And a message from county leadership introducing the man who would take command of the Ashfield County Police Department.
He hadn't expected to meet that man on an isolated road at sunset.
Certainly not with his face pressed into a puddle.
But now he recognized the closely shaved head.
The unmistakable facial features.
The calm, controlled voice.
And the small silver watch visible beneath the mud on the man's wrist.
The younger officer stopped breathing for a moment.
Then he rushed forward.
"SERGEANT! GET OFF HIM!"
The older officer glared.
"What the hell is wrong with you?"
The younger man's voice cracked.
"That's our new police commissioner!"
For one extraordinary second, everything seemed to stop.
The sergeant's hand remained against the man's back.
The patrol lights continued flashing.
A gust of wind moved through the bare tree branches.
And the muddy water settled around the man's face.
The sergeant stared at his partner.
Then looked down.
Then back at the younger officer.
"What?"
The younger man swallowed.
"He's the commissioner. He was sworn in this morning."
The sergeant slowly removed his hand.
His expression changed.
First confusion.
Then disbelief.
Then fear.
The man in the mud raised himself carefully onto one elbow.
Brown water dripped from his chin.
His slate-gray polo clung to his shoulder.
He looked up at the sergeant without speaking.
The older officer stepped backward.
"Commissioner?"
The man took a slow breath.
"Yes."
The sergeant's face lost its color.
"Sir, I didn't—"
The commissioner raised one hand.
"Don't."
The single word silenced him.
For a moment, the commissioner remained on one knee, gathering himself.
His left shoulder hurt.
His wrist was sore.
And his heart was pounding harder than he wanted to admit.
But his expression stayed controlled.
The younger officer reached toward him.
"Sir, let me help you."
The commissioner accepted the offered hand and stood.
Mud ran down the front of his trousers.
A leaf clung to his shirt.
His cheek was streaked with dirty water.
He looked nothing like the man whose photograph had appeared in the department's morning announcement.
But he was that man.
The newly appointed police commissioner responsible for overseeing the very department whose sergeant had just forced him into the roadside mud.
The sergeant swallowed.
"Commissioner, I had no idea who you were."
The commissioner studied him.
Then said quietly, "I know."
The older officer seemed relieved.
Until the commissioner continued.
"That's the part I'm most concerned about."