The Big Thaw (46 page)

AG:
Attorney General, either State or Federal

ATF:
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, sometimes referred to as BATF, a bureau under the U.S. Department of the Treasury

CIA:
Central Intelligence Agency. An agency of the U.S. Government

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

DIA:
Defense Intelligence Agency, the Intelligence analysis section of the U.S. Department of Defense

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

NASA:
National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NRO:
National Reconnaissance Office

NSA:
National Security Agency

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

To Dr. Peter Stevens, I wish to express my great appreciation for his great knowledge of pathology, his enthusiastic advice, and his support of my efforts. I would like to express my gratitude to the Officers, Dispatchers, and Staff of the Clayton County Sheriff’s Department, for their continued cooperation and assistance, and for the work they do every day and every night. I would like to thank my friends “on the boat,” who explained some complex things to me. I thank my wife, Mary, without whose support and encouragement I would not be able to write; and my daughter, Erica, who provides honest and constructive criticism in the early stages of each book.

DONALD HARSTAD
is a twenty-six-year veteran of the Clayton County Sheriff’s Department in northeastern Iowa, and the author of the acclaimed
Eleven Days
. A former deputy sheriff, Harstad lives with his wife, Mary, in Elkader, Iowa.

Eleven Days
Known Dead