He shook his head.“They couldn’t wait to be rid of me.I don’t know if they still live in town.”
“Did you keep in touch with Josh?”
“No.”Josh had been his only friend, but Ethan had wanted to leave Honeybrook behind him.“What about you and Lauren?”
“Not really.I read her posts on social media sometimes, and I saw her at the funeral.”
The two girls had been good friends, and he’d been jealous of the time they spent together because it meant he had less time with Chelsea.
Selfish.
She pulled into the driveway of a brand-new modern brick and tile house.The garden had a freshly planted look, which came with many display homes.Darren might not have been working at Lilydale, but he was putting Sabine’s money to good use.
They got out of the car and Ethan pounded on the door, letting out some of his anger.
Chelsea raised her eyebrows.“That was a bit excessive, wasn’t it?”
“Just wanted to make sure I’d wake him.”
After waiting a couple of minutes, he pounded again.“I suspect he’s avoiding us.”The front door had a security camera, the type where you could access the feed from your phone.Ethan glared at it.“Darren, if you aren’t at the door in thirty seconds, we’ll contact the police.”
Immediately there were sounds from inside.He grinned.
The door opened and a twenty-something man stood there.They’d obviously woken him because his hair was dishevelled, his T-shirt was on inside-out and his eyes were bleary.“What do you want?”
Really?This was how he was going to play it?
“You’re Darren Whaley?”Chelsea asked.
He nodded, scratching his crotch.
“I’m Chelsea.I left you a couple of messages yesterday.My mother is Sabine Longmeyer.”
She waited for a response, but all Darren did was nod.
“Sabine has been paying you for the past year to take care of the gardens at Lilydale Cottage.”
“That’s right.”
Ethan clenched his hands at Darren’s nonchalance.
“Then why haven’t you been doing it?”Chelsea asked, keeping her tone pleasant.
“It’s a big garden.It’s hard to keep on top of it.”
“That’s no excuse to do no work,” Chelsea replied, her voice sharpening.
“Well now, there didn’t seem to be any point when it was going to be demolished for the retirement village.”Darren’s gaze darted away and then back to Chelsea.
Ethan’s muscles tightened.“Who told you that?”
Darren shuffled back, and his flash of fear was intensely satisfying.
“The developer.”
“When did you meet him?”Chelsea asked.
“He came to Lilydale the first week I started.”
