Of course, that was the only logical scenario left. Even so, Darla caught her breath at the word and dropped a forkful of tiramisu back onto her plate. Jake, meanwhile, was saying, “From what I hear, it was a pretty poor attempt to stage a suicide scene. Whoever did it didn’t stop to think that the man weighed too much for that hook to hold him. Besides, there’s an obvious difference in the marks you find on the neck of a hanging victim versus someone who’s been strangled. And there are other signs, too. Someone wraps a rope around someone else’s neck, you get burst capillaries in the eyes, skin under the fingernails where they struggled—” At Darla’s gasp of horror, Jake broke off and added, “Sorry, kid, didn’t mean to get graphic there. But it’s Forensics 101. Even the greenest street cop knows what to look for in these situations.” Jake, who was well-versed in that sort of unsavory business, returned her attention to her dessert plate.
