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had cause to question Lynn’s competence. But she didn’t say anything, re membering
had shown
outshown.
that earlier on at the crime scene Lynn a sensitivity to being contradicted or
    However, to be fair, it takes experience with hang ing victims to realize that it can indeed make much of a difference. Rate of decay is highly dependent on the environment. Bodies decay differently in Alaska than in Hawaii, or the Sahara, or Portobelo. And they decay differently out in the open, or hanging, or sealed in an enclosed space, or buried shallow, or buried deep, or buried in a limestone environment. It also makes a difference if they have open wounds, such as the cutoff fingertips.
    It’s a matter of the body tissues being accessible to the insects and microbes that cause decay. And the presence of chemicals or elements that interfere with microbial and insect action by causing the body to dehydrate or to become preserved.
    There are so many permutations and combinations that unless you’ve had experience with them all, there is no way to just know. Had these bodies been discov ered at a later date and had Red, the corpse Diane witnessed fall, lain on the ground where the insects could get to him, he would appear to have died earlier than the others, even though their time of death might be the same.
    Diane thought of explaining, but it would just sound like a lecture, it would offend Lynn’s sensitivity and it would make Lynn look bad in front of Raymond. She’d simply use what information David collected from his reared insects and make her estimates of the time of death.
    Diane removed the rope from Green the same way she had from the first victim. Raymond took the pho tographs. Green was tied in exactly the same way as Blue—hands behind the back in a handcuff knot with the standing end of the rope in a loop around the neck and the extra rope from the working end wrapped four times around the wrists with the end tucked between the loops.
    The noose was tied the same way as on the first— a bowline to make a loop to pull the rope through to create a noose that tightens under tension. She hadn’t expected the knots to be any different, and they weren’t. She carefully packed and labeled the rope.
    ‘‘I was wondering if you would take me caving sometime,’’ said Lynn. ‘‘A simple cave for a rank beginner.’’
    ‘‘Neva wants to go caving too. She’s also a beginner. We should be able to find a good starter cave we can go to.’’
    Lynn grinned. ‘‘I have always loved caves, under ground lakes, all those things. One of my favorite movies is Journey to the Center of the Earth . Loved that underground lake.’’
    ‘‘Caving’s not usually that eventful,’’ said Diane.
    Both Raymond and Lynn laughed.
‘‘You wouldn’t catch me going down a black hole,’’
said Raymond. ‘‘Heard about too many people getting
themselves stuck. You sprain your ankle and it’s hell
trying to get you out.’’
‘‘You learn to be careful,’’ Diane said. ‘‘Knowing
your ropes and knots helps too.’’
‘‘I think he’s had his appendix out,’’ said Lynn. She
rubbed the area with a damp piece of gauze. ‘‘Let’s
get a photograph of this, Raymond. Have you ever
had to be rescued?’’ she asked Diane.
‘‘No, but I have been on a rescue team. It can be
a dicey situation, for certain.’’ Diane collected several
surface specimens of insects while Lynn and Raymond
continued the external examination of the body. Green was male. Taller than the woman, though it
would be hard to tell exactly until Diane could mea
sure the bones. Now, from his head to his feet his
stretch length was eight feet seven inches.
‘‘Other than the appendix scar, there are no visible
external markings. No needle marks or signs of defen
sive wounds that are visible.’’ Lynn talked into the
recorder in a monotone voice, quite different from her
conversational tone.
Lynn didn’t run Diane out for the autopsy this