“All clear,” Dobby reported.
Great.Ethan asked Leyton, “Was the arson his idea?”
Leyton nodded.“Said Chelsea wouldn’t want to keep something that had been destroyed.”
“Why didn’t he do it himself?”
“Said he was too close to it, but no one knew about me.”
“Why did you do it?”
Leyton pressed his lips together.“He threatened my family.Turns out his bosses are some kind of organised crime people.”
Ethan exchanged a glance with Dobby.“Who exactly?”
“I don’t know, but they sent photos of my kids at school and my wife in town.They’re watching us.”
“I’ll get Noah and do a wider sweep,” Heath said and headed towards the barn.
“How did you meet him?”Ethan asked.
“I worked with him on the sports complex development last year.He wanted to know if there was any land in the area for his retirement home.There wasn’t, but he drove past Lilydale Cottage one day and asked me to introduce him to Maggie.”
Ethan stiffened.“Johann met Maggie?”
Leyton nodded.“But she refused to sell.”
“I just discovered emails between them going back before Aunt Maggie died,” Chelsea said.
That put a whole new spin on things.He exchanged a glance with Josh.
“What happened next?”Josh asked.
Leyton looked away.“She died, and Johann asked me to change the zoning laws.He was certain Maggie’s heirs would sell.”
“Then why didn’t he ask us until now?”Chelsea asked.
“Ah, I don’t know.”He shifted in place.“Maybe it was to give time for the garden to die.”
The dodgy vibes coming from Leyton were like a siren.“Did you know about his arrangement with Darren?”
Leyton nodded.“Johann asked me to monitor him.Make sure he did nothing in the garden, but it wasn’t necessary.Darren knew a good thing when he had it.”
“Johann spent a lot of money to get Lilydale,” Josh said.“Why?”
“You’ll have to ask him.”
“What if Aunt Maggie’s death wasn’t an accident?”Chelsea asked, her voice soft.
The night froze.Every person stiffened at the suggestion, but the blood drained from Leyton’s face.
Son of a bitch.
Ethan lunged forward, but Dobby hauled him back.Leyton scrambled away and Josh towered over him.“What do you know?”
“I didn’t do it!”
“Who did?”Ethan growled.The urge to torture the answers from Leyton was strong, but Chelsea’s soft whimper demolished it and he pulled her into his arms.
