Dead Guilty

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to give thanks to Judy Hanson and Terry Cooper for patiently answering my questions.

‘‘Rule number one of crime scene work: If it’s wet and sticky and it ain’t yours, don’t touch it.’’ —Terry Cooper,

crime scene specialist, Georgia Bureau of Investigation

KNOTS

Bowline Figure Eight Knot Stevedore’s Knot Fisherman’s Bend Handcuff Knot Waggoner’s Hitch

Chapter 1

‘‘If I’d known she was so afraid of snakes, I wouldn’t have hired her,’’ Diane Fallon muttered as she parked her car behind a patrol car on the hard shoulder of the small two-lane dirt road. She could hear the screams of her museum assistant director still ringing in her ears as she took her case from the backseat and climbed out.

Two guys and four young women dressed in cutoffs and tanktops stood in a knot talking to each other on the opposite side of the road between a beat-up pickup and a Jeep. A blonde, cell phone to her ear, stretched up on her toes, as if that would give her a better view into the woods. The words ‘‘See anything’’ leaped out of the crowd.

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