The Phantom Killer: Unlocking the Mystery of the Texarkana Serial Murders: The Story of a Town in Terror by James Presley

four girls in the band. Although the atmosphere at times was rowdy, as customers avidly consumed beer, parental ground rules and Atkins’s guidelines made it safe for the girls. Atkins andErnest Holcomb, the first saxophonist, alternated in escorting the girls home, with emphasis on their arriving soon after closing time.
    Because it wasn’t his night to collect the girls, Atkins and his fifteen-year-old drummer, Bailor Willson “Sonny” Atchley, arrived early at the VFW Club to set up the music stands and check out the equipment. Modeled to some extent on Duke Ellington’s orchestra with prominent saxophone sounds, the Rhythmaires aimed at echoing the big band sound. With the talented Sophie Anne White joining them with her trumpet, it was a special occasion. Cora Ann Hunt, as usual, accompanied the band on the piano, and Betty Jo on the alto saxophone, Betty Ann Roberts also on the trumpet, with Haskell Walker playing the tenor saxophone, and Sonny Atchley, drums. Most were seniors poised to graduate. Betty Jo and Sonny Atchley had another year of school ahead.
    The band began at nine o’clock. The musicians played, the customers drank beer and danced, and never the twain did meet, as if an invisible but impenetrable barrier separated them. Usually the evenings passed without incident; this one was no exception. They played for four hours, with breaks, and nothing much happened.
    They played their usual repertoire of melodies, strongly influenced by Glenn Miller’s band, featuring such tunes as the standby “Tuxedo Junction,” as well as “Along the Santa Fe Train,” “At Last,” and “String of Pearls,” blending nostalgic wartime songs with current popular ones.
    Soon after one o’clock the band wound up its gig with the last melody, “Good Night, Sweetheart,” followed by the lights-out signal, “Show Me the Way to Go Home.” It was well after one o’clock. The musicians began putting away their sheet music and instruments. Getting paid took longer; Atkins had to find the manager and extract the money due the musicians. When Atkins got the money, it was already divided out, cash on the spot; he only had to hand over each one’s share. He and Atchley put their instruments in Atkins’s car and drove off. It was just another “normal” Saturday night: no beer bottles thrown, the usual wait for the money. Atkins was unaware that Paul Martin had waited outside for Betty Jo. He had assumed Holcomb would take her home.
    Atchley was spending the night at Atkins’s parents’ house. The youths drove to the all-night Goodwin’s Cafe to eat breakfast and unwind. AtGoodwin’s they talked about the night’s work. They were teenagers in a town that never closed, but all-night restaurants were safe, the lights bright and the establishments respectable. They picked up a Sunday paper, browsed through it, and headed to Atkins’s home at 2617 North State Line, on the Texas side. Although they’d never paid any attention to it, the house was a half dozen blocks from the room Jimmy Hollis had shared with his brother on the Arkansas side at 3502 State Line, and slightly over a dozen blocks from where Polly Ann Moore had roomed with her older cousin. More than anything else, the proximity of the addresses reflected the city’s small size.
    Tired from the evening’s work, their stomachs filled, pleasantly exhausted, Atkins and Atchley turned in around four o’clock. It was Sunday. They could sleep as long as they wished.
    Just as Betty Jo had adjusted her plans to accommodate Paul’s arrival, his double-dating plans had to be scrapped. Early in the evening a group of friends that included Martin, his buddy Tom Albritton, and Tom’s date Ramona Putman went to a movie, then ate a snack at a café. Later they intended to make the midnight movie at the Paramount. Paul left the group to pick up Betty Jo, not realizing she wouldn’t be able to take off early from her VFW gig. Ramona, knowing her mother didn’t