Special Sub-Topic: "The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul" -- Chapter 5 Click Here To Play: "The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul" -- Chapter 5

Chapter 4 ended with Dirk Gently's arrival at Lupton Road. Why was he going to Lupton Road?

To meet his client. Dirk was five hours late to meet with his one and only client, Geoff Anstey.

Dirk was alarmed at the sight of three police cars and an ambulance on Lupton Road. What did Dirk do?

He barged on past them and up to the house.. Dirk successfully barged past the first policeman.

A police officer told Dirk that he was wanted inside -- that in fact, somebody had been sent to look for him. Who had been sent to find Dirk?

Big Bob the Finder. You didn't want to get found by Big Bob the Finder. The policeman knew that Big Bob hadn't found Dirk, because Dirk looked reasonably well. People tended to show up looking "a bit wobbly" after Big Bob found them.

When Dirk finally stepped into the house, he noticed music coming from the basement. What was so odd about the music?

It kept repeating, like the needle on the record was stuck.. One line kept repeating: "Don't pick it up, pick it up, pick i-- Don't pick it up, pick it up, pick i--"

What part of the house was Dirk sent to?

The basement. The music was coming from the basement.

The police had originally been called because of the music, which was bothering the neighbors. But that hardly called for three police cars and an ambulance. What had happened in the house that justified three police cars and an ambulance?

Somebody had been decapitated.. To be specific, it was Geoff Anstey, Dirk's client, who had been decapitated.

The police had found something in the house that prompted them to send for Dirk. What had the found?

An envelope, contining 300 pounds cash, with Dirk's name and phone number on it. The envelope, of course, contained Dirk's fee.

Dirk was sent out to the patio by the police. There, he notices three things that turn out to be key elements in the story. Which is NOT one of the things that is an integral part of the story?

A sundial. Though Dirk notices the sundial, it wasn't particularly important. Anstey's neighbor turned out to be a key player in the mystery. The sound of the TV later lured Dirk into observing something important -- though he wouldn't immediately recognize how important it was. And the speck in the sky was the angry eagle, a small but key player in the drama.

How did Dirk get rid of the crushing, battering feeling of guilt that was making it almost impossible for him to think?

He decided to blame everything on Anstey's neighbor.. The irony was that in the end the situation did in fact turn out to be entirely the fault of Anstey's neighbor.

How did Dirk manage to get some cash and get away from the house on Lupton Road?

He was able to come up with an explanation of how Geoff Anstey had decapitated himself.. Dirk wrote up an explanation the involved quite a Rube Goldberg bit of mechanics and "hinged on the vital fact that the record turntable was Japanese." The guys from Forensics were pleased, and Inspector Gilks gave Dirk the fee Anstey had left in an envelope for him -- minus a 20% fee for Gilks!