Mystery on the Bayou

                                                                                       Chapter 6

                                                                               Going into hiding

     Sheriff Matthews questioned if Jessie and Esther would even recognize Ron the way he looked now, because the sheriff and Ron made a couple of stops before arriving at Jessie's houseboat.  A local barber shaved off Ron's beard and dyed his blond hair to jet black.  Next stop was to buy Ron brown contacts to cover his blue eyes.  These were all suggestions put forward by Sheriff Matthews, telling Ron, the harder he was to recognize, the safer he would be.  Also, they stopped at a shoe store and Ron bought a pair of moccasins.

     The reason that Esther had placed Ron at six foot four inches, that day on the bridge was because he wearing a boot with a two inch heel.  The sheriff figured if Ron wore a low shoe, that would cut his height down considerably.  The last stop the sheriff and Ron made was to the local Walmart store.  Ron almost always wore overhauls because they were so comfortable to wear when driving a semi.

     So he bought himself a new wardrobe.  He purchased several polo shirts in various colors, tee shirts and shorts to go with them, a few pair of jeans, three pairs of dress pants and other clothing items he needed.  Ron was nervous as the sheriff knocked on Jessie's door.  Essie came to answer it. 

     "Hey Sheriff Matthews," she said.  She eyed the other man, but she obviously didn't recognize Ron because she said,  "Who's this sheriff?"  The sheriff and Ron grinned at each other.  The sheriff's plan had obviously worked on Essie. "Where's Jessie?" Sheriff Matthews asked, ignoring her question for a moment.  "She's out in the garden," Essie said, still staring at Ron.

     "Will you go get her?" the sheriff asked her.  "Sure," Essie said, hurrying to the back door while looking back at Ron a few times.  "If you can fool Jessie, you can fool anyone,"  Frank told Ron, "That kid is going to be a detective someday.  Mark my words, Frank said,  "She has seen you only once on the bridge and she gave a perfect identification to Pete Starkey to do a drawing of you.  And even though she couldn't place you today, anyone could tell she knew she'd seen you before somewhere."

     Jessie and Esther came in the door one right after another.  Jessie stopped short in the kitchen when she saw the man with Frank and said, "That is a remarkable transformation Mr. Current.  If I didn't know who you were, I wouldn't know who you were."  Everyone laughed except Essie who gave grandma a confused look.

     "Essie.  This is Mr. Ronald Current," the sheriff told her.  "Nice to meet you Mr. Current," Esther said, extending her hand, which Ron shook enthusiastically.  "Can we all sit down somewhere?"  Sheriff Matthews asked Jessie.  "Sure, come into the kitchen.  I have a fresh pot of coffee and some Chocolate Chip cookies." So they all went to the table.

     "I'd like to tell you something Essie," Sheriff Matthews told her.  "Okay," Esther said.  So the sheriff told her Ron's story.  When he was done, Essie's eyes were wide and for a few moments she said nothing.  When she did speak, she started with, "I'm so sorry about your brother.  That's just awful.  And I'm really sorry I gave your description to Pete Starkey and put you in jail."

     Ron chuckled and said, "If I hadn't been arrested, who knows when I would've found out what happened to my brother.  So don't feel bad about what you did."  Essie smiled at him and said,  "I'm glad you're not the bad guy."  Ron laughed.  "I'm glad I'm not either," he said, dunking his cookie in his coffee.