Chapter 18 Lacey
LACEY
The afternoon sun filtered through the cypress trees as Lacey waded carefully into the shallow water where three manatees floated in obvious distress.
Her heart clenched at the sight of their injuries, particularly the largest of the three, whose back bore deep gashes that were still bleeding into the murky water.
"How bad is it, Dr. Peltz?" Clive Morrison called from the shoreline, his voice carrying genuine concern that surprised Lacey, given how heartless she’d always thought him and his sister to be. Even Sienna seemed really distressed by the injured animals.
"Two of them have minor propeller cuts that should heal on their own with proper monitoring," Lacey replied, moving slowly through the water to avoid startling the gentle giants. "But this big fellow has some serious lacerations that are going to need immediate surgical attention."
She had arrived at the scene prepared to confront the Morrison siblings with anger over their reckless boating, but the story they'd told had completely changed her perspective.
According to Clive and Sienna, they had been preparing to launch their boat when they witnessed another vessel speeding through the manatee sanctuary, completely ignoring the posted warnings and speed limits.
"We tried to get their attention," Sienna had explained, her eyes bright with unshed tears as she looked at the injured animals.
"We were yelling and waving, trying to get them to slow down, but they just kept going.
By the time we realized they'd actually hit the manatees, the other boat was already gone. "
The Morrison siblings had immediately called the marine wildlife authorities and then contacted Lacey's clinic when they realized the injured animals needed more immediate help than the official rescue services could provide.
Their quick thinking and genuine concern had probably saved the lives of all three manatees.
Lacey carefully approached the most severely injured animal, speaking in soothing tones as she examined the extent of the damage. The manatee, probably a mature male weighing close to a thousand pounds, remained surprisingly calm as she gently probed the wounds on his back.
"The good news is that none of the cuts appear to have hit any vital organs," she announced to the group gathered on the shore. "But he's lost a significant amount of blood, and these lacerations are deep enough that they'll become infected if we don't get them properly cleaned and sutured."
"What do you need back at the clinic?" Holt asked, already pulling out his phone to coordinate whatever resources she might require.
Lacey appreciated his immediate willingness to help, and she knew he had the connections in town to acquire specialized equipment quickly. The Dillinger family owned the local sporting goods store along with several other businesses that might have useful supplies.
"I'm going to need a proper holding facility where he can recover from surgery. Something large enough for a thousand-pound animal with a filtration system and temperature control."
"I can organize a team to set up whatever you need back at the clinic," Holt offered. "Just tell me what kind of holding tank system you're thinking, and I'll get people working on it while we handle the transport."
"We'll need something like a temporary pool system—maybe eight feet by twelve feet, at least four feet deep," Lacey said, grateful for his organizational skills.
"The agricultural supply store might have livestock watering tanks we could use, and we'll need tarps, water pumps, and a filtration system to keep the water clean. "
"Whatever you need," Dean assured her from his position near the water's edge. "Just tell us what to do."
What followed was an hour of remarkably coordinated teamwork that temporarily made Lacey forget about the ongoing investigation and the threats that had been haunting her daily life.
Clive and Sienna proved to be genuinely helpful and surprisingly knowledgeable about marine wildlife, offering assistance with both physical labor and practical suggestions for keeping the injured animals calm during the rescue process.
Sienna, who had apparently volunteered with sea turtle rescue programs during college, knew exactly how to position the transport sling to minimize stress on the injured manatee.
Clive demonstrated unexpected gentleness as he helped guide the massive animal into the improvised transport container that the team had made on the back of the pickup before they left.
"You've done this before," Lacey observed as she watched Clive carefully support the manatee's head while she administered a mild sedative.
"My environmental science professor in college was obsessed with marine mammal conservation," Clive explained with a self-conscious smile. "We spent a lot of class time learning about rescue techniques, though I never expected to actually use the knowledge."
Even June, who had been maintaining a careful distance from the Morrison siblings, found herself working alongside them as they prepared the animal for transport.
The crisis had temporarily suspended the tensions and suspicions that had been building over the past week, replacing them with the shared goal of saving an innocent creature's life.
"The other two should be fine if we can keep boats away from this area for the next few days while they recover," Lacey said as she completed her examination of the less seriously injured animals.
"Holt, can you contact the marine patrol and ask them to close this section of the waterway to motorized boats?
This is supposed to be a manatee sanctuary anyway, but enforcement has been pretty lax. "
"Absolutely," Holt replied. "I'll make sure they post clear warnings and have officers patrol the area regularly until these animals have had time to heal."
An apologetic Clive and Sienna helped load the most severely injured manatee into the back of Harvey's pickup truck, working together to ensure the animal was properly supported and had adequate water circulation for the trip back to town.
"Thank you both for calling this in so quickly," Lacey told them sincerely as they prepared to leave the rescue site. "If you hadn't acted when you did, we probably would have lost all three of them."
"We just wish we could have prevented the whole thing," Sienna replied sadly. "People need to understand that these waterways aren't race tracks. The manatees have been here for thousands of years."
During the careful drive back to the clinic, Holt and June rode in the cab of the pickup while Lacey and Dean stayed in the back with their patient, monitoring his vital signs and keeping him calm with gentle touches and soothing words.
"You're going to be just fine, big guy," Lacey murmured as she checked the animal's breathing and heart rate. "We'll have you all patched up and back in the water in just a few days."
Dean watched her work with obvious admiration, occasionally helping to adjust the water pump or reposition the monitoring equipment as they navigated the bumpy road back to town.
"You're incredible with them," he said quietly. "I've seen you work with land animals, but watching you with marine life is something else entirely."
"They trust you," Lacey replied, gently stroking the manatee's flank as the animal rested peacefully in the mobile treatment tank. "Wild animals can sense when someone genuinely wants to help them. It's not magic or some special gift. It's just patience and respect."
By the time they reached the clinic, word of the rescue had spread throughout the community, and a crew of volunteers had already assembled the makeshift holding facility that Lacey would need for the manatee's recovery.
Harvey and several other local handymen had constructed a temporary pool using tarps, wooden framing, and a borrowed water circulation system from the town's aquaculture facility.
Getting the nearly thousand-pound animal from the transport tank into the treatment area required all of them working together, along with several additional volunteers who had arrived to help with the transfer.
The process took almost an hour, but they finally managed to settle the sedated manatee into the recovery pool where Lacey could begin the surgical repair of his injuries.
"This is going to take a while," she warned the group as she prepared her surgical instruments and medications. "The lacerations are deep and irregular, so each one needs to be cleaned and sutured individually."
"We're not going anywhere," June assured her, staying on hand in the treatment area to assist with supplies and monitoring equipment.
The surgical repair took almost two hours, during which Holt coordinated a dinner delivery from several local restaurants while Dean and June took turns helping Lacey with sutures, antiseptic solutions, and pain management injections.
By the time Lacey finished the last of the stitches, her shoulder was aching from the prolonged fine motor work, and she had developed a headache from concentrating intensely under the improvised lighting system they'd set up in the temporary treatment area.
She ignored both discomforts as she checked the manatee's vital signs one final time and adjusted the water circulation system to ensure optimal healing conditions for her patient.
"He should be stable now," she announced to the group, who had been patiently waiting for her assessment. "But someone needs to monitor him every few hours tonight to make sure there are no complications from the anesthesia or the surgical repairs."
"We'll take turns on watch duty," Dean said immediately. "You've been working for hours. You need to eat something and try to get some rest."
"I can't leave him alone on his first night after surgery," Lacey protested. "If something goes wrong with his breathing or if he has an adverse reaction to the medications..."