Code 61 - Donald Harstad [1]
To my friends in London: Rachel Coldbreath, who shared many thoughts on the legends and history of vampires in literature, and gave encouragement; Julian Richards, for his friendship and knowledge of the legends and the people who believe them; Grebbsy McLaren, for a fine sense of humor and permission to use a bit of verse; and to Zu, who added insights and a point of view that is uniquely hers. Their warm welcome during an excellent evening in a London pub was much appreciated.
I'd also like to thank a remarkable set of individuals who populate alt.v on the Web. Singling out individuals is very difficult, but B. J., Llewellyn, Catherine B. Krusberg, Julian, Grebbsy, Klattau, Emrys, Jet Girl, Chiller, Tiernan, William R. Thompson, and Elizabeth Miller are but a few. They have been the source of much fascinating discussion regarding vampires in legend and literature. All, of course, are exempted from responsibility for any of the misconceptions on my part.
To a remarkable group of young women from Elkader, Iowa, who were interviewed in order for me to obtain a solid base regarding their possible reactions to a set of circumstances in this book, I especially want to express my thanks. They—Courtney Zaph Bently, Rachel Kuehl Jaster, Carrie Persoon, Barbie Gnagy, Nicole Reimer, Hillary Klingman, and Courtney Burns—pro-vided the background for events in the lives of characters Hester Gorse and Darcy Becker. They were invaluable.
I would like to express my most sincere appreciation to the Valerie Williams Co'Motion Dance Theater, and dancers Valerie Williams and Annie Church, for allowing me to observe a class and hours of rehearsal. Their ability to express and project attitudes through body language was a revelation, and added dimension to the characters of Jessica and Tatiana.
I would like to thank Shannon Bryant for answering my questions regarding potential sources for advice. She started the whole ball rolling for the characters who inhabit the Mansion. I would also like to thank Kate Bryant for her timely advice regarding flute playing and a certain piece of music. Your Uncle Don appreciates you both.
For a fascinating discussion of vampires and related subjects, I would like to thank Julieann Thilmany Theis, who also allowed me to read her master's thesis.
I wish to express my thanks to all those law enforcement personnel who serve in the Midwest. Their professionalism and devotion to duty, and their continuing willingness to share accounts of their work, make these stories possible.
PROLOGUE
My name is Carl Houseman, and I'm a deputy sheriff in Nation County, Iowa. I've been doing this for over twenty years now; long enough to graduate from the night shift to become the department's investigator, and senior officer, as well. Long enough to feel senior in every sense of the term. Somehow, when you finally pass fifty and realize a fellow officer was born about the same time you took the oath, you start to wonder if you might not begin to feel old pretty soon. I mean, maybe in another ten years or so.
It's been my experience that cases fall into categories that are a bit different from the examples they cite at the academy. Most of the time, you have more than enough evidence to show how the offense was committed, but really have to work to identify who did it. The rest of the time, you pretty much know who did the dirty deed, but showing how is the problem. In rare instances, a case will develop both ways at the same time. That was what this one did.
ONE
Thursday, October 5, 2000
23:33
I guess I could say it started for us on Thursday, October 5, 2000. I can say that now. I sure couldn't at the time.
It was exactly 23:33 hours, and I was just leaving the scene of a minor fender bender, and was en route home when the communications center called.
“Comm, Three?” came crackling over the radio, from the familiar voice of my favorite dispatcher, Sally Wells.
I picked up my mike, suspicious already. “This is Three. Go ahead.”
“Three, we have a 911 intruder call, 606 Main, Freiberg. Female subject