Free The Crossing by Gerald W. Darnell Page A

always spent Mondays with him; it was his day off, as well as Tammy’s. That call came in about 10 AM, and we made the usual calls and inquiries.   Oddly, her husband, Sonny said she was working and indicated he had already told her father that before he called us.   However, the father didn’t believe him and still made the missing persons report.   Anyway, when we called her work, ‘Skeeters’ in Jackson, they said she was not at work and was not scheduled to work that day.”
    “Strange that her husband would be so ‘misinformed’ about the whereabouts of his wife, don’t you think?” I asked.
    “Very strange, but that was his story, and still is.   If I didn’t have all the evidence against Henry, Sonny would be high on my suspect list, but the spouse always is.     Anyway, Tammy is married and over twenty-one, and with just her father making that report, there wasn’t much else we could do.   However, when Jack Cooley was dumping the trash, after ‘Blue’s Pool Room’ closed on Monday night, he found the body out behind the dumpsters.   He called our office sometime after 2:30 AM and Jeff immediately responded.   It was after 3AM before I got to the scene, and already daylight before we got the body removed.”
    “You still haven’t answered my question, what kind of identification did she have with her?   How did you identify the body as being Tammy Whitmore Blurton?” I asked again.
    “Patience, Carson, I’m getting there,” Leroy said, as he paused to take a sip of beer. “Other than Henry Walker’s shirt and the underwear tied around her neck, she had no other personal effects.   No shoes, no purse, no jewelry, no nothing.   We searched all the trash and the surrounding areas, but still came up with nothing that would help to identify the body.   Now, I knew Tammy Blurton had been reported missing, but I didn’t know what Tammy Blurton looked like, and I wasn’t going to make any conclusions until I had some facts.     At some point, while we were working the crime scene, Officer Carl Menard appeared as the representative liaison for the Humboldt City Police, and he made tentative identification, saying he knew Tammy Blurton and recognized the body as being hers.”
    “Him again!” I exclaimed.
    “Yep, him again.   And that’s when we discussed the address and phone number found in the shirt pocket, and he told me about seeing Henry Walker in the area the night before,” Leroy offered.
    “Interesting,” I said to myself.
    “But, before I had a chance to call Thomas Whitmore, he had already called my office and was told the body of a young woman had been discovered.   He finally made the positive identification at the hospital later that morning.   Based upon the evidence I had, I went to Humboldt Canning and arrested Henry Walker, and that was just before noon on Tuesday.”
    “Interesting,” I said again.
    “You’ve already said that,” Leroy scolded.
    “I know, but it is interesting.   Did Officer Carl Menard say why or how he knew Tammy Blurton?” I asked.
    “No, and I didn’t ask him.   Why should I?   We’re supposed to know our citizens and the fact that he knew her means nothing – so don’t go there either!” Leroy cautioned. “Besides, there’s not that much difference in their ages; and they both went to school in Humboldt.   In case you have forgotten, this is still a small town, Carson!”
    “I know, but if we don’t throw some water on the fires building around here, this town might grow up in a hurry!” I cautioned.    
    “Well put, Carson Reno, well put,” Leroy said nodding his head.
    “Well, Jack is going to prevent Henry’s transfer to the city jail, at least until tomorrow.   So, I suspect nothing is going to happen before Monday – maybe,” I added.
    “Maybe,” Leroy replied. “And maybe none of this other stuff will get out of control, and maybe nobody starts a fight, and maybe nobody says the wrong thing to the