“We’re not allowed to say who was and who wasn’t a patient here,” Jennifer said. “Everyone who comes here is promised privacy, and we keep that promise.”
“Fair enough,” Kate said.
“I’m glad you understand.”
Kate wanted to get around Jennifer’s devotion to patient confidentiality. She decided to confront her. She knew that Belinda’s name had not been released to the media yet. It was being held back pending notification of next of kin.
“You spoke of Belinda in the past tense. Why is that?” Kate asked.
“Because she hasn’t been here in a while,” Jennifer said.
“Is that the real reason?” Kate asked.
“What else would it be?” Jennifer shrugged and looked down at the ground.
“Did you hear what happened to her?” Kate asked. “She was Dr. Tyler’s widow. And now she’s gone.”
Jennifer nodded. She raised her head, her eyes glittering with tears. “We all know. They told us she was murdered. I can’t believe it. She was so special, so good to me and all of the girls.”
“All of the girls?” Kate asked. “What girls?”
“Just ... never mind. You knew Belle?”
“I did. And I know Suzanne.” Kate stared at Jennifer, wondering how she would react to her next statement. “I feel so bad for her daughter.”
“Oh my god. Losing a mother, especially Belle. No one could love a daughter more ...”
“Were Belinda and Suzanne close?” Kate asked, her heart pounding. Jennifer was so close to saying that Belinda was Suzanne’s mother.
Jennifer seemed to freeze.
“Suzanne did the calligraphy for my wedding—she is very talented,” Kate said, changing course. “I have the feeling she calligraphed that beautiful note we found at the grave, the last time we were here.”
“She did. You shouldn’t have taken it,” Jennifer said. “It was for Dr. Tyler.”
“He was her stepfather,” Kate said.
“I didn’t say that!” Jennifer said.
“But if Belinda were her mother, then it stands to reason that Dr. Tyler must have been her stepfather. We found the wedding announcement, and it said that Belinda’s daughter was their flower girl. She would have been Suzanne’s age.”
“I’ve got to get back to work,” Jennifer said.
“You don’t want to talk about Suzanne?”
“Not really.”
“You know, I had the feeling you recognized Maeve’s name when I said it before. When I said she’s missing,” Kate said.
“No, I didn’t,” Jennifer said.
“I wasn’t sure whether it was her name you recognized or whether you’ve heard about other girls and women going missing—being taken.”
A flash of alarm crossed Jennifer’s eyes.
“Why would I know anything about that? It sounds terrible,” she said.
“Is that who you meant by ‘all the girls’?” Kate asked. “The ones who’ve been taken?”
