“I tried that when you sent Kenneth to fetch me. It did not work.”
“Sure it did. It let you duck out of examining Shawn Sutherland.”
“Because he does not require my examination. And he bores me. When he ran, I thought perhaps he was showing an unexpected spark of character. But now he has returned. Boring.”
“He escaped captivity, presumably from the same guy who took Nicole. Doesn’t that make him more interesting?”
“Is his captor still alive?”
“Unfortunately.”
“Then no, it does not make him any more interesting.”
I sigh. “Well, I didn’t come to talk to you about Shawn anyway. I want to discuss the psychology of hostiles.”
Silence.
“Okay, so that bores you, too. Fine.”
I’ve stepped off the front porch when the door opens a crack. “Psychology of hostiles?”
“Never mind, Mathias. I’m not in the mood to wheedle for a few minutes of your precious time. I’ll talk to Isabel.”
“Isabel cannot help you with this. It is my area.”
“Which is why I came here. Otherwise I wouldn’t bother you.”
He opens the door and leans against the frame. “You are angry with me.”
“No, Mathias,” I say as I turn to face him. “I am tired of you. The dead bodies of two women interested you. The live victims? Boring. Just go back inside and wait for me to bring you more bodies. At this rate, I’m sure they’ll show up eventually. I just hope they’re interesting enough for you.”
“I cannot help you with Shawn Sutherland. He is evidently alive and in good health for his condition, or you would have hunted me down. Any psychological effects are better handled by Isabel. The only abnormal psychology at work is that of the killer. Can Shawn add anything to what Nicole has said?”
“Not yet. He’s still feverish. But you could have shown up for ten minutes, consulted with Will, and helped him feel more confident in his diagnosis.”
He considers and then nods. “You have a point. William is placed in a very uncomfortable position here, which he does not deserve. Note that I say that despite knowing he does not like me very much.”
“No one likes you very much. Which is exactly how you like it.”
“True.”
“And one of the people who does like you is quickly changing her opinion.”
“I know, which is why I opened the door.”
“No, you opened the door because what I said doesn’t bore you.”
“I can have more than one motivation. All the best antagonists do.” He threw open the door. “Come in, Casey. Let us talk about hostiles.”
* * *
“How much do you know about them?” I say as we settle into Mathias’s living room. “And don’t tell me that you know they’re hostile.”
“That is their defining characteristic, is it not? Like the savages of yore, defined wholly by the fact they were savage.”
“But they weren’t. So-called savages were defined that way by people with a very narrow view of culture and civilization. That isn’t what we’re looking at here. These people aren’t just different. They’re—”
“Actively hostile?”
I glower at him.
“All right,” he says. “Tell me more. Have you encountered one? I have not. Very few of us here have. I presume Eric would be the exception.”
I tell him about Dalton’s experiences.
“Now, that is interesting. He is correct that it may not have been mud. Did you know psychiatric patients sometimes smear themselves with feces?”
“I’ve heard of it.”
“It’s common enough that there’s a term for it. Scatolia. Do you know why they do it?”
“Because it’s disgusting.”
He shakes his head.
“I’m serious,” I say. “My presumption would be that they do it because it is repulsive. It’s defiant, and it elicits a reaction.”
“Yes, in cases like the ones you may have heard of—likely connected to violent offenders—that is the primary purpose, along with acting as an expression of anger, frustration, and helplessness. It can also enforce social isolation.”
“Surprisingly.”
“In other instances, scatolia can simply be an act of self-control. However powerless one may feel one always has the power to do that … while, yes, using it to elicit other responses.”
“Enacting control over others in the only way possible.”
“Precisely. And yet smearing oneself in feces—or even mud—can serve another purpose. What was Eric’s reaction?”
“Get the hell away from the crazy guy.”
“Precisely. Which is why some prisoners will do it. Taking off one’s clothing. Adorning oneself with random items. Smearing substances on one’s skin. It is stereotypical ‘crazy’ behavior. I have assessed many prisoners who did it. Few were actually mentally ill.”
“They just wanted an NCR ruling?”
“Not criminally responsible. Yes.”
“Everything these hostiles do could fall into the same category. Acting violent, acting crazy. But what’s their motivation?”
Mathias stares at me as if I’m asking why we live in houses instead of just laying out sleeping bags in the street.
“The obvious answer is to scare us,” I say. “A threat display.”