Code 61

by Donald Harstad

  “I'm just making sure in my own mind,” said Hester, “that it isn't a case of the two of you acting together to conceal his real identity.”

  Again, Jessica seemed to be unconcerned. “Well, of course we are. I certainly wouldn't want one of them trying to contact him.”

  She was really good.

  She straightened up. “All this is being treated with the strictest confidence, isn't it?”

  “Absolutely,” I said.

  “Won't tell a soul who doesn't need to know,” said Harry.

  “I thought as much,” she replied. “But I'm sure you understand that this little ruse we played to avoid, oh, complications, was just that and nothing more. That's all.”

  “Sure,” I said. Right. I was thinking how tough this woman would be in front of a jury. I thought I'd give her something to think about. “Before we go, could you tell us how to get to the historical society building?”

  “Yes.” She told us.

  “Thanks,” I said. Being so damned self-possessed, she hadn't asked. Because of that, I had to tell her why we were looking for it. “I understand they have blueprints of the old Givens place, from way back. We'd just like to see 'em.” That certainly took the bite out of it.

  “They're fascinating,” she said. “I hope you enjoy them.”

  “And we'll be needing to see you once more,” said Hester. “This evening?”

  “For?”

  “I really hate being melodramatic,” said Hester, “but I can't tell you that until then.”

  Hester had salvaged my objective.

  “Perhaps after supper?” Jessica shrugged. “We have some guests coming late this afternoon. I'd rather not disturb them. It will be brief?”

  “I hope so. Where can we call you?”

  Jessica gave Hester the number of Bridgett Hunley's private line. “After seven,” she said. “I'll answer.”

  After we got back downstairs, and out onto the sidewalk, I nudged Hester. “Why the hell did you have to tell her this evening?”

  “I don't know.” She quickened her pace. “But I'm not going to let the woman off the hook that easy. She's lying, and we all know it. She knows where that SOB is, Houseman, and she's gonna tell me if I have to strangle her.”

  “Attagirl,” said Harry.

  “That'd be a sight,” I said. “But I think we might have a good lever in her Aunt Bridgett. It strikes me that Jessica would do just about anything to keep this sort of involvement from her.”

  We still had a card up our sleeves. We hadn't mentioned anything about vampires.

  We walked to the historical society building, and I noted us in at 12:39. In five minutes, we were looking at the blueprint and history of the Mansion.

  In 1903, a vertical shaft had been completed between the silica mine and the top of the hill where the Givens Mansion was located. He owned that mine, and much to my surprise, the tunnel system in 1900 already extended more than a mile and a half along the Mississippi. All they apparently had to do was drop the shaft through about thirty feet of limestone before they got to the silica sand. Piece of cake. We were looking at both plan and elevation diagrams, and it appeared that shaft was vertical, with a simple elevator box, and the machinery at the bottom.

  According to the illustration, the previous tramcar and track that had run down the hill, and that Old Knockle had described to me, had been abandoned. The shaft replaced it. Complete with a small building that looked suspiciously like a shed, which was labeled “upper terminus” on the blueprint. The “lower terminus” was in the mine itself.

  The “upper terminus” was precisely located on the blueprint. It was 112 feet south southeast of the rear door of the Mansion. In the drawing, it was a simple shed kind of structure, with a steeply angled, one-sided roof.

  “I'll be damned,” I said. “The upper portion has to be one of the old foundations, right there with the ones that the German Kommune group built before the Civil War.”

  “That would be those,” said Hester, pointing to a series of dotted lines arranged in rectangles that salted the area.

  “Yeah. Right about in this area here,” I said, pointing with my pen to an area northeast of the Mansion, “is about where we found Toby that night.”

  “If that shaft's still functional … ”

  “Yeah. That's where Peale went after he got past Borman. Damn.” I indicated where Toby had been found. “When Sally and I were headed over here, looking for Toby, something ran past us. Coming from the direction of the 'upper terminus,' back toward the house from us. I'll bet it was Toby that ran by us. I'll bet it was.”

  “Why?” “Beats me, but I bet that little shit was over by the elevator shaft, or goin' in that direction.”

  I looked at the plans on the table. “I wonder how much farther the mine got, before they closed it down. I know it was still functional in the sixties.”

  “Regardless,” said Hester, “Peale could easily have made it to that elevator, if he knew where it was. Right down to the highway, a good half hour before he could have made it any other way. Hitchhiked, or the train tracks, or the landing about what, a half mile south?” She pushed her chair back. “Everything but an airport.”

  “Or the mine,” said Harry. “You don't suppose he could still be in the mine, do you?”

  We exchanged glances.

  “I think our budget can stand a photocopy of this plan,” I said. “Let me get one from the lady over there…. ”

  “I'd better,” she said. “You'll have to stand the initial cost. My department pays me back faster than yours.”

  “Well, okay. Twist my arm. While you do that, though, let me use your cell phone,” I said. “I want to call the office and see if we can get somebody up to the Mansion and check on things. And then get hold of somebody who can get us into the mine.”

  “I gotta make a call, too,” said Harry.

  The first part was a snap, as Borman was to be sent up right away, to check the status of the Mansion's residents. The second part was a bit more complicated. The mine was officially closed, as I was already aware, and ownership was with a corporation in New Mexico. That I hadn't known. We knew who the Nation County man was who oversaw the place, but he wouldn't give permission for us to enter the mine on his own. It was going to take a call from our county attorney to their corporate headquarters to obtain permission. I told Dispatch to get Lamar to arrange that.

  When I was finished with my call, Harry said he had some information for us as well.

  “You know that hot-lookin' Tatiana Ostransky gal? Jessica Hunley's dance partner?”

  “No,” I said, “I hadn't noticed.”

  “Uh huh. Anyhow, I just checked with Hawkins about her. Turns out that her real name is Hutha Mann, she's from Milwaukee, and that she was in this area in 1993.” He looked at us expectantly.

  “And?” I asked.

  “Peale was busted here back in ninety-three,” he said. “Didn't you get our fuckin' reply to your inquiry?”

  “Oh, yeah! Yeah, okay. Consensual blood ingestion, wasn't that it? And some involvement with a juvie, too.”

  “You got it. Want to guess who the fuckin' juvie was?”

  “Hutha Mann,” said Hester. “Hutha Mann, a/k/a Tatiana Ostransky, right?”

  “You got it.” He laughed.

  “The plot thickens,” I said. “So, what did he do to her?”

  “Probably a statutory sex thing, I bet. The reporting officer says that she was not a complainant in the matter. She was seventeen at the time, so she could have legally consented, but this Peale dude provided her with booze, and since she was not able to consent to drinking, and she was intoxicated at the time she was discovered, he was in problems.”

  “Ouch.” I grinned. “Bad choices, there.”

  “Yeah. He didn't get shit out of it, with the plea bargain and everything.” Harry shrugged. “She had a fresh cut on her lip, but she claimed that was an accident.”

  “I'll just bet she did,” said H
ester.

  “Now, here's the good part,” said Harry. “The guy who was in charge of that bust retires next week, but he was in, and he said that Jessica Hunley was involved in the edges of the case. She wasn't at the cabin at the time they made the arrests, but the Hunleys' attorney came to the cop shop and made everybody's bail. And this Hutha Mann, a/k/a Tatiana, gave her address as a place that turned out to be Jessica Hunley's fuckin' dance studio.”

  “No shit?” I said. “So they go way back as a group, then.” “Apparently so,” he said, looking very satisfied with himself.

  We walked over for lunch at a great place called Popeyes. Multiple levels, it had a maritime décor and a great menu. Well, a cop would think so.

  “It must be great,” I said, “to work in a town that has restaurants like this.” There was a faint, multi-tone sound, and Hester pulled her cell phone from her pocket. She answered it, and then held it out to me. “For you. Your office.”

  I took the phone. “Yeah?”

  “Carl, Lamar. Nothin' major, but the attorney we got to talk to to get in the old mine won't be in until tomorrow sometime. Is this a problem?”

  “No, I don't think so.” I didn't think we'd be back there until then, anyway. “I'd appreciate it if you'd look for some sign, down at the highway level, where somebody might have gone over the fence, or something. Stack of crates? Rocks? We think there's a really good chance our buddy might have made it down there pretty fast that night.”

  “Borman and Knockle are already up there, and everything is okay, as far as they can tell. Most of the kids up there are at work, I guess.” He paused. “I'll have 'em check the mine area. Do you want 'em wandering around up on the hill, looking for an entrance?”

  I did not. No point giving the game away before we were ready.

  “You do know that it runs for about three miles or better?” asked Lamar. “Inside the hill, mostly north and south, but it does go back in under the bluffs for a good five hundred feet, too?”

  “Okay…. ”

  “I just asked because, if you want to do a search or something, it could take a real long time. The chambers are big enough to be easy to search, you know, but they cover a lot of territory.”

  “I sure hope not,” I said. “I hate caves.”

  He chuckled. “The troops been getting really curious why I'm telling 'em to do all this stuff. I ain't told where you are, and they're thinkin' that I'm on the case.”

  “Hey, we brought in the best.”

  “Uh, Carl, while I got you on the phone … did you have some sort of confrontation with Borman about that warning shot business?”

  “Not really,” I said. “Why?”

  “Well, he says you jumped in his shit in front of witnesses. Embarrassed him, or something. Gave him a lecture, I believe he said. Here in the office. You know anything about that?”

  “Sure. He flagged me down on my way through Dispatch, and wanted to know why I told on him. Just like a little kid.”

  “Yeah. Well, Carl, he's filed a grievance with the union. Alleges harassment on your part. Wants you disciplined.”

  “Bullshit.”

  “Yeah, but that's what he says.”

  “Ask Sally,” I said. “She was there. She was there for the whole thing.”

  “Okay,” said Lamar. “But don't you talk with her about this. She's a witness, let the process take its course.”

  “I want that little moron off this case,” I said. “Can't do that, Carl. You know the rules, here. Just watch your step.” “Watch my step, hell,” I said. “I'm gonna strangle the little shit.”

  “Right. Oh, before I forget, that Huck girl called for you guys a few minutes ago. Dispatch didn't tell me 'cause it went in your 'to do' box, but I was readin' the log.”

  Quite a gear change, as Lamar intended. “When did she call?”

  “About an hour ago. No message, just said she needed to talk to you before you came back.” He stopped, surprised. “Let me check that note…. ”

  “Back? How did she know we were gone?”

  “Okay, Jesus, I didn't think. Yep, here it is. The note says ' … before they come back … ' You didn't tell her you were leavin'?”

  “No. I didn't … just a sec.” I covered the phone. “Hey, did you tell Huck we were leaving the area?”

  “No,” said Hester. “No, I didn't.”

  “Me, neither,” said Harry, just to make me happy.

  “She called for us, and left a message saying that she'd talk to us before we got back.” I was getting concerned.

  “Hey, Lamar? No, Hester didn't say anything, either.” I pulled a pen from my pocket. “Give me the call-back number on the note, will you?”

  He did. I knew it wasn't the Mansion, but it sounded familiar.

  “You know what number that is?” If it was familiar to me, it would probably be familiar to Lamar, as well.

  “Yeah, it's the main administrative number for the casino boat.”

  “I'll give her a call,” I said.

  I handed the phone back to Hester. “Gotta get one of those.”

  “The whole state would appreciate it,” she said.

  “Huck had to talk to either Jessica or Tatiana right after we left the dance studio,” I said. “She called our office a few minutes ago. I think she's on the 06:00 to

  14:00 shift, which means that she was at work when shecalled our office, and would have been when we left the studio, too.”

  “So they called her at work, then?” Hester and I were both figuring that a long-distance call from work was something Huck probably wouldn't be doing.

  “Probably. I better call her.”

  Hester just handed me her phone.

  The gaming boat hated to interrupt dealers, understandably, and told me to call back in fifteen minutes. That gave me time to gripe to Hester and Harry about Borman and his grievance.

  Hester just shook her head. Harry related a similar incident between him and a rookie that ended with the rookie working in a discount store. “They just seem to hate constructive fuckin' criticism, these days, you know?”

  “Yeah,” I said, ruefully. “What my boy doesn't know is how restrained I was.”

  Our food arrived just as Hester's phone rang again. She answered, grinned, and handed it to me. “Lamar,” she said.

  “Yeah?”

  “Your friend Huck just called back,” said Lamar. “She gave this number, and said you're to call it right away.”

  I got my pen back out, and wrote it down. “Thanks.”

  “You bet. Let me know what's going on…. ”

  “Okay.”

  I broke the connection, and dialed the number he'd given me. Of course, since he hadn't had to use the area code, I hadn't copied it down. Being in a hurry, when I dialed, I left it out. There was the familiar oscillating tone.

  “Area code,” said Hester, her spoon between the soup bowl and her mouth. I noticed the spoon didn't even slow.

  “Right.” I redialed.

  “Hello,” said a muted voice. It was Huck, and she was half whispering. “Houseman. You wanted me to call?” “Yeah. That was fast. So, how you like Lake Geneva?” Still whispered.

  “Great, so far.”

  “You get around. Look, Tat called, she had some stuff to tell me, and I told her she could trust you. She can, can't she?” “Sure.” Tat? It sounded like she knew Tatiana better than I had thought.

  “Okay, look, she wants to meet you in about a half hour. Jessica's got stuff to do, and Tat wants to talk with somebody. She's getting scared,” said Huck.

  Well. “Okay, fine. Where at?”

  There was a pause. “Before I tell you, you gotta know that Tat's in love with Jessica, all right? I mean, really in love with her.”

  I wasn't exactly thunderstruck, but I was surprised. “Oh?”

  She sighed. “You gotta know that so what she says makes sense.”

  “Okay.”

  “She wants to meet you at the observatory. You know w
here that is?”

  “Yep. If you mean the big one? The Yerkes Observatory.” Oh, yeah.

  “Yes. She'll be at the rear steps, I'll call her right now, gotta go, thanks, be good to her.” Dial tone.

  “So?” asked Hester.

  “Jessica and Tatiana did call her,” I said. “She wanted to make sure they were telling her the truth, for one thing.”

  “She wonders about that, too?” asked Harry.

  “Huck says that Ostransky, Tatiana, wants to meet us at Yerkes Observatory.”

  Hester put down her soupspoon, got a map out of her purse, and said, “Looks like we take fifty west to sixty-seven, then sixty-seven south into Williams Bay. Follow it on West Geneva Street. Piece of cake.”

  THIRTY

  Wednesday, October 11, 2000

  15:12

  Yerkes Observatory is run by the University of Chicago. It's an incredible building, sort of dumbbell shaped, with a long hall connecting two observation areas. The building itself is an architectural delight. Built in 1895, it's a golden sandstone, ornately carved, complete with gargoyles, griffons and other mythological critters, as well as astronomical and astrological signs, cherubs, and just about anything else that would lend a Victorian Gothic air to the place. The domes themselves are very ornate, with pillared arches running around the lower levels, and making them look a lot like the exterior of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The whole place has a Jules Verne atmosphere, and you can almost see the famous astronomers Hale, Barnard, and Burnham out of the corner of your eye.

  We all got into Hester's car, and followed the map. As we turned in the long drive, Hester got a good look at the place, and said, “Wow.”

  “Cool, no?” I gave her the basic details I'd gotten years back when I took the tour. “Some momentous stuff happened here, but in a quiet way.”

  “It is quiet,” said Harry.

  We parked right in front of the main entrance. There were only three or four cars there, and space for about twice that many.

  The mirror image of the main entrance was on the other side of the building, so we walked on the lawn around the main dome, and approached the deserted rear of the building.