Page 88 of Hospital for Immortal Creatures

“Without scrubs?”

“Maybe he was rushing to get changed. That’s when the new shift starts, right?”

So she was aware of the schedule. Mikhail leaned forward, resting his palms on his knees. “Tell me how you found the body.”

“I went to the lab but the assistant wasn’t there, which I found weird because just moments before, Miranda had told me that she was with him. I decided to go search for him. I entered the nearest staff room and she was there, on the floor…”

“Mary Clare?”

“Yes, her…”

“Did you know her?”

The nymph’s irises glowed with frustration. “I already told you and Zacharia – no, I didn’t know her.”

Mikhail took a closer look at her face. It was hard for her to conceal the irritation his questions provoked, but Elisanda was a nymph, after all. Nymphs were famous for their pride. Being interrogated about a murder must be harmful to her ego.

A new emotion twisted her features. “The poor girl.” She cleared her throat. “Her neck was broken, there was no pulse. I knew it was pointless, but I gave her CPR. Alas… to no avail.”

Mikhail narrowed his gaze. The annoyance, he had expected, but sorrow… “Elisanda, how long have you worked here?”

She jerked her head back. “A long time? I don’t really know…”

“I do. A hundred and fifty-three years,” Mikhail said. “You’ve seen a lot of deaths, right?”

She stared at him confused. “Yes?”

“I just find it strange that you’re feeling sad about this particular vampire’s death. It’s unusual for a creature like you.”

Her mouth fell open. “A creature like me?”

He shouldn’t have said his next words, but he did, nonetheless. “Your kind is not the most sensitive, right? That’s why you’re so good at your job. Nothing can affect you. It’s an important quality for a doctor. Imagine if you cried after every patient – wouldn’t be practical.”

“I’m not following. I know nymphs aren’t famous for their virtues but those are things of the past—”

“I wonder, is there a valid reason for a nymph, a member of the Council with a high rank in the Hospital, to murder some chambermaid she doesn’t even know? Unless she did know her.”

“For crying out loud! I didn’t know her and I didn’t kill her!”

“Thanks for your help.” Mikhail stood and headed for the door.

Elisanda followed him in the hallway, the flush on her cheeks matching the colour of her hair. “Am I a suspect?”

His irritation subsided. “No. Not to me, anyway. However, I’m not so sure what the Tribunal agents might think.”

29

Zacharia had interrogated the lab assistant, the two women from cardiac surgery and Miranda Vohn, the head nurse, right after Elisanda Grace had told him about the chambermaid’s body she had discovered.

The lab assistant, Cony Smith, a New Generation vampire, was one of those men who would sweat just from talking to a stranger. When that stranger was Zacharia, the sweating turned to blushing, shaking and stuttering. He was a loner, reclusive and taciturn. After all, the vampire kind of matched the profile of a sociopath who could kill Mary Clare for any reason.

The two women from the cardiac care unit had claimed one of the orthopaedic surgeons in the other wing had invited them over for coffee.

Zacharia knew Miranda Vohn well, but that hadn’t stopped him from verifying her story – that she’d been there to talk to the lab assistant about the growing number of complaints concerning him.

“They say he’s a weirdo, Zacharia,” Miranda had explained, throwing on her elegant white coat.

Zacharia had caught her right before her night tour around the Hospital. She wore her black hair in a long ponytail and her giant cat-eye glasses rarely left her nose. She’d told him once that although the ageing processes hadn’t affected her appearance, her vision had drastically worsened after 1744.

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