Chapter 18 Lacey #2
"Then we'll wake you up immediately," Holt interrupted gently but firmly. "But you're going to be useless to him if you collapse from exhaustion."
The dinner that had been delivered turned out to be a feast contributed by multiple restaurants and community members who had heard about the rescue operation.
They ate in the main treatment room, taking turns checking on their patient between courses and discussing the logistics of long-term care for marine mammals in their improvised facility.
After dinner, Lacey tried to convince everyone to go home to their own beds, insisting that she was perfectly capable of monitoring the animal alone. None of them would hear of it.
"We're all staying," June said with finality. "We have comfortable couches in the new waiting area, and there are enough of us to rotate watch duties so everyone gets some rest."
A few hours later, after Holt and June had settled down to sleep on the new furniture in the reception area, Lacey was making her regular check on the manatee when Dean found her adjusting the water temperature and circulation system.
"How's our patient doing?" he asked quietly, moving to stand beside her at the edge of the temporary pool.
"Better than I expected," Lacey replied, noting the steady rise and fall of the animal's breathing and the clear appearance of the water around his surgical sites. "No signs of infection, and his vital signs are strong and stable."
"And how are you doing?" Dean asked, his eyes taking in the exhaustion she was trying to hide.
"I'm fine," she said automatically, though they both knew it wasn't entirely true.
"Holt and June are sleeping peacefully on those new sofas in the waiting room," Dean reported with a smile. "They look like a couple of teenagers who fell asleep studying for finals."
"You should try to get some sleep too," Lacey suggested, though she made no move to leave her post beside the recovering animal.
"I will," Dean agreed. "When you do."
Something in his tone made Lacey look up from her patient monitoring, and she found Dean watching her with an expression that made her heart skip unexpectedly.
She took a step back and skidded on some water.
Dean caught her before she hit the floor, and their eyes locked.
Lacey wasn’t sure who moved toward whom, but the next moment their lips met, and the world faded.
The kiss that followed was gentle and sweet, filled with all the emotions they'd been holding back for months.
When they finally broke apart, both of them were smiling despite the tears in their eyes.
"Would you have dinner with me tomorrow night?" Dean asked. "Somewhere special where we can talk about everything without worrying about injured animals or investigations or any of the chaos that's been surrounding us?"
"I'd love that," Lacey replied. "How about at the yacht club?"
"Perfect," Dean agreed, leaning down to kiss her again.
This time the kiss deepened, and Lacey felt herself melting into his embrace, forgetting for a moment about everything except the warmth and safety of being in his arms.
The sound of footsteps in the hallway made them spring apart just as June appeared in the doorway, stretching and looking around with concern.
"How's our patient?" June asked, apparently oblivious to what she had just interrupted.
"Doing very well," Lacey managed, hoping her voice sounded more normal than it felt. "All his vital signs are stable, and there's no sign of complications from the surgery."
"That's wonderful news," June said with relief. "I was worried about him all night."
The next morning, Dr. Vernon arrived at the clinic bright and early to find the entire group still camped out in the treatment area with their marine patient. Lacey caught her up on what had happened.
"Why didn't you call me?" Judy asked with obvious disappointment when Lacey updated her on the manatee rescue and overnight surgery. "I could have helped with the procedure or at least taken a shift monitoring him so you could get proper rest."
"One of us needed to get some real sleep so we'd be functional today," Lacey explained. "I figured it was better to have you well-rested and ready to handle regular clinic operations while we dealt with the emergency."
"That makes sense," Judy agreed, moving to examine the recovering manatee with professional interest. "He looks like he's healing beautifully. You did an excellent job with those sutures."
"If you're comfortable looking after him for a few hours, I'd like to grab a couple hours of real sleep and then go check on the other two manatees before coming back this afternoon," Lacey said.
"That sounds like a perfect plan," Judy replied. "I'll monitor his vital signs and maintain the water circulation system. The clinic is in good hands."
The four exhausted friends left the new clinic in Judy's capable care and went their separate ways to shower, change clothes, and get some much-needed rest before regrouping later in the day.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, after arranging for a rental pickup truck and making a thorough check on the two recovering manatees at the sanctuary site, Lacey returned to the clinic feeling refreshed and optimistic about their patient's progress.
"How's he doing?" she asked Judy as she entered the treatment area.
"Wonderfully," Judy reported with a smile. "His breathing has been strong and regular all morning, and I checked his surgical sites an hour ago. Everything looks clean and healthy."
Lacey breathed a sigh of relief as she conducted her own examination and confirmed Judy's assessment. The manatee was definitely on the path to full recovery.
"Oh, someone dropped off some mail for you," Judy mentioned as Lacey finished checking the animal's vital signs. "I put it on your desk upstairs."
"Thanks," Lacey replied, heading toward the staircase that led to her new office on the second floor of the historic building.
The mail turned out to be a mixture of bills, professional correspondence, and what appeared to be a few personal notes from community members thanking her for the manatee rescue. She was sorting through the pile when she came across a handwritten envelope with no return address.
Her eyebrows shot up as she opened it and began reading the contents. The letter was brief but chilling:
I think it's time we met face to face. Message the number at the bottom when you're ready to meet.
A cold sensation crept up Lacey's spine as she read the final line again.
With shaking hands, she pulled out her phone and typed a message to the number at the bottom of the letter: I got your letter. I'm ready to meet.
The response came within minutes: Then I'll be waiting at the burnt-out cabin in Ember Lake Campground. Be there in twenty minutes, stick to the rules of the letter, and don't involve anyone else, or your family and loved ones will pay the price this time.
Another chill ran down Lacey's spine as she read the threatening message. But she typed back without hesitation: I'm on my way.
She stood up from her desk and reached for her phone to call June, but stopped as she remembered the chilling words about her family and loved ones paying the price.
No, Lacey told herself firmly. You can do this on your own. It's time to find out who this faceless enemy is and what they really want.
But as she walked toward her office door, her conscience reminded her that going alone was exactly the kind of reckless decision that had nearly gotten her killed twice already. She needed to let someone know where she was going, just in case something went wrong.
She quickly typed a message to Dean: Dean, please meet me at the burnt-out cottage in the campground. I've made contact with the enemy.
She hit send and slipped her phone into her pocket, not realizing that the message had failed to transmit due to poor cell service in the historic building's thick-walled upper floor.
Twenty minutes later, thinking Dean would be arriving shortly behind her, Lacey walked cautiously toward the burned remains of the cabin where Shaun and four other young people had died ten years earlier.
She was almost to the ruins when two teenagers on bicycles rode up beside her.
"Hey, are you going to that old burned place?" one of them asked with obvious concern.
"Yes," Lacey told them, not wanting to slow down when her mysterious contact might already be waiting. "Sorry, I'm in a hurry."
"You shouldn't go there alone," the other teenager called after her as she continued walking. "It's dangerous. The structure isn't stable, and people say it's haunted."
"I'll be careful," Lacey assured them, walking away quickly before they could ask more questions.
She cautiously stepped into the skeletal remains of the cabin, a burned-out reminder of the tragedy that had ripped through the community ten years earlier. The charred timbers and collapsed sections of roof created an eerie landscape of shadows and unstable debris.
"Hello," she called out, her voice echoing strangely in the empty space. "I'm here."
She waited, listening for any response or sign of movement. Nothing.
Then suddenly someone was behind her, their voice artificially distorted by some kind of electronic device.
"Don't turn around," the person commanded. "I have a gun."
Lacey's spine stiffened, and her heart began pounding as she thought desperately about Dean, who should be arriving any minute, she reminded herself. He’d know what to do.
"Where is the other one?" the distorted voice demanded.
"I couldn't get hold of them," Lacey lied, hoping to buy time until Dean could arrive.
"It's you that I want anyway," the voice sneered with obvious malice. "I can deal with the other one later. What do you know about what happened here ten years ago? And don't lie to me."
"What everyone else knows," Lacey replied with genuine confusion. “Five people died here, including the perpetrator.”
"Is that what you believe?" the person shouted angrily. “Don’t lie to me. Tell me what you know!”
"That is honestly all I know," Lacey insisted. "What do you want me to say? Is there something else I should know?"
"If you really don't know, then you're no use to me at all, and if you’re lying, that’s just dangerous for me," the person snapped with cold fury. "I should have finished the job at the hospital."
The last thing Lacey heard was the sound of something whistling through the air toward her head. Then pain exploded through her skull, her body turned to liquid, and she crumpled to the ground as consciousness fled.