Blake Follows and Identifies Jane Glasson

Blake’s identification of Jane Glasson in Zürich turns a search based on files and photographs into direct confirmation. Seeing Jane leave a hospital, Blake follows her through the city and pieces together her place in the Harkness network from a phone call. The encounter ends with Blake locating Jane’s accommodation and deciding not to lose track of her again.

The Recognition at the Hospital

While at the University Hospital Zürich, Blake is anxious about Gareth Lawler’s condition and what his accident may mean for the investigation. In the corridor, Blake notices a woman approaching: middle-aged, dressed in jeans, a white shirt and a tweedy jacket, and apparently without a bag. For a moment, Blake considers asking her for help. Then the woman’s face, hair and eyes resolve into the image Blake has been trying to match.

The recognition is immediate once it settles. Jane is older than in Holly Walsh’s photograph, but otherwise sufficiently similar for Blake to be certain. Jane has already passed before Blake fully takes in the encounter. Her grim, preoccupied expression suggests that she has just heard news about Gareth, though Blake cannot know what she wants for him or what their connection means. The uncertainty does not make the sighting less consequential: Jane is the person Blake has been seeking, and this may be the only chance to follow her.

Blake turns around and pursues her. Jane walks quickly and does not look back; at the hospital entrance she pauses, takes several steadying breaths, and presses her thumb to her wrist as if checking her pulse. These observed gestures give Blake no clear explanation of Jane’s state of mind, but they reinforce the impression that she is intent on leaving the hospital and getting elsewhere. Blake follows rather than approaching her, preserving the chance to identify where she goes and whom she contacts.

Following Jane Through Zürich

On public transport, Blake strains to hear Jane’s phone conversation despite the surrounding noise. Jane tells Filippo Crosetti that the situation is bad and describes hearing the impact of the accident from the park, going over, and then walking away because she could not involve herself. The call resolves the identity of the man she is addressing: Blake recognizes him as Crosetti, the creator of Elixtris. It also confirms that the woman Blake is following is Jane Glasson.

The call changes Blake’s understanding of the accident and of Jane’s role. Blake infers that Jane had been waiting for Gareth in the park and that a call from her may have caused him to hurry out of the hotel into the path of a truck. That is Blake’s interpretation rather than a confirmed account of how the accident happened. Jane’s own words establish that she was at the park, heard the impact and left without intervening; they do not settle whether she caused the collision or what she intended.

Blake catches further details as the journey continues. Jane is working for or with Harkness, and Crosetti has been summoned from Locarno to meet Ingrid. Blake connects Ingrid with the woman being housed at the Dolder and understands that she and Crosetti are due to meet in Zug the next day. The meeting concerns contra-indications and specialist contractor 55, details Blake recognizes from the Jane Glasson? file. The inference is decisive: Blake identifies Jane herself as specialist contractor 55, linking the person found in Zürich to the coded information in the investigation.

The Zoo and the Decision to Keep Following

Jane remains on the tram when other passengers get on and off, and Blake continues to follow her to the terminus near Zoo Zürich. At the zoo, Jane pauses to look at a tiger. Blake watches from a short distance but cannot hear what Jane says when she raises a hand and speaks softly. The moment offers no new factual explanation for Jane’s conduct; instead, it shows the distance between what Blake can observe and what remains inaccessible. Jane then walks on through the grounds, past animal enclosures and into the tropical building representing Madagascar.

Inside, Jane looks up toward the high branches. Blake pretends to be absorbed in a lizard and uses a phone to take a photograph of Jane, though the resulting image captures only part of her face and is not very clear. Jane soon leaves the building, passes aquariums and a souvenir shop, and exits the zoo without appearing to notice Blake. The poor photograph cannot replace the certainty of the hospital sighting, but it records part of the pursuit and underscores how carefully Blake must maintain distance.

Confirmation and Significance

After Jane leaves, Blake works out where she is staying. From a vantage point by Limmatquai, Blake looks toward the building and knows Jane is there, although the dormer windows on the seventh floor are not visible from that position. Blake considers contacting Don Challenor about the sighting but postpones the call until somewhere more private; Don has not yet replied to Blake’s earlier message. Blake also considers asking the hospital for an update on Gareth, but leaves that for later.

The event’s immediate outcome is both practical and investigative: Jane has been found, identified in person, and followed to her accommodation. Blake’s closing resolve not to lose her gives the encounter its forward momentum. What began as a moment of recognition in a hospital corridor has produced a clearer picture of Jane’s professional connections and the next day’s meeting, while leaving major questions—including the precise nature of her involvement with Gareth—open.