Dead Guilty by Beverly Connor Page B

said
Diane,
‘‘but
we’ll
tell
you
what
we
can
about
the
murders.’’

Chapter
12
    Diane
led
Sheriff
Braden
and
Chief
Garnett
to
a
round table in the corner that she and her crew used
for planning and debriefing. She sat across from them.
Her crew filled the remaining spaces around the table;
David and Jin to her left between her and the sheriff.
Neva was the last to sit down. She pulled out the chair
between Diane and Garnett and hesitated a moment
before
she
sat,
leaving
a
wide
space
between
her
and Garnett.
    The
metal top of the table reflected a fuzzy image
of
all
of
them.
Chief
Garnett
put
his
hands
on
the
table and looked at his reflection for a moment. The
sheriff’s
through
gaze
still
shifted
around
the
room,
looking
the
glass
partitions
at
the
equipment—no
    doubt
wondering how much everything cost.
‘‘What more can you tell us about any connection
between
these
two
crime
scenes?’’
asked
Garnett
when
they were
all
settled. ‘‘It’s
an amazing
coinci
dence that the man who found those bodies was him
self
hung
a
day
later.
Are
we
looking
at
the
same
perp, or were Edwards and Mayberry involved in the
woods murders in some way?’’
Diane didn’t know the answer to that question, and
she
guessed
that
Garnett
didn’t
really
expect
an
answer.
‘‘I can tell you that the person who tied the knots
on the hanging victims was not the same person who
tied the knots for Chris Edwards.’’
‘‘How can you possibly tell that?’’ asked Garnett.
‘‘I know you’re some kind of expert in knots, but . . .’’
‘‘My examination is not yet complete, but I’ve seen
enough to know that the same person probably tied
Blue, Red, and Green Doe, but not Chris Edwards.’’
‘‘Blue, Red, and Green Doe?’’ said Garnett.
‘‘Until
we
determine
their
identities,
we
refer
to
them
by
the
color
of
cord
used
to
secure
the
rope
when we cut it from the victims.’’
Garnett’s mouth twitched into almost a smile. ‘‘Go
on.’’
‘‘The
nooses
on
the
Cobber’s
Wood
bodies
were
tied by first making a loop with a bowline knot, then
pulling the other end of the rope through to make a
noose. I haven’t yet looked at how the rope was tied
to the tree limb.’’
Jin jumped up and left the room. It was such a quick
movement, they all looked after his retreating back.
‘‘He’s going to get something,’’ said Neva. ‘‘You get
used to his energy after a while.’’
Diane’s
cell
phone
vibrated
in
the
pocket
of
her
gray blazer. She fished it out and looked at the caller
ID. Denver, Colorado. Who did she know in Denver?
She didn’t recognize the number. Probably wrong. She
let the voice mail pick it up.
‘‘I hate those things,’’ said the sheriff. ‘‘They’re al
ways ringing at the wrong time, but you can’t do with
out them. They cause a lot of automobile accidents.’’
‘‘Actually, more accidents are caused by drivers not
keeping their eyes on the road. Cell phones are way
down on the list,’’ said David.
‘‘You don’t say?’’
Jin came back and handed Diane a stack of photo
graphs.
She
flipped
through
them until
she
came
to
zooms of the rope tied around the tree. It showed the
rope wrapped twice around the limb with the standing
end of the rope going under the two loops around the
tree.
It
had
an
interesting
twist—a
stopper
knot
on
the
end
to
make
sure
the
rope
wouldn’t
slip
back
through and release under the weight of the victim.
The perpetrator had also tied a stopper knot on the
end of the bowline knot and one on the end of his
handcuff knot. The stopper knot was set—tightened.
She had not yet examined what kind of knot he used
for
the
stoppers,
but
she’d
bet
they
were
all
the
same knot.
‘‘Okay,’’ she said, ‘‘this is an anchor bend used on
the limb, also called a fisherman’s bend—it was at one
time used to tie anchors to ships.’’
She handed the photos to the sheriff and Garnett.
The chief of detectives smiled as he exchanged