Chapter 25:
As Luke drove the General Lee into town, Bo's eyes fell on the overabundance of police cars over at the clinic where his wife should be at. He also saw the yellow crime scene tape blocking the entrance to the building.
"Luke."
"I see it." Luke didn't like what he saw either. Reluctantly, he turned the car toward the courthouse. It was probably one of the hardest things that he'd ever done since every fiber in his being wanted to run in and find out what had happened to cause such a display of police force or to create the crowd that was watching on from the sidewalk.
"Where are you goin'? We've got to get to the clinic."
"Jo said that Enos told her to have all of us meet him over at the courthouse. The faster we get there the faster we'll find out what's going on."
Up ahead, he saw his uncle and Daisy climbing out of her Jeep as Jebb pulled up in the Stonewall Jackson in front of the courthouse. Doc Appleby's old car was already parked out front as well. Once the General was stopped, both of the Dukes climbed out and Luke was able to steer Bo reluctantly into the courthouse where the rest of the family minus Kim, Darcy, and Kira were waiting for them. No one inside knew just what was going on but all of them felt a tension that couldn't be ignored. Once Enos walked into the main office area of the courthouse where the Dukes were all waiting, the family descended on him like locust on grain.
"Hold on. I know that all of you are worried and wondering what is going on. First, I hate to be the one to tell you this but last night, Ted Wright escaped from prison. He attacked one of the guards and left his body in his bunk. The rest of the corrections officers didn't even notice until this morning."
"Kim." He'd seen all of the cops over at the clinic. The yellow crime scene tape. The crowd that had gathered outside. Bo worked his jaw before he forced himself to ask the deputy, "Is she...? Did he kill her?"
Irving brought a hand to his chest as he thought about the woman whom he'd raised from a little girl. If she was dead at the hands of Ted he didn't know how he'd be able to live with himself. Up until a year ago he'd always liked him and had done his best to encourage her to return to her ex-husband before he learned just what kind of monster he really was. He might not have known a couple of years ago just what the man who had once been family was capable of but he does now. He'd seen firsthand what Ted could do when angry enough. First when he'd found Kimberly in Hazzard and had given her a beating like nothing that Irving could have ever imagined and then when he'd returned after jumping bail with the intent to kill Kimberly. He'd almost succeeded too. He'd stabbed Kimberly and left her for dead; it had only been by God's grace that she hadn't died that day. Now the man was back and Irving shuddered to think what he was doing to his niece.
"No. At least, we don't think so," Enos said without adding, Not yet, at least.
"He came back for Kim, didn't he? He took her." Bo could feel his blood run ice cold as he thought about his wife in the cruel hands of her ex-husband.
Enos nodded with a serious and somber look on his face. "The best we can figure, he showed up at the clinic sometime between twelve-thirty and one. That was when Sue was out on her lunch break. With Ted being an escaped convict and all, the State will be taking over the investigation and the search from here which means I'm goin' to have to ask ya'll to let them handle it and-"
"I'm not just goin' to sit around here and not do anything while that bastard has Kim!" Bo was already on his feet ready to head out to the General to start his searching for his wife as he spoke. It didn't matter that he had no idea where to start.
Around the room, the other men looked equally concerned for their missing female kin. Each of them remembered all too well what happened the last time that Ted had come to town. That time he'd left her for dead and she'd nearly been exactly that when the family found her after he left her broken and bleeding on the living room floor of the old farmhouse.
"I know that you want to find her, Bo. But at this point we have no idea if he is even still in the area. He could be halfway to the state-line by now. Not to mention, we have no leads to indicate what kind of car he might be driving, where he might be heading, or if he has plans for Kim."
"Which means that the police won't be doing anything that I can't do myself!" Bo started toward the door with Luke close behind since he wasn't going to let his cousin go off looking for the unstable man alone as Enos called toward the men once again.
"There is one more thing that I need to tell you."
This time, he reluctantly looked toward Daisy. He really didn't want to be the one to tell her what he was about to. The thought of taking away her happiness like this broke his heart. Still, he figured it was better to hear it from a friend than from one of the other officers who wouldn't be nearly as gentle as he knew she deserved. Enos pulled a chair over and sat it across from Daisy as she sat in one of the chairs in the gallery. He felt his stomach knot up and he began to look from her to the other members of the family before he finally spoke up.
"When Ted came for Miss Kim, she... Well, she wasn't alone."
"Okay. So what does that mean? Who was with her?" Daisy eyed Enos suspiciously since he was behaving very oddly.
Enos closed his eyes as he tried to call enough courage to answer her question. Opening them back up, he reached forward and took one of Daisy's hands in each of his and took a deep breath. "It seems that Darcy had stopped off at the clinic for some reason and was there."
"Darcy? Why would he be there? Wait a minute, was he hurt? Is that it? Then what are we waiting around for? I've got to get to the hospital and-" Daisy stood and moved to head toward the door only to realize that Enos had yet to release her hands when he lightly pulled her back to her chair. "Enos, let go. I have to-"
"I'm sorry, Daisy." Enos saw the look of understanding creep into her eyes and the pieces of his heart that weren't already breaking for her began to crumble. He saw as she began to look around to the other family members as if bewildered; without knowing how she could accept what her old friend was telling her. She started to shake her head and mumbled that Enos had to be wrong as Jesse stepped forward and took his niece into his arms and held her.
The room became so quiet that the only sound that could be heard were the sobs of the new widow as the rest of the family took in what their friend and town deputy had told them. Upon hearing that the man had already killed at least two people after being free for only a little over twelve hours, the one thing that was at the forefront of Bo's mind was that if he didn't find his wife fast, he'd never get to hold her again. She was alone with the man that he'd promised Kim that she would never have to see again. He didn't even want to think about the torture that she was going through right now.
~01~
Kim raised a hand to her head as she felt an intense pounding from where Ted had hit her to knock her out back in the clinic. Now she found herself locked away in a small boxy space and felt it sway; that told her that she was locked in a trunk. What she didn't know was how long she had been knocked out. She lain in the car for what seemed like an eternity before the car slowed down and turned down what had to be a gravel drive. Only a short time later the car came to a complete stop.
Moments later, Ted opened the trunk still holding the bloody knife that he'd used to stab Darcy with. She hadn't been able to check on him and she had no idea if he had even survived the stabbing. If he hadn't died instantly, she prayed that someone had found him in enough time to save him. Darcy was a good guy. He didn't deserve to die just because he happened to be with her when Ted showed up. He had a baby who wouldn't be born for another few months but he was so excited. If he was dead, Kim didn't think that she'd ever be able to forgive herself. Of course, by the way Ted looked, she may never have that chance anyway.
"Get out." It was a simple command and Kim knew better than to hesitate in obeying it. He may plan to kill her but he could make her last moments much worse if she procrastinated while following his orders. If she wanted to get out of this alive, she had to be smart. She couldn't push his buttons needlessly.
Once out of the car, Kim looked around to see that she was at an old abandoned boarded up cabin that could be anywhere in Georgia. She had no idea if she was in Hazzard or not. If she wasn't, the chances of the rest of the family finding her would be greatly diminished. And they were looking for her. She had no doubt of that. That gave her a small amount of comfort but she wasn't sure if it would be enough.
Ted pushed his ex-wife toward the cabin and shoved her inside. Once they were both inside he placed a combination padlock on the door. Grinning, he explained that if anything happened to him while they were locked inside the cabin, there would be no way to leave since even the windows were boarded up tight.
"Now, you and I have a few things to settle between us." Ted sat down at the dusty table before he put a bottle of Scotch on the table and slid it toward Kim. "But first, I want the old Kimmy."
Kim knew what he was talking about. Her low tolerance for alcohol was really the only reason why the two of them got together in the first place since she'd hoped that she wouldn't have fallen for him had she stayed sober while they were dating. She also knew that despite the fact that she absolutely hated the man she was now locked in the cabin with, if she started drinking, she'd likely forget that horrible fact.
"I'm not thirsty."
"Did I ask you if you were thirsty?" Ted stood up and stalked over to Kim and brought his hand harshly across her face, instantly leaving a bruise and a bloody lip behind. He then turned and picked up the Scotch and held it in front of his ex-wife. "You're not going anywhere so you might as well as enjoy your final hours."
Kim's eyes widened as she looked toward the bottle once more.
~01~
Daisy had gone home with Jesse with Jo and Faith in tow as the men all went out to look for the man who had murdered her husband quite reluctantly. She wanted to see with her own eyes that Darcy really was dead but no one else thought that it was a good idea just yet. Jesse didn't know how seeing the man before even the town undertaker has had the chance to make sure that he was presentable could be beneficial to his niece right now. He did all that he could to try to ease her misery. Still, he knew that nothing that he did would be enough. Nothing could take away the pain that he knew she was feeling right now. He only hoped that at the end of the day there wouldn't be another death to mourn.
Jesse heated some water and made Daisy a cup of tea to help calm her nerves and was getting a cup out of the cupboard when his niece that he wasn't expecting walked in through the door with her two boys close behind her.
"Kira, what in Sam Hill? You aren't supposed to be out of bed."
"I know, Uncle Jesse, but I had to come. Boys, you two go on upstairs and play. I'll check on you in a while." Kira waited for the twins to run up the stairs to head to the play room set up for the Duke Children before she asked, "How is she holdin' up?"
"She's not. She hasn't stopped crying since Enos... Well, since she was told about Darcy."
Kira nodded in understanding. She then waddled into the living room and sat down beside of her cousin just opposite of Jo. Kira didn't think that there was anything that she could possibly say that could make what her cousin was going through any easier. All she could do was just be there for her. Be there and pray for her sister-in-law as well until she learned of the fate of the missing Duke.
The fact that Kim was not killed in the clinic along with Darcy actually worried her more than if the man had left her for dead the same way he had more than a year ago. Now, her brother along with her husband and older cousin were all out trying to do the one thing that the police have yet to do; find Kim before it was too late.
"Why would he have been at the clinic?" Daisy could be heard muttering to herself softly. "He was only in town because I asked for a stupid milkshake. Why would he have stopped off at the clinic?"
Jo glanced at Kira since they both suspected that the man had stopped to ask if everything had been ready for the surprise baby shower planned for the next day. If that was the case, neither thought that Daisy needed to know that at the moment. As it was, she'd likely blame herself for Darcy's death. She didn't need another reason to add to it.
Both women sat with Daisy and did the best that they could to just be there for her. Right now, that was all they could do. Especially while waiting to see if Kim was alright. For her brother's sake, Kira hope that they found her soon.
~01~
Luke gripped the wheel as he drove toward the outer edge of the county. Already, with the help of their friend Cooter, they had assembled a fairly large search party. The problem was, since they didn't know what they were looking for, they could drive right by Ted and Kim and they may not even realize it.
"Lost Sheep to Crazy Cooter, you still standin' by?"
"Shakin' trees and rakin' leaves; comin' in wall to wall and treetop tall, Crazy Cooter here."
"Cooter, we're goin' to start checking the old side roads leading into Hatchapee. You and Dobro take the back roads leading toward Chickasaw since the police are monitoring the main roads. Though I don't see why they'd think that anyone on the run would use a major road to go anywhere."
"No one ever said that them cops were given a full helpin' of brains. Don't worry, we've got the back roads all sealed up tighter than Boss's wallet. Won't nobody get in or out of this county without one of us knowin' about it."
"Thanks, Coot."
"I don't see what good that's goin' to do. They've probably already left the county by now." Bo stared out through the window as the General sped down the back country road. He wanted to believe that they'd find his wife alive while at the same time he was well aware that if she was alive then it only meant that Ted wanted to make her live through hell before he finally killed her when he felt like it.
"Maybe not. After swiping Kim he likely would have wanted to lay low for a while. He'd have to know that folks would be out looking for her as soon as someone realized she was missing. Enos found..." Luke paused since he didn't want to draw attention to the fact that the only reason that the family knew about Kim being missing was the fact that Darcy's body was found. Instead he simply stated, "Enos realized that Kim was missing no more than fifteen to twenty minutes after he took her. He wouldn't have had enough time to get out of town, much less the county in that amount of time. Ted would have wanted to get off of the roads before the State and the Feds came in."
"Alright, so say that they are still in the county; where would they be?"
"My first bet would be one of the hunting cabins. They're all empty this time of year. Most are secluded. Jebb's goin' to keep watch on from Eagle point for any cars that he doesn't recognize while we start checkin' in on the cabins."
Bo nodded since that plan seemed as good if not better than one that he could come up with at the moment. He just hoped that they found Kim fast. And when they did, he wanted just five minutes alone with Ted. Five minutes and he'd regret that he dared to return to Hazzard for Kim.