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CHAPTER FOUR

A ghost in the house?

The first of the little surprises came early in January. Marilyn and Rick arrived home, as usual, just after six o’clock one Tuesday evening. Rick opened the door, and went into the kitchen to make some tea. Marilyn followed him in.

‘Rick,’ she said, ‘did you pick up the letters in the hall?’

‘No,’ he said, ‘you know I didn’t. You were just behind me.’

‘Well, that’s funny. Look, the post arrived after we’d left for work. It always does at this house. So, usually it’s lying on the doormat when we get home. Right?’

‘Yes,’ said Rick. ‘Why?’

‘The post isn’t on the floor now. It’s in a neat pile on the table, next to the telephone.’

Rick followed her into the hall. There were four or five letters in a pile on the hall table.

‘Maybe. maybe the post arrived earlier than usual today. Perhaps it arrived before we left for work. Maybe we picked it up, put it there, and forgot,’ he said.

‘No, I’m sure not,’ said Marilyn. ‘You see, I was waiting for this letter. It’s from Wendy. I was thinking about it on the way home.’

The next surprise was two weeks later. They had been out to dinner with friends on Wednesday evening, and they hadn’t woken up when the alarm clock rang. Rick woke up at twenty to nine. They both got dressed quickly and left home without breakfast.

They didn’t make the bed, and they left their nightclothes on the floor. They were usually very tidy people, but there wasn’t enough time. When they got home, Rick went upstairs first.

‘Marilyn,’ he said, ‘come up here.’

Marilyn walked into the bedroom. The bed was made.

Everything looked neat and tidy. She pulled back the bed covers. Rick’s pyjamas and her nightdress were folded neatly on the pillows.

‘I’m sure we didn’t make the bed,’ she said.

‘Did you come home at lunchtime’ asked Rick.

‘No, of course not. I never do. There isn’t enough time.’

‘Well, you had the car,’ he said.

‘No, I worked through the lunch hour today. We were busy,’ she said. ‘Rick, is this a joke? Did you.?’

‘I didn’t come home either,’ he said.

‘Then, we forgot,’ said Marilyn. We made the bed and forgot we’d done it. We drank a lot last night. I mean, we forgot those letters a couple of weeks ago.’

There were a few more surprises in the next few weeks. Once they found the letters on the hall table again. Another time the bathroom light was on. Rick was annoyed. He always worried about the electricity bills.

‘Did you leave the bathroom light on’ he said angrily.

‘No,’ said Marilyn. ‘Anyway, you were in the bathroom after me this morning. Rick, you’re beginning to forget everything.’

Another time they were late for work, and they left their coffee cups on the table. When they got home, the coffee cups had been washed up, and were standing on the table.

Rick laughed. ‘Maybe there’s a ghost in the house,’ he said. ‘A very tidy ghost.’

‘Don’t be silly,’ she said, ‘it’s a new house, not an old castle. There’s no ghost.’

Suddenly there was a flash of lightning, and the noise of thunder. It started raining. She looked out of the window.

‘Rick,’ she said, ‘there isn’t a ghost, is there?’

They both laughed then.

They didn’t laugh at the next surprise. They had been out to dinner, and they got home late. They were both tired. They went into the living room.

‘I’ll make some tea, Rick,’ said Marilyn. ‘You look in the newspaper and see what’s on television.’

She went into the kitchen.

‘Marilyn,’ called Rick, ‘where’s the newspaper? I can’t find it.’

She came back into the living room. ‘It was on the coffee table. I put it there this morning.’

‘It isn’t here now,’ said Rick.

They looked everywhere for the newspaper, but they couldn’t find it anywhere.

‘I’m tired of this,’ said Rick. ‘Let’s have a drink.’

He went to the cupboard to get the bottle of whisky they had brought back from holiday two years before. They didn’t usually drink whisky, and the bottle was nearly full.

Rick opened the cupboard, and there was the newspaper! It was folded neatly, and it was lying next to the bottle.

‘Why did you put it in here’ he said.

‘I didn’t. I was reading it before we left for work, and I put it on the coffee table,’ said Marilyn.

‘I haven’t opened this cupboard for weeks,’ said Rick. ‘Anyway, neither of us would put the newspaper in here. What’s happening?’

Marilyn sat down. ‘Rick,’ she said, ‘you don’t think there is a ghost here, do you?’

‘What? A tidy ghost? I’ve never heard of a tidy ghost.’

‘Why not?’

Rick sat down too. ‘But it’s a new house.’

‘Maybe someone died here. Maybe one of the Barclays’ parents lived with them. Maybe they died here,’ said Marilyn.

‘Or maybe there were houses here before– before the High Trees Estate was built.’

‘I don’t know,’ said Marilyn. ‘Maybe we should ask Mr and Mrs Barclay. We’ve got their new address.’

‘We can’t,’ said Rick, ‘it sounds so silly. “Excuse me, Mr Barclay. Did you leave a ghost here? Did you forget to take it with your furniture?” I can’t ask them.’

‘Well,’ said Marilyn, ‘I’m going to the library tomorrow lunchtime. I’m going to discover what was here before this house was built.’