Thursday, May 21, 2009

Car 54 Where Are You



State, county and city law enforcement often work together on cases. There are times when it is necessary to bring all these forces together in order to get the job done. The state of Texas is large with its counties often covering several hundred square miles. The men and now women of law enforcement often spend their entire lifetime protecting and serving that particular area. That was true of two men that Trooper Bob met early in his career.

It is often said that men who work closely together over long periods of time under duress often begin to think as one. They will move in unison and complete each others thoughts. Trooper Bob witnessed just such a phenomena.

Trooper Bob was still pretty new to the area. It was just before noon and the sun was shinning bright. There was a nip in the early January air. Trooper Bob was parked along side Highway 169 waiting for an errant driver to come speeding past. It had been a particularly slow morning with nothing much to keep him from falling asleep except the police radio chatter. He could hear all units including the two local sheriff deputies when they called in location or for traffic stops. The local deputies were two long time lawmen who had worked together for quite some years.
Harold and Elmer were like carrots and peas. They went everywhere together; they spoke a like and even looked a like. You could find them at the local diner every morning whether they were on duty catching up from the 8 hours they were separated. They were of one mind you might say.

Trooper Bob heard the crackle of the radio ever hopeful that there might actually be some excitement. He sat up turned the volume up and got ready to take down any call that might be coming through. “Quichshshshs…Harold where you at” Bob heard Elmer ask. “I’m over here” Harold replied. Quichshss, crackle “alright, I’ll be right there.” Trooper Bob adjusted the radio and listened. Wait! What? He must have missed part of the transmission. Harold never gave Elmer his 10-20, or better known as his location. All he said was “I’m over here”. Bob was confused. Where was Harold? How did Elmer know where over here was. Trooper Bob was convinced he must have missed part of the transmission and settled back down into his seat. He made a mental note to ask Homer his new partner about it.

Several days later once again sitting waiting for something to happen he heard the call come through again “Where you at” Bob heard Harold ask Elmer. Bob turned the radio up and listened intently to hear every word. “I’m over here” was Elmer’s reply. “10-4 I’ll meet you there” Harold responded. Trooper Bob sat looking at the radio. He had not missed it this time. He had heard the whole transmission. There was no mistaking it; Elmer had not given Harold a location. Yet, he knew exactly where to go. Trooper Bob was determined to get to the bottom of this mystery.
“Homer” Bob inquired of his mentor, “how do they know where they are? I mean they don’t give locations they just say I’m here. Then the other one acts like he knows where he is. How the hell do they do that?” Homer smiled at his prodigy and slowly removed the toothpick from his mouth “well, I suppose they just know. Them boys has been patrolling together for now on 20 years. They just know if the other one idn’t where he is then he is where the other one would be.” Trooper Bob looked at Homer and still didn’t comprehend. He knew that women sometimes got those inner feelings like his wife would get. He had learned not to question those but to just follow them. He thought on that for a minute and decided that must be how it was with these two fellows. They had some of that women’s intuition. “Homer” Bob started “you ever been close enough to another man to know what he’s thinking?” Homer sat and studied his thumbnail a minute then he looked up at his prodigy and said “Nope, can’t say as I has. I’ll tell you something though. If I was ever in a fox hole with the enemy shootin at me I would want someone to be able to read my thoughts. That way we could both get the hell out of there. Two heads is better than one.”

Trooper Bob thought on that for a long time. He wondered about Elmer and Harold’s past pursuits and their accomplishments. He thought about what Homer told him. Then Trooper Bob came to the conclusion that Homer was right. If Elmer ever got in a tight spot with a criminal Harold would know just where to find him.

So where you at Trooper Bob? I’ll be right there.

2 comments:

Bob said...

You keep Officer Bob covered, hear?

By the way, Toody and Muldoon were an awesome team.

The Texas Woman said...

Boy, that wouldn't work with you, Gladys. You're NEVER in the same place twice it seems!

The Texas Woman