Nobody was supposed to be in Stella Clermont's office that day. Stella had called in sick that morning, citing some sudden sickness. If Stella wasn't there, Farah wasn't either, as she had gone to make sure that nothing bad would happen to Stella. Even though her boss wasn't at work, Louisa had come in anyway, hoping to work with some other, lower members of the firm to learn from them. So, when Louisa attempted to unlock the door and bring a stack of files into the office to place on Stella's desk for her to read when she got back, she was surprised that the door was, in fact, unlocked. She carefully opened the door, where the sight of a man in a yellow jacket almost made her scream.

She dropped the files on the floor, but thankfully they didn't split apart and mix up. However, the thump did get the attention of the man with the yellow jacket. He turned around and greeted her, as if he was supposed to be in there after all. "Oh, hi," he greeted enthusiastically, a British accent accompanying his voice.

"What are you doing in here? I'm calling the police," Louisa stated, reaching for the phone on the desk.

The man's blue eyes widened. "No, no, don't do that," he said and stepped between her and the phone, leaning back against the desk to shield it from her. "Please, please don't do that," he told her, then noticed the open door behind her. "Do you mind closing the door?" He asked, tilting his head towards the door.

"Are you out of your mind?" Louisa asked, her own green eyes wide in surprise from this stranger's request. She reached into her purse and fumbled for her cell phone, trying to find it under a mess of papers and such. "I'm still calling the police."

"Please, please, please don't call the police. I have permission to be here," the man stated, a look of slight panic clear on his face. "I was even given the key to the office. I didn't break in or anything."

Louisa tilted her head to the side. "Let me see the key, then," she demanded firmly, and the man quickly complied. He placed a normal-looking silver key into her hand, with a key ring attached to it. The ring had a matching silver tag hanging off of it, the initials of SAC engraved in a beautiful cursive font. Stella Ann Clermont. It was Stella's personal key ring. It was too perfect and polished not to be. How did this guy get it?

"Stella gave you her keys? Why would she do that?" As she placed the keys unwillingly back into the man's hands, Louisa finally complied and closed the door behind her.

"Well, Stella herself didn't give me the keys. Farah did," he explained, just as the door clicked closed. He noticed the papers on the floor and helped gather them up into a normal pile for her.

"Why would Farah give you Stella's keys? Who even are you?" Louisa asked, crouching down to gather some of the files up as well.

"My name is Dirk Gently. I'm a detective. Farah gave me the keys so I could investigate the office while your employer, I assume, was out 'sick'. I doubt she actually is sick, but still. The opportunity was available, so I'm using it." The man, Dirk, handed Louisa her files with a smile. "Any more questions?"

Louisa took the files, thanking him politely before standing up. "Yes, so many questions," she mumbled. "Why would Farah think that a detective was necessary, anyway? We've got the police on the case to find whoever took the money," she decided to ask first as she set the files down in one of the trays on Stella's desk.

"Well, yesterday, while Farah was on the way to the bank with Stella and her intern, Farah overheard something very interesting. The intern said that the people at her brother's work were all brutally murdered, and at the same time, her boss was robbed. She texted me to see if I thought there was a connection, and there obviously was," Dirk commented, his countenance confident, as if he knew it had to be right. "So, I decided to get on the murder-robbery case. Simple as that." Dirk shrugged and walked over to the other side of the desk to peek in some drawers, just as Louisa's mind raced.

"Wait, just because my brother saw the aftermath of a murder, you thought that these cases were connected? What, does that mean Oliver's disappearance is linked too, because he was my sister's agent?" Louisa was highly doubtful of all of this. "How in the world would it make sense for these to be connected? It's just that they happened to happen to us, and our family just so happens to be unlucky this week. This makes no sense!"

Dirk's head immediately shot up, his brown hair bouncing a little bit at the quick reflex. "Wait, you're the intern?" he asked, his eyes wide in surprise. Slowly, a smile formed on his lips and he walked around to stand in front of her again. "You're Louisa Winthrop?"

"That's what my birth certificate says. Why does this have anything to do with that?" Louisa looked at him with confusion evident in her eyes. "What connection is there?"

"Well, you're the intern who Stella hired exactly..." Dirk began, checked his watch, then continued, "six months, three weeks, twelve hours, and thirteen minutes ago. That's also around the same time that Stella started giving a new round of anonymous donations. Do you know who they might have been linked to?"

"I don't know, and I still don't see why I'm important, or my siblings, to this." Louisa ran a hand through her dark brown hair, confusion evident in her eyes. "Can you just explain this to me in English, please?"

Dirk smiled. "Well, you and your siblings are each tied to a respective case. You're tied to Stella's robbery, your brother is tied to the murder, and as you said, your sister is tied to the disappearance of that talent agent. All three of you are tied to major crimes in the city. That might not be the only tie between each of these three cases."

"What's the deal with these connections? What clues do you have to prove this?" Louisa asked. This was going to require a lot of explanation.

"I'm a holistic detective, which means I believe in the fundamental interconnectedness of all things. Everything in the world is connected in some way. So, to solve the mystery, I don't look for clues. I just let the universe guide me in the right direction. When Farah gave me the key, I took that as one of the guides that I should investigate. Does that make sense now?" Dirk inquired. When Louisa half-nodded, he grinned. "Great. Welcome to the investigation."

Louisa's eyes widened again and she held her hands up between them. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, mister. I didn't agree to be a part of the investigation. I just said I wouldn't call the police on you for snooping around my boss's office."

"You're one of the three siblings that's tied to the case. You know all I know. You're a part of the investigation now, whether you like it or not." Dirk smiled. "So, are you going to help?"

"Is this how you get all your help?" Louisa laughed nervously, while she crossed her arms over her chest and fixed her gaze from the wall back at him.

"Sometimes. I also point out that the universe will compensate for their help, even if I can't pay them for it. They usually don't believe me until it works out for them, and then they join in." Dirk shrugged as he spoke.

"And are you getting paid for all this? Does Stella know about this investigation, or is this just through Farah?"

"Well, it's through Farah for now, but she'll probably know in the end. Maybe the compensation will come through her. Anyway, what do you think?"

Louisa kept her arms crossed, actually considering this idea. She knew that this was definitely abnormal. Technically, by helping him snoop on her boss and do various other things, she was probably doing something illegal. But, then again, her sense of adventure was reminding her that this would be incredible. Plus, it might be good for her.

She imagined if she would be able to help solve the crime. She would find the money with Dirk, and when it was returned to Stella, she'd get a promotion. She'd be more than just an intern; she could be hired as a full-fledged lawyer by then! It'd be what she always dreamed about. Maybe Dirk and this "investigation" of his was the key to her success. And if everything was connected, as he kept saying, it could be the step to get the ball rolling to what the world had planned for her.

"Okay, I'm in," she decided as she uncrossed her arms to hang at her side. "I won't call the police, I'll help out, and we'll see how this goes."

Dirk's eyes lit up and he grinned at her. "Excellent. Now, help me look through these files," he stated, turning back to Stella's desk.

"Wait, two things. One, I thought you didn't work with clues," Louisa pointed out, leaning ever so slightly against the desk as she spoke.

"I look for connections. If I find something that connects with something I've already seen or known, I count that as something important. But I don't waste my time on looking for fingerprints or things like that," Dirk replied, scoffing at the idea of traditional clues. "So that's that. What was number two?"

"I have to work, you know. I work here, I need to get back to that." Louisa stood up straight and looked at him. "So, how about I leave you my number, and you can text me about anything you manage to find while I'm at work?"

Dirk nodded. "Alright, I guess that's fair," he replied and shrugged. The two of them exchanged numbers and Louisa started for the door. "Wait," he called, right as her hand was on the door handle. When Louisa turned around to hear him out, he asked, "Do you happen to know of a car I could borrow? My friend just texted me and said that the car I was using got towed."

"Just go down and get it back then. If you've got proof of ownership, they should give it back after you pay a fine or something if you left it in a bad spot," Louisa mused. It didn't seem so hard to her. Nate had his car towed a few times, so she knew the drill at this point.

"Yeah, well, that car really wasn't mine, exactly, so..." Dirk admitted, a sheepish expression on his face.

Louisa sighed. Of course that was the case. "You're lucky that I'm not calling the cops on you, Dirk Gently. The bus should get you where you need to go. It's how I get to work every morning, so," she explained. "Text me if you find anything strange...or stranger than usual." With that last comment, she turned the handle and exited the room, allowing Dirk to continue his search.