Secrets of Sandpiper Shores: Hidden Embers (Cedar Key #3)

Chapter 1 June

JUNE

Morning sunlight poured through the tall windows of the old post office.

It was bright enough to reveal every speck of dust floating in the air, every footprint on the unfinished wooden floor, every half-open box of supplies that had been shoved against the wall in the rush to get the new clinic operational.

The place should have felt hopeful, a fresh start, and a new beginning for the animal clinic.

Instead, June’s chest felt tight every time she looked at Lacey’s desk.

This is where her friend should be right now, not back in the hospital. June pressed her fingertips to the edge of the desk, as if steadying herself. It was still early in the morning, the clinic wasn't open yet, and none of the new staff were there yet.

Downstairs, there was only the quiet hum of the temporary filtration system running for Charlie’s, that is what they had named the manatee, holding pool. The rest of the building was still.

June had to force herself to concentrate on her task at hand and not jump at every creak or windy knock at the windows. The building felt far too still. In her head, June played the conversation with Dean over again.

“Lacey had said that it’s not her enemy, and I must get the letter,” Dean had stated. “I presume, as Judy said Lacey had left from the new vet clinic, that’s where Lacey had found the letter. So it must still be there.”

June swallowed hard and forced herself to keep searching Lacey’s office.

Her heart twinged at the thought of Lacey still unconscious.

Lucy had warned them that Lacey’s head injury was serious, and the amount of blood at the cabin site had been enough to make June feel physically sick when she remembered it.

According to Dean, Lacey’s last words before sinking into unconsciousness were, get the letter.

So, that is what June was doing, getting the letter, but it wasn't on the desk. She opened the top drawer of the desk for the third time.

But still, the letter hadn’t miraculously appeared; there were just pens, paperclips, a stapler, a tube of hand cream, and a small notebook with Lacey’s careful handwriting across the cover: Wildlife Intake.

But what wasn’t there, in any of the drawers, on top of the desk, or in the trash can, was the letter.

June shut the drawer with more force than necessary and moved to the stack of files on the corner of the desk, flipping through them with impatient hands.

Nope, the letter wasn't there either. It was just a stack of client forms, permit applications, donation receipts, and a rough plan for the outdoor enclosures, drawn in pencil on graph paper, with corrections scribbled in the margins.

Her eyes fell back onto the filing cabinets in the room.

The boxes of files that were supposed to go into them were still neatly stacked beside them.

The boxes were sealed, so June doubted the letter would be in any of those.

She had already gone through the filing cabinets and every closet in Lacey’s office—twice.

There was no letter to be found anywhere. Another thought struck her.

Could someone have come in and taken it? She shook the thought off, drumming her fingers on the desk, wondering where else she could look.

Her eyes fell on the white coat hanging on the old-fashioned coat rack. Standing, June went over to the item and went through the pockets. Nothing.

She was about to go downstairs to check the examination rooms and nearly jumped out of her skin with fright when the sharp buzz of the new bell installed on the clinic’s front door interrupted her.

Her heart hammering so loud it was deafening, June froze and swallowed hard.

Her mind was racing. Who could that be? She glanced at her wristwatch.

It was still too early for the new front desk lady, Harriet, to come in, and Judy was the only other person with a key at the moment. So, it wouldn’t be Judy.

Buzz.

Buzz.

June jumped again as someone impatiently pressed the bell again and again.

June moved quickly to Lacey’s office door, stepped into the hallway, and locked the office behind her. The lock clicked into place with a finality that made June’s stomach twist, and she slipped the key into her pocket.

June didn't use the elevator because it was being serviced and the men had left it open, tools and cables visible, and June had no interest in trusting her life to a half-disassembled mechanism today.

She took the stairs, each step echoing in the empty building.

The bell buzzed again.

June reached the front door and cautiously moved the heavy deadbolt into place, and then eased the door open a crack, keeping the chain on.

She looked out.

Lucy stood on the doorstep, dressed in scrubs, her hair pulled back, a tired line between her brows. Relief hit June first, because it was Lucy and not some stranger with a smile and a knife behind it. But the relief was immediately followed by a sharp twist of worry.

Lucy looked like she hadn't slept.

“June, hello,” Lucy said, her voice low but urgent. “I saw Carmen’s car. I thought you’d be here.”

June let the chain drop and opened the door fully, stepping back to allow Lucy inside. The moment Lucy crossed the threshold, June shut the door and locked it again, the sound loud in the quiet building.

Lucy’s gaze flicked to June’s hands on the lock.

“Hello,” June greeted Lucy. “You nearly gave me a heart attack with all the buzzing.”

Lucy’s lips pressed together. “I don’t have keys for the new clinic yet.”

“Lacey has only given out three so far,” June told her. “One to me, one to Judy, and she has the third one.”

“I’m sorry to barge in like this,” Lucy told her.

“You’re not working,” June stated. “Or are you standing in for Lacey today?”

“No,” Lucy said, shaking her head. “I just came to get something I left here the other day when we surprised Lacey.”

“How is she?” June asked.

“She’s still unconscious,” Lucy said, her eyes flashing with worry.

“But with a head injury like that, it’s actually better for her brain to rest rather than being overstimulated.

” She swallowed. “They’re doing neuro checks every hour.

Her oxygenation is good. Her blood pressure is stable.

The CT showed the swelling, but nothing that requires surgical intervention right now. ”

June’s throat tightened. “And that means…?”

“It means we wait,” Lucy said, her voice clipped with restrained emotion.

“We wait, and we watch for changes. If she doesn’t regain consciousness within the expected window, they’ll repeat imaging.

They’ll monitor for signs of increased pressure.

” Lucy’s eyes flicked away for a moment. “It’s a nasty injury.”

June nodded slowly, forcing herself not to imagine Lacey lying in that bed, pale and still, while Dean sat beside her like a broken statue.

“Is Dean still with her?” June asked, because she needed something to hold onto that wasn’t terror.

“Yes, he hasn’t left her side,” Lucy said with a tight smile. “Noah said he’d go sit with Lacey this morning and encourage Dean to go home, have a shower, and maybe sleep.”

“I don’t see that happening,” June told her.

“I hope he does,” Lucy said. “He’s been wheezing quite badly, but won’t let me examine him.”

“He’s too filled with worry for Lacey,” June said with a tight smile. “If you didn’t come here to work, what brings you in so early?”

Lucy looked slightly irritated with herself. “Yesterday, I realized I’d left a pile of my mail here on the day we surprised Lacey with her new clinic.” She sighed. “I’d usually not worry about it, but one of my utility bills was among them.”

“I haven’t seen any in the front office,” June told her. “It might have been taken to Lacey’s office.” She gestured toward the stairs. “Come on.”

They climbed, the sound of their footsteps echoing through the building. June unlocked Lacey’s office and let Lucy enter first, who walked straight over to her sister's desk. She scanned the desk and then a few drawers. But, as with the other letter, there wasn't anything there.

Lucy’s mouth tightened. “It’s not here.”

“No,” June agreed quietly. “It’s not.”

They both jumped when the front bell buzzed from downstairs.

They looked at each other and then hurried out of Lacey’s office, down the stairs, and to the front door.

This time, when June opened the front door a crack and checked, Judy stood outside dressed professionally, as always, with that composed, capable look that made people want to trust her. She carried a tote bag over her shoulder, and there was genuine concern in her eyes.

“June,” Judy said softly. “Sorry, I left my keys back in Cedar Keys and only realized when I arrived.”

June opened the door wider and stepped aside. “Hello, Judy. No problem.”

“I heard about Lacey,” Judy said and stepped inside, glancing around the quiet building. “I came early. I thought I could handle the morning intake if anyone calls, and I wanted to check on Charlie.”

She looked around and saw Lucy. “Hello, Lucy, how are you holding up?”

“As well as can be expected,” Lucy answered. “How is Charlie?”

“As of last night, he was stable,” Judy said. “He’s healing well. His vitals looked good when I checked him last night.”

“That is some good news at least,” Lucy said, and then looked at June. “I’d better get going, I have a lot to do.”

“Oh, Lucy, before you go,” Judy stopped her. “I was closing up the office and found a pile of your mail. I dropped it off at the clinic on my way here this morning.”

“You didn’t happen to notice a letter with the mail, did you?” June asked.

“Yes. There was one letter in a pink envelope lying next to the pile.” Judy told her. “I put it in the pile with the letters I took to Lucy’s clinic.”

June forced herself not to show what she felt. “Great, thank you.”

Just then, the office’s phone rang.

“I’ll get that,” Judy told them and walked off.