The Man Who Said Nothing: A Tony Langel Mystery Series

By RICHARD E. RICHARDSON

Mount Olive, located in the Midwest is a thriving community of 40,000. Tony Langel is a former Navy man that applied for and was accepted into the Mount Olive Police Departments Academy, later becoming a patrolman and eventually advanced through the ranks.

Mount Olive has its share of criminal activity. Tony is a good investigator and does his part to enforce the laws and to protect the good citizens from criminals. Tony investigates a lot of cases but one particular case is special. This case challenges his ability to uncover the true identity of an auto thief.

A cocktail waitress doesnt count on meeting a man of mystery in Mount Olive.

The case would involve three lives. They are about to cross paths which will alter their lives.

What happened in Mount Olive could happen anywhere, maybe in your own community.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Mar 25, 2014
• ISBN: 9781491729564

RICHARD E. RICHARDSON

Richard E. Richardson retired from two law enforcement agencies -- the Arizona Highway Patrol as an Officer and Agent for 23 years and the Madison County Sheriff’s Dept in Nebraska, as Chief of Corrections for 10 years. He and his wife, Cheryl, currently reside in Norfolk, Nebraska.

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CHAPTER 1

THE DETECTIVE

THE MOUNT OLIVE POLICE DEPARTMENT was rebuilt several years ago, across the street from the fire departments new building. Several times a month a large blast on a horn would indicate that fire equipment was heading out of the large parking bays, and going to a fire call. The sound rattled the police station for a few moments then the sirens started screeching. Most of the officers at the station didn’t even pay attention to the shaking and noise after hearing it as often as they did.

The detectives on the third floor didn’t let this bother them too much. They had a job to do and did it with all the vigor possible. The citizens of Mount Olive deserved the best and the detectives followed that rule to the letter. A few cases would be very interesting and prove to take all the efforts possible. Matching wits with the average criminal became routine. It was the master criminals that made the big cases.

Detective Tony Langel sat at his desk in the squad room working on various cases. The file folders almost seemed to be ready to tip over. A few adjustments of the files and Tony was ready to select the next case that needed the most attention.

He started out joining the force after two hitches in the Navy, and then served as a patrol officer with the MOPD for 10 years. He was promoted to detective grade about two years ago. He stands six foot and weighed about 175 pounds in those early days. After fourteen years, his weight went up to 195. He blamed it on too much seat time in patrol cars and chair time in detectives. The lack of will power to exercise didn’t help, resulting in the weight gain. Age may have been a partial factor as well. He felt fine and still performed his duties well.

Detectives just didn’t work one case to the finish, but have a lot of responsibility to handle multiple cases and had to delegate their time wisely. When a major case is solved, the detectives would have a coffee-pastry party in the squad room, celebrating the closure. Of course this didn’t happen unless the case had gained some recognition from the chief of police and the mayor. Tony’s recent case did merit such recognition. The cases that won citations usually ended up with a big party at Charlie’s Bar.

An informant had provided information to Tony that a chop shop was in operation in the cities southwest side of town. A good detective needs the help of informants that are reliable for information concerning what’s happening on the streets. The detectives like to refer to this kind of information as bread and butter. This area has maintained a reputation of drugs and other illegal activity.

The Michael’s Garage was known to be a chop shop was placed under surveillance for about a month. The owner for the past four years is Mike Jones, a small time booster that made enough money to go into business for himself. Cars coming and going were recorded from a storefront across the street that once was a bakery shop. The building had been closed for over two years. The detectives managed to get permission from the owner to set up a surveillance site. The front windows were covered with paper. A camera peeked through a small hole that could take pictures all day and night if needed. The detectives slipped in and out from the rear door.

Tony drove a repossessed vehicle that was provided by the Drug Enforcement Agency. The DEA provided phony documents for the car to the garage.

For all intensive purposes the garage appeared to be doing a legitimate business. Tony identified himself as Marcus Spinelli. The young man about 30 said he owned the garage and that he is Mike.

Marcus indicated that he was tired of having his Cadillac in a shop. This time he’d need a new transmission and when he was told the price for the repair that was the last straw. This car has been my favorite for a long time. I figure maybe it’s time to get rid of it and get something newer. I came into some money recently and can afford it, providing the price is right.

What are you looking for?

I saw a yellow Mercedes a while back in Lexington and it still sticks in my mind. I see you have a few cars out front with tags. I assume that you do sell car, right?

I do. What kind of money are you talking about?

Well, that depends on the car.

I have a nice Lexus over there by the back doorway. She’s a beauty.

What are you asking for it?

I’d take twenty five grand cash. She’s worth a lot more, only a year old. A fellow that worked at the college owned the car. He left town and needed money real bad. I made him an offer and he took it. If you found a car like that at one of the big dealers, you’d pay at least thirty five grand or more.

Well, the price is what I had in mind, but I still am interested in a Mercedes.

I can get one for you. I have a friend right now that is looking to buy a new car and doesn’t think he’ll get a good trade for his car.

What color is it, do you know?

I seen it a couple of times, nice shiny black sedan. Looks like a million bucks.

I tell you what I have in mind and that is a yellow car, a two door and something sportier, maybe a convertible.

If you give me a couple of days, stop back and just maybe I can find one for you. Come back to my office.

They went to the small cubical in the rear. Have a seat. I like to know who I’m doing business with, do you mind showing me your driver’s license? Do you have the title for the Cadillac available?

Here’s my license. The title is at home. I can bring it Thursday if that’s okay? If you can’t find what I want, perhaps you’d be interested in buying my car outright. I’ll give you a good deal. On the outside she’s still a honey.

I agree Marcus. With a little work on the transmission I could sell her okay.

Mike wrote down information from Marcus’ driver’s license. Here’s your license back, thank you.

Two days later Tony arrived at the garage and there was a yellow Mercedes convertible with a black top.

Welcome friend, I see that you noticed the Mercedes. Would you believe that an acquaintenance of mine told me that he knew where one was, just like you want. The car is nearly new with less than three thousand miles on her. It belonged to a nice lady whose husband just died. She didn’t have any use for two cars and my associate told her that maybe he could sell the small car for her. The car is on loan to us right now. She says that if it doesn’t sell, she’d take it back. I do have the title in case you are interested. If not, I will return the car to her.

I’ll take a closer look.

Go right ahead, I have some other business to do. Take your time.

He checked it over, noting that the paint job was brand new and noticed a tiny bit of light blue paint visible in a door jam. The car had been light blue before. The VIN plate appeared okay and the garage man had the title papers. I’m interested Mike, if the price is right.

I can work with you. You’d look real sharp behind the wheel. The car is a lady killer. They’ll be crawling all over you wanting a ride.

Can I take her for a short spin? You have my car here and I’ll leave my driver’s license with you.

You look like an honest guy, sure take her out. Now don’t pick up any women right now and don’t get any speeding tickets.

He drove the car to a special garage where the car could be inspected more thoroughly.

The dash apparently had been removed and another dash was set into position. The new identification number (VIN) probably came from a wrecked car. A crime lab technician located a secondary VIN and it was determined to have been stolen in Lexington two days ago. The stolen car was light blue. It didn’t take the garage man long to find a convertible, switch dashes, and paint the car. What Tony now had is a stolen car.

The prosecutor Mr. Samuel Witherspoon was advised and arrest and search warrants were authorized. It was time to raid the shop. The uniform officers and other detectives would wait until Tony returned to the garage and made the deal.

The Mercedes drove partly in the big doorway. He got out and was met by Mike.

Well how’d she drive?

Real smooth, I like the car.

Good lets go back to the office and I’ll make you a real good deal. A price was agreed and the paperwork completed."

They walked over to the car. Marcus said that he’d move the Cadillac over to a parking spot. I’ll meet you back here.

Mike got into the Mercedes and started backing up. Police vehicles pulled up to the garage with emergency lights flashing. Several officers scattered with weapons drawn. Mike was helped out of the Mercedes and placed under arrest and told he was being charged with the possession of a stolen vehicle. He was shocked, claiming that he didn’t know it was stolen and that he just sold it to the man standing by a Cadillac.

Tony walked over to Mike, I’m sorry, but you sold me a stolen car. You shouldn’t have done that.

I don’t know nothing, you got nothing on me.

I have a search warrant and we will get to the bottom of this. You’re running a chop shop and you are busted.

I’m innocent!

You will have your day in court, take him away.

The detectives at the station had coffee and pastries ready for Tony when he returned to the squad room. Detective Karl Boyer, a ‘rookie’ had the table set up and congratulated him on the collar. Detective Lieutenant James Adams and Detective Sergeant Hank Young greeted Tony. Adams informed him that Chief of Police Gary Bidders an 11 year veteran Chief of Police was pleased about the chop shop case being solved. Even Mayor Staub issued a citation in the case.

This was his fifth citation as a detective for breaking a major case, not bad for a four year detective.

Young was offered a job in Baltimore with the police department. He was from there many years ago and this was an opportunity to return home. He was offered a lieutenant position and would make more money that here in Mount Olive. His time was limited and probably will be leaving in a couple of weeks. Bidders decided not to appoint a replacement for a while. Sergeant Adams would assist Captain Rich Henry by running the day to day activities once the lieutenant departs. Henry is a 25 year veteran of the MOPD.

The fire horn sounded and the party concluded, one of the detectives departed and went to the fire call. Tony closed the chop shop case file and stamped the word ‘CLOSED’ on the front of the file jacket. He knew that he’d still probably have to go to court, but that chances are the perp would take a plea agreement. At least the stack of cases went down by one. The majority of cases a detective works are minor things like following up on a domestic assault complaints, burglary, rape, missing persons, and an assortment of other crimes that sometimes uniform officers would pass on to the detectives.

His next file indicated that several bicycles have been stolen in the city. He leaned back in his chair, looked at the calendar and marked a big ‘C’ on today’s date, June 1st, the 14th anniversary at the PD.

I have a priority case for you Tony said Young. You might take Boyer and show him the ropes.

What is the case?

Bicycle theft.

You must be kidding.

Here is the order, open a file and get to work. I doubt that there is a citation in it for you, but maybe some brownie points with the mayor, and he giggled.

Thanks a lot friend. Hey Karl!

Yes sir.

I need your assistance on a caper that I’m assigning to you. Now you have a case.

A case of my own?

Yes, I’ll be here to assist you. I want you to do your best. It’s a first step into becoming a full fledged detective.

I’m ready Tony.

Sergeant Young had been standing nearby, listening. He looked at Tony and grinned, shook his head then walked away.

Working stolen bicycles isn’t a high priority case, but to the kids that have their bikes taken, it’s a serious matter. A friend of the mayor claimed his son’s bike was stolen and wanted the police to investigate the matter. The job funneled down to Sergeant Young. He wants the case solved as quickly as possible. I’m giving you a great opportunity.

Yes sir, I mean detective.

He looked over at the lieutenant’s office and saw Young talking with Adams. They both were looking toward Tony and Karl. He could see they were laughing. Tony covered his mouth slightly so that Karl wouldn’t see and shook his index finger toward the two. They were still laughing. ‘I’ll remember this you guys.’

Karl, have a seat.

Yes sir.

Please don’t call me Sir, you can call me Tony.

Yes Sir, I mean Tony. Where should I start with this caper?

"Well, in many cases the bikes are recovered only a few blocks away from the bike owner. Kids tend to leave their bikes lying around and another kid sees a bike and takes a ride, not with the intention of stealing it. Sometimes a kid will forget where he left a bike and it would be reported stolen.

"The only tracing system the PD has for tracking bikes is the city bike registration code. I’d guess that if there are five thousand bikes in town, chances are only ten per cent are recorded at the city hall. A kid taking a bike may not always know who the owner is and use the bike to get someplace and dump it.

Recovered bikes are taken to the police impound lot. I bet there are at least fifty bikes there right now and no one is claiming them. Sure a kid comes to the lot and looks over the bikes. Maybe he sees his, maybe not. If he claims one is his, chances are he won’t have any paperwork to prove it’s his. We usually have a parent come down and if it looks like the kids bike, we turn it over to them, however ask them register the bike before leaving with it. Then at least we have the registration number stamped on the bike and the original manufacturers VIN in file.

What happens if no one claims the bikes at the lot?

They are auctioned off every six months. The money goes to the junior high school marching band general fund.

What should I do first?

Here’s the new jacket with the original complaint. You might head over to the mayor’s office and ask what his friend’s name is so you can interview the man.

Me, talk to the mayor?

Sure kid, you might as well get your feet wet. Get the name from him and the complainants address and phone number. Go ahead, contact him and make an appointment so you can meet with him and his son. See who the boy’s friends are, where he goes. Dig as deep as you think necessary. You might check around the neighborhood; Include alleys and other people’s back yards. Don’t go into their yards without permission.

Do you want me to start right now?

Certainly. Oh one thing, be sure you check the car assigned to you for gas. Don’t want you to get stuck someplace.

I will Tony. Thank you for helping me.

You just might get one of those office parties if you crack this case.

Think so?

You never know keeping from an outburst. Go for it.

Tony walked over to Adam’s’ office. You guys must have sore stomachs from all the laughing you were doing.

We saw what you did to that rookie said Adams.

Hey, if Colombo does find the bike, we should have a party for him as Young chuckled.

Go ahead, have your fun guys and returned to his office.

There were enjoyable and exciting moments over the past 14 years and chances for more in the future. The comrade couldn’t be equaled. Sad times and sometimes boredom sneaked into the scene. Doing something for others meant so much to him. There was never any two days in law enforcement that were the same. These were some of the reasons he stayed with the department. He thought, ‘If I had stayed in the Navy I’d have 22 years. Too bad that I wasn’t able to have continued in the reserves, I’d have a retirement coming in. Oh well, it just didn’t work out.’

The public doesn’t realize how much paperwork a cops has to do. They are exposed to the movies and TV. Those cop shows rarely show a policeman doing paperwork. He didn’t mind this part of the job. The paperwork and the court preparation can be very time consuming and boring compared to actually being on the street with hands on a criminal case.

Over the years, he developed sympathy for the victims of crimes and a satisfaction of slapping the cuffs on bad guys. An old retired FBI agent once told him that justice is like a pendulum, it swings back and forth. Right now it’s swinging in favor of the criminal and it will be for some time. Maybe it is starting to reverse the swing. Victims have rights too. They don’t get to pick and choose the crime, but the criminals do. He believed that criminals have too may rights, brought on by too many lawyers.

He held his cup of coffee and looked at the Navy insignia embossed on the side of it. He kept this cup for many years, reminding him of his early Navy days when he was promoted to third class petty officer. He did make first class petty officer just before completing his eighth year and before leaving the Navy for law enforcement. Tony thought about the Navy and why he joined the police force.

The Navy came about after graduation from Mount Olive Senior High School. Tony was not one of those guys that finished with high grades. College was out of the question since he wasn’t offered any scholarships. His family worked hard just to make ends meet. His parents were divorced when he was 14, and he had lived with his mother until graduation. During the summers of high school, he worked for his dad, who still farmed in the western part of the state. He rode a tractor for many-a-mile during those hot summers, earning spending money and also helping his mom with some of her bills.

Tony had a girl friend in high school that he met during his junior year. They went steady the rest of the school year. Then came the busy summer of farming and he didn’t see her until the beginning of his senior year. They continued going steady until graduation. Tony had to help his dad again. He could hardy wait until fall came and he returned to Mount Olive to see his girl friend.

He wasn’t sure what kind of work he’d find after farming. He knew that during the winter there wouldn’t be enough work for him to work for his dad.

The summer came to an end and he decided to surprise his girl friend the day he returned to Mount Olive. He certainly surprised her when he came to the door of her house. He started to knock on the door, looking into the living room through the screen door. There was his girl friend in the arms of another fellow. His heart felt as if it were being torn from his chest. He decided to knock, thinking there might be a logical reason. The fellow could be a relative visiting. She came to the door.

Hi Tony, come on in with a smile on her face. Good to see you but I didn’t think you were coming home for several more days. She didn’t give him a hug that he was so looking forward to.

I thought I’d head home a few days early and stop by and see you. He looked at the guy standing beside her.

Tony, I’m sorry, I haven’t introduced my fiancée to you yet. She held the guys arm with a big smile on her face. This is Greg Saunders, and he’s in the Air Force. We met this summer and he asked me to marry him. Isn’t that just super?

Yeah, just super, I wish you both happiness, sorry to have barged in on you two.

No problem Tony, I meant to write you about him, but you know, things can get real hectic and, well I just let it slip. I figured I would tell you better when you got back then kissed the guys cheek and smiled again at Tony. We are going out for pizza, want to come?

No thanks. Tony walked away with sadness in his heart, Good bye and good luck thinking, ‘I hope you both fall flat on your faces.’

The next morning he drove to the USPO building where he had had always seen recruiting posters for years encouraging young people to join the military service. He thought, ‘If you can’t fight them, why not join them?’

He walked down the stairs and stopped. Looking down the long dimly lit corridor, he observed three doors that had small display signs above each door. He wasn’t interested in any particular service and was in a mood that he’d try every door until someone wanted him.

The first door displayed ‘US Army.’ The door was closed, no one there. He stopped at the second door, ‘US Air Force,’ the door was open but no one seated at a desk or in the room. He walked to the last door, ‘US Navy’ it was opened, and he looked in. There were two desks. The first desk had a desk sign ‘US Marines’ and a Marine was seated in the chair with an open newspaper covering his view of the door. A sailor seated at the far desk said, Can I help you?

The lad with a broken heart and no immediate future walked to the desk and was greeted by a petty officer. Tony noticed the bright red markings on the sailors sleeve and the colorful ribbons on his chest.

I’m Petty Officer first class Jake Murphy, welcome, won’t you have a seat?

Tony sat and listened to what the Navy recruiter had to say.

Yes, I’m interested said Tony.

All he had to do was take a short test designed to show that he could read and write English, and understand what the military service is about. He was asked if he had any history of arrests and if he used illegal drugs. After the interview the petty officer gave him a form to sign.

This form doesn’t mean you are in the Navy, only that you were provided with the basic entrance test and passed it. I’ll get things in motion and will call you in the next few days. You will be sent to Chicago for a physical examination and additional testing. Once you pass those things, you’ll be sworn in and be assigned a training school. You will become a member of a fine military service. Welcome to the United States Navy and he shook Tony’s hand.

It was as easy as that. Four days later he was called to the USPO. A Navy bus was parked by the curb. He saw about twenty young men standing around. Another uniformed petty officer directed all of the potential recruits into the bus. The ride was fairly lengthy. They arrived in Chicago about midnight and entered a guarded gate. Above the entry a sign, United States Naval Training Center—Great Lakes.

They were taken to a receiving barracks where they would spend the rest of the night. None had eaten so another petty officer brought a cart with baloney sandwiches, apples, oranges, and milk. He remembered that all the guys chatted way into the night.

The next morning they were taken to another barracks that had class rooms. They spent most of the day taking more written tests that he could recall of, even in high school. The following day medical personal examined every one. Late in the afternoon they were directed to a