"The Ordnance Special," by James D. Crabtree, in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, September/October 2026.
There are war crimes and then there are crimes that take place during wars. I have read a lot of short stories set involving soldiers during wars (and many more about home fronts or veterans). As near as I can tell the only soldier stories that have made this list are one from World War I, two from World War II, and one from Viet Nam. Oh, and if you consider the Bleeding Kansas era as a war, we can add one more.
And today we add a story from the Civil War.
James Merrick is a major in the provost corps of the Confederate Army, meaning he is a military policeman. In this case he has to solve a murder that took place in a town many miles away.
Oh, and he has exactly a half hour to find the killer. So, no pressure.
The killer is one of the officers arriving on the Ordnance Special, a train stuffed to the gills with weapons for the front. It cannot be long delayed for something as insignificant as the murder of one civilian, not when there are thousands of soldiers to be killed.
A nice reflection on death during war time, with a satisfactory solution.
I'm going to do something I seldom do. I want to point out the next story in the magazine: "Look Back With Kindly Eyes," by Dan Crawford. It's not a crime story so I won't review it here, but anyone who can make a a fantasy story at flash length both funny and thought-provoking deserves a mention.
