A Darkness Absolute (Casey Duncan #2)(82)

But she stays in her house, blinds pulled. When I comment to Dalton, he shrugs it off, like he expects no better and he won’t let Val spoil his mood today. He is in a good one. Calm, more secure in his footing, getting back to himself. When Jen stops by to collect her militia credits, her snarky jabs bounce off him. He just hands her the credits and tells her if she wants more militia work, talk to Anders.

A late night means an equally late start to our day. That may have had something to do with forgetting to set the alarm. By the time I’ve finished writing up my report from last night and helping Dalton with a few minor issues, it’s early afternoon.

I find Mathias in the community hall weight room. It’s a popular spot in Rockton, not unlike in a prison complex. People living in relative confinement with few entertainment options often decide to use the time for self-improvement. The library and weight room get a lot of use. Today, though, it’s empty except for Mathias, bench-pressing an impressive amount.

“You do realize you’d be a lot scarier if you did this in front of an actual audience,” I say.

“That would promote entirely the wrong image,” he says, still lifting. “A strong man may be intimidating, but the truly frightening one is the man who can kill without lifting a finger.”

“Like with hypnosis?” I settle on the bench opposite him. “Yes. I know why you’re here. It’s need to know. I needed to know.”

“He did not die.”

“In retrospect, I bet you wish he did.”

Mathias sits up and reaches for his towel. “I do not regret needing to come to Rockton. I do regret the lives he took in his quest for misguided revenge. Hypnosis to make a man cut off his own genitals?” He shakes his head. “If such a power existed, why would the world need soldiers? Simply brainwash the enemy into killing themselves.”

“So brainwashing Rockton residents to turn them into hostiles would be a nonstarter.”

“And the detective deftly swings the conversation onto the desired topic, having spent exactly the required amount of time on small talk, so the subject does not feel undervalued on a personal level.”

“One, you aren’t a subject. Two, talking about brainwashing a man into castrating himself is no one’s idea of small talk.”

“I wouldn’t say no one’s…”

“You want small talk? Let’s discuss the fact that you are violating…”

I point over his head. Dalton posted a notice saying Use of the bench press or squat rack without a spotter is strictly prohibited. Someone had altered the handwritten sign to read Use of the fucking bench press or the fucking squat rack without a fucking spotter is punishable by one week of chopping duty during fucking blackfly season.

“Eric and I have an arrangement,” Mathias says. “If I die pinned under the weights, it is my own fucking fault.” He pauses. “Or was that goddamn fault?”

“So, hostiles. You’ve read the reports.”

“I have.”

“And your conclusion?”

“I would like a hostile. Alive, preferably.” He purses his lips. “No, definitely alive. Dead men are very hard to interview.”

“I’m not bringing you a hostile, Mathias.”

“Then I cannot provide you with a proper answer.”

“Guess.”

“That would hardly be scientific.”

“Neither is psychiatry.”

“Ouch.”

“I’m not looking for an irrefutable answer. I want possibilities. What turns residents of Rockton into hostiles? Is it simple psychology?”

“Psychology is rarely simple. But that is not the response you want. You wish to know how likely it is that people of otherwise sound mind leave Rockton and quickly ‘revert’ to some bestial form. I would use the word ‘impossible,’ if I did not know better than to place absolutes on any aspect of human behavior. Extremely unlikely, then. Even in the case of the woman Eric knew, who changed so significantly within a year.”

“So it wouldn’t happen?”

“Shouldn’t happen. Not without other factors. Brain trauma or chemical interference.”

“A serious head injury or drugs?”

“Not necessarily drugs as you think of them. It could be environmental. Ingesting something that altered her mental state.”

“Is there anything up here that would do that?”

“I do not know everything that is up here. I would need to speak to Eric.”

*

Dalton is too busy to meet with Mathias today, and it’s not urgent anyway. It’s just a theory I’m mentally playing with at this point. The question of how we came to have hostiles has little bearing on the question could Nicole’s captor have been a hostile? I’m not even sure where to begin answering that. As everyone has been telling me, it’ll be a whole lot simpler pursuing settler culprits. But that doesn’t mean I can’t try narrowing it down, which is why I’m at Nicole’s place an hour after leaving Mathias.

Nicole has just returned from the community center. I’ve given her guards orders to let her move about the town while accompanied, with outings logged so Isabel and I can be sure Nicole isn’t overdoing it in her desperation to prove she’s okay.

Kenny’s on duty. I speak to him and then go inside to find Nicole making tea in the kitchen.