– Chapter Two –
"Dead Men Tell no Tales"
Enos' patrol car screeched to a halt on the Cottonwood Road bridge. He climbed out of the car on shaky legs, peering down into the ravine. He could see the General about fifteen yards away from the bridge, and the two cousins were waiting right beside it. Bo was sitting cross-legged on the ground, propping his elbows on his knees with his face in his hands. Luke was sitting next to him with his arm draped across his shoulders. He had heard Enos' siren before the patrol car hove into view, and he was looking up expectantly at the deputy.
"Luke! What happened?" Enos asked, scrambling down the side of the embankment.
"We ain't exactly sure," Luke replied. He was speaking calmly, but his voice was tight and his eyes were strained. "We were just comin' out from under the bridge there when—well, that man over there must've been coming down the side of the ravine. I don't know what he'd be doin' all the way out here alone, but…he stepped right out in front of us. There ain't no way we could've seen him on the other side of the bridge like that."
Enos looked back at the bridge and shook his head. Luke was right. The man—whoever he was—had been in a blind spot. Nevertheless, it didn't change what had to happen.
"Y'all, I've called an ambulance to come and get that fella," he said slowly, "but after it gets here…we're gonna have to go into town and sort this out."
Bo didn't make any sign that he had heard—but he had, and he had understood every unspoken implication in the deputy's words. Even under the best of circumstances, he would be in trouble for what had just happened…but in Hazzard County, a Duke didn't have the best of circumstances. All he had was Jefferson Davis Hogg.
Enos, meanwhile, had retreated near the bridge to inspect the body. He gently felt the man's pockets, searching for identification, but he came up empty. He looked back at his friends. "Hey, y'all? Did you get a look at this fella's face?"
"Yeah, we…we got a look at him, Enos. We ain't never seen him before today, though," Luke replied.
"Me neither. And he don't have no ID on him," Enos told them. He scanned the tall grass around the body, shuffling the long blades out of the way with his foot. There was no sign that the man's wallet might have fallen nearby. He swallowed hard when he saw the dark crimson stain on the ground beneath the dead man's head, and turned slowly away.
A few moments later, both Duke boys looked up when the heard the sound of the ambulance approaching. Bo noticed that it wasn't rushing and it wasn't using the siren. There wasn't any need for it. And it's all because of me, he thought bitterly. He watched as the white-jacketed attendants hopped down and carried a gurney awkwardly down the grassy slope to where the body lay at the bottom of the ravine, but he turned away with a stricken look as the too-still form was lifted from the tangle of grass and covered with a sheet.
Luke put a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, Bo. We'd better go."
Bo just nodded in reply. He stood up and crossed to the right side of the General, sliding into the passenger seat without a word. Luke climbed in behind the wheel and started the engine, preparing to follow Enos back to town. Although he appeared calm and collected outwardly, his gut felt as if it had been twisted in hard knots and he felt shaky. But as bad as he felt, Bo looked worse.
"Bo…" he said slowly. He waited until his cousin turned to look at him. "You know there wasn't anything you coulda done, don't you?" he asked quietly.
Bo shook his head. "I don't know," he said miserably. He turned away to stare out the window. "Luke, just drive."
Luke just drove.
Y'all probably know this by now, but as the deputy, Enos has to report to the sheriff. Here in Hazzard, the closest thing to a sheriff he's got is Rosco P. Coltrane. So he called him up on the CB and told him what was goin' on. Rosco told him he'd meet him at the town hall, and then he lit out like a scalded cat to tell Boss Hogg. Now, Boss don't like it when people get hurt, an' he was just as shocked as y'all were when he heard the news…but that don't mean that he ain't about to pounce on this situation like a hungry coyote on a stray pup.
"The Dukes hit somebody?" Boss gasped, dark eyes growing wide in his round face.
"That's what I heard, Boss," Rosco repeated. "They called Enos out there, and I heard him ask for an ambulance. But it don't matter. The man's dead."
"Dead?" Boss pushed away the platter of hog jowls and cornbread.
"Deader'n a coffin nail."
"I never thought I'd see the day," Boss said in amazement. "A Duke actually guilty of a crime! Rosco, do you know what this means?"
Rosco frowned. "It means those Duke boys gotta be feelin' pretty low right now."
"What? Oh, besides that!" Boss snapped, waving the sheriff's reply away. "This means I can actually throw them in jail, and ol' Jesse can't do nothin' to argue with me!"
"Ooh, that's true!" Rosco said brightly. But he quickly sobered. "But, Boss, there's someone been killed here. This ain't just runnin' shine."
"Yeah, there is that," Boss admitted with a frown. "I don't cotton to takin' advantage of someone else's misfortune…but like I always say," he said with a wink, "if there's a skunk in the gold mine, you gotta put up with the stink."
"Little Fat Buddy, I ain't exactly sure what you mean."
"I mean," Boss said with an exasperated look at his brother-in-law, "that it's too bad about this fella that got killed, but now I know for sure I can get those Duke boys outta my way!" He reached for a cigar. "Who died, anyway?"
"Well, that's just it. We don't know."
"You don't know?"
"We don't know. He didn't have no wallet on him or nothin', and he's a stranger. Enos and the Duke boys ain't seen him before."
"Hmm." Boss scowled thoughtfully. "We need to find out who that dead man is and make sure he ain't tied to any of my—uh, businesses—in any way. Then I want you to call the State Police. I want this investigation to go as smooth and fast as possible, and I don't wanna waste time playin' a game of guess who." He rose from his desk and strode to the window to peek through the blinds. "Where's Enos and them Dukes, anyhow?"
"Well, I'll just find out!" Rosco declared. He picked up the CB on Boss' desk and cleared his throat. "Enos, this is your superior officer, Roscoooo P. Coltrane. Where you at? Come back."
"Sheriff, we's just gettin' there now," Enos replied.
"There they are!" Boss interrupted, catching sight of the Hazzard County patrol car and the General Lee as the cars pulled up out front.
Outside, Luke shut off the ignition and looked over at his cousin. Bo hadn't spoken a word the whole way into town, hadn't even looked at him. Luke climbed out of the car and walked around to the passenger side, leaning on the window frame. Bo glanced up at him briefly before looking past him at the town hall with dread in his eyes. Enos was hovering hesitantly in the background, unsure of what he should do.
Luke finally sighed and tipped his head in the direction of the tall brick building. "Come on," he urged quietly. He stepped out of the way so Bo could climb out of the car. He and Enos stepped up so Bo could walk between them, and the three of them headed inside. Boss and Rosco were waiting in the main room, staring expectantly at the door.
"All right, now," Rosco said immediately, giving them a stern look. "I wanna hear this story from the beginning, and I wanna hear it now. What happened?"
Luke knew Bo wasn't going to talk and Enos hadn't been there, so it fell to him to explain the situation. Rosco and Boss listened with stern frowns and wide eyes, glancing back and forth between the two cousins as Luke spoke. It didn't take long for him to run through the story again, but he could tell that Boss had made his decision before they had even arrived back in town.
"Well, it seems to me there's only one way to look at this," the fat commissioner said when Luke had finished. "You Dukes have pushed the line one too many times, an' now you gotta face the consequences."
"I don't think I did anything wrong," Bo broke in quietly. "I didn't see him."
"That is obvious," Boss replied. "What you ain't said is that maybe you should have!"
"Mr. Hogg, if I can say somethin'—"
"I ain't talkin' to you, Enos!"
"But Mr. Hogg, there was a blind spot, and—"
"Enos, you hush!" Rosco scolded.
"Bo Duke, you are hereby charged with reckless driving leading to manslaughter!" Boss declared. Bo didn't say anything, but with every accusing word that Boss spoke, he flinched as if he had been struck.
Luke was torn between his sorrow for his cousin and the anger that was building inside of him, listening to Boss go on like that. "Boss, you can't charge him with that!" he protested.
"And why not?" Boss demanded, narrowing his eyes. "Are you gonna tell me you Duke boys ain't reckless when you drive? And are you gonna tell me that Bo didn't just hit a man this afternoon? And are you gonna tell me that man ain't dead? Not this time, Luke Duke. We got you dead to rights. Rosco, lock 'em up!" The barrage of questions—for once, all of them valid—had left Luke at a loss for words, and he hardly knew what to do when Rosco moved to put handcuffs on him.
For the first time since the accident, Bo raised his head. "No way, you ain't lockin' Luke up!" he said forcefully. "He ain't responsible. I was driving. You let him go!"
"Not a word from you, Bo Duke!" Boss scolded. "You done enough."
"I mean it, Boss!" Bo's eyes sparked in his pale face. "Luke ain't guilty! I swear, if you try to throw him in jail, I'll—"
"Don't you say nothin' more, Bo," Enos suddenly broke in. "I'll take care of this. Come on, Luke, I'm takin' you into custody." He wrapped a hand around Luke's biceps and pulled his friend forcibly away. Bo looked over in alarm, but Enos shook his head sharply, warning him not to speak. "Y'all better take him away," he called over his shoulder, leading Luke into the hallway. Luke followed numbly, too troubled and confused to resist the strong tug on his arm.
"Right!" Rosco barked, giving his prisoner a push. "Come on, Bo—downstairs. I'm takin' you down and lockin' you up."
"And I'm gonna make sure he stays there!" Boss added, scurrying after them.
The sound of voices faded as the hallway door closed behind Luke and Enos, but the deputy kept walking, steering Luke toward the exit. Only when they stepped outside into the warm sunshine did Enos slow down. He blew out a long breath and released his hold on Luke, looking back over his shoulder at City Hall. "Well, at least Mr. Hogg forgot about you for a little bit," he said.
It was then Luke realized what Enos had done. "I—thanks, Enos," he said quietly.
"Don't mention it." Enos steered him toward one of the green-painted benches that lined the street.
Luke dropped hard onto the bench and put his face in his hands, not caring that he could feel the curious stares of passersby fixed on him. All that mattered was that Bo couldn't see him. Now that his cousin was out of sight, he let the mask over his emotions slide away and the horror of the accident came back over him in a rush.
He felt guilty, knowing that Bo was in jail alone downstairs and needed someone there, but he just wasn't strong enough to help his cousin right then. Necessity had allowed him to take charge of the situation and look after Bo, but now that he was alone he couldn't keep it up anymore. He closed his eyes and let himself go, feeling his hands start to shake as a choking feeling dread rose up to envelop him. God, how did this happen?
"Luke?" Enos was still at his side. "Luke, is there anything I can do?"
Luke took a deep, unsteady breath and straightened up, trying to force his scattered thoughts back together. "Um…yeah, Enos," he said vacantly. "Why—why don't you call Uncle Jesse and tell him we need him here?"
"Right away. I'll let Daisy know, too. She'll wanna be here. Just sit there an' don't move, okay? I'll be right back."
xxxxx
The basement of the courthouse was never very warm, but Bo felt absolutely chilled to the bone. He could still hear the dull thud of the body against the fender. He could still feel the car lurch as it struck. He could still see the man's face, pale and still like a blank page. At least the man's eyes had been closed. Bo didn't think he would have been able to handle the glassy stare of a corpse fixed on him.
His stomach twisted sharply, and he gulped to stave off the sudden nausea that gripped him, shaking his head violently to shatter the image in his brain. He looked longingly at the patch of sunshine and blue sky he could see through the barred window. He wished Luke were with him, just so he wouldn't feel so utterly alone, but he wasn't about to see his cousin run the risk of being thrown in jail again. The knot in his chest loosened just a bit as he gratefully remembered Enos' interference upstairs. Boss and Rosco had been so mixed up by the unexpected circumstances that they hadn't noticed Luke had been whisked away until it was too late to go get him.
After they had stuffed Bo in the cell, the sheriff and the commissioner had scampered back upstairs—more than likely in a hurry to figure out how many pieces Bo's probation had been smashed into. Bo hadn't heard a sound since they'd vanished, and now all he could do was wait and try to ignore the heavy mantle of guilt that clung oppressively to his shoulders.
Bo shivered again as the memory of the accident pushed its relentless way to the front of his mind. He wrapped his arms around himself and wondered if he would ever feel warm again.
Y'all realize this all happened 'cause Bo an' Luke were tryin' to help a neighbor? I tell ya, I just hate seein' the boys like this.