Charming.
Someone answered the phone, and she reported the incident and was told officers would be there soon.
Ethan’s face was a thundercloud.“Someone’s been watching us.”
Chelsea frowned.“What makes you say that?”
“You can’t see the cottages from the road.No one could know we spent yesterday cleaning them.”
Chills ran along her arms.“I launched the website and social media last night.”
He looked at her.“What are the odds someone random saw them and decided on a whim to come and undo all the work we just did?”
He was right.“You think Johann did this?”
He nodded.“Or Darren.They’re the only two who would care what we’re doing here.”
She scanned the garden.There were plenty of places a person could hide and watch them.She rubbed her arms.“The police are on their way.”
The cottages covered in dung wouldn’t be hard to clean, and Barry could stay in one of them rather than in the single cottage which had been damaged.It wouldn’t cause a big delay.“It looks more like a temper tantrum.”
“But someone must have carried the dung in.”
She shook her head.“There were bags in the gardening shed.”
Together they walked over to the shed, where the door was wide open.Sure enough, the bags of manure were missing, but nothing else had been touched.
“I’ll buy a padlock when I go shopping today.”
“Buy one for the barn, too.”
The sound of a car had them both walking back towards the street.A police car pulled into the driveway and the man who stepped out was around their age, with black hair and a slim frame, and looked vaguely familiar.His lips broke out in a grin.“Ethan!Chelsea!What are you both doing back?”
Ethan stiffened for a second next to her and then relaxed.“Josh.Who in their right mind gave you a gun?”
He grinned.“Probably the same guy who let you into the army.”
They slapped each other’s backs in a man hug.
Chelsea smiled and stepped forward to hug Josh, who had been Ethan’s only friend in the town.“It’s good to see you.”They’d spent many an afternoon at the lake together with Lauren, though Josh and Lauren had always only been friends.
“I heard what Darren did.”Josh glanced around the garden.“I should have known you wouldn’t let the garden go to seed, but I was busy with… other things.”He frowned briefly and his next smile seemed a little forced.“When did you two get back together?”
Chelsea glanced at Ethan, not certain what to say.
“It’s a new thing,” Ethan said.
She gestured for Josh to follow her.“I’ll show you the damage.”
Josh took a kit out of the car and followed her back to the cottages.He scowled and took a couple of photos.“Could be bored kids.Did you hear anything last night?”
“Nothing,” Chelsea said.
“I took a couple of painkillers and was out of it,” Ethan said.“Timing is pretty coincidental to be kids.They’ve had a year to vandalise the property when no one was here.Why wait until Chelsea is back?”
“You’ve got a suspect?”
Chelsea hesitated.“There’s a property developer who wanted to buy Lilydale, and I refused to sell.He was pretty angry.”
