Chapter 6: Temper Tantrum
Scully could feel the look of her partner following her. She couldn't deny that she liked having that effect on Mulder but she didn't look back. She just walked around the corner and to the front door. She rang twice. Mrs. Stamp still had the orange cat in her arms when she opened the door.
"Mrs. Scully, what a surprise", she said.
Yeah sure, Scully thought.
"Mhm", she said.
Elizabeth looked at her queryingly.
„Why didn't you tell your husband about our visit?", Scully asked curiously.
"Oh", the woman replied, checking to see if anybody could hear them. As she saw her husband and Mulder strolling back to the bench she stepped aside and held the door open. "We better talk inside. Please come in."
Mrs. Stamp took her again into the tastefully furnished, cheery bright kitchen with skylight, plenty of counter space and cupboards. Beige linoleum tiling that couldn't have been older than a few years. The pattern was simple but nice. Nothing dispensable seemed to stand around. There was a toaster, a coffee maker, and a microwave. That was about all. Scully wondered whether the cupboards were full of unnecessary kitchen implements or looked as spartanic as the rest of the room. A fruit bowl adorned the kitchen table. They sat on the padded spindle back chair that fitted perfectly into the kitchen. From here they could see Mulder and John Jakob Stamp outside in the front yard.
"Will you answer my question now?", Scully reminded Mrs. Stamp.
"Well, I didn't tell him about you because I didn't want to upset him. John Jakob is a very ill man."
"I noticed he uses a cane", Scully said.
Elizabeth nodded stricken. "He has clogged veins. He already had one bypass operation and there will be another one at the end of the year because he hasn't felt very good recently. Two years ago, John had a stroke. His right side was paralyzed and he could barely speak. It also affected his memory. But he recovered pretty well, as you can see. He worked hard. Lots of therapy, you know. All that's left is the limping." She stared out the window and watched the two men for a moment. "And sometimes he forgets to put down the toilet seat." She chuckled.
Scully bashfully looked down at the table.
"Oh no!", she heard Elizabeth exclaiming.
Scully looked up. "What?" She followed her look. John Jakob Stamp was agitatedly waving his hands, apparently bitching at Mulder who himself just sat there and let it wash over him.
"Oh no!", Mrs. Stamp repeated and jumped up to run out of the room. Scully followed her through the doorway, out of the house and to the bench.
"What's going on here?", Elizabeth wanted to know.
"Mulder!", Scully immediately blamed her partner, who just sat there looking puzzled at the two women.
"This guy thinks I'm a freak. A crazy, vision-having, freak.", Stamp yelled.
His wife comfortingly put her arms around him. "Shhh, it's ok, John."
"Why did you call them?", the elderly man complained.
"I'm sorry, honey. I just want your best."
"What did you do, Mulder?" Scully asked in dismay.
"Nothing", he stood up and had to look down on her, since she was so much shorter than him. "I just asked him about his book and how he knew about Diana's death before the accident had happened."
He spoke softly so that only Scully could hear him.
"Well, you must have done something. I mean Stamp's really upset."
"I swear I didn't do anything. We just talked."
"It's time for your medicine", Mrs. Stamp said to her husband and turned to the two FBI agents. "I think you better leave us now. John needs his medicine and then he needs some rest."
She said this with a voice that didn't allow any objection.
"But I haven't even asked him about his upcoming novel, yet", Mulder said.
"I'm sorry Mr. Mulder. But this is not a good time."
Mulder glanced fleetingly at Stamp. The author stood next to his wife like a little boy who was being protected by his mother.
"But you asked us to come our here!", he tried again.
"True. And now I ask you to go."
She turned away and led her husband towards the front door.
Mulder wanted to speak again but Scully pulled him away. "Come on, Mulder. Let's go!"