Partner opened a strong artificial 1♦, West doubled an artificial 1♥, and nobody saw any reason to disturb it (particularly not me, as I held Kxxxx of hearts).
West led the heart T. When dummy hit I noted that we had an eight card heart fit missing the QT9, and that West had helpfully picked up the suit for me.
It was clear when East showed up with the heart Q and both followed to two rounds of trump that West did not intend the double to show hearts. They had briefly discussed their defenses before the match and so had an agreement about the double, although it wasn't clear to me what that was. It was also barely possible that our counterparts would be in 4H at the other table. To maximize the potential for overtricks it seemed necessary to figure out exactly what West's double showed - I suspected either 'the "unbid" suits' or 'suction: spades OR both minors', since they had discussed suction overcalls before the match, but it could have been something else as well - say, takeout of hearts.
1) In a situation like this, is it legal/ethical to ask East questions until he remembers their agreement? (At the table I refrained).
2) Similarly, I remember reading about a situation in a national pairs where Kit Woolsey opened a precision 1D, his partner bid 1H, and his RHO overcalled 2D (or some analogous auction - my memory isn't terrific). The point is that Kit's responses depended upon whether or not 2D was natural or artificial. His LHO remembered they had an agreement but did not remember what it was. Eventually the director sent LHO away from the table and had RHO announce to Kit and his partner what meaning he intended. If this is appropriate during the bidding, why not the play?