Nina filled Rory in about the roller coaster day with her mother. The purple satin blouse was mentioned a few times. The pleasant chat in the kitchen ended her recap and Rory could see how much it meant.
"I'm cooking chicken chasseur tonight. I've made a salad as well. Mum will no doubt pick the bacon out of the sauce, but we'll just let her get on with it."
"Tomorrow we'll be out and about, so you won't have to cook. Lunch at the Italian and then we will go to the George in the evening. I spoke to mum and dad today and they will join us and say hello to Louise."
"Oh, that's good of them. Mum hasn't made a particularly good impression on them whenever they have met, so I appreciate them making the effort."
The footsteps on the stairs signalled that Louise was up and about to join them. She hugged Rory and did the air kisses before requesting a glass of wine.
"I'm going to drink it in the lounge. Such a lovely room."
Rory watched her depart and then turned to his wife. "God, that is very purple and very shiny."
As predicted, small pieces of pancetta were arranged around the edge of Louise's plate at the end of the meal. A tomato and a piece of chicken were also left. Nina knew it was another of her mother's foibles. She never ate everything on her plate. It was a demonstration of her willpower and her determination to stay slim.
Deciding she needed a brandy, Louise ordered it to be delivered to the lounge. She was going to fetch a cardigan, because it was chilly compared to Spain. A few glasses of wine made her rather imperious.
Rory and Nina drank coffee whilst Louise slugged brandy and told them how everything in Spain was better than in England. The food, the weather, the wine, the people, and the shops. As she held forth, her daughter and son in law stopped listening. The claim about it being chilly was forgotten as she abandoned her cardigan. The fluffy pale blue item was left on the chair as she weaved up the stairs to her room.
It was gone 11am when Louise appeared the next day. She was dressed in jeans and a pale blue T shirt, adorned with some applique flowers. Quite a bit of gold thread featured in the design. The plus point was that she was in full makeup and ready to go out.
"I'll just get my cardigan." Louise headed for the lounge.
"Bloody hell. Out before midday, that's a first." Rory whispered.
"Have you moved my cardigan? It's not where I left it."
Nina looked at Rory, who shook his head. A search was started in the lounge. Cushions were lifted, and hands were shoved down the back of the sofa. Something made Nina go to the cloakroom. The blue cardigan was draped across the cistern and the light was on.
"I found it on the coat rack by the door. I must have put it there last night." Nina avoided looking at Rory who was stood mouth agape.
The car journey offered no opportunity for Rory to ask Nina what the hell was going on. As Louise ducked into a clothes shop, Rory caught hold of his wife's arm.
"You did not hang that cardigan up last night."
"I know. I found it in the cloakroom. And the light was on. Obviously, I didn't want to say anything in front of mum. It looks like another spooky happening."
"I'm surprised our ghost was prepared to touch that fluffy blue monstrosity."
"Rory!"
"I know, that's not that point. You go in the shop with your mum and I'll check the recording."
"5 minutes gap." Rory whispered to her when she emerged.
Louise dragged them from shop to shop and then moaned about everything on the menu in the restaurant. Rory and Nina hardly noticed. Each time they had a chance, the snatched conversation about the cardigan resumed. There was no answer or conclusion, only anxiety and bewilderment.
After lunch, Louise went for her nap, and they finally had a chance to talk more. A conversation which just went around and around. How did the cardigan get to the cloakroom? Nina didn't move it. Rory didn't move it. Maybe Louise had done it, but that was unlikely. What did that leave? The crazy notion that something otherworldly was to blame.
"What's that thing, Occam's razor, that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. If we apply that, what is the answer? Someone physically moved the cardigan to the cloakroom. It didn't float there. It wasn't transported by a ghost." Rory said.
"The only question, therefore, is who moved the cardigan to the cloakroom." Nina stated.
"Exactly. We know it wasn't one of us. It has to be Louise."
"Or, someone who has come into the house."
"Bloody hell, Nina, why did you have to say that. That's scarier than having stuff moved by a ghost."
"Let's find out a bit more about what happened with the previous owners. Have a chat with Len, or, better still, talk to the people that owned it before us."
"What are you thinking?"
"What sort of things happened. Were they similar to what we are experiencing? The more evidence we gather the better. There must be a pattern, frequency, which days, stuff like that."
"Okay. I'll talk to James at the estate agents."
"Did you go to school with him?"
"His younger sister. I'm sure he will know how to get in contact with the ones before us. He probably knows how to get in contact with the ones before that, as well. It is highly likely that we will bump into Len at some point in the pub tonight. I'll get his phone number and, once your mum has gone, we can have a proper chat with him."
"This is better isn't it. Doing something about it, rather than spooking ourselves. I think the worry for me has been that it is so out of our control."
"I know what you mean. We would discuss it and then push it to the background. Masters of denial. Operation, unmask the ghost, starts now. Nothing is going to force us out of this house."