Thanks to everyone who has left feedback! I'm glad you're enjoying the story…it's encouraging to hear, and I appreciate the time you all took to review.
- Flynne :)
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– Chapter Three –
"Take What You Can"
Jesse made the trip from the farm to town in record time, barely managing to pull off a passable parking job in front of the courthouse. It had taken a little longer for him to get the news from his nephews than it should have, though; he had been out in the fields, and when Enos hadn't been able to reach him on the CB or the phone, he'd had to drive out to the farm and seek the old man out himself. Luke was still sitting on the bench by the street, eyes brightening with relief when he saw that his uncle had arrived.
"Uncle Jesse, am I glad you're here!" he said, rising to his feet.
Jesse put his hand on Luke's arm, concerned by his nephew's shell-shocked expression. "Luke, what happened? Where's Bo?"
"They got Bo in jail. I don't know what's goin' on inside…Enos had to hustle me outta there or they would've arrested me too. I feel like I should be in there with Bo, but he was so dead set against them tossin' me in jail, too…I didn't want to make things worse. I've just been out here the whole time—didn't know what to do, so I just waited for you to get here."
Jesse patted his shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry about it, Luke. You did just fine."
"Where is Enos, anyway?"
"I don't know. He said he was goin' to the Boar's Nest to tell Daisy, but he was actin' as fidgety as if his drawers were full of crickets. I don't know what he's got stuck in his craw but I didn't have time to ask questions. Now, come on, let's go talk to that cousin of yours." He turned and led the way into the courthouse. The front room was empty when they stepped inside and so was Boss Hogg's office. Luke was a little surprised…he hadn't noticed Boss or Rosco leave, but then again, he hadn't exactly been in the state of mind to pay attention to what was going on around him. Jesse didn't want to waste time looking for the pair of county officials, so he stepped past the open door and hurried down the basement stairs with Luke at his heels.
"Bo?" he called. "I came as quick as I—" He caught sight of the young man behind bars and pulled up short. It was his nephew in the jail cell all right, but he was nearly unrecognizable. Bo was usually cheerful in the face of any trouble, but his seemingly indomitable spirit had been badly shaken and his inborn confidence was nowhere to be seen. He sat numbly on the narrow cot, staring blankly ahead. Even from across the room, Jesse could see him trembling as if a wintry chill were in the air.
Jesse steeled himself and crossed the room to stand in front of the cell. "Bo?" he said gently. "Look at me, son." Bo finally looked up to meet his uncle's eyes. His blue eyes were wide in his abnormally pale face, fogged with guilt and shame. Jesse's heart twisted in his chest as he saw his expression. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly. It was a dumb question and he knew it, but he didn't know what else he could say.
Bo dropped his gaze as he swallowed hard and slowly shook his head. "I don't know what happened, Uncle Jesse," he said huskily. "One minute we was drivin' along and the next—I swear, I didn't see him!"
"I know, I know," Jesse nodded.
"They're charging me with manslaughter," the young man went on in disbelief. "They said I was reckless." He turned to face his uncle, the look on his face pleading with Jesse to believe him as his words tumbled out in a rush. "Uncle Jesse, I know Luke and me drive wild, but we ain't never careless! I was in control of the car, I was payin' attention, but—he came outta nowhere, I didn't know I'd hit him until it was over, I—" His words caught in his throat and he broke off.
"Bo, Bo, I believe you, it's all right," Jesse hastened to reassure him. We'll get this straightened out—you see if we don't." He turned to his other nephew. "Luke, you stay down here with him. I'm gonna try to find J.D." He turned and started up the stairs.
"Yes, sir." Luke pulled up a battered wooden chair and sat against the wall beside the iron bars, as close to his cousin as he could get.
"You shouldn't be down here," Bo said. "If Boss or Rosco see you, they'll just toss you in, too."
Luke shook his head. "I don't think so. Just you sit tight. We'll have you outta here before the sun goes down."
xxxxx
Daisy hit the ground running, barely remembering to turn off her jeep. She had wanted to leave the Boar's Nest the instant Enos had come to tell her the bad news, but she was the only employee there for the slow afternoon shift—Jerry, the bartender, had left after the lunchtime rush and wasn't due back until just before happy hour. She had immediately phoned his house and he had come as quickly as he could, but it had still been an agonizing forty-five minutes before he been able to relieve her.
As soon as she stepped inside City Hall, she heard Boss Hogg and the unmistakable rumble of her uncle's voice from the office. She pushed her way in without knocking and moved to stand by Jesse's side.
"Jesse, I ain't in the mood to deal with you right now," Boss was saying with a frown. Rosco stood silently behind him, watching the argument with concern.
"Yeah, well, you're gonna deal with me. I wanna talk to you about Bo. Where have you been, anyway? I've been waitin' nigh on an hour for you to get back here!"
"I've heard enough about Bo!" Boss snapped. "It just so happens that I had to run out to make a few calls to the state police and do a little investigatin' of my own, and Rosco and I had to impound the General Lee for evidence until an official investigator can come look at it."
"You did what?"
"A crime has been committed, 'less you forgot. We got Bo right where we want him, and he's gonna stay there until we figure out what to do with him—'cause no thanks to him, I got a mystery guest in the county morgue!"
"It wasn't his fault," Jesse insisted. "I heard the whole story from my boys."
"Your boys ain't exactly the most reliable source of information this time 'round."
"Well, where's Enos? Luke said he met 'em at the scene of the accident. Ask him!"
"Oh, now, that there's a flaw in the slaw," Rosco interjected. "Enos is missing."
"Missing?" Daisy gasped.
"Ooh—well, not exactly 'missing'," the sheriff corrected himself. "More like 'misplaced'. I ain't seen him since we arrested Bo a couple hours ago."
"Well, go find him!" Jesse ordered impatiently. When Rosco hesitated, the old man gave him a firm nudge toward the door. Rosco stumbled and gave an affronted growl, but he managed to make it out of the room and headed toward the exit. He barged out the door full-tilt, only to run smack into his deputy going the other way.
"Enos!" he barked, scrabbling to keep his hat from falling off his head. "You dipstick, where have you been? I've been lookin' for you for almost two hours…" He trailed off as he noticed the gray metal box in the younger man's hands. He poked at the box hesitantly. "Is that…?" Enos nodded. Rosco glanced furtively over his shoulder in the direction of Boss' office, then hurriedly pulled out his wallet and shoved a twenty dollar bill into Enos' hand. "That's all I got right now."
Enos grinned gratefully as he put the money into the box. "Gee, thanks, Sheriff!"
Rosco waved him away with an irritated expression on his face. "Just get in there—and don't tell Boss," he said warningly.
"No, sir, Sheriff. Yes, sir, Sheriff," Enos agreed. He looked down at the box in his hands, glad that Rosco hadn't been mad at him. He wasn't sure if he had what he needed, but at least he had a good start. He took a deep breath and walked determinedly toward Boss Hogg's office with Rosco following behind.
xxxxx
"Well, Jesse, I think it's 'bout time we started talkin' bail, ain't it?"
"All right, how much you want this time?" Jesse growled, fishing out his wallet.
Y'know, I think the Dukes are the only family in Hazzard that have bail money as part of the weekly budget.
"Bail is set at twenty-five hundred dollars."
Jesse's head jerked up in shock. "Twenty-five—!"
"Boss, we don't have that kind of money! You know we don't!" Daisy burst out, tears starting in her eyes.
"Well, I can't help that! I can't just let a killer walk out of—"
"J.D. Hogg, Bo ain't a killer and you know it!" Jesse bellowed, slamming his hand on the desk. "It was an accident!"
Boss jerked back in alarm. "I know, I know!" he spouted, waving his hands frantically to cover the gaffe. "But there's a man dead and, like it or not, Bo is responsible—and those are his words, not mine! What's that man's family gonna say if they find out I just let him go? What would you say if it was one of your family?"
That brought Jesse up short. He looked away, eyes growing sad and distant as he realized the rationale behind Boss' question. His gathering ire started seeping away as he let out a heavy sigh.
"It ain't just some stranger you got down there—it's Bo!" he said. Only Daisy could hear the beginnings of desperation creeping into his voice. "Confound it, J.D., I know he's landed hisself in trouble, and I know you don't like my boys, but you've knowed him since he was born! You've watched him grow up—no matter what you say about him, somewhere inside yourself you know he'd never do somethin' wrong if he could help it…whether you admit it or not."
"Jesse, I don't like this any more than you do—" Boss paused and frowned as Jesse scoffed disbelievingly. "—But I gotta have that bail money! I can't just let him go for nothing. It's a major discount anyway—you got any idea what bail would be in Atlanta?"
"A 'discount'? That's my nephew down there, not a used car! He's hurtin' and he's scared, and I ain't gonna let my boy sit in jail when he's in that state," Jesse said angrily, stamping his foot. "Now, you let him out!"
Daisy stood quietly to the side, watching the argument while she tried hard not to cry. Things had gone from bad to worse, and now it was starting to look hopeless. She was beginning to be afraid that they really might have to leave Bo in jail—but just then the office door creaked open and Enos walked in, carrying a gray metal box. He glanced nervously at Boss Hogg, but kept coming in, stopping in front of Jesse with a respectful look on his face.
"We took up a collection for Bo, Uncle Jesse. I think we got most of his bail money right here. If y'all can cover the rest, y'all should be able to take him home now."
Now, how 'bout that? Every once in a while, ol' Enos will do somethin' to surprise ya. It ain't exactly what I'd call a silver lining to the big ol' black cloud hoverin' over the Dukes today, but sometimes you just gotta take what you can.
"Oh, Enos, you're wonderful!" Daisy threw her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek. The deputy blushed clear up to the roots of his hair, but he managed not to drop the money box. Jesse hesitated for a moment, unsure if he wanted to take so much money that he knew he couldn't easily pay back…but he knew that anybody who would give money to help them would have done it out of the goodness of their hearts because they cared about his family. Even more importantly, it meant that Bo would be let go. Jesse had as much pride as anyone who bore the Duke name, but a Duke never let pride come before family. So after a brief pause, his bearded face softened and he gave Enos a grateful handshake.
Boss snatched the box from Enos and rifled through it, counting through the pile of cash and checks. "You're three hundred and fifty dollars short," he said, snapping the lid shut.
Jesse gave him a stone-faced look. "I can give you two hundred."
"And you're gonna get the rest from me," Daisy spoke up firmly. "Boss, you know I can make it up on tips, easy. I ain't got it now, but right as soon as I go back to work, you get a hundred percent of my tips 'til the balance is paid off."
Boss stood silent for a moment, glowering at Daisy and Jesse as he thought. "Fine," he grunted. "But you're gonna pay interest on that one hundred and fifty bucks, too, Daisy Duke."
"You got it!" Daisy agreed. She knew it meant that she would practically be paying Boss to let her work until he had what he wanted, but she didn't care. The money didn't matter as long as Bo was out of jail.
"All right, go get your boy," Boss said. "Rosco, go let him out," he told the sheriff, who was listening from the doorway. He turned around and puffed on his cigar as Jesse hurried from the room, dragging the sheriff with him. Daisy was still holding Enos' arm, and she pulled the deputy along with a warm smile.
Boss just shook his head. "It ain't gonna matter in the long run, though," he said matter-of-factly to himself. "Once the investigation gets cookin', Bo Duke is gonna be back behind bars so fast, he'll think he was ridin' a boomerang."
xxxxx
Luke heard the sound of several pairs of feet on the stairs, coupled with the jingle of keys and Rosco's indignant protests that he was being scuffed in the rush to get downstairs. He did his best to give Bo an encouraging smile. "What'd I tell you, Cuz? Uncle Jesse done sprung you."
A moment later, Rosco and Jesse rounded the bend in the stairs to enter the cell block. Bo watched with a mixture of relief and doubt in his eyes from his place on the cot as the sheriff fumbled noisily with his keys. The cell door swung open with a metallic grating sound.
Jesse stepped past Rosco and into the cell. He reached out to put his hand on the back of Bo's neck. "It's all right now, son. We're gettin' out of here."
Without a word, Bo stood and let his uncle shepherd him upstairs, Luke just behind. Daisy saw him coming. As soon as he stepped onto the main floor, she left Enos' side and walked over to him, putting her arms around his waist. He hugged her so tightly that it almost hurt, but she didn't say anything. She just stood there and let him hold on to her.
"Come on, honey," she said gently. "Let's go home." She took him by the hand and led him away.