Sal took out an ear ball. “How is Louise?”
“Oh. Fine.” Tabitha said nervously. “She doesn’t usually have people to talk to, right?”
“Well, not really. There are a few ladies she sees once a week for coffee. Anyhow, she’ll likely be asleep in an hour, as long as you stay in here and we’re all quiet. Go use the facilities now. If you have to go later, just try to wait until you think she’s asleep.”
Tabitha had no qualms with that. Anymore conversations with Louise might get her figured out, and Tabitha had no idea how to answer any more questions from her.
“Look, it’s getting underway.” Rochelle showed them both the screen in front of her. Oddly dressed people entered what looked like a theater.
“Are there any special guests?”
Sal answered, “No, but they are giving out awards tonight. Are you sure you don’t want to go?”
“Yes. Yes, I’m sure, but thank you.” Tabitha settled down into a chair and started feeling quite comfortable. For a moment, she imagined Peter with his head on her shoulder. She gave a little sigh. Physically, she was starting to miss his presence, that little bundle that had only been alive four and a half weeks, but had grown in her belly for nine months. No wonder she missed him. I didn’t think of that when I left. I really hope he won’t sense my absence. Just a little rest, and then she would be ready. Except, she had to check with the police station again. Something was bothering her.
“Tabitha, what’s with being called Betty?”
“It’s a nickname, I swear,” she said with her best try at a straight face. She thought a moment. “Older people take to me better when I go by that name. It’s just a nickname. Thank you for going with it.” She truly meant that part.
Time passed, and Tabitha got even more comfortable. She was half asleep when Sal and Rochelle told her they’d be leaving. Sal handed her an extra blanket and pointed to a bed.
“No, I’m fine here,” Tabitha said through half-closed eyes. “Can I search something on your computer?”
Sal looked at Rochelle. “Okay, look, you can search, and you’ll get results, but you won’t be able to communicate with anybody. I’m sure you won’t look at my settings, but I want to shut down my communications. Just give me a second.” She went to the computer and pushed some buttons. Tabitha looked away, surprised she was willing to let her do this.
“All set.” Sal smiled, and she and Rochelle left, closing the door quietly.
Her first order of business was George Mahoney. Deceased, 2042. No wonder he felt comfortable in 2047. Next, Percival Stein. Retired, of course. Stein had worked with Mahoney between 1999 and 2020, developing a weapon called the Steinblaster that was used only in the military. The Steinblaster was an intense laser weapon that could annihilate living matter. Tabitha shuddered. She suddenly understood why Milt couldn’t stop searching, why he had to do all he could to stop these two. Mahoney obviously had other uses in mind for this weapon.
A second, brief search gave her lots of information about Mars. She wondered why she had dreamed it all, right down to Captain Bellose’s name. Sure, she’d been in 2047 before, but had she been here before? Maybe it was just one of those dreams she seemed to have all the time. Was it really Captain Bellose I dreamed of? Maybe it was a similar name. Am I trying too hard to match this up with my dream? There might have been a hint of Bellose somewhere in the other 2047 that he was to be the man leading the crew to Mars. Yes, that makes sense. But how can I check? Ugh! I can’t. Her hands hovered above the keyboard for a moment, right above the J. Then she looked at the T, debating whether to search herself and Milt or even her brother. Tabitha knew she couldn’t take any heart-breaking news, and the possibility was too real. She shut the device off as Sal had told her, and, realizing how illusory was the reality of her and Milt’s time travels, drifted away.
Tabitha woke up sweating again but had no recollection of any dreams. It seemed to be the middle of the night. Everything was silent. The other girls were not back. No matter. It had sounded like it would be quite the party. She actually felt glad she would not have to say goodbye.
She lay back and closed her eyes again, trying to relax her breathing. It didn’t help. She was up and awake, her thoughts racing. Digging, she found an old receipt in her back pocket and a pen in her shirt pocket.
Checking to see that the date had worn off of the receipt, she wrote, ‘Thank you so much for your kindness,’ and decided to leave it on the coffee table in a visible spot. There was not much more she could do.
Quietly, she opened the door and shut it. It bolted locked behind her, evidently an automatic feature. Not a bad idea.
There was a little bit of a walk to the Envo. The air was cool, right at about dew point, but she didn’t mind; she had her jacket on. Not much movement took place on the street. It occurred to her that George Mahoney might still be wandering around this area. She shuddered.
Tabitha found the Envo in the same place she’d left it, waiting for her arrival. She climbed in and drove to the end where the road met the river.
It was still dark outside, very quiet and still. Suddenly, all the lights shut off as if on sensor mode. In her line of vision, a pinkish glow appeared on the edge of the water. As she looked around, it started ascending slowly. A now pinkish-orange glow spread across the horizon. With each passing second it seemed to inch upward little by little until she could see the top of its round orange form. Tabitha got out and leaned against the hood of the Envo. A memory came to her of a sunrise she had witnessed in her childhood.
She had been ten years old at the time, and Jared was just an infant. Tabitha recalled her mother losing a lot of sleep around that time, and as a result, Tabitha did, too. She really only wanted to help. Her mother seemed so harried all of the time. Tense, anxious, crying. Up in the middle of the night, falling asleep on the couch in the middle of the day. In short, she was exhausted, and her resolve was being pulled in all directions. Tabitha had awakened early that morning from her brother’s loud cries and her mom’s mumblings. She went out of her bedroom and saw her mother opening the front door, baby in hand.
“Mom? Where are you going?” she worriedly asked.
“Shhh. Come on out to the porch. It’s nice out.”
So they sat there in the rocking chairs as her mom rocked the baby in the darkness, which soon became bathed in the glow of a sunrise. Tabitha was fighting sleep; her eyes closed several times. By the time she could feel the warmth of the sun on her face, she awoke to see her mother dozing, little Jared with his head on her shoulder. He looked so dangerously close to the wooden arm of the rocker. She stood and carefully took the baby from her mother’s hands.
“I didn’t mean to do it,” her mother cried in her sleep. Tabitha stared at her mother, stringy brown hair lying on her shoulders, her face dry and looking wrinkled, the corners of her mouth pulled down. What sort of nightmare she may be having, Tabitha did not ask. She took Jared back to his crib before waking her mother to convince her to go back to bed. Her mother rubbed her droopy, anxious looking eyes. It had been such a peaceful experience until she realized the turmoil that was raging in her mother’s mind.
Looking back now, Tabitha wondered if her mother had any of those worries about dropping the baby or hurting him accidentally. She certainly had never voiced them. Interestingly, it seemed the two of them had more in common than she ever knew. Not that this was something she would have chosen; for sure, it wasn’t.
She remembered arguments between her mother and father that ended in her mother slamming the door and crying hysterically for what seemed hours. Tabitha’s father explained that having a baby had been hard on her mother. It was believable. Her father never seemed to do anything to provoke such outbursts and only seemed to make suggestions for the good of her mother. Such things would set Mom off. Sadly, Tabitha was not allowed to have friends over for a good year. Her mom always answered that her hair wasn’t washed, the house was a
mess, and the baby would just cry and scare them away anyhow. All of which was likely true. It was a hard time for Tabitha, but it must have been that much harder for her mother. Only now could she truly sympathize. How she missed her mother! She wished she could have been here at this time in Tabitha’s life, becoming a new mother, re-learning her purpose. The advice her mother could give would be invaluable right now.
Poor Dad, she thought. Poor Milt. It dawned on her that he was undergoing the same sort of trial her father had gone through, always setting Tabitha off by unwittingly saying the wrong thing. How much could she expect of him? Of course he had still kept showing her that he loved her every day.
I’ll be home soon. Back before they wake from sleeping, before they even know I’m gone. But first, I need to be sure of something, and perhaps make things a little more difficult for George Mahoney, if it was actually him I saw.
Since it was still early, Tabitha sat back and relaxed. Lieutenant Phil would not likely be at the station yet.
Fighting sleep, Tabitha went back to the car and took a No Doz. She hated doing that but felt it necessary at this point. She had no time to find the coffee shop again. There would be a drive home and no time to sleep beforehand. She took out a notebook and started drawing, something she hadn’t done in a long while. The sun filled the sky, and the air was starting to warm. Birds skittered about, finding treasure on the sidewalk and the fence. It looked like a beautiful day.
A squirrel darted by, followed by a raccoon. No, it had paws like a cat and turned to come up to her, meowing loudly. She fought the urge to pet it. One could never know if such a thing should be treated as a wild or domesticated animal. It was the first hybrid animal she had seen this time. Without the time to visit a library or other information source (for she knew the temptation to look up herself or Milt would be too great), she could only go on observation. She smiled, remembering the squirrel cats of her first venture into 2047. The hybrid animals were her favorite novelty of time travel.
An hour later, Tabitha entered the police station. The usual hustle and bustle had not started yet. She walked up to the front desk and spoke to a pleasant young woman.
“Is Lieutenant Phillip Wilkes here? I really need to talk to him.”
“Sure, I’ll get him. What is this regarding?”
“By the way, what is his supervisor’s name?”
“That would be the chief of police, Josephine Mickler. She’s not here right now. But Wilkes is. So, should I get him?” The woman appeared to be getting impatient with Tabitha, but it didn’t matter to her.
“Yes. Could you also let me know when she would be available?”
“Well, you can contact her office. Here’s the com card. Her office is on Main St., leading up to Galaxy Lane.”
“Thank you. But please, in the meantime, let me speak with Lieutenant Wilkes. I’ll wait.”
The female officer went to a hall on the right. Tabitha settled in for a wait. Hopefully, not a long one.
Moments later the woman returned with Lieutenant Wilkes. His eyes lit up when he saw Tabitha. Yes, she could get his help if she worked this the right way. In her band t-shirt and Chuck’s sneakers, even.
“Well, Tabitha, what can I do for you?”
“I need to speak with you in private. Okay?”
“Come on back.” He pushed a button, and a divider opened as if it were a door that she never knew existed. She went in and followed him. They were at the “speak-easy” room again.
“Have a seat. Would you like some aguafer or something bubbly?”
“No, nothing. I need to talk to you about a man who was in here yesterday. An older man, kind of large, with graying hair.”
“Okay. What do you want to know?” Phil sat down and crossed his legs, looking too comfortable for Tabitha’s taste.
“I want to know why he was here. Under what pretense? I believe he is here to commit a crime and may have even followed me.”
A huge chuckle emitted from Lt. Wilkes. “My, my, you sure have an imagination. Maybe you’re even a tad bit delusional? Watch it, or they’ll take your child away.”
Tabitha was ready to lunge at him, but she didn’t. Composure. Calm, cool. She took several deep breaths.
“Who is ‘he,’ Tabitha?”
“This may be a matter of national security or at least serious danger to your city. Please, hear me out. I just want to know about the tall, gray-haired man I saw speaking to you yesterday here in headquarters. What his pretense was, why he said he was here? He has caused huge trouble for my husband and me. Or…” She almost added, or he will, but she caught herself. Of course, it would sound crazy. She didn’t plan to keep the potato lady company anymore.
“Yes, a man by that description was here yesterday. Only one, in fact. Someone brought him in. There had been a call. They said he was loitering suspiciously. Honestly, I didn’t have enough to keep him on.”
“Really? But you had enough to keep me.”
“I’m sorry, I truly felt we did. You were behaving erratically.”
“Okay. Never mind. Why did he say he was here? I’m sure he didn’t have the right identification, either.”
“I’m not at liberty to discuss that with you.”
“Fine. Do you have this man on camera? You will need that, if he is the person I speak of. Can I see it? I need to positively identify him.”
“What do you suspect him of?”
She leaned forward. “He is possibly carrying a very dangerous weapon.”
“Do you have any proof?”
“No.”
“What kind of trouble did he cause for you and your husband?” He stood and pushed a button. A sliding console pulled back and revealed a camera, a small round device. Tabitha really hoped it would project like many of the other electronic devices she had seen.
“He is an inventor or somewhat of a scientist. My husband is also a scientist. But he doesn’t invent weapons.”
Wilkes pushed another button, and spoke into the camera. “17:50, December 27th, 2047.”
She looked and saw a visual projected onto his wall. That would explain why it had been such an empty wall. The footage showed Wilkes standing in the police station, then two female officers walking in with a man. The resemblance was hard to deny.
“Did he say if he was or was not from around here?” she asked.
“It doesn’t matter, but I’m guessing you already know the answer to the question of his origins.”
“Well, of course he’s not from here, and you can be sure he is up to no good. He may have even followed me here. Lieutenant, I think that man is Dr. George Mahoney.”
Chapter 11
Memory Trip
“Okay, who is Dr. George Mahoney? You’re hiding things. I think you need to give me more details on the trouble he caused for you and your husband. I still don’t really understand why you’re here or why this should be important to me.”
Wilkes pushed another button. “Josephine Mickler, please.”
“Sir, Miss Josephine is golfing with the mayor today. No calls unless it’s urgent.”
Wilkes rolled his eyes. “Alright. Put in a message com. I need her to contact me or show up here as soon as possible.”
“Thank you. Yes, sir.”
“There will be a wait, Miss, Tabitha. I would prefer that you don’t leave. Follow me; I’ll take you someplace comfortable.”
Not again, Tabitha thought. Just then, a beeping noise came through.
“Yes?”
“It’s Miss Mickler, sir. She is going to be here in forty-five.”
“Okay, thanks.” He hung up the phone, clenching his jaw. Maybe this was more serious than he thought.
“Sit tight. I’ll get you a drink. Turn on the com screen. You can view news from all over the world.” He headed toward the door.
“Uh, how do I do that?”
“Do what?”
“Turn on the com screen? V
iew the news?”
His eyes grew wide. He tapped a button by the door. A huge screen came out of the wall. Another tap, and the screen came on. “If you want the screen to change, just speak to it. Tell it what you want. It will search by keywords. Any questions?”
She shook her head. Although, lacking computer knowledge, she could have used some clarification on what keywords were.
“Okay, I’ll be back. Don’t go anywhere unless you need the washroom. It’s not far. Down the hall to the left. But come right back.”
Wilkes left, and Tabitha just stared ahead, overwhelmed by the huge screen and the news it was displaying. Treaties signed, mission to Mars, mission planned for Jupiter in two years, brain implants. Really?
She grew tired and felt bombarded by the images on the screen, so instead, she turned to look out the window, realizing she could not look out the window at all. Instead, one would have to look at the opposite wall which had a glass (or she thought it was glass) covering on one side, white wall on the other, with the view of outdoors showing up on it. Nice trick, she thought. There were two women walking a huge dog. A few officers were coming and going. It looked like business as usual. The grounds were well manicured and fenced in.
The chair started to vibrate. This was odd, since she hadn’t touched anything. She felt it warm. It could have been relaxing, except that it came out of nowhere. “Oh no, that has got to stop.” She jumped up, and it stopped. She moved over to the window box that was not a window, but that proved very unstimulating. She grew incredibly bored, but she wasn’t sure she actually wanted any more surprises or stimulation. If only she could close her eyes and nap. But who knew what the chair would do then?
After a while, Wilkes opened the door, and behind him was a stately woman, tall and graceful.
“This is Josephine Mickler, Chief of Police. Chief, this is Tabitha Hansen.”
Tabitha stood and shook the chief’s hand. The Chief eclipsed her with her stature.
Undercurrents in Time Page 10
