Over the smell of smoke came another aroma, that of freshly made coffee, and warmth infused her as she spotted Ethan in the kitchen making coffee.Josh was already seated at the table dressed in his police uniform, drinking his first cup, and Barry was also there.
This wasn’t what he’d signed up for.“Thank you for your help, Barry.”
He glanced up.“No problem.It’s such a shame so much of the garden burned.”
“I won’t hold it against you if you would prefer to head straight back to Perth this morning.”
He straightened.“Are you kidding?It’s more of a challenge now.Ethan tells me this isn’t the first thing to go wrong.If I can highlight the issue, whoever is doing it might think twice.”
Chelsea felt a little of the tension dissipate.“Thank you.”She could do with the exposure for her Lilydale social media profiles.
Ethan handed her a mug of coffee and kissed her cheek.“Feeling any better?”
“A little.”She sat at the table and smiled at Josh.“Sorry for getting you out of bed so early.”
He grinned.“You provide the best coffee in town, so I’m not complaining.”
Chelsea pursed her lips.“Isn’t there a coffee shop?”
“The bakery sells coffee, but it’s terrible.”
She pulled out her phone and made a note to investigate having a coffee van come to the garden once a week when it was ready to open to the public.
Ethan sat next to her.“At the rate you’re going, this is going to be a never-ending project.”
She sighed.“If it ever gets off the ground.”They needed to catch who was doing this.
“Did you get any hits from the prints?”Ethan asked Josh.
“They matched Chelsea.”He gave an apologetic look.“Tell me what happened last night.Barry, why don’t you start?”
“Something woke me,” he said.“At first I thought it was a possum on the roof, but I saw a shadow go past the window.”
Ethan leaned forward.“Did you get a look?”
Barry shook his head.“By the time I pulled the curtain aside, whoever it was had gone.Then I noticed a flickering light in the garden.I realised it was flames, so I dressed and ran outside.That’s when I noticed you looking for the hose.”
Ethan nodded.“It wasn’t where it was supposed to be.Chelsea, did you move the one by the house?”
“No.”
So whoever had lit the fire had made sure they wouldn’t have easy access to a way of putting it out.Luckily because of the size of the garden, there were multiple taps and hoses.
Josh turned to her.“When did you wake?”
She gestured to Ethan.“He woke me.”Her face flushed as she remembered what they’d done last night.
“The smell of smoke woke me about four thirty,” Ethan said.“I peered out the window and saw the flames, told Chelsea to call the fire brigade and raced out there to fight the fire.”
“Did you see anyone?”
“No.”
Josh made some notes.“I’m going to look around and talk to the arson investigator.I’ll ask you to all stay in here until I’ve searched for footprints and any other evidence.”
Chelsea nodded.“Of course.Can I offer you breakfast before you go?”
He got to his feet.“The coffee’s enough for now.”
