Beauty is Only Skin Deep
Chapter 9
The following morning, Bo was driving over to Maddie's house to pick her up for church but as he came around the bend, he saw her standing in her driveway, still in her bathrobe, talking to a man he didn't recognize. A surge of jealously went through him when he saw the man give her a hug and then walk to his car. He quickly pulled into the drive just after the other man left.
"Bo, what are you doing here?"
"I'm here ta pick ya up, remember?" Bo answered sarcastically as he climbed out of the General. "I thought that ya would be ready and waitin' for me ta pick ya up and here I see ya huggin' some city slicker." Maddie quickly turned away from Bo but not before he saw the tears in her eyes. He quickly grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her back to face him. "Maddie, what's the matter? Did that guy hurt ya?"
Maddie shook her head as she dropped her gaze once again. "No, he didn't hurt me. I…everything's alright, Bo, honest."
"Uh, uh, not buyin' it," Bo answered as he turned her face to him once again. "What is it?"
"Bo, it's nothing, really," Maddie said as she tried to pull away but he wouldn't let her go.
"Something's goin' on and I want ta know what it is," Bo demanded. Maddie stopped trying to pull away when she realized that he wasn't going to let her go and just stood there looking down at the ground. "Come on, Maddie, tell me. Who was that guy?"
"Maddie turned to face him and wiped the tears from her eyes. "It doesn't matter who that guy is. I…I just want to thank you for all of the help you and your family have given me."
Bo stared at her with a quizzical look on his face, her answer only confusing him more. "Maddie, I'm missin' somethin' here. Obviously somethin' is wrong and I can't help ya if ya don't tell me what it is."
She heard the pleading in Bo's voice but only closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again, placing her hand on his cheek. "Bo, please, I have to go but I just want you to know that you are one very special guy and any girl will be lucky to have you. Thank you for making me feel so special."
Bo's head snapped back as if he had been physically struck. "What do ya mean ya gotta go? Where are ya goin'?"
"Bo please, don't make this harder for me than it already is. I…I have to go," Maddie answered breaking away from a stunned Bo and running to the house. Bo went to follow her but found that she had locked the door. He pounded on the door for several minutes before sighing and finally giving up. Not knowing what else to do, he headed back to the General and climbed in. He sat there thinking for a few moments before picking up the CB. "Lost Sheep Two ta Lost Sheep One, ya got your ears on?"
Luke answered a few moments later. "Go ahead Bo, what do ya need?"
"Not quite sure, Luke," Bo answered as he kept looking at Maddie's house.
"What's that suppose ta mean?" Luke asked. "Ya okay?"
"I'm here at Maddie's and when I arrived I found her being hugged by some city slicker."
"So ya tellin' me that you're jealous?" Luke chuckled.
"It's not that I'm jealous…just concerned. When I got out of the car, she was surprised ta see me and she was cryin'."
"Cryin'? Why was she cryin'?"
"That's what she won't tell me," Bo answered, frustration clearly ringing through his voice. "Plus she told me that she's leavin'."
"Leavin'? Why?"
"Like I said, she wouldn't tell me. She ran into her house and locked the door and now she's not answerin'. Probably hopin' that I'll just leave."
"But you're not gonna, are ya?"
"I think I'll stick around for a little while, maybe she'll calm down enough ta talk ta me. Can ya do me a favor and explain what's happenin' ta Uncle Jesse? I don't want him ta be upset with us when we don't show up ta church."
"Alright Bo, ya do what ya think is best and call me if ya need me."
"Ten-four Luke and thanks."
"Anytime Cuz. Out."
Bo hung up the handset and made himself as comfortable as possible by loosening his tie and watching for any signs that Maddie was coming out. About two hours later, the same car that was in her driveway earlier had returned, carrying the same city slicker that Bo had seen hugging Maddie. Bo's attention was immediately drawn to the house when he heard the front door open and saw a properly dressed Maddie coming out lugging two suitcases. Even as cramped as he was from sitting that long, Bo pulled himself out of the General and ran over to Maddie as the man was grabbing the cases from her hands and placing them in the trunk of the car.
"Maddie, wait!" Bo called out reaching her before she was able to get into the car.
"Bo!" She was surprised to see him standing there, thinking that he had left and not really paying attention to the General that was still parked there. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm not lettin' ya go without an explanation," Bo answered as he held her arms tightly.
"Bo, I can't, you don't understand…"
"You're right, I don't understand and that's what I want ya ta tell me."
"Maddie, we have to get going," the city slicker said as he stood beside the two of them.
"She's not goin' anywhere until she tells me what's goin' on," Bo adamantly answered as he glared at the other man.
"Sir, I'm afraid that there isn't time," the man returned, physically inserting himself between Maddie and Bo.
As Maddie moved to get into the car, Bo pushed the man away just as a shot rang out. Maddie screamed when she saw the man fall to the ground, his left shoulder bleeding from the bullet that was lodge there. Bo quickly tackled Maddie to the ground, lying on top of her as another shot rang out, this time hitting the car's fender.
"Maddie, get in the car!" Bo shouted continuing to shield her before turning and dragging the man onto the front seat with him. He started the engine and putting it into gear, tore out of the driveway as another shot hit the trunk of the car. "You okay?" Bo asked as he looked at her through the rearview mirror.
She nodded her head while taking some calming breaths. "I'm scared to death but okay. How's Bill?"
Bo looked over and saw that the man was grimacing in pain as he clutched his arm to his chest. "He's bleedin' pretty bad. Let's get him ta Tri-County Emergency and they should be able ta take care of him there."
"No…no hospital," Bill ground out through gritted teeth.
"You're bleedin'. Ya need a doctor," Bo replied as he kept driving.
"We can't go there. He knows…I've been hit…so he'll be checking…out every hospital around the area."
"Who's he?" Bo asked looking at the man suspiciously, "and why is he shootin' at ya?"
"It's not Bill he's after," Maddie said with tears in her eyes.
Bo saw the frightened look on her face. "Then who?"
"Me. He's after me," Maddie answered quietly.
Bo focused his attention on the road ahead of him as he took in what he was just told. "Why…why is he after ya, Maddie?"
"Don't tell him…anything, Maddie," Bill panted out, his voice getting weaker.
"Maddie, find something ta help stop the bleedin'," Bo ordered, noticing that the man wasn't looking that well. Maddie searched the back seat and found a blanket that was on the floor. She leaned over the front seat and firmly pressed the material against the wounded man's shoulder, causing him to grunt in pain. She saw how pale Bill was becoming and her concern for him grew.
"Bo, he needs a doctor and fast."
"But he just said no hospitals."
"I know but he still needs help."
"Doc Appleby," Bo yelled out. "We'll take him ta Doc Appleby. He should be able ta help him."
"Alright," Maddie nodded. "But hurry."
"Ya got it."
Even though he wasn't driving the General Lee, Bo managed to make good time getting to the Doc's office. Skidding to a stop, he quickly made sure that no one had followed them there figuring he had lost them long ago, and ran up the sidewalk and through the front door. A few moment's later, Bo was dragging a confused Doctor Appleby behind him that is until the doctor saw the injured man.
"Bo, help me get him inside," Doc ordered and between the two of them, they managed to haul the injured man into the building, Maddie following close behind.
Once inside, Doctor Appleby quickly got to work removing the unconscious man's suit jacket and shirt, stopping only long enough to carefully remove the gun and shoulder holster that was strapped around the man's chest. Bo saw the gun and the badge that was clipped to the man's shirt and turned to Maddie, who was standing there with tears glistening in her eyes. "How is he, Doc?" Bo asked as the doctor began his examination.
"Bullet's in there deep, but I don't think it hit anything major. I'm gonna need ta remove it and bet a better look inside, repair any damage that it caused. Tell me, Bo. Why didn't ya take him to the hospital?"
"He didn't want us to," Bo shrugged.
"He'd be better off at the hospital," Doc sighed. "How'd he get shot anyway?"
"Someone was takin' shots at Maddie here and he got hit."
"Miss Weiss?" Doc asked in surprise. "Are ya okay, dear?"
Maddie blinked and turned to the doctor. "I…I'm a little shook up but I'm okay."
Doctor Appleby nodded at the young couple and smiled. "Why don't ya two wait in the other room while I take care of this young man. Ya might want ta call Rosco and inform him of what happened."
"No, we can't!" Maddie pleaded, her eyes showing Bo how scared she really was.
"Maddie…"Bo said, frustrated about her refusal to call the sheriff.
"Please, Bo…" Maddie answered as she pulled away, wrapping her arms around herself.
Bo turned worried eyes at the doctor, who nodded his had towards the outer office. Bo then took Maddie by her arms and led her to the other room where they collapsed on the couch. He held her tightly as she sat in his arms crying at the turn of events. He could feel her trembling and he made soft shushing noises to try and quiet her down. After a while, she calmed down enough that Bo finally was able to ask the question that was on his mind.
"Mind tellin' me why ya were bein' shot at?"
Maddie sniffed and pulled away slightly, still not wanting to leave his embrace. "It's a long and complicated story, but in a nutshell, my name wasn't always Madeline Weiss, it was Leslie Bergman."
Bo looked back at her with a surprised look on his face. "What are ya talkin' about?"
Maddie took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Over a year ago, I was in Pittsburgh for the weekend with some friends when I unintentionally witnessed a mob hit."
"A mob hit?" If Bo wasn't surprised enough about Maddie's name change, he was totally stunned at what he had just heard.
Maddie shivered and snuggled closer to her friend, feeling his strength protecting her. "Yeah. My friends and I went to one of the theaters there for some kind of a show; I can't even remember what it was now. I was tired and not feeling too well but my friends still wanted to go out, so I told them I would see them back at the hotel. I decided to walk back, it was dark, and I knew that it could be dangerous, but it was only a couple of blocks away. Just before I got to the hotel, a car pulled over next to one that was already parked and the window rolled down to reveal a man with a large semi-automatic weapon. He opened fire at the other car filling it full of holes. What I didn't realize at the time was that there was someone actually in that other car. I tried to scream but was too frightened, and as I started backing away from the two cars, the shooter turned and saw me there. He aimed the gun at me but for some reason, it didn't go off. Not waiting for another chance that he could shoot me, I ran as fast as I could. I'm not really sure just how far I ran, I just kept turning corners and running down alleys, hoping to lose him, and I actually ended up at a police station. Word had already come in about the shooting, so they rushed me into an interrogation room and the FBI was immediately notified. Seems the man who was killed was a senator who was being blackmailed. The senator had a change of heart at the last minute and that's why he was killed."
Bo sat there taking in what he had just heard and hugged her a little tighter. "Let me guess. You're the only witness?"
Maddie nodded. "The FBI had me go through the mug shots and the guy I recognized turned out to be one of the mob's number one hit men, a guy by the name of Nick Gionelli."
"And I take it that they haven't been able ta get this guy yet?"
Maddie shook her head this time. "Unfortunately, he's still out there and probably the one who shot Bill."
"And Bill is…?"
"Agent Bill Watson. He's the FBI agent that was assigned to place me in the Witness Protection Program," Maddie said with a sigh. "They set me up with the house and agreed to get me all those machines in the barn so that I could work on the place since it was in need of repair. They also got me the job at the lawyer's office, even though I've never worked for one before." Maddie's face took on a frustrated look as she continued. "Everything was going well too, nobody, not even my family knew where I was. That was probably the hardest part about this whole situation. To them, I just up and disappeared and I wasn't even allowed to contact them to let them know that I was alright."
"Oh Darlin', I'm so sorry," Bo said. "No wonder ya had such a look of longin' when ya talked about your family."
"I was just getting used to the fact that it would be a long time before I could see them again and that I might have you and your family to help ease some of that pain when something went wrong. Bill told me this morning that Gionelli found out where I was."
"Does this Agent Watson know how that happened?"
"Seems someone was asking questions about me, trying to find out my financial situation and if I really did work at that law firm in Capitol City."
"Who was doin' that?"
"Maddie sighed in anger this time. "According to Bill, Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane."
"Boss," Bo said through gritted teeth.
"Because of them checking up on me, they inadvertently let Gionelli know where I was. The FBI tracked him to the area but they're not sure where he is exactly."
"And Watson was here ta take ya ta a new home?"
"Yeah." Maddie turned to look directly into Bo's eyes. "Bo, I'm sorry that I lied to you like that. I didn't mean to deceive you; it's just that I couldn't tell you about my true past, only bits and pieces that I knew were safe."
"Hey, I understand that," Bo answered as he stroked her cheek with his thumb, wiping the tears from her face. "But right now we need ta get a hold of Luke and the others and do something sos that we can catch that Gionelli guy. That way ya can stop runnin' and let your family know that you're safe."
"You can't do that!" Maddie cried out. "Bo, that guy's a trained killer. He could end up hurting you or the others or worse and that's the last thing that I want. No, I need to contact Bill's superiors and explain what happened and then I need to get out of here before that guy does end up hurting someone I care about."
"Ah, but you're forgettin' one thing," Bo said with a comforting smile. Maddie stared at Bo with a puzzled expression her face. "This guy is on our turf now and we Dukes know a thing or two about a good shuck and jive."
"Shuck and jive?"
"Yep, that's where we give the bad guy a piece of his own medicine. Let me make a phone call and we'll meet up with Luke and the others and explain everything ta them. Once they know what's goin' on, we'll come up with somethin' that will capture this fella."
"I'm scared, Bo and not just for myself. I don't want anyone else to get hurt because of me."
"I know ya are, but I'll be with ya every step of the way, okay?" Maddie bit her lower lip and nodded, still not liking the idea of getting everyone else involved. "Good girl," Bo smiled as he placed his forehead on hers. "Before ya know it, this will all be over. Now come on, we got a phone call ta make." Getting up, he dragged Maddie into Doctor Appleby's private office and quickly placed a call to the farm.