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They were led into a foyer and then through one grand room after another. Mitch stole a glance at Jackson, but he was busy taking in every detail of the property.
Eventually they were led to what looked like a formal dining room, but was probably their everyday dining room. Large drapes hung floor to ceiling, and silver wallpaper covered every inch of the walls. It wasn’t Mitch’s style, but it made a statement—that much he could appreciate.
“Brandon won’t be but a minute,” she said before disappearing.
As soon as they were alone, Jackson whistled under his breath.
“You want to place a bet on how many lawyers he and his father walk in with?” Jackson asked and Mitch grinned. It was one of the ways they made light of stressful situations—by placing theoretical bets. No money or security was ever offered, but occasionally one of the officers paid up a hundred dollars or so.
Mitch didn’t have time to voice his stakes. Brandon Ross walked into the room and he was completely alone. He walked right up to them and extended his hand. Mitch shook it and waited until Brandon gestured toward the dining table to take a seat.
“We appreciate you talking to us today,” Mitch said.
“Sure, what’s this about?” he asked, frowning.
“Lana Seacombe,” Mitch said, watching him carefully.
“Has she finally turned up?” he asked, almost ridiculing. The choice of his words indicated he thought she’d disappeared on her own accord.
“Her body was found recently,” Mitch said as Brandon’s eyes doubled in size and his jaw dropped open. He appeared in shock and then needed a moment to compose himself.
“Are you sure?” he asked with a thick voice.
Mitch nodded. “The coroner has confirmed it’s Lana.”
Brandon exhaled a shaky breath and shook his head. “I always thought she’d come back.” He looked straight at Mitch. “Hang on, am I a suspect?” His body went rigid and Mitch thought he was about to run from the room and call his lawyer.
“We’re just trying to confirm her last movements. Her sister, Zoe, and her supervisor, Jennifer, said you were dating Lana. If you can think of any detail—no matter how seemingly insignificant—it might help us.”
Perhaps it was hearing that they had also spoken to Jennifer that caused him to relax a little. But not a lot—he was still on edge.
“I can’t tell you much. She ended our relationship the week before she disappeared,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting it. I was heartbroken. I barely left this house—you can verify that on our security cameras... they’re everywhere in this house. My dad is very security conscious.”
Brandon took a breath then looked back to them. “Where was she found? Where did you say you were from?”
“Redwater,” Mitch said.
“Where is that?” Brandon asked, his eyebrows weaving together.
“About two hours southeast of here,” Mitch said.
“Hmm,” Brandon said before shaking his head. “What was she doing there?”
Now it was Mitch’s turn to shake his head. “We don’t know—that’s what we need to find out.”
“Why did Lana end the relationship?” Jackson asked.
“She said she wasn’t ready for commitment... it was a lame excuse. To be honest, I always thought she’d met someone else. Things had been going great and I had no idea that was coming. Upon reflection though, the last month or so before she broke it off, she was acting differently. She was pulling back, always busy when I asked to see her. She worked extra hours at the hospital—she said a few of the kids she looked after weren’t doing well, so she didn’t want to leave them.” He shrugged. “I thought it was someone at the hospital—maybe a doctor she worked with or something.”
Mitch nodded. That would fit with their connection. Interestingly, he had unknowingly confirmed what Jennifer had suspected—Lana wouldn’t have decided on a whim to take a break and walk away from the children she looked after.
“Had she ever mentioned taking a break from her studies?” Mitch asked.
Brandon looked thoughtful for a moment. “Not to me. I thought she really loved her nursing career, so it would surprise me if she’d been planning that. But like I said, I had no idea she was going to dump me either—so maybe I didn’t know her as well as I thought I did. The thing with Lana was that she had a wild side people rarely saw. It was almost like she had two personalities, and she switched between them depending on who she needed to be.”
Mitch paused. “What do you mean she switched between them? How was she different?”
Brandon shrugged. “One day I decided to surprise her at work. I arrived early and saw her working with her children—her patients—and she was amazing. It was like she’d been made for that role. Then that evening, she switched. She was loud and looking for a fight. She drank more tequila shots than I could count at dinner, then all but abused the waiter. She was the polar opposite of what I’d seen a few hours earlier—the woman I thought I knew. I put it down to alcohol, because the few times I’d seen her like that she’d been drinking. I rationalized she was just stressed. But now I don’t know. Maybe she had a substance abuse problem she hid from me?”
