Free The Crossing by Gerald W. Darnell

Avenue.   Hicks Williams’ Bicycle and Repair Shop and Mays’ Furniture are on the previous block, just up Mitchell Street, and Timbs Jackson’s American Oil service station (known as Jesse’s) is right next door.   During the Crossing’s busy season, it is almost impossible to get in the place, and it generally stayed full from opening to closing.   However, Bea’s Place does have an interesting tradition, carried over from a previous owner – one customer, one order!   Meaning, that you only got one chance to order food – no second orders for desert or anything else.   If you wanted something else, you had to pay your check, leave the restaurant and then come back in and reorder!   You were permitted to order additional rounds of beer, but no food.   That was okay for the locals, because they understood the rules; however, new customers usually found it very confusing.
    Bea’s Place was small and, of course, had limited seating.   A bar runs the full length of the restaurant and only a few tables are offered; fortunately, it wasn’t too crowded today.   Leroy had already parked his cruiser between the tracks and the restaurant and I found the Ford a spot next to him.   Leroy was sitting at the end of the bar talking to Bea and waved us over when he saw us walk in.   He had saved Joe and me a couple of barstools, and we quickly made our way through the crowd and sat down.   While Joe and Leroy exchanged greetings, I ordered all of us a cheeseburger and a beer.
    I spent the next few minutes briefing Leroy on my conversations and activities since we had last talked.   That included my meeting with Colleen, my talk with Judge Graves and my recent meeting with Henry Walker.   He listened without questions and quietly sipped his beer while staring off into space.
    “Well?” I asked when I finished.
    “ ‘Nazarene Baptist Church’ , huh?” Leroy finally said. “I was just over at Henry and Yarnell’s house with a search warrant, and it seems they’ve got another crew staying there too!”
    “You’re kidding?” I said.
    “No, I am not kidding and they are rooming all over town.   What you saw at City Hall and in front of my office was just a drop in the bucket, they’ve got a couple hundred people in town already and more on the way, I assume.”
    “What are you going to do?” I asked.
    “Nothing, like I told you yesterday.   As long as they behave themselves, there is nothing I can do.   Besides, Judge Graves has issued orders to leave them alone, and I think that is a good idea.”
    “Perhaps,” I added. “What did you find out about the knife?   Did it come from Henry’s house?”
    “Yep, it’s a missing knife from a matched set they have at the house.   But, that just makes this whole thing more confusing.” Leroy was shaking his head.
    “What do you mean,” Joe asked.
    “According to the coroner, Dr. Barker, the girl died by strangulation and then was stabbed sometime later!”
    “You mean…”I stuttered.
    “Yep, I do mean.   This girl was probably killed somewhere else and then dumped where her body was found.   The stabbing could have happened anywhere.   Dr. Barker said the blood on the shirt was definitely hers, but drained on the shirt after death – not while her heart was still beating.”
    “So, what’s next?” I was confused. “Do you have prints from the knife?   Was she sexually assaulted?
    “Those results aren’t available yet, but the DA will order a preliminary hearing and an arraignment to bind Henry Walker over for trial.   He’s the number one suspect, and I expect that to happen at any time,” Leroy sounded frustrated.
    “Leroy, other than Henry’s shirt, what other kind of identification did the girl have with her?   I mean, how did you identify the body as being Tammy Whitmore Blurton?” I asked.
    “My office logged a call on Monday from Thomas Whitmore, reporting his daughter as missing.   He reported her as missing because she