Warning: Not beta-ed and I'm very sure there will be grammatical and probably spelling errors in this one, so once again I apologise in advance.
Disclaimer: As much as I would love to own Bo and Luke Duke, I don't and neither do I own any of the other characters in the Dukes of Hazzard. The Song in chapter four is Brotherly Love which was written by Jimmy Stewart and Tim Nichols, and performed by Moe Bandy as well as Keith Whitley and Earl Thomas Conley. It was first recorded in 1989 and therefore not in the Dukes' timeline but I love the lyrics and I think it describes the Duke boys beautifully.
The next day at Jimmy's garage, Bo was tuning a car someone had brought in for service. It was his last job before the day was over. He was worried though, because Jimmy was so quiet. Bo had asked him what was wrong, but Jimmy just told him he had a bad night's sleep. Which was true, he just didn't tell Bo why he couldn't sleep. Jimmy didn't know why he had to tell people that he didn't know Bo, and he didn't want to cause any trouble for him because he really liked the boy, but his family will always come first. He hoped nothing happened to Bo because of what he was to do today.
"All done, Jimmy." Bo wiped his hand on a rag. Jimmy jumped at his voice. Bo frowned, Jimmy was extremely jumpy today. "Are you sure you're okay, Jimmy?"
"Yes, yes, I'm fine, Bo." Jimmy answered quickly. He pulled out twenty-five dollars from the cash register and handed it to Bo. "It was a pleasure having you around, Bo."
"Thanks for giving me the job. You know, if you need any help at all. I'm only in Hazzard County on Old Mill Rd. You can call on me any time." Bo told him.
Jimmy gave him a sad smile. "I know. You're a good man, Bo. Now off you go and get that carburettor for your cousin's birthday."
Bo beamed at that. "I think I'll do that! Thanks again, Jimmy. Say good-bye to Mrs Larson for me!" Bo jumped into Dixie and drove into the town centre to the auto-parts store. He ran up to the counter and pulled out $210.15. Here's the rest of the money for the carburettor, Mr Jennings!"
Mr Jennings smiled at the boisterous young man. "I have your carburettor right here and here's your receipt."
Bo ran his hand over the carburettor "He's a beauty, ain't he?"
"Sure is." Mr Jennings found his job boring at times, but it was customers like Bo, who really appreciated cars and their parts, that made his day.
Bo shook his hand. "Thank you very much, Sir!" Bo left the shop with the part, forgetting about the receipt which had slipped on to the floor of the store.
Bo drove home, whistling to a tune on the radio. He frowned when he got to the county line to find Rosco and Enos flagging him down. Bo looked at his speedometer. He wasn't speeding. "What are they up to now?" Bo stopped the car. "What's going on, Rosco, Enos?"
"I'm sorry about this, Bo." Enos said.
"Don't apologise to this criminal, Enos!" Rosco said as he pulled out his handcuffs. "Bo Duke, you are under arrest for grand theft auto!"
"What? What are you playing at, Rosco?" Bo was really getting tired of getting arrested every week for something Boss and Rosco thought up in their heads and considered true.
"Enos, read him his rights!" Rosco ignored him as he led Bo out of the Jeep and cuffed his hands behind his back. Bo looked at Enos, confused.
"You have the right to remain silent," Enos was reading his cue card, "Anything you say or do, may and will be used against you in the court of law."
Rosco looked into the car and picked up the carburettor "What's this?"
"Don't you know a carburettor when you see one, Rosco?" Bo rolled his eyes.
"And how did you get this carburettor?" Rosco asked, looking really smug. "I bet it's from one of them stolen cars."
"What? It's brand new. I just bought it!" This day was not turning out the way he thought it would.
"Oh piddly diddly. You're lying. You Dukes always lie." Rosco said, he picked up a pair of grease stained jeans. "And this is from all that work on the stolen cars. Kiew, kiew!"
Bo opened his mouth to explain but Rosco just shoved Bo along and into the patrol car. "Enos, call Cooter to tow Dixie"
"Yes, Sir." Enos said with his head down. He didn't like it when he had to arrest any of the Duke boys. They've been friends since they were kids, so he knew them well enough to know none of them would steal cars, especially not from people who they know. Enos called Cooter, telling him where to pick up Dixie before heading back to town. He prayed Luke and Jesse would be able to help Bo.
At the court house...
"Rosco, I didn't do anything!" Bo said for the one hundredth time.
"Oh really, then why is it that you don't have a receipt for that carber...thingy."
"Carburettor and I did have one. You ask Mr Jennings at Jennings auto-parts. He'll tell ya!" Bo said as his cuffs were taken off and shoved into the cell.
"Oh, even if it's true. Where did you get the money for it? I know you Duke boys don't have a penny to your name." Rosco slammed the cell door shut and locked it. "I've got you this time Bo Duke. You're going away for a long time."
"Rosco, I got the money from..."
"Stealing cars and selling them for parts!" Rosco finished for him.
"No way, Rosco! You ain't framing me for the car thefts!" Bo gripped the bars, glaring at Rosco. Rosco just ignored him and left him in his cell alone. "I still get a phone call!" It was no use. Bo slammed his hand against the bars. How did the day turn so bad?"
Luke came home after another day of not finding anything on the car thieves. He couldn't understand how they were doing it. Cooter and he had been looking for any patterns but they had hit all over Hazzard at random times between one and five. It hit Luke then, that all the theft were happening when Bo was away from Hazzard. He didn't understand why he didn't make that connection earlier. Probably because stealing cars would be the last thing Bo would do, but it would explain why Bo felt the need to lie to his family these past couple of weeks. Luke shook his head, no way Bo wouldn't steal cars, not for any reason.
"Still nothing on the car thefts?" Jesse asked him from the stove, interrupting his thoughts.
"Nothing." Luke was thinking if he should tell Jesse about the photo. He decided he would when the phone rang. Luke went to pick it up. "Duke farm, Luke Duke here."
"Luke, this is Enos. I'm sorry to tell you this, but Bo's been arrested for grand theft auto. The Sheriff thinks he's the one stealing the cars."
"Really." For some reason Luke wasn't shocked at hearing the news but he was angry. "We're on our way!" Luke slammed the phone down. "Bo's been arrested for grand theft auto." Luke told Jesse. "Let's go." Jesse took off his apron and followed Luke to the General.
Jesse watched Luke as he drove. "I know you're angry, but you know how Rosco likes to frame you boys. We'll get Bo out of this."
"I hope so, Uncle Jesse. The only problem is, I'm not so sure Bo's being framed." Luke said, surprising his uncle with the accusation.
"Luke! How can you say that? You know Bo would never do a thing a like that."
"I know, but right now, all the evidence points his way." Luke explained everything he found out to Jesse and by the time they arrived at the courthouse, even Jesse had doubts.
"We're here to see Bo." Jesse told Rosco, unnecessarily.
Rosco looked at him smugly. "You can see him, Jesse but you can't get him out of this one. He has no alibi and no receipt for the carburettor and no legs left to stand on. Kiew, kiew."
"What carburettor are you talking about, Rosco?" Luke didn't like it when Rosco was smug.
Rosco reached under the counter and pulled out the carburettor he found in Dixie. "This carburettor"
Luke's eyes widened at the part. He recognised it right away. "That's the carburettor in the magazine. I've been looking at that for weeks now, but it's over two hundred dollars. How did Bo get his hands on that?"
"I'll tell you how. He's stealing cars and selling the parts. He bought it with his dirty money." Rosco told them as if he was sure. It's amazing how Rosco buys into his and Boss's stories so much that he actually believes it. He reached under the counter and pulled out a pair of jeans. "This proves it as well. Must have got all this grease from taking the cars apart."
"I think we'll talk to Bo before we come to any conclusions." Jesse was determined to hear Bo's side of the story. The last thing they were going to do was accuse Bo of something this serious.
"You go right on ahead. Bail is set at $1000." Luke want so much to wipe that smile of his face.
Downstairs, Bo jumped up when he heard the doors open. "Luke, Uncle Jesse!" Bo smiled. He knew everything was gonna be okay, now that his cousin was here. "You gotta get me outta here. Dang, Rosco and Boss's framing me again."
"Slow down, Bo. Why don't you tell us what happened?" Jesse asked of him.
"Like how you got that carburettor and why your jeans are all greased up." Luke said with clenched jaws.
Bo didn't like the sound of Luke's voice. He could tell Luke was holding back his anger. "Do you believe I'm the car thief, Luke?"
"I don't know what to believe. You've been ly..."
"Luke!" Jesse said disapprovingly, "Let Bo explain."
"No," Bo looked at Luke, "I want to hear what he has to say."
Luke nodded, his eyes cold, "You've been lying to us. I called the Mekeroys. They don't know of any Bo Duke!"
Bo's eyes widened at that. They had found out. He didn't want them to find out this way. "Luke, I can explain."
"We're listening." Luke hoped Bo had a good explanation.
"I lied about helping out Josiah Mekeroy, but it's not what you think. I ain't doing nothing illegal. I was working at Jimmy's Garage in Choctaw." Bo sat down on the cot in the cell, feeling bad that this was how they had to find out.
"Working?" Jesse asked, "What do you need to work for?"
"I've been trying to make some money to buy that carburettor I knew you wanted it." He looked at Luke, whose eyes had softened.
"You could've told us." Luke said quietly, feeling bad for doubting his cousin.
"It was a surprise. For your birthday." Disappointed that the surprise was ruined.
"Why didn't you tell us? We would've chipped in." Jesse asked him.
"I know you would've. That's why I didn't. I didn't want you digging into the mortgage money and I wanted the gift to be from me." Bo looked down at his hands. "Just me."
Now Luke was feeling really bad. He knelt down and reached in, squeezing Bo's shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll get you out of here. Would this Jimmy guy vouch for you?"
Bo looked up. "Yeah, he's a great guy. Actually, he knows you, Uncle Jesse. Jimmy Larson. He'll tell ya I was there."
"Jimmy Larson! I knew him from the Ridge Runner days. Well, if what you say is true, and I'm sure it is, Jimmy will confirm it for sure!" Jesse smiled, he always did like Jimmy.
Luke nodded, "Okay, you sit tight. We'll be back with Jimmy. Don't worry, cuz, we'll get you out of here."
Bo smiled and nodded. He had no doubt that Luke would get him out of here. Luke had always been around to bail him out of trouble.
Jimmy's garage...
"Are you sure you haven't seen him?" Luke was showing Jimmy a picture of his family he had in his wallet...again. He pointed to Bo, "This man!"
Jesse put a hand on Luke's arm. "Luke, calm down. Look, Jimmy. This is really important to us. Bo is going straight to Atlanta's Federal Prison if we can't prove he wasn't in Hazzard at the times of the theft. He said he was working for you. How would he know that we know each other if he's never been here?"
"I'm sorry, Jesse. Maybe Bo found out somehow from an old friend of ours or something..." Jimmy shrugged, "I don't know, but I've never met Bo." Jimmy was very convincing. He had to be, his family's lives depended on it. Jesse sighed and nodded his head. "I'm sorry, Jesse. I wish our reunion was under better circumstances. It was great seeing you again."
"Yeah, same here." Jesse walked away and dragged Luke with him. "I can't believe Bo would lie like that."
"Are you sure Bo's the one lying and not Jimmy, Uncle Jesse?" Luke didn't understand why Bo would lie straight to their face.
"Doesn't seem like he's lying, Luke, and the Jimmy I knew, wouldn't lie. He may not have been around the Ridge Runners long but he was the most honourable of them all."
Luke was angry again and Jesse could see it. "Bo, on the other hand has been lying for two weeks and he's pretty good at it."
"Why would Bo lie about this? He would know that we'd find out." Jesse reasoned.
Luke and Jesse climbed into the General Lee. "I don't know why, but I intend to find out. I don't like being lied to, especially not by Bo."
Jimmy watched them drive away in the General. He knew who they were before they even got out of the car. Bo had described the General Lee to him so many times, it was etched in his brain. And Luke, well, Bo described him to the T. He really is quite scary when he wants to be. Jimmy was still to see the other side of Luke. "I'm sorry, Bo." Jimmy whispered to the disappearing car. He closed up shop and went home early. He was going to get out of Choctaw County.
At the courthouse...
Luke barged into the courthouse and straight down to the cell, followed by Jesse. He didn't even bother waiting for Rosco's permission.
"You want to start telling the truth, Bo!" Luke's voice was soft and dangerous.
Bo stood up and looked at his cousin in confusion. "What are you talking about, Luke? Did you speak to Jimmy?"
Luke gave a short laugh, "Yeah, I spoke to Jimmy and no, he doesn't know a Bo Duke! You need to start coming up with better stories Bo, because they're all coming down on you."
"He told you he didn't know me?" Bo couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Why would he do that?"
"It's true, Bo." Jesse said, "And he ain't lying. Jimmy Larson's an honourable man, he doesn't lie." He didn't realise how it sounded until it was too late. He could see the hurt in Bo's eyes and immediately wanted to take back what he had just said but he couldn't.
"So I guess I'm not honourable, I'm the one who lies?"
"Well, you've been lying to us for a while. Why stop now?" Jesse wanted to stop Luke from saying any more. He knew this was all going to get out of hand.
"I already told you why I lied about the Mekeroys!"
"Yeah, and it was a great story too. I was feelin' real bad when you told me about getting the carburettor for my birthday, but now, I don't know what to feel." Luke glared at his cousin.
Bo moved away from the bars when he realised that no one believed him. "I think you do know how you feel." Bo looked between Luke and Jesse, "Both of you. Y'all don't believe me."
Jesse spoke up, "It's not that, but so far, nothing rings true."
"Nothing rings true because you've already decided I'm guilty. Before y'all even got here, y'all already assumed to worst of me." Bo was leaning against the wall opposite his family. His arms folded across his chest.
"That's not true, Bo." Jesse tried to defend himself and Luke, "But if you really worked for Jimmy all this time, why would he lie?"
"I don't know. Maybe whoever is trying to frame me, got to him. Did you ever think of that?" Bo asked them, "Maybe they bribed him or threatened his family."
"You think I wouldn't be able to tell if he was lying. If his family was threatened he would've left town." Luke was refusing to believe him and Bo didn't understand why.
"Jimmy would never take a bribe." Jesse said softly.
Bo couldn't believe what he was hearing. His own family thinks he's a thief and a liar. "Why would I tell a lie that could be found out once you get there?"
"I don't know, Bo, but you were never really bright!" Luke was so angry, he couldn't even stop himself from talking, even though he knew he was hurting his cousin.
"Luke! That was uncalled for!" Jesse berated. "This is not..."
"Get out!" Bo told them. Jesse looked at him in, astounded at Bo's outburst. "It's obvious that you would rather believe everyone else but me, so I don't need y'all here."
"Bo, if you would just tell..." Jesse jumped back in shock when Bo lashed out.
"I've told you everything!" Bo launched himself at the bars. "I've told you everything, but y'all refuse to believe me, so just get the hell out of here. I don't need you. For all I care, Rosco can keep me here forever as long as they keep y'all away from me!"
Luke shook his head at Bo. "You're not the Bo I grew up with. Come on, Uncle Jesse." Jesse gave Bo a disapproving look before letting Luke lead him out.
"And you're not the cousin I look up to." Bo dropped down on the cot in defeat. How could such a good day turn into this in such a short time and why wouldn't they believe him! He wanted to scream and yell and break something but there was nothing around to break and he didn't want to give Rosco the satisfaction of beating him by screaming. Enos came in then.
"Bo, can I get you anything?" He asked timidly. Bo looked up at him and Enos felt like a low-down pole-cat. "I'm sorry, Bo. I don't believe you did it, but all the evidence points to you."
"Of course it does. This was Boss's plan after all. Frame a Duke for something and get them behind bars so that he can go about cheating the money out of the towns people without us, Dukes, getting in his way." Bo was feeling empty now. Everything he fought for was gone. "Well, he's got one."
Enos didn't know what to say to comfort Bo, so instead he changed the subject. "I'm going to get you something to eat and drink."
"Don't bother. I ain't hungry." Bo said as he laid down on the cot. Looking at the ceiling, at nothing. Enos left the room.
"I can't believe Bo would do such a thing!" Daisy cried when Luke told her what had happened.
"I don't want to believe it either but the fact is that he lied to us and Jimmy confirmed it." Luke told her. Luke had shown her the picture Boss Hogg had dropped, confirming that Bo had indeed been working on a car and not on a farm, but Daisy still didn't want to believe that her baby cousin was lying to them all this time and was stealing cars.
"Would he really steal cars?" Daisy was trying to convince her uncle and cousin that Bo would never do a thing like that. "Bo told you why he was lying about helping out a friend. Why don't you believe him?" Daisy smiled as she thought about. "It's sounds like something Bo would do. He would do anything for us, for you, Luke."
"Including stealing cars, apparently." Luke said, dead panned.
"No!" Daisy got up from the table, "No, he wouldn't do that because the last thing he would do is disappoint you or Uncle Jesse and if y'all thought about it, you would know that!"
"The timing matches, Daisy." Jesse didn't want to believe it either, but right now, all the evidence points that way.
"And if he was being framed, how would the person or people know that Bo was away at those times and that he wouldn't be in the county?" Luke asked. There was many things that made Bo's story impossible and it was making Luke doubt him more and more.
"It ain't that hard, Luke. You and Bo are always together. Do you think nobody would notice that you two haven't been stuck to each other like glue for two weeks?" Daisy couldn't believe that her smart, older cousin was being so dense. Not to mention, her wise uncle, would think this of Bo. "Luke, Uncle Jesse, y'all need to calm down and think about this. You know Bo would never steal cars. It just ain't him." Daisy picked up the picture of Bo fixing the car. "I don't care if there are a thousand of these pictures or a thousand witnesses that say Bo's a thief. I will never believe it and neither should you two!" Daisy ran to her room and slammed the door.
"She's right, you know. We shouldn't be doubting Bo like this." Jesse said.
"How do you explain Jimmy then?" Luke asked his uncle. "You said he's an honorable man. Why would he do this to Bo?"
"I don't know. Maybe Bo's right. Maybe he was bribed or threatened. I haven't seen him in over thirty years. People change." Jesse's mind was clearer now. It wasn't filled with disappointment and doubt. Daisy had cleared his head for him, but was it too late? "Bo wouldn't steal. He's a Duke."
Luke got up. "I'm going to get ready for bed. We'll talk again in the morning." Luke wasn't ready to let go of his anger. He was hurt that Bo would lie to him and that didn't allow his brain to work as quickly as it should.
Jimmy and his family were packing their bags. They needed to get away, but his wife was being stubborn. "This has been our home for 32 years. I ain't leaving until you give me a good reason why?" Jimmy sighed. He knew he didn't have a choice. Jimmy knew his wife well enough to know that she wouldn't leave. He told her everything from Bo coming to work to the threat he got yesterday.
"Honey, you have to do the right thing." She told him. "You can't let your fear put an innocent man behind bars. Especially not a man who is a Duke. You've told me enough about Jesse Duke for me to know that you respect him more than anybody else in your life. You can't do this to him!"
Jimmy nodded. She was right. If he let Bo go to jail, he would never be able to live with himself and he'll never be able to face Jesse Duke again. "I'll go to Hazzard, if you promise to go to your sister's in Atlanta until this blows over." She smiled and kissed him. She knew he would do the right thing, it was why she married him.
Bo laid on the cot in his cell. There was a tray of food and water left on the ground, untouched. Bo didn't feel like eating or drinking. He didn't feel like doing anything. He didn't feel anything. Nothing at all. It was a strange phenomenon for Bo, to not feel. Bo had always been the one to feel and express the most in the Duke family, but right now, there was nothing. Just an emptiness. In one day, he went from happy to excitement to anger to fear to rage and now, nothing.
