Mystery on the Bayou

                                                                                        Chapter 18

                                                                                  A Family Surprise

     There were a slew of Sheriff's Departments from New York City to the small town of Breaux Bridge looking for Carl Masters, and anyone he was associated with.  The F.B.I. was also on the hunt for the fugitive.  Sheriff Frank Mathews met with an agent of the Bureau the day after Ron and Grace's wedding.

     The two men talked about ways and means of capturing Carl Masters while drinking cup after cup of coffee and eating donuts.  Before the agent left he handed the sheriff a great number of flyers with Carl Masters' Face upon them, and the reward the F.B.I. was offering if anyone came in with information that would lead to Carl Masters' arrest.

     Frank Mathews and Essie passed the flyers out around town and hung others in store windows and restaurants.  "All I can say," Esther started when they were through, "is that Mr. Masters would have to be in a really good disguise for people around here, not to know who he is."  Frank grinned at her and said, "You are right about that Essie."   No one could walk two feet in any direction without seeing Carl Masters' face.

     The weeks marched on and suddenly Christmas was upon the citizens of Breaux Bridge.  Ron and Grace were having a Christmas party at the house, starting with six o'clock dinner with all the trimmings.  Ron's mother had come to visit for a week and was there also.  And she and Jessie were helping Grace prepare the meal.  Earlier in the day Ron and Grant took some of the neighborhood kids, to the Main Street Park where Grace's church members were taking part in a live nativity scene.

     The park had been transformed into a depiction of the town of Bethlehem.   The actor members of the church dressed themselves in appropriate garb and sets were built to take the viewers back to Biblical times.  Every several yards an actor would tell part of the nativity story.  After the tour through the park, Grant and Ron took their charges to get ice cream cones at the local ice cream parlor.

     Later on Ron and Grant took Esther to get an artificial Christmas tree from the only Walmart in town.  Jessie had to throw the old one out a year ago.  Essie pick out a tall Blue Spruce.  Then she, Ron and Grant took the tree home to decorate it.  The three of them were done around Five o'clock when Floyd Bloom and Doogie Strum walked in.  They had been invited to dinner along with Pete Starkey the artist in town.

     Everyone greeted the newcomers and then talked a while until Jessie called them all to dinner.  During dinner conversation Ron and Grace had an announcement.  Grace nodded at Ron to give their friends the news.  Essie was suddenly smiling ear to ear.  And by the elated look on her freckled face, she knew what the news was.

     "Well, Grace and I have decided to adopt a child from our local agency here in Breaux Bridge."  Everyone in the room wore a stunned look as they gazed at the couple.  The Ron and Grace laughed and then she said, "We decided that it would nice if Essie had a sibling to grow up with so we wanted a child of her age."

     "We put our paper work in a couple months ago and were just contacted this week.  We have met the child, a girl, 13 years old whose name is Olivia...." "And she is so cool," Esther broke in.  Everyone laughed.  "You didn't even tell your mother about this," Ron's mother complained.  But she had a smile on her face when she said it.

     "So when do we get to meet her?"  Jessie asked.  "The lady at the agency should be bringing Olivia around anytime now," Ron told her.  "Do your parents know about this?"  Ron's mother asked Grace.  "I called them this morning.  They couldn't be here because Dad had to have a procedure and couldn't travel right now.  Mom tells me he will be fine," she added quickly before anyone could ask.