‘‘No. We certainly do, but rarely do we tie granny
knots. All I’m saying is that the person who tied Chris
Edwards didn’t know knots or rope. The rope he used
was old and worn, and there was an overhand knot in the middle between Edwards’ neck and the clothes
rod from which he was hanging.’’
‘‘So,’’ asked Garnett, ‘‘what does that mean?’’ Diane took the rope and tied an overhand knot,
pulling it tight. ‘‘I just decreased the strength of this
rope by fifty percent.’’
‘‘You’re kidding.’’ Garnett spoke in a way that sug
gested all his ropes had knots in them.
‘‘No, and in a worn rope, that’s significant. Chris
Edwards was a husky, athletic young man, and a big
portion of his weight was going to be on that rope
that was barely adequate. It was another bad choice,
like the square knot. The perp didn’t know what he
was doing.’’
‘‘But it didn’t break,’’ said Garnett.
‘‘No, it didn’t, but it was too close to the breaking
point to be a safe choice.’’
‘‘Well, you’ve convinced me about the ropes,’’ said
the sheriff. ‘‘But that still doesn’t tell us if the murders
are connected.’’
‘‘No, it doesn’t,’’ said Diane. ‘‘The evidence we’ve
looked at so far seems to indicate it might have been
a single perp at the Edwards crime scene. But we
don’t yet have any indication from Cobber’s Wood to
point to a single perp or more than one.’’
‘‘Could have been a whole gang of ’em,’’ said the
sheriff. ‘‘And for reasons we don’t know, one of them
might have killed Chris Edwards. It might not be the
same one who did the rope work in Cobber’s Wood.’’ ‘‘But the evidence does give us an MO for the per
son who tied the knots on Chris Edwards,’’ said
Diane. ‘‘He probably always ties knots the same way
because he doesn’t know any other way.’’
‘‘I see what you mean,’’ said the sheriff. ‘‘If we find something all tied up in a suspect’s house, for instance, the way he ties his knots might connect him to one
crime scene or the other.’’
‘‘Yes. It can’t be the only evidence, but...’’ ‘‘But it’ll give us and the suspect something to talk
about in the interrogation room,’’ said the sheriff. ‘‘I have to agree with Chief Garnett,’’ said Diane.
‘‘It’s too big a coincidence that Edwards was killed
just after he and Mayberry discovered the bodies.
Have you found Steven Mayberry yet?’’
‘‘No. Nor have any of his friends or relatives seen
him. Frankly, we don’t know if he’s on the run or if he
met with the same fate as Edwards. Have you found
anything else interesting from the Cobber’s Wood
crime scene?’’
‘‘Orange carpet fibers. Jin’s working on the brand.
We’ll be able to tell you something about the se
quence of events when we’re finished looking at the
