Correspondences

A cheerful bit of unashamed fanwank affectionately dedicated to Simon and Rob Shearman (wherever he may be!). I suppose I should really dedicate it to Steven Moffat, too, but I’ve already done that with “The 1969 Diaries” and “A Hull of a Time.”

From: “Diana Goddard” dgoddard@ggmail.com
To: nightingale3@yahoo.co.uk
Date: Thu, 9 September 2012 16:03:48 -0600
Subject: Genealogy

Hey Terry,

Sorry for the long silence. Things got really crazy at work—and then really crazy. But now I’m my own boss, no more PAing to some schmuck I can’t stand, much less respect. I’ve come into a bit of money, too, and that’s kinda why I’m writing. Last time I visited, I heard you talking about doing a little bit of family history, genealogy and family trees and stuff. I’ve been interested for years in the family, but I just haven’t had the time. So I was wondering if you could e-mail what you’ve found out or if I have to go all the way to England for it? ;-)

Diana

From: “Terry Muffaletto” nightingale3@yahoo.co.uk
To: dgoddard@ggmail.com
Date: Fri, 10 September 2012 02:17:04 GMT
Subject: Re: Genealogy

So how are things really on the other side of the Pond, Di? I remember hearing something about your old boss—what’s his name? Van Statten. I thought he disappeared. What really happened? You’re not going to keep secrets, are you? If you’re not PAing, what are you doing?

More questions than answers! Yes, I’ve done a little bit of research into the family, and I’m happy to share it. Surely you’ve got the “big bucks” to hire a private jet and fly to Heathrow? What kind of money did you come into?

Terry


From: “Diana Goddard” dgoddard@ggmail.com
To: nightingale3@yahoo.co.uk
Date: Fri, 10 September 2012 16:03:48 -0600
Subject: Re: Re: Genealogy

Terry,

I don’t think it’s really fair for you to criticize bosses considering who you used to work for. Making mistakes is part of human nature, though, isn’t it?

Are you going to give me the family tree or not? By the way, Mom says hi.

Diana


From: “Terry Muffaletto” nightingale3@yahoo.co.uk
To: dgoddard@ggmail.com
Date: Mon, 13 September 2012 06:12:38 GMT
Subject: CALM DOWN!

Okay, okay. I’ve got something that might interest you. The Goddard side of the family. A great-great-great-great grandfather (or something like that) was a doctor in the 17th century. In fact, he was Cromwell’s personal physician and followed him around on all his campaigns. He was at the Siege of Drogheda and wrote rather a curious account of it, I’ll try to get it for you. Anyway, he was one of the founding members of the Royal Geographical Society. People of my generation would say that’s “cool.”
Terry

From: “Diana Goddard” dgoddard@ggmail.com
To: nightingale3@yahoo.co.uk
Date: Mon, 13 September 2012 11:04:17 -0600
Subject: stupid question ;-)

What’s the Siege of Drogheda?

From: “Terry Muffaletto” nightingale3@yahoo.co.uk
To: dgoddard@ggmail.com
Date: Tues, 14 September 2012 09:10:12 GMT
Subject: Oh dear

I lament for you Yanks if your grasp of history is so poor. Yet you are not easily able to forget the unfortunate accident with President Winters. Honestly, when is your press going to stop griping about it? Bringing it up all the time isn’t going to make things any better!

Anyway, Siege of Drogheda. Sorry, you rile up a history teacher . . . Ireland, 1649. Brutal. English army starving the Irish out. Really starving them out. Something hard to envision in your age of touchscreens and plasmic interfaces or whatever you’re developing out there now. Do have a serious thought about coming to visit. Tell your mum as well.
Terry

From: “Diana Goddard” dgoddard@ggmail.com
To: nightingale3@yahoo.co.uk
Date: Thu, 16 September 2012 16:47:48 -0600
Subject: Re: Oh dear

First of all, just because you’re my cousin doesn’t mean you can insult my intelligence, Terry. You didn’t even know where Utah was before you looked it up on Mapquest. Second of all, you have no right to criticize the American press. You worked for Harold Saxon, and he murdered President Winters! Yes, he was insane, but it is an old joke around here, how Britain could have elected a Prime Minister like that. And no, we are not just jealous because you had the Valiant first.
Diana

From: “Terry Muffaletto” nightingale3@yahoo.co.uk
To: dgoddard@ggmail.com
Date: Mon, 20 September 2012 02:23:16 GMT
Subject: In Pace!

Shall I extend the olive branch? I admit it: I was on the campaign trail for Harold Saxon, but they discovered years ago it was a sophisticated brainwashing technique. No one can explain to me quite how it was done, but it all made perfect sense when they did an exposé on it. Actually, I’d never even met Harold Saxon: I spoke to his people on the phone, but really, I was doing the campaigning on the grass roots level.

As a peace offering, I’ve managed to get a copy of Dr. Goddard’s journal from 1649 faxed from some library in Ireland. I’ll attach the whole PDF but I just thought I’d highlight to you the most interesting bits. There was another doctor—our ancestor says he was “a small man, dark in coloring, with a most unusual piercing glance.” He had these friends, a rather Amazon-like woman named Elizabeth and a young man Cromwell almost had hung as a witch! It’s rather fascinating stuff, when you get down to the nitty gritty. Take a look if you’ve got time. I’ll do work on the other side of the family, too.

Your most obedient servant,
Cousin Terry

From: “Diana Goddard” dgoddard@ggmail.com
To: nightingale3@yahoo.co.uk
Date: Mon, 20 September 2012 16:14:47 -0600
Subject: Re: In Pace

Hey, thanks for the PDF. You’re right, it’s pretty interesting stuff. Cromwell and the strangers. Is the name Hex really historical? It seems a bit out of place to me. There was this guy, when we had the really crazy days a few months ago—I can’t say too much and you wouldn’t believe me if I told you. But he was called the Doctor—just the Doctor—and even though he looked nothing like the one Dr. Goddard talked about . . . they sound the same. I wonder if they’re related?

Do you still have the photos of your grandmother? I’m also interested in researching that part of the family—such great stories.

Thanks,
Diana

From: “Terry Muffaletto” nightingale3@yahoo.co.uk
To: dgoddard@ggmail.com
Date: Thu, 24 September 2012 07:16:22 GMT
Subject: Re: Re: In Pace

I can’t think in what way the doctor in 1649 resembles someone called the Doctor who, if I’ve got the story right, was involved in the disappearance of your EX BOSS (but we won’t go into that; I can understand you want to keep mum about it). Except that they’re both just known as the doctor. But if you say so, Diana, who am I to argue?

No, I’m afraid I don’t have the photos of Grandmother. You know she had some peculiar traits and quirks. No doubt your mum has told you some interesting stories . . . letting slip she knew there was going to be a world depression in 1929, warning a great-uncle not to go to London to visit a friend right before a German bomb dropped on the friend’s house, you know. Always seemed a bit uncanny to my dad, never quite got used to Nan, I don’t think. But we all thought she was lovely!

The long and short of it is, Diana, that Grandmother had one last request before she died, and she told me about it. Not Dad, not Mum, not your mum. I was small when she gave me the envelope, and though she made me promise to follow it to the letter, she told me not to read it until I came of age. Then it all made sense. Well, not really, it didn’t make sense at all. I was supposed to take the old photos you remember, of Grandmother and Grandfather and our parents as kids, plus some other things, to an address and deliver them to someone called Sally Sparrow. She’d given all these details. It was quite spooky, really.

An exact date, you understand, an exact time. Turned me quite off at first, I wanted nothing to do with it. But then I thought, what’s the harm in fulfilling a dead grandmother’s last request? Sally Sparrow didn’t believe me, didn’t understand. But I did what I promised Nan I would do. It gets a bit hazy after that because I was still campaigning for Saxon at that point.

Well, I’ve done and written you a novel. Sorry. The short answer is that I don’t have the photos anymore. But you’re welcome to see an engraving of our ancestor Dr. Goddard any time you like. I bought it on eBay.

Terry


From: “Diana Goddard” dgoddard@ggmail.com
To: nightingale3@yahoo.co.uk
Date: Fri, 25 September 2012 16:16:06 -0600
Subject: Doctor Who?

I own eBay, Terry, I’d know if there was an engraving of our Dr. Goddard for sale! Really, you are the world’s greatest fibber sometimes. I don’t know whether to believe a word of what you’ve just said about Grandmother and someone named Sally Sparrow. I mean, who’s got a name like Sally Sparrow?

I got a hold of some of the CCTV footage of the Doctor—my Doctor, the one at the site in Utah. It’s classified, for reasons I can’t divulge—don’t look at me like that, Terry—but I was able to sift out a .jpeg of the Doctor. I’m going to attach it. I KNOW there’s probably no connection between him and the guy in Cromwell’s army, but just have a look and maybe you’ll understand. Dr. Goddard talks about his “unusual piercing glance,” and that’s totally what he had.

Years back, there used to be something called LINDA but it’s all gone off the Internet now.
Diana


From: “Terry Muffaletto” nightingale3@yahoo.co.uk
To: dgoddard@ggmail.com
Date: Sat, 26 September 2012 21:04:05 GMT
Subject: Re: Doctor Who?

Diana, I hope this Doctor thing isn’t going to become some kind of obsession. Believe me, I’ve done the obsession thing—trying to figure out how Nan knew the things she knew—and it just is unhealthy. I think it made me more susceptible to the Saxon brainwashing.

And I’m not lying about the engraving OR Sally Sparrow! She ran upstairs when I tried to give her the photos. I couldn’t stay any longer—nor did I want to, really—so I gathered them all up nicely (she’d thrown them all over the floor!) and left them on the banister for her. What she did with them, I’ve no idea. I think I saw her last year—at some kind of a book fair. But I wasn’t about to go up to her and say, “D’you remember me? My grandmother made me give you a bunch of photos at some derelict house a few years ago.” She’d think I was mad!

I think I figured it out. There was a coup. You said that 200 personnel died in the Utah compound? Well, there must have been a protest staged by some religious group—your EX BOSS offended a lot of people—and it just got out of hand. Yes? Am I right?

Terry

From: “Diana Goddard” dgoddard@ggmail.com
To: nightingale3@yahoo.co.uk
Date: Mon, 28 September 2012 10:20:47 -0600
Subject: Re: Re: Doctor Who?

Don’t quit your day job, Terry, you’re not the new Sherlock Holmes. See, I’m not as culturally deficient as you think.

Did you look at the .jpeg or what? I meant to tell you, I got a phone call from Nottingham—that’s your neck of the woods, isn’t it? It was actually a message—my PA took it down and played it back on the voice mail for me. It claimed to be this kid, Adam Mitchell, who was working on the Utah project before things went—what do you say over there? Pear-shaped? Anyway, he claimed he’s just been on an extraordinary journey with the Doctor and his girlfriend Rose and that he HAD to tell me about it, because I was the only one who’d believe him. I’ll see what he has to say, but he was raving like a lunatic.

Look, I’ve just booked my flight over Christmas to see you and your folks. I’ll only be able to get off for a few days—breakneck schedule, trying to develop ways of marketing environmentally-sounded carburetors after the ATMOS scandal—but, you see, I’m actually making good on a promise. I’ll see you at the airport!

x Diana