Page 52 of Lana

Mitch’s eyes swept over the ward as they walked, noting how many staff there were, how many were women and how many were men. He noted what they were doing and guessed at their roles based on their observable responsibilities.

He looked for anyone watching another staff member a little too closely, or someone who looked out of place. But he didn’t see anything that made the base of his spine tingle.

Jennifer led them into a room that was likely a consultation or examination room, closing the door behind them. She gestured toward the chairs and they sat.

“Thank you for making the time to meet with us. We know you must be very busy,” Mitch said genuinely. She could’ve refused to talk to them, especially as she’d already been interviewed by the St. Louis officers.

“It made me very sad to hear that Lana had been reported as a missing person, and even sadder when you told me she had been found... dead,” she said, swallowing hard. She sighed, shaking her head. “I can’t imagine who would’ve wanted to hurt Lana. She was beautiful. She had these vibrant green eyes—you can’t really imagine how vibrant they were unless you saw them in real life,” she said, but Mitch thought he had a pretty good idea, because Lana’s sister had a similar pair.

“Anyway,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “It’s not that she was beautiful, but that girl had something about her. She was very charismatic. She had an energy that drew people in—a vibrancy that wasn’t just in her eyes.” She looked at them as if to ask if that made sense, and to Mitch it did so perfectly, because he felt like that when he looked at Zoe.

“She was a good girl—she would’ve been a brilliant nurse,” Jennifer continued. “She never took things too seriously, you know. The other students on her rotation were stressed out and worrying—they always looked like they needed a good sleep. But Lana seemed to roll with whatever was thrown at her. At the start, at least. I saw the change in her over the months before she disappeared,” Jennifer said, spiking Mitch’s interest. He motioned for her to continue.

Jennifer looked thoughtful a moment. “It started not long after she began dating that rich kid. Ross something,” she said, squinting as if trying to recall. “Maybe that was his last name. His dad is a big businessman, apparently. At first she seemed smitten with him... She came to work glowing, telling me she had met the one. But after a few months, I started noticing she’d lost that glow. I asked her if everything was okay, and she gave me a smile I knew was forced. She came in every day and did her job well though. So when she told me she was thinking of taking a year off, I almost fell over,” Jennifer said, wide-eyed.

Mitch was sure his expression matched hers. “She was planning to take a year off?”

“Yeah, that’s what she said. She wanted to spend more time with the boyfriend and wanted a break from life for a bit... those were the exact words she used,” Jennifer said, looking like she was blinking back tears. “When she went missing, I thought maybe she’d taken off with the boyfriend and hadn’t told her sister, because Lana told me they’d had a big fight over him. She was sick of her sister trying to control her life and diagnosing everyone.” Jennifer shrugged. “Her sister is a psychologist, I think...” She smiled. “Of course, you already know that, I’m sure.”

“So you believed she’d run off too?” Mitch asked to clarify.

“Well, notrun off, though perhaps it would seem like that to her sister. I thought it was a planned trip,” Jennifer said.

“According to the university, she hadn’t put her studies on hold,” Jackson said. “Wouldn’t she have done that if she was intending to take a break?”

Jennifer’s eyebrows raised. “Yes, she would’ve. I didn’t know that—as far as I knew, she was scheduled to come back,” she said, frowning.

“Did anything strange happen at work? I know you said she handled pressure well, but did anything about her change?” Mitch asked.

Jennifer tilted her head. “She became much more religious. She started carrying a Bible and often had verses written on the back of her hand. I don’t know if they were daily reminders or what. I asked her about them one day and she said they gave her strength. I didn’t know what she meant when she said that, and I still don’t. Other than that, I can’t really say I noticed any change in her.” She paused. “Except one night... It was about three weeks before her last shift. We were finishing at the same time and she asked me if I would mind dropping her home. She’d driven to work, but said there was a problem with her car, so she was going to leave it in the staff parking lot and get someone to look at it the next day. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, and it still might not be of importance. Anyway, I dropped her off and the next day she didn’t ask for a lift, so she must’ve sorted it out.”

Mitch made a note of that and wondered if the car had indeed had problems, or if Lana had been scared to leave alone for some reason. If she had been scared, it would make sense that she was worried about someone watching or following her from the hospital.

“How was she with the other students?” Jackson asked.

“Wonderful. She never had any problems with any of them that I can recall. Certainly no altercations or harsh words—I would remember that.”

“And with other staff members?” Mitch asked.

Jennifer shook her head. “They loved her. She was a joy to be around. She was reliable and always on time for her shifts, and she loved these children—but she was fun too. Working in pediatric oncology is different—all doctors get attached to their patients at some level, but when you work with children, it’s even harder to keep boundaries in place. That was Lana’s major downfall in clinical terms: she took their cases home with her. For that reason alone I was surprised she said she wanted to take a break, because it would mean walking away from the children during their treatments. But, I didn’t ask more questions. I wish I had,” she said, drawing a deep breath.

Mitch nodded, understanding. “You’ve been more than helpful,” he said. “A lot of this wasn’t in your interview with the St. Louis officer.”

She shrugged. “They only asked me a few questions... I guess they thought she’d run off, so they didn’t take it seriously perhaps... I’m not sure. But I’m glad you came. If I can help in any way, please let me know.”

“We’d like to speak to the students you mentioned to us on the telephone,” Jackson said.

Jennifer nodded. “Sure, they should be in the staff room now. I’ll take you there,” she said, standing.

Mitch and Jackson followed her out. As they walked around the corner, Mitch all but yelled as a figure collided with him.

A man in a white coat with a stethoscope around his neck looked up. “I’m so sorry, I was rushing around the corner. I wasn’t watching where I was going,” he said, taking a step back.

Mitch’s eyes dropped to the nametag.

Mitch held up his palm. “Not a problem, Benjamin,” he said.

“Apologies,” the man said again before disappearing down the hallway.

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