Mystery on the Bayou

                                                                                        Chapter 7

                                                                          News, Clues and Alibis                                                                                          

     "You haven't told us the guy's name yet!"  Essie said loudly.  "Oh yeah," Ron Chuckled, "C.M. stands for, Carl Masters.  And he's the owner of the gambling house in New Orleans where my brother spent his weekends," Ron finished.  "Can we get a hold of the sheriff and give him this information?"  Esther asked hopefully.

     "We can get a hold of Deputy Clark Cruise and see if he can get a hold of Frank.   He may be in New Orleans by now," Jessie said.  So she got on her cell and called the Sheriff's Office.  Clark answered the phone.  "Hey Miss Jessie.  How are you?"  "I just wondered if Frank was there?"  "No.  Sorry.  He just left."  "How long ago?"  Jessie asked him.  "Well, about ten minutes.  He's on his way to New Orleans."

     "Well Essie remembered some important information that could aid Frank in his questioning of the folks in that gambling house.  Can you get a hold of him by radio and give him the info?"  "Sure.  Give it to me."  So Jessie did.  "Thanks Jessie.  Thank Essie and Ron for me too." Clark said.  "Sure will Clark.  And thank you," Jessie said, ringing off.

     "Clark is gonna radio Frank and give him the info," Jessie told her two eager faced friends.  "So now we wait," Essie said, making a grumpy face.  "I'll tell you what," Jessie said, "Let's play scrabble."  Essie looked at Ron and he grinned.  "Why not Essie.  It's better than watching the grass grow."  Essie laughed and said, "Sure, why not?"

     It was  eleven o'clock in the morning when Jessie, Ron and Essie started playing their game.  They took a break for lunch which they ate from a table on the porch, because their game was still laid out on the dinning room table.  Deputy Mike Snow was making his rounds around town about that time and his most important house to check on was Jessie's houseboat. 

     He slowed down when he came by and Jessie, Ron and Essie waved at him.  Jessie hollered, "You want take a few minutes and have a turkey sandwich?"  "Thanks Jessie," Mike hollered back, "but I've got more rounds to make.  See you all later!" He said, turning his car around on the dead end road and going back the way he came.

     After lunch Jessie, Esther and Ron went back inside and continued their game.  They played Scrabble until Essie's mom Grace came to get her.  Jessie introduced her to Ron.  "Pleased to meet you," Ron told her, holding out his hand.  Grace shook his hand and gave him a smile.  Then she looked down at the scrabble board.

     "I see y'all have been keeping yourselves busy."  "We're trying," Essie said, rather grumpily.  Grace laughed and said, "What's with her?"  "Oh, between the three of us we came up with some more evidence relating to Ron's brother's murder," Jessie told her, "And...."  Essie interrupted her,  "the sheriff's out of town.  Grandma called and asked Deputy Clark to radio him and give him the info.  But now we have to wait until he gets back, or til tomorrow morning," she said in frustration, "to find out what he found out."

     Grace rolled her eyes and shook her head.  "You'll live Essie, I promise," her mother said. "I Told her she aught to consider a career in detective work," Ron said, "She's really good at figuring out clues and stalking bad guys," he told Grace.  "And I told Ron I might just do that," Essie said.  "I've always told you, you could do anything you set your mind to," Grace praised her daughter.