Code 61 - Donald Harstad [172]
Jessica and Tatiana both testified that Dan had flagged them down, and taken them hostage at gunpoint, and forced them to take him back to Lake Geneva. They got away with it. Hester, Harry, and I approached the prosecutor's office, with a request to prosecute Jessica as the principal orchestrator of the entire business. They told us that they'd never be able to convince a jury of that, especially in the light of the defense team she could afford to retain.
I'll never forget what the head prosecutor said. “You guys just have to learn to be realistic about these things.” Right. While working a vampire case?
Jessica is still doing her thing, as far as we can tell. Hawkins keeps in touch.
We found William Chester's pack in the woods well north of the elevator shaft. It contained a stake, garlic, a crucifix, and a mallet. We didn't have any idea where he'd gone for several weeks, and were beginning to wonder if Dan Peale had killed him and dragged him into a dark area of the mine. Then Harry got a call from the cops in Lake Geneva, wanting to know if he'd ever heard of the man. They'd popped him in a stalking case. Apparently, he was taking an interest in Jessica Hunley. When questioned, he'd actually used Harry as a reference. That was a hoot. Personally, I think he caught a glimpse of Dan Peale that rainy night on the bluff. I think the reality of Peale finally dawned on him, and he just couldn't handle it. I think he simply ran away.
The Mansion is still there, although Jessica sold it soon after Dan was committed. I understand it's about to become a resort, since it's so close to the gaming boat and the Mississippi. I don't think Sue and I'll be staying there. I never did get inside the Hunley estate in Lake Geneva.
Oh, yeah. Borman. He lost his action against me. He tried to say that I'd done the same thing that he had done—ffred a warning shot. One that just happened to hit Peale by accident. Right.
Borman left the department after that, and signed on with a university security service on the West Coast. That was too bad, in my opinion. I still thought he had a lot of potential.
GLOSSARY
AG: Attorney general, either state or federal.
COMM: Police radio call sign of the communications center in Nation County.
DCI: Division of Criminal Investigation, a division of the Iowa Department of Public Safety.
DEA: Drug Enforcement Administration, an agency of the U.S. Government.
DNE: Division of Narcotics Enforcement, an agency of the State of Iowa and an offshoot of DCI.
DNR: Department of Natural Resources, an agency of the State of Iowa.
FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation, a bureau of the U.S. Department of Justice.
ISP: Iowa State Patrol, the uniformed division of the Department of Public Safety.
ME: Medical examiner.
SA: Special agent, either of the Iowa DCI or the FBI.
SAC: Special agent in charge, either of the DCI or the FBI.
SO: Sheriff's office.
SOME NOTES ON CODES IN GENERAL
In law enforcement communications, codes are used both as a shorthand method of communication and as a way of concealing information from the prying ears who listen in on police radio transmissions. The Ten Codes, listed below, are our basic shorthand for radio use.
Other codes are used to fill in the gaps or to cover unusual situations that arose after the Ten Codes were established. One example would be the use of “code blue” to indicate that the subject of concern in deceased. This has become so well known that it's really no longer very useful, and has often been replaced with other codes.
Many departments developed a code system that would use a common number and give it another meaning known only to the officers and dispatchers. Code sixty-one is a good example. Briefly, it started with the old 10-61, which meant “Personnel in area.” Being a superfluous number, it slowly changed over the years to mean “Unauthorized personnel in area,” and eventually came to indicate “Be aware that this conversation is not secure because an unauthorized person is listening.” That particular definition