The Curious Case of the Two Dirk Gentlys

17: Testing the Theory

When morning came the storm had blown over and the sun was shining through. The sky was clear blue and the birds were singing. Small, dark puddles of water gathered at the side of the road but were quickly evaporating. It was the perfect day for a person to walk their dog, play with their kids, or close a case. The group reunited with Richard at 9am, bang on the start of business hours, and showed up at Victoria and Robert's house as early as they could.

"Back to take our money are you?" Asked Robert upon opening the door.

"Already have I'm afraid. I get the feeling you don't trust in my holistic methods." Said Svald.

"I trust holism just fine. It's you I'm not so sure about." He explained.

"Charming. Can I speak to your wife please? I actually like her." Asked Svald. Robert muttered something as he headed back into the house. He called Victoria's name. She called something back to the group didn't hear. They were pretty confident that she was coming no matter what.

"Well come in then." Robert huffed as he showed them in. They headed into the comfortable space of the living room. There they found Albert climbed the sofa like a mountain and dropped a tiny coloured ball behind it.

"Gone." The child proudly announced.

"Oh, so you do talk." Said Svald.

"Like we said, he's not super chatty but he'll give you a word or two if he feels like it." Explained Robert as he lifted his son off of the sofa and placed him softly down on the carpet. Albert cared very little about this. He was perfectly content to play among his toys.

"A perfectly good trait to have right, Svald?" Richard smirked.

"Right." Svald nodded. Victoria appeared in the doorway. The comfortable little scene could easily be interpreted by a stranger as a pleasant family meeting. Then in she had to go, snapping everyone into business mode.

"Morning, Victoria." Greeted Richard.

"Morning, Richard, Dirk...you two." Sighed Victoria as she signalled towards Todd and Svald.

"Thanks, Victoria. I appreciate that." Mumbled Todd.

"Victoria, how would you like thirty pounds and a day out of the house?" Asked Svald.

"I'd like one of those things." Replied Victoria.

"Don't fall for it. It's our money anyway." Said Robert.

"Is there a reason you want to bribe me out of my own home?" Victoria scowled.

"I have a theory. We need you out of the house to test it." Explained Svald.

"Yes Todd thinks you're doing this yourself and Svald says we need you at least a mile away to know for sure." Added Dirk.

"Dirk." Snapped Richard.

"What? I'm being honest." Dirk protested.

"Oh do you now?" Victoria asked Todd. She crossed her arms, her face full of fury. It felt like the storm was threatening to start again within the room itself.

"That's...not what I said." Todd defended, though he knew it was probably all in vain.

"But it is a theory nonetheless and it deserves a fair trial." Added Svald.

"My wife is no thief, Mr Cjelli." Scowled Robert. He handed Albert a small teddy bear. The infant quickly shoved the stuffed toy under the sofa and giggled. Robert sighed. Albert had been doing this and similar behaviours for several hours and Robert had almost completely given up. He reached down for the toy and slammed it next to him.

"Oh no, far from it. We believe your wife may have some sort of power." Svald explained.

"Well...yeah." Said Victoria.

"I'm pretty sure we all got that far, Svald." Said Richard.

"Previously unexpressed powers." Svald clarified.

"Of course, once a freak always a freak." Victoria grumbled.

"Please, it'll only take a few hours. There's a great ice cream place a short bus ride from here that I'm sure Albert would love to try out. You can even take your pet if you like." Said Svald as he signalled towards Robert.

"Oh yeah, that's real professional. I'm not leaving you in my house alone." Argued Robert.

"Fine. Just you and Albert then." Said Svald.

"Fine." Victoria snapped. "Come on, Al. We're going on an adventure."

Albert stumbled to his feet using his father's leg as a guide. Robert gave back the little teddy bear and this time he didn't try to get rid of it. Instead he tucked it between his arm and his chest and ran towards his mother. She took his hand and carefully walked him to the exit.

"Victoria wait." Called Richard. She stopped and turned back as Richard went to meet her in the hallway. "I have a loyalty card. Can you get it stamped for me?"

"Sure." Victoria scowled and snatched the tiny card out of his hand. "See you later." She didn't wait for them to reply. She slammed the door and opted to take the family car instead of the bus. Svald watched her drive away from the living room window before throwing himself down on the sofa.

"Strange. She didn't even take the money." Said Svald.

"Again, our money either way." Grumbled Robert.

"It's the thought that counts." Said Todd.

"Nevermind." Said Svald. "The first part is over. Now we wait."