The right to sing the blues

by John Lutz

New Orleans is off Alo Nudger's beaten path; the St. Louis private detective likes the comforts of home. But he also loves jazz, and when he's given a round-trip ticket to the Crescent City by legendary clarinetist Fat Jack McGee, who needs to talk to him, Nudger is willing to take a flyer. Fat Jack has a problem, maybe two: A singer named Ineida, whose father is a very important man in New Orleans, and a pianist named Hollister. Hollister plays the blues just fine, but there's something about him that disturbs Fat Jack. In fact, now that Hollister and the girl are an item, Fat Jack's scared. It doesn't take long before Nudger is, too....