Waking Hours by Lis Wiehl Read Free Book Online Page B

much sooner than boys can.”
    “Some of us are still working on it,” Stuart said.
    “That’s why little girls are so much sneakier than little boys,” Dani said. “They’re playing sophisticated head games while little boys are still firing imaginary laser beams from their fingers. Developing empathy is essential to creating the attachment bonds we need to survive, but when the faculty is damaged, you get disorders on the autism spectrum—Asperger’s, autism, and a variety of other cognitive developmental impairments. And about 80 percent of all the children who have disorders on the spectrum are male.”
    “What about the markings?” Casey asked, shifting the discussion. “And why fire? If it’s ritual, what kind? Does this guy get some sort of kick out of it?”
    “I agree that it seems ritualistic,” Dani said. “What somebody might get out of it varies. Psychologically, people with OCD, for example, use ritual to control the chaos that threatens them. Sociologically, human beings have always needed rituals. Some mark the passage of time or some special event, like putting candles on a birthday cake. Some designate a group identity, ‘We-are-the-people-who-always-do-this.’ Some mark an initiation or rite of passage—like a bachelor party where the groom goes out with his buddies to a strip club where he’s supposedly tempted, and then in front of all his friends he resists the temptation and says, ‘Sorry, guys, I’m getting married tomorrow.’ He shows the world he’s willing and ready to become a husband.”
    “I can think of two guys off the top of my head who didn’t get that,” Stuart said.
    “So what kind of ritual do you think this one is?” Casey asked.
    “I can’t be specific,” Dani said, “but I think it might mean the killer had some sort of fantasy he wanted to act out, and the ritual has meaning within the context of the fantasy. I can make some generalizations. The person who did this probably has a history of mutilating animals as a child. It starts with squishing bugs and then it moves up to frogs or fish, then bigger animals. They’re testing themselves to see how big an animal they can destroy before they start to feel anything. In a way it’s like the rest of us, trying to figure out what life means, but a psychopath is missing something normal people have.”
    “A conscience?” Casey said.
    “Basically,” Dani said. “He’s missing the voice that says, ‘Don’t hurt that animal—it has feelings too.’ The Bull’s Rock killer clearly had no regard for what his victim might have been feeling. That said, I don’t think he was angry at her. This wasn’t a crime of sudden impulse; this was planned. The way the body is displayed also speaks to acting out some kind of fantasy. Serial killers often arrange their victims’ bodies to conform to some prewritten script.”
    “You think this is a serial killer?” Irene asked.
    “I can’t say that,” Dani said. “I’m just saying that one indicator of a serial-killer mentality is ritualistic body display.”
    “What about the symbol on her stomach?” Casey asked.
    “No idea. Another indication of ritualistic fantasy, but what it means specifically, who knows? It might mean something only to the killer. It could be something he saw in a comic book.”
    There was a knock at the door, and a uniformed officer told the district attorney that Liam Dorsett’s mother had arrived, along with her lawyer.
    “More to come,” Irene said, turning to Casey. “Let’s talk to the boy and see what he can tell us. Interrogation Room 1. Good work, Dani. Could you write up a one-page brief summarizing what you just said?”
    “No problem,” Dani said, feeling like she’d passed the test. “But, Irene? I know Liam. I babysat him until he was four. It might be useful if I sat in.”
    The DA looked at Casey, who thought a moment, then nodded.
    “Detective Casey is the lead,” Irene reminded her, “but I think you’re