160 W H A T EVERY BODY IS SAYING
I can’t tell you how many thousands of times I have seen this behav-
ior, yet most people are unaware of its significance (see box 43). Just re-
cently I was chatting with a friend outside a conference room when a
female associate walked out with one hand over her neck dimple and
the other holding a cell phone. My friend continued to converse as if
nothing were wrong. When the woman on the cell phone ended her
call, I said, “We’d better go check on her, something’s not right.” Sure
enough, one of her kids had come down with a high fever at school and
needed to go home as soon as possible. Neck touching is one of those
behaviors that is so reliable and accurate that it truly merits our close
attention.
BOX 43: UP TO HER NECK IN LIESSometimes not covering the neck can be a telltale clue that something is
amiss. I once assisted a local law enforcement agency with a case involv-
ing an alleged rape. The woman who reported this assault had reported
three separate rapes in a five-year period, a statistically unlikely history.
As I watched her videotaped interview, I noticed that while she spoke of
how frightened she was and how terrible she felt, she was extremely pas-
sive and never once covered her suprasternal notch as she told the story.
I found her “lack of behavior” suspicious and pointed it out to the investi-
gators. The woman simply was not showing typical signs of distress. In
fact, I have investigated other rape cases in which women will cover their
suprasternal notch while recounting the crime even decades after it oc-
curred. Upon further investigation, the impassive woman’s case fell apart.
In the end, we learned she had fabricated all her allegations—costing the
city thousands of dollars—merely because she thrived on the attention
given to her by responding officers, investigating detectives, and victim
advocates, all of whom initially believed her and wanted to help.