“Good Lord!” Angela said. “Phil Calhoun said we’d be surprised by what turned up. He certainly was right.”
Half an hour later, Angela and Robert walked out of Peter’s office with several boxes full of computer paper. They headed for Robert’s office.
Robert’s work space looked much the same as Peter’s as far as equipment was concerned. The one significant difference was that Robert had a window overlooking the Charles River.
“Let’s get you some financial information,” Robert said as he sat down at one of his terminals. Before long, material started coming back across his screen as if a hole had been poked in a dam.
As Robert’s printers snapped into operation, pages flew into the collection trays with surprising rapidity.
“I’m overwhelmed,” Angela admitted. “I’ve never thought such reams of personal information could be obtained with such ease.”
“For fun, let’s see what we can get on you,” Robert said. “What’s your social security number?”
“No, thank you,” Angela said. “Knowing the amount of debt I have, it would be too depressing.”
“I’ll try to get more material on your suspects tonight,” Robert said. “Sometimes it’s easier at night when there’s less electronic traffic.”
“Thank you so much,” Angela said as she tried to pick up the two boxes of material.
“I think I’d better give you a hand with all that,” Robert said.
Once the material was stored in the trunk, Angela gave Robert a long hug.
“Thanks again,” she said. She gave him an extra squeeze. “It’s been good to see you.”
Robert waved as Angela drove away. She watched his figure recede in her rearview mirror. It had been nice to see him, except for the brief moment of discomfort when she’d first arrived. Now she was looking forward to showing David and Calhoun all this material.
“I’m home!” Angela shouted as she entered through the back door. Hearing no response, she went back for the second box of information herself. When she returned, the house was still silent. With a growing sense of unease, Angela passed through the kitchen and dining room on her way to the stairs. She was startled to find David reading in the family room.
“Why didn’t you answer me?” Angela asked.
“You said you were home,” David said. “I didn’t feel that required a response.”
“What’s the matter?” Angela asked.
“Nothing at all,” David said. “How was your day with your old boyfriend?”
“Oh, is that what this is about?” Angela said.
David shrugged. “It seems strange to me that you’ve kept quiet about this man from your past for the four years we lived in Boston.”
“David!” Angela said with a touch of exasperation. She walked over and threw herself into David’s lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I didn’t mean to keep Robert secret. If I’d meant to keep him a secret, do you think I would have named him now? Don’t you know I love you and no one else.” She kissed him on the nose.
“Promise?” David asked.
“Promise,” Angela said. “How’s Nikki?”
“She’s fine,” David said. “She’s napping. She’s still terribly upset about Caroline. But physically she’s doing great. How did you do?”
“You won’t believe it,” Angela said. “Come on!”
Angela dragged David into the kitchen and showed him the boxes. He took out a few pages to look at them. “You’re right,” he said. “I don’t believe it. This will take us hours to go through.”
“It’s a good thing we’re unemployed,” Angela said. “At least we have plenty of time.”
“I’m glad to hear your humor’s back,” David said.
They made dinner together. When Nikki woke up she joined in, though it was difficult for her to move around since she still had an IV running. Before they sat down to eat, David called Dr. Pilsner. Together they decided that Nikki’s IV could be pulled and the antibiotics continued orally.
During dinner David and Angela talked about having to break the news about their employment status in Bartlet to their parents. Both were reluctant.
“I don’t know what you’re worried about,” David questioned. “Your mother and father will probably cheer. They never wanted us to come up here anyway.”
“That’s the problem,” Angela said. “It will drive me bananas when they start in with the ‘I told you so’ routine.”