. Never know, though.” He looked at his two escorts and said in apology, “God, I should have done more myself. Always too busy, you know. I guess we put emphasis on the wrong things until it’s too late.” Mona and Rob didn’t hear that part of the conversation.

  His preoccupation with the guilt of neglecting his sister’s only child kept him staring straight ahead. He passed Mona and Rob without even glancing in their direction.

  When Dees moved out of sight, Mona released Rob — who was in no hurry to be released — and they gazed into each other’s eyes, now oblivious to the world around them. For one brief moment, they tasted ecstasy.

  But her boss’s words puzzled Mona. She backed off asking, “Who do you suppose Frank was talking about, Rob?”

  Rob shook his head. “I couldn’t even guess.”

  “Well, it sounded bad. Must be somebody important enough to bring Frank to Pensacola, especially with a storm brewing.”

  Doc’s approach interrupted their conversation. Mona quickly told him what happened. Hurriedly, the trio hastened back to the car where Dr. McNally awaited. It had been a very close call.

  On the way to the Dr. Lucas’s office, Nick argued with himself about the advisability of telling McNally all. In the long run, he decided that he really had no choice. Joe needed all the information to be able to diagnose properly, if that could be done. Besides, he could scarcely ask a man to risk his own life without forewarning. So, he ga
ve full account of the episode with space beings and the rest of the situation, finishing just as they reached the dental office.

  Danielle was ready for them. She had fresh towels out and tools on the tray beside the dental chair. There was one big problem, though. Right away, she told Dr. McNally, “I forgot to tell you that our X-ray machine isn’t working. They’re supposed to fix it while Dr. Lucas is gone.”

  Dr. McNally looked at Dr. Romano and shook his head. “Tough luck. We’ll just have to do the best we can without it. I’ll see what I can find.”

  After Danielle draped a protective towel around Rob’s neck, McNally slipped on a mask and thin gloves and went straight to work. He probed Rob’s mouth without comment. In fear of disturbing his cohort’s concentration, Romano said nothing.

  McNally tried tooth after tooth, asking, “Does that hurt?” and received negative answers each time.

  Doc and Mona were getting nervous. Yet, they were encouraged. If he hadn’t found anything yet, maybe there was no implant after all.

  The dentist stopped probing, told Rob, “Wash out your mouth.”

  Danielle handed him the cup.

  McNally asked some direct questions. “Do you remember anything at all when you were asleep? Did you have pain anywhere when you awoke? Did your mouth feel dry?”

  All of Rob’s replies were, “No.”

  While Danielle stood there looking stupefied, Mona wondered if Dr. McNally was convinced that they’d told him the truth. He seemed to be, and she found that encouraging. She’d changed her mind about keeping this encounter with outer space creatures a secret. She was a reporter and people had a right to know what was happening in the world, even on other planets. If she could convince the doctor, perhaps there was hope that others would believe her story, too. Even though that thought made her feel better, it didn’t compensate for the fact that the dentist found nothing so far.

  When the questions provided no additional information, the dentist resumed his examination. As he touched metal to the back of Rob’s right rear molar, Rob let out a squeal. For the first time in his life, he was glad to feel a tooth hurt. That tooth had never hurt before. Maybe this was a good sign.

  The doctor dug a little deeper and found a small cavity not visible from the front. “I sure could use that X-ray machine now,” he said as he motioned for Danielle to turn the light more in one direction. Then he saw it — a tiny speck of something. “Wait a minute, wait a minute. I see something here,” he said in a voice muffled slightly by the mask.

  Mona and Dr. Romano heard and moved closer, carefully staying out of the dentist’s way.

  McNally didn’t respond to Mona’s question, “What is it?” Intent on his job, he gingerly touched the object and discovered that it was a gelatin-like substance. Would it explode if punctured? Although the dentist knew little about explosives, it was a possibility that this could be triggered by a wire somewhere else in Rob’s mouth. He did see one. The only thing to do was to try to remove this object intact. If he had to, he’d pull the tooth, too. No need to take a chance on puncturing that vial. Even if it didn’t explode, it might put poison into Rob’s blood stream.

  When he paused for a second, Mona asked, “What is it, doctor. Can you tell?”

  With a simple, “No,” the doctor took a deep breath. Even with all the unknown factors, the extraction must be accomplished. No one knew when the time was up. Reaching for the anesthetic, as Danielle handed him whatever he asked for, Dr. McNally went through the routine procedure of swabbing the area around Rob’s molar with cotton before injecting a needle several times. He did not reassure the patient that “this won’t hurt a bit,” as was his custom. For all he knew, it could blow them all to hell.

  While waiting for the anesthetic to take effect, Dr. McNally busied himself by arranging his instruments in the order in which they’d be used. No need to reveal what he’d discovered, not yet. He merely said, “I’m checking further.” If the sweat on his brow didn’t give him away, they could wait. Nothing would be gained by frightening them.

  Making his companions aware of the danger of the next few minutes wouldn’t help matters any, nor would raising false hopes. Besides, there was no purpose in delaying things by explaining.

  Feeling Rob’s lip, the dentist asked, “Is that dead yet, Rob?”

  A nod told Joe that it was time to begin.

  Dr. Romano kept silent, but he had an inkling of what was going on. McNally had not picked up the instrument used to pull teeth for nothing. He was going to do an extraction. But, much to Romano’s surprise, the dentist put down that tool and got a pair of tweezers instead. Cautiously, he inserted them into the space where the foreign object lay. It was so minute that only a specialist would normally attempt to work it out of the area. McNally didn’t feel that confident, but he was the only one who could do this. He had to try.

  As he worked, seconds dragged into minutes. Right in the middle of the most crucial part, a knock came at the door.

  “Damn,” said the dentist, extremely annoyed at the interruption.

  “Security,” said the voice on the other side.

  Dr. McNally motioned Danielle to answer the call. She went to the door and cracked it open, but not enough for the guard to see inside. He heard her mumble an explanation, and then heard the guard respond, “Okay. Just checking. I knew Dr. Lucas was on vacation and I didn’t think anybody was supposed to be here today. Sorry for the interruption. I’ll let you get back to your filing. Good luck.”

  McNally hastened back to his work, having to practically start over. He was afraid to squeeze too hard with the tweezers; he might accidentally puncture the tiny capsule. He could tell that it was oval shaped and filled with liquid, most likely something deadly if it escaped from its container.

  Time bothered him. The anesthetic wouldn’t last forever, and he didn’t want to give Rob another shot if he could help it. No telling what effect it would have on his body, especially if any of the liquid escaped from that vial. He’d even considered not using sedation at all. He discounted doing that, because the patient had to be absolutely immobile. He moved the light again and with a little maneuvering, he was able to get it around to the back of Rob’s tooth and see what he was doing.

  With a loose grip on the object, he moved it out. No wires were visible.

  “Thank God for that, anyway,” he said aloud, making Mona and Dr. Romano wonder what he was grateful for.

  Still, even when they saw the dentist place a minute capsule on a tray, they kept quiet so as not to disturb him.

  Rob made no attempt to ask questions, either, even when the dentist’s hand was not in his mouth. He felt as if all this was happening to somebody else. Between his emotional state and the anesthetic, this whole thing had taken on a surreal quality. It seemed as if none of it concerned him at all.

  As the doctor asked Danielle to mix a temporary filling, which he placed in Rob’s tooth, Nick Romano’s thoughts turned inward and he silently did a little soul-searching. Obviously, Joe McNally had found and removed the implant the Aliens had put in Rob’s mouth. He knew the danger of that object being an explosive, and Nick could scarcely believe that he faced death and had no desire for a drink. In fact, after so many years of hard drinking, it was unbelievable that in these last few days, liquor had been totally out of his mind. Maybe what he’d needed all along was a few harrowing experiences. Perhaps the mundane existence he’d been living was the biggest disservice he could do to himself.

  Standing opposite him, Mona’s mind filled with different thoughts. Knowing she might die did not bother her as much as the thought it would. To her surprise, her own safety wasn’t her primary concern. More than that, she wanted to be sure that Rob would be all right. If she could give her own life for his, she would gladly do so. Of course, that wasn’t possible, but the thought both surprised and consoled her. Questions plagued her. How could all of this have come about in just a couple of days? Did she love Rob? She didn’t honestly know. Bu
t if wanting him to survive at her own expense meant that she did, well, it must be love.

  “This is it,” Joe McNally announced as he held up a tiny object. It was so small that it fit between the tongs of the tweezers. No one dared get too close.

  “Be careful,” Romano cautioned as McNally carefully lowed it onto a towel. “It could still explode.”

  Rob craned his neck to look at the object. How could such a little thing create so much havoc, he wondered. He suspected that it had a big potential to cause problems. He was extremely happy to have it out of his mouth. He was also glad that he hadn’t lost a tooth.

  As Mona and Romano leaned over to inspect the object, McNally cautioned, “Don’t be fooled by its size. That thing is still potentially dangerous. It could explode just on its own. We’re not dealing with a known substance. Anything could be contained in that little vial.”

  Up until now, Danielle had stood by without saying a word. But this was too much. “Would you people please tell me what you’re talking about?” She put her hands on her hips. “I’m not stupid, you know. What is this dumb pill?” She reached over and almost touched the capsule.

  Dr. McNally grabbed her wrist. “Don’t touch that.” He didn’t bother to answer Danielle’s question.

  The possibility of what could happen was frightening. It spurred them to action. They had to decide what to do with the capsule. That was difficult. Mona voted to throw it into the Gulf of Mexico. Dr. Romano was in favor of taking it to the police station to let the bomb squad handle it, and McNally wanted to see if it could be analyzed by a hospital laboratory, even though he admitted that could jeopardize many people’s safety — so, his suggestion was immediately discounted. Rob did not care what they did with it. It was out of his mouth, and his vision cleared up — that was all that mattered to him.

  They all agreed that nobody would give credence to space creatures, so, in the end, they decided that Mona’s idea was the best solution. Nobody would be endangered. The hurricane had run boats out of the waters and all swimmers off the beaches and this pill would, no doubt, wash away in the storm. If they could just get it to the Gulf without incident, they should be able to dispose of this little object with no problem at all.