Author's notes: This writing thing is not good for my sleeping habits in the sense that I'm just not getting any lately. So even though this chapter was written a while back, let's blame any mistakes on my current sleep situation.

My life is somewhat out of control at the moment, what with a job change and move in my immediate future. And to complicate matters more I thought I knew where I was movingand to what job, but now such things are no longer clear. I will try to keep posting regularly even as I pack. However, I hope you'll all forgive me if I don't reply to a review or don't get a chance to do much reading for awhile. I don't even know where my socks are, much less whether I'm up to date on reading and/or writing.

I continue to be concerned that someone will think I know what I am talking about when I write about cars jumping, fist fights, etc. I don't. I make it up based on a certain type of logic. However, I think it only fair to warn you that I passed physics by the skin of my teeth, so when it comes to the force applied when a car hits the ground... pshaw, what do I know? So don't do anything I describe at home, on the road or even in trees.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Dukes or any of the main characters. Andy's... Andy. Not sure I want to take credit for him, but I guess I have to take at least half.

Chapter 6 – Circumstantial Evidence

"If Enos is watchin' the Hatchapee Mine Road, how are we gonna get around him?" Cooter asked.

Bo rolled his eyes. It was obvious to him what his older cousin planned, but Cooter hadn't spent his whole life side-by-side with Luke like Bo had. "That's why we're gonna go for a nice little hike up Snake Hill, Cooter. Just sight seein' is all."

"Yeah," Luke chuckled. "It's just that the sight we're gonna see is one Rosco apparently don't want us to see. When we come down the backside of Snake Hill…"

"We'll be at the Hatchapee Mines without using the road at all. I get it," Cooter finished.

"Hope you brought your hiking boots," Luke said, eyeing Cooter's feet as Bo loaded a small backpack with items they'd need for a half day's hike.

"Buddyroe, these are my sittin', standin', drivin', walkin' and hikin' shoes. I only got the one pair."

"Bo, you'd better grab that first aid kit. Cooter's gonna need it."

About a half hour later they were cruising past Enos with a wave, as he sat sentry in some trees at the mouth of the Hatchapee Mine Road. Luke stashed the ancient pickup in the thicket at the foot of Snake "Hill", which was really more of a mountain. Bo grabbed the backpack and each boy picked up a canteen before heading out. For the better part of the morning they hiked companionably up the slope, stopping more often than Bo and Luke would have if they'd come alone.

Like the boys, Cooter had been brought up and still lived on his family's farm, but it was not a "working" farm like the Dukes' was. Aside from a few chickens, a dairy cow, a horse and some small gardens near the house, the Davenport farm was mostly just empty fields. While the Duke boys spent nearly every day rising before the sun and performing a day's worth of physical labor, Cooter rose later, went directly to the garage and dined on donuts and beer, then stood over or lay under cars all day long. The mechanic had developed muscular arms from wresting with the more stubborn bolts and pins in a car, but his legs were not used to quite so much activity. The Duke boys teased him mercilessly, but rested whenever Cooter seemed to need it.

Sharing a small picnic at the peak, the three friends planned the route down the other side. From where they sat, they could see some of the old buildings near the log-ago sealed mine entrances. As children they'd traded horror stories about the bodies they'd imagined were trapped in the collapsed shafts down there. Not to mention the haunted shelters nearby: the old office, guard shack and cabins that had served as sleeping quarters and mess halls at one time. As the boys laughed at their childhood fears, Luke pointed out some movement in the clearing below.

"Those ain't ghosts." Two cars had pulled into the small area in front of the old office.

"They sure ain't. What's going on down there?" Bo tried to find a better vantage point on the ridge, where fewer trees would obstruct his view. No matter what he did, though, he could no longer see any activity, as the cars had rolled slowly out of sight. They obviously hadn't gone far, since they hadn't emerged in the next clearing by the old cabins.

"We're gonna have to go down there to find out," Luke said, coming up alongside Bo. "And we're gonna have to be quiet about it." He aimed this last comment at Cooter, who did not have a lifetime's experience of hunting and silent crafts like 'shine-making to draw from.

"Whatever it is, it's got to be with ol' Rosco's permission," Cooter said. "Otherwise they wouldn'ta got past Enos."

"Right, so we gotta be real careful, too. Rosco wouldn't take too kindly to us stumblin' onto his… whatever it is he's got goin' on down there." In truth, none of them could really imagine Rosco running a covert illegal operation. He might be a little weird, but he'd always been a pretty decent lawman. And running anything other than the sheriff's department just didn't seem within his skill set.

The three made their way carefully down the far side of the hill, staying in the trees and avoiding areas covered by noisy leaves. When they got close, Bo pulled Cooter behind him and held a finger to his lips. He might not have been trained by the Marines, but Bo had gone on enough of this type of mission to know the drill. Luke, followed by Bo then Cooter, walked around the far side of the old office, staying low and listening for voices. What they did hear surprised them all; both the noise itself and the location from which it came.

"That's a Mustang!" Cooter exclaimed.

"Shhhh!"

"I know that engine," the mechanic whispered while Bo and Luke cringed, expecting to be pounced upon at any minute. The engine belonged to a car that was apparently in a building that all three of them had forgotten about, the old warehouse, which was behind the boys as they came around the office. Now that they had turned in that direction, the large, open building was in plain sight. If anyone that happened to be in there came to the door and looked out, there would be no missing the three "hikers."

Luke grabbed Bo, who is turn got hold of Cooter and, crouching low, all three headed for the scanty shelter of the line of trees that bordered the clearing. Making their way from tree to tree, they came up alongside the warehouse and got their first good look at the building. Unlike the rest of the old mine shacks, this one was in good condition with some obviously recent repairs. It was wood frame and shaped roughly like a barn, though much larger than the barns on the Duke property, and was windowless. It was tall enough to be two stories, and very likely had a loft above the ground floor, though there was no way of knowing from where the boys stood. The end they had seen had double swinging doors, which were ajar. The three of them made their way to the other end, but not before both Duke boys looked at Cooter and put their fingers to their lips, and received the mechanic's nod of understanding.

The back end of the building also had double doors, but these were closed. There was a slight crack between them, which each of the three men put their eyes up to, but no one could see anything more than the occasional bright flash. Overhead, where the loft should be, was another, smaller door, which was open by maybe a foot.

Luke motioned Bo over to the nearest tree, and both boys climbed, leaving Cooter behind with their gear, to keep watch. Bo began to shinny his way along a branch that reached out towards the warehouse, and might afford him a view inside that upper door. Luke took a higher branch that jutted off to the side and could possibly provide a different angle into the old building.

"Watch yourself, Bo. Can you see anything?" Luke whispered.

"Not really. It's too dark in there. What about you?"

"Well, I think there's some welding going on in there from the arcs, but no, I can't see much."

"I can get closer; maybe even close enough to get ahold of that door."

"Just be careful, Bo, don't rush it." Luke would have preferred to be the one climbing out there himself, but had to concede to himself that Bo, despite being taller, had the lighter frame that the branch might support as he slid out its length. Besides, Luke had to keep reminding himself, Bo wasn't a little kid anymore. He could handle himself.

The thought had no sooner passed through Luke's mind than Bo slipped from the top of the branch and was suddenly hanging underneath.

"Bo!" Luke whispered, but with as much force as a scream.

"M'Okay," Bo whispered back, continuing to shinny, though now from the underside of the branch, which bent slightly under his weight. When he was far enough out to reach it, Bo gently nudged the upper door of the warehouse further open, revealing a much clearer view for both Luke and himself.

Instinctively, Luke moved into denser leaf cover, knowing that if they could see in, whoever was in there could look out and see them. Bo, however, was hanging upside down by all four appendages, with no way to hide. All anyone had to do to spot him would be to look up. Fortunately, no one did.

After watching the movement inside for a few moments, Bo looked up to see Luke looking down into his eyes. They nodded to each other in understanding and began to move again.

Bo slid his way back towards the trunk of the tree while Luke moved down to Bo's branch. Before the younger cousin could make his way to the older, a whistle, sounding very much like the common wren's call, came from under the tree. Both boys froze at the signal, locking eyes and hoping that if anyone chanced to look up, they'd be mistaken for very large leaves. As they heard an approaching motor, Luke chanced a quick look down to see Cooter safely tucked behind the tree, then looked across to the clearing to see two more cars coming towards the old warehouse. Having assessed the situation, Luke's eyes returned to his younger cousin, who was still frozen in place, but looking distinctly uncomfortable. He'd been hanging upside down for longer than planned, and he was clearly fatiguing.

"One more minute, cuz," Luke whispered, and Bo nodded, his face getting redder by the second.

Luke watched the new arrivals leave their cars outside of the warehouse and walk towards the front doors. As soon as they were out of sight, he motioned Bo towards him. The older cousin braced one hand on a branch and reached his other out towards Bo. Both boys stretched their long arms towards each other until they could grasp one another. The minute they had a good grip, Luke tugged Bo up to sit in front of him, slipping his arm around his younger cousin's waist to stabilize him while the dizziness from hanging upside down passed.

"You okay, Bo?"

"Yeah, thanks, Luke."

They made their way down to Cooter, and, again signaling for silence, led him back along the line of trees and around the side of the old office before holding a low toned conversation.

"It's a chop shop!" Bo began.

"Well I coulda told you that. You didn't need to climb no tree," Cooter commented dryly. He liked the Duke boys a lot, both individually and when they were together. But it was danged near impossible not to feel left out when they worked together like this. They not only seemed to know what the other was thinking right now, but also what would cross the other's mind in five minutes.

"They got six cars in there now, some intact, some in pieces," Luke reported.

"And one of 'em is Brody's Mustang."

The Duke boys looked at Cooter in surprise.

"I said I knew that engine. If y'all hadn't been so busy shushing me, I coulda told you everything you just told me."

"Yeah, well there's at least eight guys in there, too, counting the two that just came in."

"Big operation," said Cooter.

"Yeah," Luke agreed. "Too big to do anything about just now, though we gotta at least talk to Brody."

"I got that," Cooter answered, eyes flashing in anger at the thought of his friend's car being dismantled and sold in pieces.

"There ain't no way that Rosco's running this."

Luke looked at his younger cousin with eyebrows raised. Sometimes he was really surprised by how perceptive Bo could be. Suddenly Luke understood the origin of all those notes that Bo's teachers had sent home to Jesse, complaining that the child was not performing up to his potential. Though he preferred doing to thinking, Bo was plenty smart.

"Yeah, an operation like this takes money to get started, plus more clout than Rosco's got to keep it hidden," Luke began. "And who's got the cash and the power?"

"Boss Hogg," answered Cooter, and if his tone of voice could have killed the man, Lulu would have had a funeral to plan.

"Gotta be. Come on." Luke led the "hikers" back up Snake Hill, approximately the way they'd come down.

"Luke, we've gotta do something about what's going on down there," Bo complained, not eager to leave the situation unresolved.

"I know, and we will. But we're gonna need help. We're gonna need Uncle Jesse."

"Rosco, quit that fool fidgeting!" snapped Boss Hogg, causing the sheriff to jump a little before putting down the pen he'd subconsciously confiscated from the commissioner's desk and fiddled with. "Now, how are things going with that little project?"

"What project, Boss?"

"That special project I gave you to do, you pea-brain."

"Oh, you mean, gij, you mean that project. Well, Boss, you see now, that new revenue agent up there, he's just, he's not doin' his job."

"Whaddya mean he's not doin' his job? You make him do his job!"

"Well Boss, you see…"

"Dat, dat, dat. Never mind Rosco. Here's what we're gonna do…"

Jesse whistled low and long. "I've known J.D. Hogg my whole life, an' he's done some low down things, but nothin' like this. Before we do anything, we gotta be sure that J. D. is behind it," he advised his nephews.

"But Uncle Jesse, we already know it's Boss Hogg. No one else in the whole county could afford to get somethin' like that started. And besides, Rosco's in on it," Bo insisted.

"No, Bo, we don't know. What you've got there is circumstantial evidence that wouldn't stand up in court. Now we Dukes can't go runnin' off exactin' justice based on circumstantial evidence any more than the lawmen can."

Bo gave his uncle the sad-blue-eyed treatment. "Yes, sir."

"Now what we really need is a way to tie J. D. into this thing."

"We can go back and watch the place again, see if Boss Hogg shows up there," offered Luke. "If we take that old camera, maybe we can get a picture of him there or somethin'."

"That's a good idea, but it's gonna have to wait for tomorrow. I got somethin' for you boys to do tonight."

Luke elbowed Bo, and they exchanged grins.

Having spent the morning on their mission, and knowing they'd be out much of the night, the boys decided to divide and conquer the farm chores instead of working side-by-side as was their habit.

Daisy chose to milk Sadie, the goat, in the barn instead of the farmyard. The dark quiet suited her and also allowed her a chance to let down a little bit. If hiding her happiness from her family had been a burden, disguising her sadness and confusion was an absolute albatross. As she milked, she buried her face in the goat's wiry hair and let a few tears fall.

"Daisy?" Oh great, it was Luke. "You all right?"

She kept her head down, because if she wiped at her eyes, Luke would notice for sure, and if she lifted her head without drying her eyes, he'd never miss the tears.

"Yeah, just have a headache." Terrific, an out-and-out lie. She was going from bad to worse.

Luke squatted down next to where she was sitting, calling her by name one more time, and her resolve broke. The next thing she knew, she was crying on her older cousin's shoulder while he held onto her. She could hear his voice speaking gently to her, but did not attempt to respond until he called her name a third time.

"Daisy, honey, tell me what's wrong?"

She hadn't been happy that it was Luke who'd interrupted her, but now that he was here, she realized that maybe an older brother's advice was what she wanted. She lifted her head and spoke.

"Did you ever want to be with someone, but you knew it was all wrong to want them?"

"Daisy, you ain't thinkin' about gettin' involved with a married man, are you?"

In spite of her misery, Daisy barked out a harsh laugh. "Luke, no!"

"Then how is it wrong?" her cousin asked with absolutely no accusation in his voice.

Daisy wanted to be careful of what she said, but now that the floodgates were opened, words just started coming out of her mouth, unchecked.

"Uncle Jesse was sayin', about Enos, that we're on opposite sides of the law now, an' that I had to be careful…"

"Is that what this is about?" Luke asked, surprised. "You know, you can't help who you love. That part just kinda happens. You just gotta decide what to do about it."

"That's the thing. I don't know what to do."

"Maybe not right now, but there's no rush. Give yourself some time, honey, and you'll know."

"But, what if… I don't wanna have to choose between my family and a man."

"Because we're on opposite sides of the law? Daisy, no way Jesse'd make you do that. You know what he says about Rosco all the time."

"Yeah, he's just folks, has to make his livin' somehow, I know."

"So see? You got nothin' to worry about."

Daisy grabbed onto her older cousin again, giving him an affectionate hug.

"Missed you," she muttered under her breath, and she wasn't just referring to the time he'd been away, but the last few months when he'd been home, as well.

Bo made a trip into town to pick up some supplies for their upcoming overnight run. Some of what they carried was for show; if they got caught they would try to pass themselves off as campers. Other times they might actually have to spend the night in a tent before returning home, and they would need some canned food to go with their sleeping bags. On their last run they had used up some of those rations, and although tonight's delivery was a lot more local than old Silas', they would restock the car on pretense.

Crossing the town square, Bo was surprised to see Enos coming across from the other side.

"Enos, buddy, you off duty already?"

"Hey, Bo. No, I'm working a double. I just came in for a quick break to get a bite to eat."

The boys asked after each other's families, and Bo was rewarded with a deep blush when he winked at Enos while mentioning Daisy. Obligations over, they launched into a discussion of cars and racing, something they had done a couple of years back when stuck in the same study hall.

"Just you wait, Enos. Me and Luke'll be beatin' you on the dirt track all the time."

"Ain't neither of us got cars to race in, Bo."

Bo grinned. "Not yet."

"All right, Rosco. I did all the parts that required any brains. Now all you gotta do is make sure that Andy Roach does his job," instructed the man in white.

"Make sure that he does his… Boss? How am I gonna make sure that he does his job?"

"You're gonna follow him, Rosco, and watch, and help him if he needs help."

"Right, gijit, follow him. Uh, Boss? How do you know that the Dukes are gonna make a 'shine run tonight?"

"Because, you pea-brain, I set it up."

"Oh, right, you… but Boss? Why would the Dukes want to deliver 'shine to you? I mean, Jesse Duke, he knows you got your own still."

"I didn't set it up for him to deliver to me." Boss tried to figure out a way to describe to the sheriff just exactly howmuch of an idiot he really was, but decided not to waste his breath. Rosco was reasonably good at figuring out how to enforce laws, he was just clueless about how to break them, something J. D. had been doing to his advantage since before the man in front of him was even born. "He got an order from Orren Miller."

"Oh… so they're going out there. I'll get 'em!"

"Rosco! You'll do no such thing. You let Andy Roach catch them. That family is very popular around here. You bust them and you may just lose that election."

"Oh, right." For a moment, the sheriff was disappointed. Then he remembered, "But I can help set the trap!"

"Exactly."