town it served. It was always spotless and well managed. One of the primary reasons for its excellent reputation was the lady stationed at the front desk, who greeted citizens when they entered the facility. She took all the incoming calls from residents and routed any visitors to the station to the proper area, or personally handled their problems. Her name was Tammy Terrell.
Officer Tammy Terrell was a ten-year veteran of the department. She was pleased that her town was considered a “sleepy town” with little crime. There had been one robbery in 1999 and one assault in 2003, nothing but shop-lifting and traffic violations since then.
On the day that the record string of tornados struck Lookout Mountain, a man named Ben Harris was reported missing and a girl had been found, raped and murdered. Tammy was trying to figure out if there was any connection between Harris and the dead girl when the phone rang,
“This is Officer Terrell, how can I help you?” she said.
“Tammy this is Chief Henry. We’ve got another development on Lookout Mountain. An abandoned car belonging to a woman named Leah Hamilton was located. She’s nowhere to be found.”
“Chief, that lady called me twice inquiring about Mr. Harris. She was very upset about his disappearance. I think they were to be married soon.”
“That’s too much of a coincidence to be overlooked,” the Chief replied.” “We had better reconsider our options in this case.”
Tammy’sintuition warned her that her sleepy little town was about to lose its nickname.
With the additional problem of the missing Leah Hamilton, Tammy immediately began working with the Chief of Police, Joe Henry, to organize a search party to inspect Lookout Mountain again. The first search party charged with looking for Ben Harris and to gather evidence about the murdered girl, had produced no clues. The Chief had agreed to allow her to accompany the group on this second search, even thought she normally just manned the phones and the reception desk. Her apprehension about the entire situation heightened when the Chief informed her that a detective from the Chicago police department was on his way to Tomahawk to assist in the case. She was told that the missing Ben Harris was a former Assistant Chief of the Houston police department, who had also been on special assignment in Chicago, before he abruptly resigned from his position. No further explanation was offered. Neither the Chief nor Tammy wanted outside interference in their territory, but it couldn’t be helped.
Rex Herns arrived in Tomahawk at about 2:00 p.m. He met Officer Terrell as he entered the station.
“My name is Assistant Chief Herns from Chicago,” he said. “Please ask Chief Henry if I can meet with him immediately.”
“I’m Officer Tyrell,” she replied. “Just a moment I’ll check with the Chief.”
Tammy walked to the Chief’s office and accompanied him back to the reception area.
“I’m Joe Henry,” the Chief said extended his hand to Herns.
“Nice to meet you, Chief. I need to talk to you in private concerning the Harris disappearance.”
“Certainly,” the Chief replied. “If you don’t mind I want Officer Tyrell to sit in on the meeting. She’s been assigned to this case.”
The three of them went to the Chief’s office.
Herns started the conversation, “One of my responsibilities is investigating Mexican drug cartels. Ben Harris and I were working together in an ongoing investigation of the connection between two cartels located in Houston and Chicago. Harris unexpectedly resigned for “personal reasons” and moved to Green Bay with his fiancée Leah Hamilton. To be honest we’re suspicious of this sudden departure. It may be connected to the investigations. We don’t know. I’m personally involved in this because he’s is an ex-cop and because of the drug connection. I would appreciate it if I would work with you on this.”
The Chief looked at Tammy and then
Officer Tammy Terrell was a ten-year veteran of the department. She was pleased that her town was considered a “sleepy town” with little crime. There had been one robbery in 1999 and one assault in 2003, nothing but shop-lifting and traffic violations since then.
On the day that the record string of tornados struck Lookout Mountain, a man named Ben Harris was reported missing and a girl had been found, raped and murdered. Tammy was trying to figure out if there was any connection between Harris and the dead girl when the phone rang,
“This is Officer Terrell, how can I help you?” she said.
“Tammy this is Chief Henry. We’ve got another development on Lookout Mountain. An abandoned car belonging to a woman named Leah Hamilton was located. She’s nowhere to be found.”
“Chief, that lady called me twice inquiring about Mr. Harris. She was very upset about his disappearance. I think they were to be married soon.”
“That’s too much of a coincidence to be overlooked,” the Chief replied.” “We had better reconsider our options in this case.”
Tammy’sintuition warned her that her sleepy little town was about to lose its nickname.
With the additional problem of the missing Leah Hamilton, Tammy immediately began working with the Chief of Police, Joe Henry, to organize a search party to inspect Lookout Mountain again. The first search party charged with looking for Ben Harris and to gather evidence about the murdered girl, had produced no clues. The Chief had agreed to allow her to accompany the group on this second search, even thought she normally just manned the phones and the reception desk. Her apprehension about the entire situation heightened when the Chief informed her that a detective from the Chicago police department was on his way to Tomahawk to assist in the case. She was told that the missing Ben Harris was a former Assistant Chief of the Houston police department, who had also been on special assignment in Chicago, before he abruptly resigned from his position. No further explanation was offered. Neither the Chief nor Tammy wanted outside interference in their territory, but it couldn’t be helped.
Rex Herns arrived in Tomahawk at about 2:00 p.m. He met Officer Terrell as he entered the station.
“My name is Assistant Chief Herns from Chicago,” he said. “Please ask Chief Henry if I can meet with him immediately.”
“I’m Officer Tyrell,” she replied. “Just a moment I’ll check with the Chief.”
Tammy walked to the Chief’s office and accompanied him back to the reception area.
“I’m Joe Henry,” the Chief said extended his hand to Herns.
“Nice to meet you, Chief. I need to talk to you in private concerning the Harris disappearance.”
“Certainly,” the Chief replied. “If you don’t mind I want Officer Tyrell to sit in on the meeting. She’s been assigned to this case.”
The three of them went to the Chief’s office.
Herns started the conversation, “One of my responsibilities is investigating Mexican drug cartels. Ben Harris and I were working together in an ongoing investigation of the connection between two cartels located in Houston and Chicago. Harris unexpectedly resigned for “personal reasons” and moved to Green Bay with his fiancée Leah Hamilton. To be honest we’re suspicious of this sudden departure. It may be connected to the investigations. We don’t know. I’m personally involved in this because he’s is an ex-cop and because of the drug connection. I would appreciate it if I would work with you on this.”
The Chief looked at Tammy and then
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