Kira carried yet another two large bakery boxes to her truck to add to the two that she'd already set into the front seat of her truck. She'd left the door open to make it much easier to manage. She had just enough time to drop off the sweet treats over at the Community Center before heading home and get into her costume for the Halloween party. All around on Main Street there were already people milling about in costume. Mainly the various shop owners and employees trying to be festive for their customers. She saw several that she felt had a good chance at winning the best costume contest.
As she stepped away from the passenger's side of the truck to close her door she turned and came face to face with a man dressed as Zorro. She was surprised by just how close he was to her already as she turned but what surprised her more was what he was holding in his hand. It was a doll that she'd know anywhere. It was the one that Pauline had made for Crystal for her birthday. The same doll that her daughter hadn't let out of her sight if she could help it every since.
"I see I have your attention," Kira heard as she focused on the doll. "Now, if you want the little girl who owns this relic to have it back you'll do exactly what I tell you. Otherwise, you'll never see her again. Nod if you understand."
Kira felt her heart race as she reached the conclusion that if this man had the doll that he had her daughter. Not here. He wasn't that stupid. She could physically take the man on, she wondered if he had a weapon that she couldn't see though, but if she did so then she had no doubt that she'd never find her daughter. Trying to calm her nerves she nodded as she tried to fight through the panic rising up in her to reach out to her brother.
"Good. Now, the two of us are going to take a walk over to the alleyway. Don't try anything."
Kira did as she was told. What else could she do? She had dozens of possibilities running through her head. Was Crystal hurt? Scared? Already dead? No, he wouldn't have done that. Not yet. She had to believe that the man in front of her wouldn't hurt an innocent child. Using one as a pawn against her was one thing. Murder was another. When the pair entered into the alleyway she found a brown sedan with the trunk opened. She had a sneaky suspicion as to why.
"Get in." Kira heard and had her suspicion confirmed. She fought her own inclination to argue and did what she was told. Until she knew that her daughter was safe there was no way that she could do anything to put her at greater risk. Once Kira was in the trunk she quickly found her wrists bound and was then gagged. Just as the doll was tossed into the trunk without ceremony Kira tried once more to call out to her brother. She had to let the rest of the Dukes what was going on. Before she could get a reply, however, Kira's world went dark. Dark and painful as she was knocked unconscious.
Kim was finished for the day so she headed upstairs to get ready for the night's festivities. She had told Crystal that she and Bo would have costumes to match her costume since the other children had all decided to go as a group. Since she was Glenda, the Good Witch of the North so she was going as Dorothy and Bo would be the Scarecrow. Daisy even decided to get into the fun by playing the Wicked Witch of the West and had convinced Jesse to dress as the Wizard. As for Luke and Jo, Jo had said that she and Luke were still going back and forth between a couple of ideas so she wouldn't know their costumes until she saw them at the party.
As Kim finished putting her hair in pigtails she heard the General Lee pull up outside, letting her know that Bo had arrived. She went down to greet her husband and smiled as he stopped in his tracks as she came down the stairs of the clinic. She still found it hard to believe that she could have that affect on anyone, much less Bo Duke.
"Well, what do you think?"
"Like you're ready to break out in a rendition of Over the Rainbow at any minute," Bo said as he moved to give his wife a kiss in greeting. "You finished up early today. I didn't think that you'd be all dressed by the time I got here."
"Well, what can I say? Everyone in town is too busy getting ready for tonight to bother with getting sick or hurt." Kim grinned as she pulled back and lightly pushed Bo toward the stairs. "Now it's time for you to get dressed, too. I need my trusty companion by my side."
"Did I really have to be the Scarecrow?"
Kim giggled before asking, "Would you have rather had been the Cowardly Lion or the Tin Man without a heart?"
Bo made a face and went to reply but paused as he swore he felt his sister try to reach out to him. The thing was, though, as soon as the feeling came through it also disappeared. When he tried to call back out to her he didn't sense anything. No reply, no nothing.
Kim saw the expression on her husband's face change and was concerned. By now she'd long since learned when he and Kira were talking through their very odd connection. "Bo? Is something wrong?"
"I don't know. I thought I heard Kira but then it stopped. Now I can't reach her at all."
"Well, we should be able to see her soon at the Community Center. You can ask her about it then."
"Yea, I guess so." Bo remained at the bottom of the stairs for a few more moments before he headed on up to get his costume on. He knew that Kira had kept a wall up ever since Jebb's accident, which made reaching out to her a bit more difficult. And with all that had happened over the weekend as well as Jebb's return to the house he was sure that his sister's nerves were stretched to the limit.
Jebb wondered if he'd misunderstood Kira's schedule. Maybe she meant that she'd meet them at the Costume Party instead of coming home after she dropped the baked goods off at the Center before the party. After all, why make the trip to town twice? Jebb just wish now that maybe he could have volunteered to get the party food together since he felt uncomfortable being with the kids by himself. Well, maybe not all of the kids. Jay kept shooting daggers at him. He guessed that he could understand. He'd seen him with Jolene when he didn't really understand that he and his mother really weren't in the same place right now. Though to be honest, Jebb was a grown man and didn't really understand everything right now.
After loading up the kids and letting them do a little trick-or-treating at some of the farm houses on the way to town he finally got them to the Community Center. Once there he let them loose knowing that they could have some safe fun along with the other kids from the town. Jebb feel more than a bit out of place since it seemed that he was the only one without a costume of any kind. But then again, when he came to town over the weekend he hadn't exactly planned to stay for Halloween. But he'd decided that if he was going to repair the damage done to his relationships in town then he needed to stay and at least put in a little effort.
When he saw his oldest cousin walk in with his family he chuckled. He and his wife were Fred and Wilma Flintstone. Jebb walked over as Jo helped Faith get her costume adjusted from her ride over to tease Luke.
"I wasn't aware that there'd be any cavemen here tonight. What? No club?"
"Listen, I was given the choice of this or Buzz Lightyear. Jo had planned our costumes long before Faith changed her mind to be a Ninja Turtle. I picked the lesser of two evils."
"Maybe you should have come as the rat," Jebb joked though not being able to remember when he'd seen the Ninja Turtles. But the comment had come out so effortlessly that he was sure that there was a rat involved somehow.
"Nah, I'll keep the caveman set up." Luke said as he made a face at the thought of showing up dressed as a rodent. "So, what are you supposed to be? Where's your costume?"
Jebb shrugged, "I didn't bring one with me when I came to town. I... I hadn't really planned to be here, tonight."
Luke eyed his cousin but didn't respond. He knew that it wasn't easy. Nothing was right now. He didn't need him to harass him over his recent decisions. He'll leave that to Bo. "So, where's Kira? What did she come as?"
Jebb shook his head. "I don't know. She came to town to pick up some of the baked goods for the party and I haven't seen her since. I had thought that she was going to go back home to get dressed but when she didn't show I figured I'd misunderstood her."
"There's Daisy. She'll know." Luke waved at his cousin to have her come over to join the two men. "Daisy, have you seen Kira lately? Jebb figured she just stayed here when she dropped off the food for the party."
Daisy adjusted her long, billowing skirt as she replied, "Kira never showed up with the treats. I mean, we still have plenty but-"
"What do you mean she never showed?" Luke asked in concern. "Jebb, you said she came to town, right?"
"Yes. She came in the truck, planning to get the food while I picked the kids up from school. That was at about, oh, two o'clock, maybe three."
The three Dukes all looked at one another in both confusion as well as concern just as Bo and Kim, too, arrived at the Halloween party.
Cooter waved at a customer as they drove away. He then turned to close up his garage as he heard Luke Duke's voice spring to life over the CB. He heard him calling out for Kira, or anyone who had seen her lately, asking for her to answer him. When he didn't hear the female Duke respond Cooter's brows lowered in concern. He scanned the streets around the Main Square and spotted her truck near the bakery down the street. Cooter looked around to make sure that no cars were coming down the road before he crossed it and quickly headed toward the truck that belong to the strangely silent Duke.
Cooter walked around the truck and saw that there was no damage, though as close as it was parked to the garage, he had no doubt that if something had been wrong with it that Kira would have asked for him to take a look at it for her. When he looked inside he saw four large bakery boxes in the front seat. He opened up the driver's side door and reached for the CB and called back to Luke.
"This here's Crazy C callin' out to Lost Sheep. Yea, I found Kira's truck parked over here at the bakery. There are four boxes inside for the party but there's no sign of her anywhere."
There was a pause before Luke came back over the airwaves, "Is there anything wrong with the truck?"
"That'd be a negatory, there, Buddy Roo. It's just like she disappeared. Even her purse is sitting here with the bakery boxes."
"Do me a favor, go over to the Courthouse and get Enos. As sheriff, he needs to know that something ain't right. I'll be there as soon as I can. We don't want to scare the kids so I'll have to make up some excuse to leave the party."
"You got it." Cooter returned the CB mic to the holder and closed his eyes in a silent prayer. What could have caused the mother of three to disappear? He could only hope that she was alright.
Jebb listened to his cousin's small conversation with Cooter over the CB. Kira had made it to the bakery but apparently never left it with her packages. Instead, something had prevented her from making it the five minute drive to the Community Center to make her delivery. He didn't know why but he felt an icy hand grip his heart.
"I'm coming, too," Jebb found himself saying before he realized it.
"You'd better stay. If too many of us disappear during the party the kids will start to wonder what's up. I'll just say that I'm goin' over to help Cooter with something." Luke said for not just Jebb but for Bo, too, though he did add to his other cousin, "You keep tryin' to get through to her. If you do, call out on the CB and ask me if I will be back in time for the Costume Contest. Then I'll know that you got through to her and she's safe. If she isn't... Tell me that it's a good thing I'm not here since you don't think I would have won."
Bo nodded as he committed the coded conversations to memory so that he'd be able to keep his older cousin in the loop as soon as he had any information to share. As his cousin left he spied his uncle and knew that he'd have to be filled in on the fact that his sister had mysteriously disappeared.