THE MAN THAT TURNED

The Great Plains is the home to many Americans. Her unpredictable weather patterns have always been difficult for meteorologist to forecast, however the citizens continue to come in droves to make it their home. The state capitol is Lexington, located in the center of the state. To the west about a two hour drive on the interstate is Mount Olive, a bustling community of about 45,000 residents. Mount Olive’s summer weather is really nice, except for the high humidity at times. Today was one of those really nice days, tree leaves gently blew in the slight wind, and the smell of Jasmine in the air. West Hamilton Avenue was peaceful and quiet for a Sunday morning. Occasionally the rocker on someone’s porch would creak from a warm breeze and the citizens of the community enjoyed those days. The norm is high winds and in spring tornados cause havoc occasionally. The winters can be brutal with very low temperatures and lots of snow.

Tony Langel served a total of 8 years in the U. S. Naval Criminal Investigative Services Navy, sailing the seven seas. During his sea duty he did manage to pull many Shore Patrol (SP) assignments at numerous ports of call. During his second hitch, he was assigned shore duty at the 11th Naval District in San Diego. He started working investigations for the Shore Patrol and assisted the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). Soon he was assigned to an NCIS unit. This was really what he really enjoyed the most, criminal investigations and helping the officers in charge of the unit. He heard about various law enforcement agencies advertising for police officers. Near the conclusion of his last hitch, he submitted several applications to a few of those agencies. The idea of serving in a city or state would be better than traveling all over the world for the next 12 Years to obtain a retirement pension. The first to respond was the Mount Olive Police Department (MOPD) who needed officers to attend an academy soon. This was his opportunity to commence a new career and keep his feet on dry land. The commanding officer of the NCIS unit asked Tony if he’d reenlist, he could stay with the unit; however no guarantees could be promised since shore duty for a sea going enlisted sailor to remain on shore duty is very slim. This was one of the toughest decisions he had to make. He loved the Navy and figured that perhaps he could continue his Navy in the reserves and get in 20 Years for retirement purposes.

He received an Honorable Discharge and moved to Mount Olive, beginning what would become an illustrious career. There was one problem with continuing in the Navy reserves and that was there wasn’t a reserve center any where close to Mount Olive, therefore he couldn’t continue in the military.

Tony graduated from the police academy and commenced his career patrolling the streets of Mount Olive, enforcing the law s of the state and city ordinances.

He rented an apartment for a few Years. He continued as a bachelor for several more Years, however keeping an eye out for the woman of his dreams. Right now his goal was to patrol and protect the good citizens on the community.

One of the detectives Tony knew was in the process of transferring to the east coast, offered Tony a really good deal for purchasing the house located on a cul-de-sac at the end of Hamilton Avenue. It was a 3 bed room - 3 bath home, perhaps a bit too big for Tony at the time. The price was right and perhaps one day he’d meet the woman of his dreams and this would be perfect for a family.

Tony didn’t mind the uniformed street assignments and at times he assisted the detectives with their investigations. The idea of becoming a detective appealed to him, resulting in a decision to transfer to the detective division at the first opening available. Captain Rich Henry, Chief of Detectives knew about Tony’s uniform work and how he helped the detectives at various times. Once an opening was available, Tony was called off the street to report to the captain’s office. Henry asked Tony if he was interested, a detective position was now open. Naturally Tony jumped at the golden opportunity and accepted the offer. A few days later he was wearing a suit and tie. Most of the detectives dressed in suits and ties unless they were on special assignments. Captain Henry always liked his people to look nice for the public.

The work was similar to what he did for the Navy’s NCIS. He adapted quickly and really enjoyed working with the other detectives and investigating a wide variety of cases. He helped lead detectives to break several major cases. A lead detective is in charge of the investigation and gets the credit for solving the case. It usually takes some time for a detective to reach this position to take charge of a major case. Tony’s immediate supervisor Sergeant Jarvis Randall called Tony to handle a case as a lead detective.