“That sounds even more interesting to me than Van Slyke’s going to submarine school,” Angela said.
After thanking Robert again for all his efforts, Angela hung up. Returning to the kitchen where David and Nikki were putting the finishing touches on the jack o’ lantern’s grotesque face, Angela told David that Robert had more material for them that she wanted to get. She also told him what she’d just learned about Devonshire and Van Slyke.
“So they both had medical discharges,” David said. It was obvious he was preoccupied.
“What do you think?” David asked Nikki as they both stepped back to admire their work.
“I think it’s great,” Nikki said. “Can we put a candle in it?”
“Absolutely,” David said.
“David, did you hear me?” Angela asked.
“Of course I did,” David said. He handed a candle to Nikki.
“I wish we could find the reasons for these medical discharges,” Angela said.
“I bet I know how we could,” David said. “Get someone in the VA system to pull it out of their data banks. They’d have to have it recorded.”
“Good idea,” Angela said. “Do you have any suggestions who we could ask?”
“I have a doctor friend at the VA in Boston,” David said.
“Do you think he would mind doing us a favor?” Angela asked.
“It’s a she,” David said. David told Nikki that she should cut out a little depression inside the pumpkin to hold the candle. She hadn’t been able to get the candle to stay upright.
“So who’s your doctor friend?” Angela asked.
“She’s an ophthalmologist,” David said, still overseeing Nikki’s efforts to stabilize the candle inside the pumpkin.
“I wasn’t referring to her specialty,” Angela said. “How do you know her?”
“We went to high school together,” David said. “We dated senior year.”
“And how long has she been in the Boston area?” Angela asked. “And what’s her name?” Two could play at this jealousy game.
“Her name is Nicole Lungstrom,” David said. “She came to Boston at the end of last year.”
“I’ve never heard you mention her before,” Angela said. “How did you know she came to town?”
“She called me at the hospital,” David said. He gave Nikki a congratulatory pat when the candle was finally stabilized. Nikki ran to get matches. David turned his attention to Angela.
“So have you seen her since she’s come to Boston?” Angela asked.
“We had lunch once,” David said, “and that was it. I told her it was better that we not see each other because she had romantic hopes. We parted friends.”
“Honest?” Angela asked.
“Honest,” David said.
“You think that if you call out of the blue she’ll help us?” Angela asked.
“To tell you the truth, I doubt it,” David said. “If we want to take advantage of her employment status with the VA, then I think I should go down there. There’s no way I can ask her to violate confidentiality rules over the telephone. Besides, I’d do better to explain the whole sordid story in person.”
“When would you go?” Angela asked.
“Today,” David said. “I’ll call her first to make sure she’s available. Then I’ll go. I’ll even stop at MIT and pick up that material you want from Robert. What do you say?”
Angela bit the inside of her lip as she pondered. She was surprised to feel such a pang of jealousy. Now she knew how David felt. She shook her head and sighed. “Call her,” she said.
While Angela cleaned up the mess from the gutting of the pumpkin, David went into the family room and called Nicole Lungstrom. Angela could hear bits and pieces of the conversation even though she tried not to. It bothered her that David sounded so cheerful. A few minutes later he came back into the kitchen.
“It’s all arranged,” David said. “She’s expecting me in a couple of hours. Conveniently, she’s on call at the hospital.”
“Is she blond?” Angela asked.
“Yeah, she is,” David said.
“I was afraid of that,” Angela said.
Nikki had the candle lit in the pumpkin, and David carried the jack o’ lantern out onto the front porch. He let Nikki decide where she wanted it.