"Rest now," June said, leaning down to give Lacey a careful hug that avoided her injured shoulder. "We'll have plenty of time totalk through everything once you're feeling stronger. The most important thing right now is for you to recover completely."
"Thank you for staying tonight," Lacey replied, her voice growing softer as the sleep medication took hold. "I don't know what I would have done without knowing that you and Dean were here."
"We're not going anywhere," June assured her. "And tomorrow we'll start figuring out who's behind all of this."
As June moved toward the door, Holt also stood up from his position near the window where he'd been listening to their conversation with focused attention.
"Lacey, I'll check in with you tomorrow when you're feeling more alert," he said, his tone carrying both professional concern and personal warmth. "As soon as you're discharged from the hospital, we can meet somewhere private to discuss everything we know and plan our next steps."
"I'd like that," Lacey murmured, already half-asleep against her pillows. "The sooner we figure this out, the sooner everyone I care about will be safe."
Dean remained seated beside the bed, and June could see that he had no intention of leaving Lacey's side anytime soon. The protective way he watched over her, the gentle concern in his expression, made June's heart warm with happiness for both of them. After all the losses they'd both experienced, they deserved to find comfort and companionship with each other.
“Wait, June…” Lacey called. “Tomorrow…” Lacey swallowed. “I’m not sure what time I’m getting out of here. If you find my phone.” She turned to the bedside table. “It must be withmy personal belongings, but there is a Dr. Judy Vernon who is coming for an interview for the vet position in the morning.”
“Okay,” June said, walking back into the room and opening the closet where she found Lacey’s personal items that had been on her when she’d been brought in. She went through them and found the phone. “I’ll send the number to my phone and call her in the morning.”
“Thank you,” Lacey said, breathing a sigh of relief.
June quickly found the woman’s number and sent it to her phone before she and Holt stepped out into the hospital hallway together, and June immediately noticed that something was wrong. Holt's posture was tense, his jaw set as if he were wrestling with information he didn't want to share.
"Is something bothering you?" June asked quietly, glancing around to make sure they were alone in the corridor. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
Holt nodded grimly and reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a small piece of folded paper that he handed to her without explanation.
June took the paper with a frown of curiosity that quickly transformed into alarm as she unfolded it and read the message written in block letters. Her eyebrows shot up as the implications of the threatening note registered in her mind.
"Where did you get this?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper as she looked up at Holt's troubled expression.
"I found it in my pocket when I was in the hospital bathroom earlier," Holt replied, his voice tight with frustration and growing anger. "I have no memory of anyone giving itto me, which means someone slipped it in there without my knowledge." His frown deepened. “All I can think of is the firefighter."
"What firefighter?" June asked, confused.
"When I was leaving the veterinary clinic after our investigation, a firefighter bumped into me near the front entrance," Holt explained, his expression growing darker as he worked through the timeline. "I was so deep in thought about what we'd discovered that I barely paid attention to the collision. The person was still in full gear, complete with helmet and face mask."
"Hiding their identity," June realized immediately, her mind racing through the implications. "They bumped into you deliberately so they could slip that warning note into your pocket without you noticing."
"Exactly," Holt confirmed, his voice filled with self-recrimination. "I can't believe I was so absorbed in the investigation that I didn't realize something suspicious was happening. Any competent law enforcement officer should have been more aware of their surroundings."
"It's not your fault," June told him firmly, reaching out to touch his arm in a gesture of support. "I'm sure whoever did this knew you'd be caught up in analyzing what you'd found at the crime scene. They deliberately chose that moment because they understood you'd be distracted." June paused as the full significance of that observation hit her, her eyes widening with a new and disturbing realization.
"Which means," she continued slowly, her voice trailing off.
"They know me quite well," Holt finished for her, his jaw clenching with barely controlled anger. He glanced around the hospital hallway, then took her arm gently and guided her toward a more private corner where they couldn't be overheard by passing medical staff. His voice dropped to barely above a whisper. "June, this means that our enemy isn't some random criminal or outside threat."
"It really is someone close to us," June finished his thought, feeling her heart rate increase not just from the proximity of his hand on her arm or how close they were standing, but from the terrifying implications of what they were discussing. “Which also means that the note could’ve been slipped to you at the barbecue tonight as you were wearing those clothes then too.”
Holt’s brows shot up at that revelation. “You’re absolutely right.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Which means we don’t know who we can trust.”
June’s eyes drifted toward Lacey's room as the full scope of the threat became clear. "We have to tell Lacey and Dean about everything we know. About Victoria, about Clive's cover-up, about all of our suspicions. They can't make informed decisions about their safety or try to figure out who’s after Lacey and everyone else being targeted if they don't have all the information."
"June," Holt's voice carried a warning tone that suggested he was about to argue against full disclosure.
"No," June held up her hand to stop his objection. "Listen to me for a minute. You can trust Dean completely. I've trusted him with my life and my family's lives since I've known him. He's like a brother to me, and his expertise as a highly regarded fire chiefwho used to be a smoke jumper could help us notice things we might miss."
“We have to be careful how many people we draw into this,” Holt objected.
"Dean has investigated more suspicious fires than probably anyone else in the state. He understands arson patterns, accelerant usage, and coordinated attacks. His knowledge could be the key to identifying our enemy," June defended her suggestion. “We need him and if we don’t tell Lacey or try to freeze her out she’ll just push forward on her own and she’s already been unlucky twice.”
