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Chapter 79: Forever in a Day
"Who wants to live forever?
Who dares to love forever, when love must die?
But touch my tears with your lips; touch my world with your fingertips,
And we can have forever - And we can love forever.
Forever is ours today."
-Queen
The three of them stopped at the edge of the crater left by the explosion, catching their breath after the long trek up and over the ridge. Uncle Jesse took off his cap and wiped his forehead against his sleeve. It had been half a lifetime since he'd been up here, and he never thought the occasion would arise to come again. There were too many ghosts in this ground. He thought of the last time he'd seen Otis and wondered how it could be that men who had no malice in themselves could dredge up such hate in others.
"Sure made a lot of mess for a just a still exploding," Rosco said, solemnly, unaware of Jesse's thoughts. He'd seen more than his fair share of burnt and mangled corpses from still accidents, and had been on hand to witness several still disposals over the years, but Otis Strate's seemed a bit like overkill.
Jesse shook his head, unwilling to put words to long held suspicions. "Let's just find Enos," he said, "but be careful. No telling if Darcy's still around."
"Why don't we split up?" Luke said, stepping in front of Rosco. "Me and Rosco'll go down the hill, and you go on a little further down the trail. That way we've both got protection, if Rosco doesn't shoot his knee out with that thing first." He scowled at Rosco's wavering pistol.
"Just hush, Luke!" griped Rosco, but brought his left hand up to steady his gun.
Luke led the way down through the pines, moving slowly and hiding behind the trees and scouting ahead. When he finally saw Enos, slumped against a tree, he felt a rush of terror at the way his head hung forward over his chest and the amount of dried blood on his shirt. His hands shook as he knelt in front of him, not knowing if he were dead, unconscious, or just asleep, and placed his fingers against his carotid artery. There were two slow, fluttery heartbeats before Enos' head shot up, and he sucked in a startled breath. In the space of those few seconds, Luke saw the depth of anguish in the man's eyes, then Enos schooled his features and smiled wanly back at him.
"Possum on a gumbush," he whispered, hoarsely, "I sure am glad to see you, buddy-roe."
Luke hovered over him, not knowing what to do or where to start. "Are you okay, Enos?" he asked. Then, because the man surely didn't look 'okay', quickly added, "You ain't hurt bad anywhere, are you?"
"No, just my pride, mainly."
He sounded beyond exhausted, and the more Luke studied him, the more injuries he noticed. There were even little pairs of burn holes in his shirt, a dozen at least. "Hold on a second, Enos, and we'll get you outta here." He turned back to towards the sheriff. "Rosco, give me your handcuff key."
Enos shook his head. "Wait fellas," he said. "Don't touch anything, just yet. Back up away from me a couple feet." He looked at Rosco. "Sheriff, you don't have any gloves or a bag, do you?"
"N-no, Enos," he stammered, "I ain't got nothing like that. What's-"
"Rosco, look down." Luke, who had backed up to stand beside the sheriff pointed down at the ground.
Around the tree, a foot out from where Enos sat, lay a semi-circle of Polaroids. Before Enos could warn him against it, Luke crouched down to get a better look - and wished he hadn't. Blistering red with anger and embarrassment, he looked back up at Enos, whose eyes simmered with unguarded rage. They were all of Daisy, taken though her bedroom window, in various states of undress.
"What the hell, Enos?"
"Don't touch them!" he warned. "Darcy wants fingerprints on them; preferably mine, but I'm sure he's not choosy at this point. My flannel shirt is somewhere around, you can pick them up with that."
"I've got my handkerchief," said Rosco. He shook it out and bent down, picking them up, one by one, and trying not to look at any. Folding the fabric around the stack, he put it in his pocket, and then fished out his keys and knelt by Enos. "I'd fire you if anyone knew I'd hired you, you dipstick," he scolded, quietly, unlocking the handcuffs. "Tell me you got something on Darcy after being a numbskull and running off by yourself."
"I learned a lot, Sheriff, but I don't think it'll help the GBI," he said, wincing as he rubbed his wrists. There was a rustling of footsteps through the underbrush at the top of the hill, and he looked up, afraid for a moment that it might be Darcy, until he saw a familiar red hat. "Rosco," he said, softly, "don't let Uncle Jesse see the pictures."
Rosco glanced back at Jesse, picking his way carefully down the hill, then nodded to Enos and removed the shackles while Luke cut through the rope with his pocket knife. "I'll call the GBI when we get back," he told him, "and let them know what happened, but they already said they couldn't make it up until tomorrow."
"Enos!" said Uncle Jesse, relieved. "You sure are a sight for sore eyes! We didn't know what to think, what with you gallivantin' off out here to meet up with Darcy all by yourself."
There was disappointment in his voice, and Enos closed his eyes. "I'm sorry for scaring everyone, Uncle Jesse."
"Well, now, at least you're in one piece," he said, looking over the deputy. "Let's just get you home, and then you can tell us what happened."
Enos stood up and tried a tentative step, but had to lean heavily against the tree to keep from falling. "Sorry, y'all are gonna have to help me," he said, "I'm not over the effects of the stuff he doped me with, just yet. I'm not gonna be able to walk back down by myself."
"I've got you, Enos," said Luke, moving to his side so Enos could drape an arm over his shoulders. "Rosco, give me a hand." Between the two of them, they managed to help Enos back up the hill and down the trail to their three vehicles in the parking lot.
"I guess we'll all meet back up at the farm," said Jesse, "Rosco, you can call them GBI boys from there. Luke, you best drive Hazzard #2. We can't just leave it up here."
"Hold on, Sheriff," said Enos, before turning to Jesse and Luke, "Uncle Jesse, would y'all mind giving me a minute? Something I need to talk to Rosco about."
"Uh, sure thing, Enos," said Luke, but he frowned at the way Enos was leaning against the truck. "You gonna be alright by yourself?"
'I'm alright for now. I'm getting my feet under me better than before." He waited until Luke had slipped behind the wheel of his patrol car and Uncle Jesse in the truck, before turning back to Rosco. "Sheriff, I need you to go find Amy McCullum, and warn her about Darcy."
Rosco stared back in confusion. "Amy McCullum? What in tarnation does she have to do with any of this?"
"More than I thought," he admitted. "She testified on my behalf at the trial, and Darcy threatened to go pay her a visit." He read the uncertainty in the sheriff's face and grabbed his arm. "Please, Rosco, please do this for me. She put her neck on the line for me as a moonshiner's daughter, and I don't want to see her hurt. Do you know where she lives?"
"Yeah, Yeah, I think so," he said, hesitantly. "Up off Ridgerunner Road; the big brick house back near Choctaw County that Henstep built, right?"
"That's it," he nodded. "Tell her, if she see's Darcy...Tell her that I said not to let him get near her."
Rosco paled at the unspoken message his words conveyed. "This is bad, ain't it?" he asked. "I mean...real bad."
Enos looked past him, watching as Luke pulled away from the parking lot in Hazzard #2, worry etched on his face. "Yeah, Sheriff, it is. Come out to the farm after you find Amy. And don't go looking for Darcy," he added. "He says he's got a bullet with your name on it."
Over Enos' protests, Uncle Jesse insisted on calling Doc Applby over the CB to meet them out at the farm. Now, he sat on the bed in the guest room with Daisy hovering over him like a mother hen while Luke and Bo stood in the doorway, gawking at him as Doc listened to his heart. Normally, he would be able to think of a kind way to get rid of them, but he was tired and angry and short on 'normal'.
"Do y'all mind?" he griped at the boys. "I feel like a sideshow freak you've paid a nickel to look at."
Bo and Luke shot each other an embarrassed glance. "Shucks, we're sorry, Enos," Bo apologized. "Come on Luke, let's go see if Uncle Jesse needs any help with that coffee."
They pulled the door shut, and Enos heard them shuffle through the hallway back towards the kitchen.
Daisy stepped around the bed in front of him. "You want me to leave for a while, sugar?"
"Just for a little bit, if you don't mind, Daisy," he said, "I'm sorry."
She shook her head at his apology. "I'll keep the boys in line," she said, giving him a kiss on top of his head to avoid the scrapes on his forehead.
Enos sighed as she shut the door and turned back to Doc Applby. "I'm fine, doc, really I am. Just a couple of bruises, bangs, and scratches is all."
Doc raised an stern eyebrow and regarded his patient. "If you had a dose of Ketamine large enough to put you out for almost forty-five minutes, after what looks like a history of insomnia from those bags under your eyes, and what could very well be a mild concussion, plus having your central nervous system overstimulated by repeated use of electric shock, a cup of coffee isn't going to fix your problems, Enos."
Enos let his head drop into his hands, rubbing his eyes. "What are you sayin', doc?" It wasn't late, and he couldn't even list all the things left to sort out.
"I'm saying you need to rest," he told him. "And I don't mean lay down and worry about everything. I mean real rest. It's only 4:30, let me give you something that-"
"No!"
"-will let you sleep, just for a little while," he finished. "I'm not talking about putting you out of commission for the rest of the day, Enos. I'm talking about a couple of hours, at the most. Otherwise, I'm going to tell Jesse that he needs to take you to Tri-County for a CT scan."
Enos glared at him in disbelief. "That's ding dang blackmail!" he objected. "There ain't nothing wrong with me!"
The doctor shrugged. "I'm an old fart, Enos, " he said. "I get things done however I can."
"Fine," he grumbled. "Can I at least get a shower and some clean clothes on?"
Doc Applby stood up. "I'll be back in twenty minutes," he said, stepping over to the door. "And don't sneak out the window like you did when you were ten and needed a shot of penicillin for strep throat!"
The hours passed as day fell into night, and Enos' nap deepened into the first real sleep he'd had since arriving in Hazzard. Rosco came and went; plans were made, a meal eaten, dishes cleared, doors locked, and lights turned off. Daisy nestled against his back, murmuring a prayer of thanksgiving to God for bringing him back to her.
The house was dark when he awoke; full of the quiet stillness of pre-dawn, and the clock bore out his suspicions that he'd dozed far more than the 'couple' of hours promised by Doc Applby. It was shortly after 3:00am, and if he didn't get up now, he probably wouldn't. He rolled over, watching the gentle rise and fall of Daisy's shoulders in the dim light as she slept.
She was the one who had brought him back to life. The one who had beaten back the darkness that had once threatened to consume him. Now, the time had come full circle, and it was his turn to protect the ones he loved. Addie May's mangled corpse flashed into his mind, and he shut his eyes against the pain it dredged up and the echoes of the monster who had killed her.
Because of him.
All he had ever wanted was here in his bed, and he could lay here beside her and pretend that it would never end, but he knew, if he did nothing, she would die. Slowly and carefully, he slipped from the bed, tucking the covers back around her. He pulled three of the nightlights from their outlets, leaving only enough light for him to see where he was, hoping the darkness would keep her sleeping until morning. Putting on his clothes, he left, closing the door silently behind him.
The squeaky hinges of the hall closet sounded like a scream in the darkness, and he fumbled for the cleaning kit on the top shelf and then reached into the box of ammo. His fingers felt the smooth ridges of the shells inside and he took four, slipping them in the pocket of his jeans before heading to the kitchen. His shotgun rested in the corner by the front door where Bo had left it, and he picked it up, feeling the comfortingly familiar weight of the weapon which had been his father's before him.
The bed beside her was cold when Daisy woke, the clock already after 7:30am and she griped at herself for oversleeping. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she dressed and slipped into the bathroom. She stared at herself as she brushed her teeth, wondering what time Enos had woken up. Doc said that all he had actually given him was a shot of Benadryl to help him relax, but that he wouldn't be surprised if he slept through the night. The mind believes what it needs to believe, he'd said. And Enos needs sleep.
It must have been early since she had found three of the four nightlights laying on top of the dresser. That meant that he'd wanted her to stay asleep and not badger him about why he was getting up at whatever ungodly hour he had crawled out of their bed.
Dressed and cleaned up, she went into the kitchen to make breakfast, and was hit by the distinct smell of Hoppe's No. 9 gun cleaner. Enos sat at the table, his revolver spread in pieces on a dish towel in front of him. Something about his chosen activity sat wrong with her, especially after yesterday. He had told her about the girls - about Darcy killing them to try and frame him, and how his plan had been foiled by Mabel never reporting them missing. That was the extent of what she could drag from him, and she had given up when her probing elicited a growl of aggravation, and he'd snapped at her to quit asking.
And now, he was cleaning his gun. She supposed it could be just a mindless task to calm his nerves, and it was his service weapon and not his shotgun, which would have worried her more.
She stepped up behind him and kissed him on the cheek. "Morning, sugar. You were up early."
"Morning Daisy," he murmured, focused on reattaching the cylinder assembly instead of her.
It struck her that the house was awfully quiet, and that no one else was puttering around the kitchen. "Where's everyone else?"
"Wilburn and Stewart can't make it out until 4:00 today," he said, not looking up at her. "Bo, Luke, and Uncle Jesse thought it would be best if they kept an eye on Darcy until they got here, just in case."
"Not out to the airfield!" Surely, Uncle Jesse wouldn't have allowed it. The last thing they needed was to confront the guy.
Enos grimaced and shook his head. "No, they're just at the north and south ends of Morgan road, to watch for anyone coming or going," he explained. "They thought it would be better to know if he left the airfield than to wait around to see if he came here for a visit. They won't be back until about one o'clock when Rosco and Cletus take over, then we'll all meet the GBI out here later."
She examined him without speaking, liking neither his aloof attitude, nor the fact he still hadn't looked at her. He knew her too well, she thought, watching as he screwed the outer plate back onto the Smith & Wesson then spun out the cylinder to check the action, and she could read his soul by his eyes. She had a feeling that Uncle Jesse and the boys watching Darcy's place had been Enos' idea of how to get rid of them to keep from dealing with more questions.
Shaking her head at him, she walked to the stove and set the skillet on the front burner. She turned it on, watching the cast iron as it slowly turned dull over the flame, realizing that she wasn't even hungry. What she wanted was to talk to Enos, but she didn't know how to broach the subject of Darcy without upsetting him.
She didn't feel Enos come up behind her until he reached around and turned off the burner.
He placed his hands to either side of her as she spun around, trapping her against the edge of the stove as though she were a skittish bird that might fly away. She had wanted his attention, and now she had it fully, and yet, where the desire in his eyes ended, the pain began, and she scarcely knew whether he wanted to ravish her or cry on her shoulder. She wanted both...she wanted all of him, with no secrets left to keep between them.
He stood watching her, as she tood a deep breath to slow her racing heart. Then the corner of his mouth turned up in amusement, and a glint of mischief flickered in his eyes. He stepped closer, threading his fingers through her hair, and tilted her face up to his.
"Your three weeks are up, Mrs. Strate," he said, before his lips crashed into hers.
By the time noon rolled around, Rosco felt as though he'd already lived four or five days over the last twenty four hours. He stapled wanted posters up on the bulletin board, sneering at the faces looking back at him, and thinking that if some dangerous criminal came through Hazzard right now, he'd have to take a number. Why couldn't everything just be easy again?
Simultaneously, he stapled his finger, dropped the stapler, and the phone began ringing. "Oww! Ouu-geet! I'm coming," he yelled, "I'm coming!" He picked up the receiver. "Ros..co P Coltrane."
"Sheriff, this is Agent Stewart. We received a call earlier about a possible situation out there. Where are you right now?"
"Uh...well, I'm here at the station," replied Rosco, taken aback by the straightforwardness in the other man's tone. "What's goin' on?"
"We need you to meet us out at the junction of Highway 20 and Morgan Road, he said. "We're on our way with an ETA of about twenty minutes."
Rosco felt his blood run cold. The Hazzard airfield was just north of Highway 20, off Morgan Road, right where Uncle Jesse had set himself up to watch for Darcy, though they had agreed to stay well away from anywhere the man might actually be. What if Darcy had found him? Or had someone stumbled onto one of the missing women? He thought about the last words Enos said to him, about Darcy having a bullet with his name on it. "Sir...that's right by the airfield. Did something happen? Did someone find...something?"
"I want to make sure you and I are absolutely clear, Sheriff," Stewart said, ignoring his question. "You are not to go anywhere near the airfield office or the property. Just pull off on the side of the road until we meet up with you. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir. I understand." In the background of the Agents' car, he heard the State Police dispatch radio relaying information. 10-20 Hazzard airfield 10-54, GSP 314, 425, 644 10-76. It cut off as Stewart hung up the phone. It had been a long time since he'd learned the Georgia State Police 10-codes, but he knew 10-54 meant a dead body.
Hoping that Jesse Duke and the boys were safe, Rosco rushed out to his car and picked up the CB, tuning it to channel 28. "Shepherd, this is Big Dog...come back. I sure hope you have your ears on."
If she could just stay right here forever, thought Daisy, everything would be okay. The rest of the world could go and do whatever the hell it wanted; just so it left the two of them out of it and let her lay here in Enos' arms. She listened to his heart beat against her ear, slow and steady now, his breath warm as he nuzzled her hair.
"Let's just stay here and never worry about anything ever again."
He sighed and shifted so that he could look at her, a seriousness in his eyes that told her she wouldn't like the path of his thoughts or whatever plan he had cooked up to try and protect her. And then, he opened his mouth and proved her right.
"I love you, Daisy," he said, twirling a lock of her hair around his fingers. "You know I'd never let anyone hurt you. I'd die before I let them."
She regarded him warily, "That's what I'm afraid of."
He gave her a somber smile and started to move away but she pulled him back to her. "Don't go," she told him, "not yet."
Their eyes met, and the world around them seemed to fall away to nothing...waiting...
"You are my stars, my sun, my autumn sky," he murmured. "You are the wind that I cannot feel, my breath as I long for sleep...you are my light in the darkness, and love, and everything I live for..."
She listened as he spoke aloud the words she'd clung to in her own hours of despair, unashamed of the tears that coursed down her cheeks and wet her pillow.
His lips touched her forehead, softly and slowly, planting fluttery kisses against her skin, one by one; down across her salty cheeks to the corner of her mouth until she could stand it no longer and pushed herself more insistently against him. He kissed her, deeply and truly, as though he would never do it again, and she prayed that the GBI would come and take away Darcy before Enos did something rash. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of wheels on gravel.
Enos broke their kiss and looked down, an incalculable sadness in his eyes. "Time's up," he whispered.
A/N: "10-20 Hazzard airfield 10-54, GSP 314, 425, 644 10-76" Location: Hazzard airfield, possible dead body. Georgia State Police units 314, 425, and 644 are enroute"
