She rolls her eyes.
The door opens. Dalton walks in and says, "Coffee ready?," as if this is his biggest concern, but his gaze slides my way, asking how it went with Mathias and Brady. I make a face. He grimaces and eyes the beer display but doesn't ask for one. The door opens again, and Val joins us.
"Gang's all here," Isabel says. "Before we begin, would you like a drink, Val?"
"Yes. Tea, please. Strong."
Isabel's lips twitch. From anyone else, that might have been a joke. Not Val. Strong tea is her equivalent of my tequila shot.
First, I tell them Brady's story about the shooter in San Jose.
"Bullshit," Dalton says. "Bullshit to make you do exactly what you're doing."
"Wonder if I've been misled."
"Right. He pretends he's been accused of an entirely different crime, and you start wondering if there are multiple stories going around, which makes it seem like we're being played."
That's the answer I like. I'm not sure it's the right one, though. I walk them through the rest of the interview.
When I finish, Isabel looks at Mathias. "Well, that was a mistake."
His brows shoot up.
"You just antagonized a man who viciously murders people for no provocation."
"Then perhaps, having given him provocation, I have removed myself from danger."
"You just can't help yourself, can you, Mathias? You are incapable of learning the lesson life has tried to teach you: don't piss off the psychos."
"I am stubborn."
"Stubbornly suicidal."
From that exchange, I presume Isabel knows why Mathias is here. One of those "psychos" accused Mathias of brainwashing him into emasculating himself and then managed to escape and come after Mathias, leaving dead bodies in his wake. Which should sound as if the innocent psychiatrist was targeted by a delusional psychopath spouting obvious nonsense. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that isn't actually how it worked. Not with Mathias.
Dalton cuts in. "I'll side with Mathias on this. Rattling Brady's cage might not be the worst thing. Get him worked up enough to snap, prove he's not Mr. Innocent. We just need to make sure his cage is locked tight. And if he does lash out?" Dalton shrugs. "He's got a target now."
"Thank you, Sheriff," Mathias says. "While I would think my approach is somewhat more nuanced than 'rattling his cage'--"
Dalton snorts and rolls his eyes at me, but Mathias continues, "--yes, that is part of my approach."
"Never learned the idiom about honey and vinegar, did you?" Isabel says.
"It doesn't work for me. Now, if you were to offer Mr. Brady honey, I suspect that would be an entirely different thing. He doesn't want mine."
"Should we do that?" Val says. "Should we allow Isabel to handle this instead? Or perhaps not instead, but in conjunction with Dr. Atelier. The honey and the vinegar."
"I can consult if you truly see the need," Isabel says. "But if you're hoping for me to charm and disarm, I suspect I'm twenty years too old for that. Brady seems like a classic narcissist, which implies he'll have no use for older women--they would not satisfy his self-image. He would only expect to charm me. To disarm me."
"Then he would prove himself a very poor judge of character," Mathias says. "Which I believe he is not, as evidenced by the fact that he has not attempted to charm Casey. He knows better. The same would go for you."
"But what about someone he felt he could charm?" Val says.
"That's actually a good idea." I make a face as I hear myself. "Sorry. I didn't mean it like that. But we could provide contact with someone we trust. Someone Brady will find an easy dupe. He needs an ally. He needs someone championing his cause and seeding doubt. Maybe even someone he thinks he can con into helping him escape. A woman who will, at least to him, seem ripe for his charm. Lonely. Uncertain. Overlooked."
Mathias turns to Val. "I do hope you're volunteering."
I glare at him.