The Elephant Gate

The administrative offices of the zoo were housed on the outskirts of the exhibits near the big cats. Kevin was careful to keep his mind blank walking past the Elephant Center again. Thankfully, there were no animals outside the building this time.

After greeting the front desk person, he was directed to an office down the left hall. The professor turned to be a portly, friendly individual. "I understand that you have some questions about an object you found. Do you have it with you?"

Kevin was oddly reluctant to part with it, even just to give it to the man across the desk. "I just discovered that it's a milk tooth of a baby elephant. But I don't know much more than that, except I've had it for many years."

The man cradled it in his palm, turning it over and looking at the hollowed center.

"It appears to be an Asian elephant milk tusk. The elephant would have dropped this at around two to three years of age, to allow the a.d.u.l.t tusk to develop. This is in good condition, with no areas of thin enamel or damage, so the elephant at that time was a healthy individual."

He looked Kevin straight in the eye. "There are international bans on the importation of ivory, so it's significant that you have this piece." He settled back in his chair. "Can you tell me how you came by this tusk?"

Kevin kept to the truth as much as possible. "I have a vague memory that it was given to me when I was undergoing brain surgery at eight years old, but other than that, I don't have any other information."

The man steepled his fingers. "Baby tusks are sometimes available in the States, mostly through zoos such as ours. The birthrate among captive elephants is low, though, so most of these are kept within the scientific community. All of ours are doc.u.mented and in-house. Would you be willing to allow me to make inquiries to see if any went missing fifteen years ago?"

Kevin ran the possibilities in his mind. If his hunch was correct, whether or not this particular elephant was still alive, they were never going to find its origin. He nodded to the professor. "Yes, sir. But the tusk stays with me." He stood up and handed the man a business card. "Here is my information if you find out anything."

Professor Morton stood and shook hands. "Here's my card as well. Even if we can't determine the animal that came from, it is an extremely valuable object. Please consider giving it to us for scientific study."

Kevin gave a neutral nod and quickly left. Outside the offices, he decided to walk the long way through the park and avoid the elephant area for now.

* * *

Once he was inside his vehicle and driving away from the National Zoo, he started to relax. It was silly to be frightened of this momentary incident.

He was almost home when the headache started. It crept up from the base of his skull; sweat broke out as he realized what might be happening. He accelerated down the road, hoping to get home as it steadily advanced and grew stronger. He turned onto Quebec just as the edges of his vision grew darker. Just…a…little…bit…more.

By sheer force of will, through the agony and darkness, he managed to pull his car into the driveway and turn off the ignition. He leaned over with a shaking hand and tried to unbuckle the seatbelt when there was an explosion of light and then…silence.