First Citrus Bank interview questions

I was contacted by a recruiter to interview for this role. We spoke by phone for about 20 minutes as a first interview, and I was told I would be an excellent fit and would be referred for a second interview, this time with bank management. I was very excited about it because everything I had heard made it sound like a great place to work (good people, laid back, etc.). One thing that was odd is that although they said it would be a “remote” role, they were interested in seeing if I could somehow “stop by” their office (which is several hundred miles away). They said this wasn’t necessary for the second interview but might improve my chances. So be aware that some companies say “remote” but they don’t really mean “remote,” they mean “Close enough that you can come by the office once in a while.” So after a great first interview, I had about 6 or 7 days of silence. Then I was notified that the position had been filled by an internal candidate. This was very frustrating because if a company is open to considering internal candidates, why would there be an external search in the first place?