Known Dead_ A Novel - Donald Harstad [0]
Title Page
Dedication
Praise
Acknowledgments
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-one
Twenty-two
Twenty-three
Twenty-four
Twenty-five
Twenty-six
Twenty-seven
Epilogue
Preview
About the Author
Also by Donald Harstad
Copyright Page
For my wife, Mary,
and thirty-four years of faith that
good things would happen
Raves for Donald Harstad’s debut novel
Eleven Days
‘‘A hell of a first novel.’’
—Michael Connelly
‘‘[Harstad’s] dry, even droll account of these macabre crimes makes them all the more terrible.’’
—The New York Times Book Review
‘‘The very best procedural novels are those that follow police personnel through the solving of a crime from its discovery to evidence-gathering to the apprehension of the guilty. . . . As a former deputy sheriff from Iowa, Harstad has the procedure down; his story-telling ability also sets him far ahead of other first-time novelists in this genre. . . . Deputy Carl Houseman is the epitome of a police officer, and his humanity, intelligence, and ability place him at personal risk as the case races to a heartstopping climax.’’
—Library Journal (starred review)
‘‘With one startling twist after another, this grisly but cunningly sophisticated story is truly frightening.’’
—San Francisco Chronicle
‘‘A gripping and unsettling work that underscores the simple truth that the threat of evil and its violence is everywhere in America—even the farmlands of Iowa. Harstad seasons the book with a wonderful cast of characters and his insider’s knowledge. His is a welcome new voice in crime fiction.’’
—Michael Connelly, bestselling author of Trunk Music
‘‘Eleven Days satisfies on every level. As a procedural, it systematically details the revelation uncovered by a low-tech department (the police station doesn’t even have a fax!), and Harstad’s disparate group of suspects and officers never fails to rivet our attention.’’
—San Francisco Chronicle
‘‘Downright explosive! The descriptions of the policework rival Wambaugh’s best.’’
—Publishers Weekly
‘‘A finely crafted tale that is populated by an assortment of well-drawn characters and is, from start to finish, disturbing and suspenseful. . . . Harstad knows how to balance violence and profanity with compassion and intelligence. He also knows how to tell a story. . . . Neither as coarse as Joseph Wambaugh nor as strictly procedural as Ed McBain— but, in terms of skill, on a par with both—this is one first novel that will leave readers eagerly awaiting the author’s next effort.’’
—Booklist
‘‘Donald Harstad knows what he’s talking about when it comes to murder and mayhem. . . . Anyone who has hung around cops knows this book is about as realistic as they come. . . . If the next two books are as good as the first, Harstad has a wonderful new career as a writer.’’
—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank the officers and support personnel with whom I worked— agents of the F.B.I. and D.C.I., state patrol troopers, police officers and sheriff’s deputies, dispatchers and secretaries—for their examples of dedication and commitment. I would also like to thank Deb W. for a conversation that enhanced my perception of the press.
One
MY NAME is Carl Houseman. I’m a deputy sheriff in Nation County, Iowa. I’m also the department’s senior investigator, and senior officer, to boot. I’m getting a little sensitive about senior and elder being interchangeable terms. I turned fifty, recently. It’s gotten to the point that people ask me whether AARP sells cut-rate ammunition to older cops. Anyway, I’d like to tell you about the killings we had in our county in the summer of ’96, and the subsequent investigation that stood the whole state on its ear. This is my version of what happened. It’s the right one.
It all started for me on June 19, 1996, about 1500 hours. I had pretty much assigned myself as pickup car for a team of two officers who were conducting surveillance