38 WHAT EVERY BODY IS SAYING
BOX 10: CAPTURED IN THE NECK OF TIMENeck touching and/or stroking is one of the most significant and frequent
pacifying behaviors we use in responding to stress. When women pacify
using the neck, they often do so by covering or touching their supraster-
nal notch with their hand (see figure 7). The suprasternal notch is the
hollow area between the Adam’s apple and the breastbone that is some-
times referred to as the neck dimple. When a woman touches this part of
her neck and/or covers it with her hand, it is typically because she feels
distressed, threatened, uncomfortable, insecure, or fearful. This is a rela-
tively significant behavioral clue that can be used to detect, among other
things, the discomfort experienced when a person is lying or concealing
important information.
I once worked on an investigation where we thought an armed and
dangerous fugitive might be hiding out at his mother’s home. Another
agent and I went to the woman’s house, and when we knocked at the
door, she agreed to let us in. We showed our identification and began
asking her a series of questions. When I inquired, “Is your son in the
house?” she put her hand to her suprasternal notch and said, “No, he’s
not.” I noted her behavior, and we continued with our questioning. After a
few minutes I asked, “Is it possible that while you were at work, your son
could have sneaked into the house?” Once again, she put her hand up to
her neck dimple and replied, “No, I’d know that.” I was now confident
that her son was in the house, because the only time she moved her hand
to her neck was when I suggested that possibility. To make absolutely
sure my assumption was correct, we continued to speak with the woman
until, as we prepared to leave, I made one last inquiry. “Just so I can final-
ize my records, you’re positive he’s not in the house, right?” For a third
time, her hand went to her neck as she affirmed her earlier answer. I was
now certain the woman was lying. I asked for permission to search the
house and, sure enough, her son was hiding in a closet under some blan-
kets. She was lucky she was not charged with obstruction of justice. Her