Dead Guilty

have
grabbed him by the hair and pulled his head back to
stop him from suffocating as part of an interrogation
or torture. I think she’s right.’’ Diane saw the sheriff
give a subtle nod.
‘‘His hands were tied together by coiling the rope
three times around his wrist and securing it with a
granny knot. The hands of the three victims from Cob
ber’s Wood were all tied with handcuff knots. And
several coils of rope were wrapped around their hands,
securing their fingers and thumbs.’’
Diane turned to David. ‘‘Have you had a chance to
check the ropes for blood?’’
David nodded. ‘‘All the ropes that bound their
hands had blood.’’
‘‘So it appears probable that at some point after he
bound their fingers up tight, he cut off the fingertips.’’
The sheriff and Garnett winced.
‘‘He also added another twist, so to speak. The rope
from the handcuffs had a noose in the end that looped
around the victims’ necks. They were tied so that if they struggled and tried to get their hands loose,
they’d choke themselves.’’
‘‘Wasn’t taking any chances,’’ observed the sheriff. ‘‘I still don’t understand why you’re saying the
woods victims and Edwards weren’t tied by the same
person,’’ said Chief Garnett.
‘‘Significantly different knots,’’ said Diane. ‘‘The
person who tied the knots on the Cobber’s Wood vic
tims had knowledge and skill with knots. He knew
how to set them and finished them off so they
wouldn’t slip. The person who tied Chris Edwards’
rope used granny knots. A granny knot is an incor
rectly tied square knot. Even if he had tied a square
knot correctly, it wouldn’t have been the right knot
for that situation.’’
‘‘What do you mean?’’
‘‘Square knots slip easily. That would make it easier
for the victim to untie himself. The person who tied
the hands of the Cobber’s Wood victims with handcuff
knots wouldn’t have used a granny knot on Chris
Edwards.’’
‘‘Maybe he was in a hurry,’’ said Garnett. Diane shook her head. ‘‘If you know how to tie a
handcuff knot, it’s just as fast to tie as wraps of rope
secured with a granny knot.’’
‘‘If I’m not mistaken, aren’t granny knots hard to
untie? That seems like it would be an advantage,’’ said
the sheriff.
‘‘A good knot doesn’t slip under pressure, but is
not impossible to untie. Knots such as the handcuff
knot and the bowline knot are used by people who
know their knots because they work best for what
they do.’’
Diane could see Garnett wasn’t convinced. The
magic of knots was evaporating rapidly for him. ‘‘All the victims were hung and all had their hands
tied behind their backs,’’ Garnett said. ‘‘The perp had
a lot of time in the woods to get his knots right. He
was in a hurry at the Edwards house.’’
This time it was David who rose from his chair—
more leisurely than Jin—and came back with props.
He handed Diane a length of rope. She took the rope
in her right hand and maintained eye contact with
Garnett and the sheriff. They watched her fidget with
the rope.
‘‘It doesn’t matter if he was in a hurry. It’s not faster
to do it wrong if you know how to do it right, and
our Cobber’s Wood guy knew how to do it right.’’ She held up the knot she had just tied. ‘‘This is a
bowline. It’s called the king of knots because it’s very
useful—it holds well and is easy to untie. It’s a per
sonal favorite of mine.
‘‘I’m not someone who is extraordinarily gifted in
knot tying. I’m a caver, and sometimes we have only
one hand free to tie a knot, and sometimes we’re in
very low light or darkness while we’re tying them, and
our lives are depending on a good knot. Cavers learn
to tie knots with one hand without looking. I believe
our Cobber’s Wood perp was good at knots. He could
have done it under stress and in a hurry.’’
‘‘Are you saying he may be a caver?’’ asked
Garnett.
‘‘No. I’m just trying to convince you that people
who know how to tie knots know how to tie knots.’’ The sheriff laughed. ‘‘Then are you saying that ex
pert knotters never make mistakes?’’
‘‘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