Jeanne Glidewell - Lexie Starr 05 - Just Ducky by Jeanne Glidewell Page A

in the shape of an inverted ‘V,’ as was the case with Ducky. The bruising in the entire neck region was fairly extensive, but not inconsistent with the type of bruising associated with thin skin, like we saw on her arms.”
    “Well, I don’t know what to think now,” I admitted. “Because she had on long sleeves yesterday, I didn’t see if there were already any hematomas on her arms before I left, but I’m still not one-hundred-percent convinced Ducky’s responsible for her own death, despite what the evidence suggests.”
    “You might have to just accept it and let it be. We are waiting for the results of a tox screen, however, looking for signs of things like chloroform, or perhaps Rohypnol, Ketamine or GHB.”
    “What are those?”
    “Date rape drugs.”
    “Oh, good Lord. Wendy, please tell me Ducky wasn’t raped too,” I said.
    “No, she was not sexually assaulted. These drugs could render her unconscious, or unable to defend herself. But there are a lot of drugs out there that could knock a person out. We don’t suspect this was the case, however, because we found no visible injection sites. The tox screen results are due back tomorrow morning though, and I’ll call you when we get them.”
    “Good. Thanks honey!”
    “Don’t get your hopes up, Mom. It’s not likely anything will show up that will point to anything but a suicide. Had we found definitive signs of her being dead prior to the hanging, we’d surely have a case for murder. But, Mom, do you realize how hard it would be for an individual to physically carry another person, no doubt kicking and screaming for all they were worth, up a ladder and then carry out the actual hanging? Ms. Duckworthy was for certain still alive prior to her neck being broken as a result of the hanging.”
    “Yes, I’ve considered the logistics involved, and do find it difficult to imagine. I don’t recall what the noose was constructed of, do you? I was in shock at the time.”
    “It was crudely made out of a rope. There were quite a few particles of vectran found on her clothing and in her hair, as well as a few equine hairs. The rope was probably around a horse’s neck before it was around Ducky’s neck. Did she mention owning horses to you? Do you know if she lived on a farm?”
    “No, but we never discussed where she lived. I assumed it was right here in town and never inquired.”
    “Ducky would most likely have brought it to work with her, since it isn’t something you’d typically find in a library,” Wendy continued. “That points to a pre-medicated, well-thought-out plan, and not a spur of the moment decision to kill oneself.”
    “I didn’t see any rope in the library, but Ducky got very irritated when I messed with the stuff on her desk. I guess it’s possible she didn’t want me discovering the rope in one of the drawers, probably already tied into a noose. Had I stumbled across it, I would have naturally questioned her, and if not satisfied with her response, I might have called Wyatt to come check it out. And Ducky probably would have guessed that’d be my reaction.”
    “True,” Wendy agreed.
    “Still, I’m having trouble accepting her death as a suicide. If it was, she did one hell of a brilliant job of acting when she discussed her future with me. I’m not going to let this drop until I delve into it a little deeper.”
    “I was afraid you’d say that,” Wendy said, with a long drawn-out sigh of dismay. “Mom, please don’t get involved in this incident. The detectives will thoroughly go through every little detail and come up with a conclusive answer. They’ll be able to come to a qualified and accurate determination about what occurred last night in the library, I promise you.”
    “We’ll see,” was my short reply. I could hear my daughter groaning in exasperation as I hung up the phone.
    * * *
    After a restless night, I got up early the next morning and joined Stone in the kitchen for coffee. He was always up