Page 31 of Evil Bones
“Thinking someone is out to cause them harm.”
Adina ticked off points on her fingers. Which were sticky from handling the nigiri.
“Fantasies of revenge. Alcohol or drug abuse. Paranoia. Antisocial behavior. A history of violence. The recent purchase of a weapon or camouflage gear.”
She froze in mid-tick and her dark eyes narrowed. “What gives? Are you dealing with someone who fits the bill?”
“Maybe.”
“Spill.”
“Okay,” I said. “You asked for it.”
I told her about the animal remains being found nailed to trees. The pilfered body parts. Finished with the most recent case, Bear.
She was quiet for a very long moment. When she spoke again her tone was grim.
“Let me tell you about John. Not his real name, of course. I interviewed John as part of my thesis research. Unimposing guy, looked like anyone’s uncle.
“John had a normal upbringing. His father was strict, but not abusive, his mother timid and unassertive. Early on, John began exhibiting troubling behavior.”
“Troubling?”
“In lower school he started setting fires and torturing animals.”
“Always endearing qualities in a kid.”
“He’d capture random pets, kill them, then bury their bodies in his backyard.”
“Must have made him popular with the neighbors.”
“It gets worse. Though John dated in his teens, his peers described him as creepy. He abused drugs, especially grass and LSD. He was impotent. A high school psychologist thought he had serious issues but stopped short of recommending hospitalization.
“John grew more bizarre as he moved into his twenties. He lost interest in his appearance. He nailed his pantry door shut, thinking aliens were living behind the shelves. He presented at hospital ERs with strange complaints. Once, he said that his right lung had been stolen. On several occasions, he claimed his heart had stopped beating. Though he lived with his mother, he repeatedly insisted that he was being poisoned.
“Thinking his impotence was due to insufficient blood, John drank that of the animals he killed. He’d catch rabbits, eviscerate them, and eat their innards raw. He tortured dogs, cats, squirrels, even a horse.
“Eventually, John escalated to murdering and disemboweling humans, at first women and children, since they were easier prey. Ultimately, grown men. He’d shoot some, stab others. He’d cut the nipples from some and stuffed them into the vics’ mouths.”
“Doing his vampire thing in hopes of curing his sexual dysfunction.” I couldn’t keep the disgust from my voice. Didn’t really try. “Did John rape his victims?”
“Not always. And in those cases, only after the victim was dead.”
“So these weren’t considered classic serial sexual homicides,” I guessed.
“True.”
We stopped talking as the server cleared our dishes and brought tea.
“Murder and necrophilia,” I said, when she’d gone. “John’s behavior would probably classify as evil in anyone’s mind. But what’s your point?”
Adina bunched and tossed her napkin onto her place mat. Leaned back and asked a question that had occurred to me, too.
“Though seemingly not sexual in nature—nonhuman vics, no posing of the body, no semen present, et cetera—could there be a sexualcomponentto your animal displays?”
“Nothing’s off the table.”
“You should mention the possibility to the detective working the case.”
