The following morning, Thao drove the friends down town to have a city tour. After a long day of city touring, the group of friends returned to Thao's home just in time for dinner. As they entered the garden of the isolated manor, strong gusts of wind started to blow in their direction just like the day before. Covering the slowly sinking sun in the distant horizon, clouds started to gather in around them.
"This is such strange weather," remarked Shaun pensively. "It was such a bright sunny day this morning, and now it feels like there's going to be a thunderstorm."
"I told you before, this isn't a thunderstorm, it's just normal rain during the rainy season," responded Thao impatiently.
"That's odd," answered Jeffrey. "On my phone, it says that the city is sunny with only 30% chance of rain. How come it's about to rain here."
"That's because Ho Chi Minh city is very large, about the size of London. So, often it rains in certain districts but not others," responded Thao. "Let's hurry inside, it looks like it'll rain anytime."
Thao was right again. The moment they sat down at the dinner table, which was filled with traditional Vietnamese delicacies, rain started to pelter down.
"You guys are in luck," said Thao. "Grandmother has decided to cook today, which is a very rare occasion."
"This is to say sorry for being so rude yesterday," said grandmother Mai. "I lost my mind after some trivial misunderstanding and couldn't keep my prejudices to myself. Don't be shy! Eat as much as you can! There's plenty of food."
"Wow! This looks so delicious," admired Jeffrey.
"There's nothing better than grandma's homemade dishes," said Blythe as she observed the old lady's expression. Even Tiffany dared not complain this time.
After dinner, the detectives commenced their mission of investigating the cause of the supernatural events in the house.
"What exactly do you mean when you said you've encountered 'supernatural events'?" enquired Shaun. "I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific so we know where to start our investigations."
"About a month or so ago, I started sensing that things kept mysteriously disappearing and then magically reappeared somewhere else," replied grandmother Mai pensively.
"No offense, but could it possibly be that you've forgotten where you placed the things yourself?" asked Jeffrey. "Have you seen the things move by themselves?"
"That's impossible, I'm not that old yet," answered grandmother Mai haughtily. "No, I haven't seen them moving of their own accord."
"Could it have been other people that have moved the locations of these items?" queried Blythe.
"There were only three people in this house before Thao came back - the maid Hoa, my daughter Lan and myself. I have asked them, but they denied having touched my things," responded grandmother Mai.
"What exact things have been moved?" questioned Jeffrey. "If they're expensive items like jewelry, we might have to take into consideration the possibilities of thieves having entered your house."
"Well, let me see. They weren't anything expensive," replied Mai. "Sometimes it was the remote control, my medicine bottle or my books."
"Did anyone else have such encounters?" interrogated Shaun.
"No, but what I encountered was worse," responded Lan. "I saw objects fall of its own accord. For example, two days ago, I saw that vase fall off that table and if it wasn't for me who dashed towards it to save it from reaching the ground, it would have shattered into pieces."
"Do you mean this vase?" queried Blythe as she walked towards a porcelain vase situated on a side table. "May I pick it up?"
"Yes, if you're very careful," said grandmother Mai.
Blythe carefully picked up the vase pensively.
"This is really heavy, the wind alone couldn't possibly have knocked it over," said Blythe.
At this moment, Shaun noticed that the maid Hoa was quietly observing them behind a cabinet, with an odd, crooked smile on her face.
"Can you show us around your house, Thao?" asked Jeffrey. "It might aid our investigation if we are more familiar with our surroundings."
Thao looked at her grandmother, who let out a sigh and gently nodded her head in approval.
"Let's start with the kitchen," said Thao as she led them towards a room adjoining the dining room.
After entering the kitchen, they glanced around the place but observed nothing to be amiss. Suddenly, Blythe sensed that someone was quietly observing them from behind.
~To be Continued~
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