Vector 426 - Thaks again for the review! Love the 'Mt Pauline' reference!
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Chapter 46
When Jesse walked in the Courthouse he noticed that the Green boy was still in the cell upstairs. Jesse headed down the stairs, "Rosco, open this blamed gate."
John didn't have to look up to know that he was about to catch heck.
Rosco didn't argue as he went to open the gate to let Jesse Duke in to see his brother.
"Do you want to tell me why you were at the Boar's Nest when you told me you was heading to Hatchapee?" Jesse asked.
John hadn't felt like he was two in a long time but right now standing in an orange jumpsuit on the inside of a cell in front of his older brother that was exactly how he felt right now. No he didn't want to tell Jesse why he'd ended up at the Boar's Nest but he figured if he wanted out of that cell that he'd better get to talking. "Well, I thought the kids might have been there or been coming by so I stopped and decided to wait on them. Does Pauline know?"
"I haven't talked to her, but maybe I should have let her come down here." Jesse said.
John knew better than to tell Jesse that he wouldn't do just that because if he did, Jesse would likely use Rosco's phone to call her. "Come on Jesse, just get me out here will you?"
Jesse looked at John a long hard minute before turning to Rosco, "I swear if this bunch keeps it up. I know my hair may be white but they are now working to make me bald too. Rosco what's it gonna take to get him out of there?"
Rosco replied but couldn't keep the grin off his face, "You'll have to be here to see the Judge after church about one."
"Alright." Jesse said to Rosco, then turned to John. He didn't want to get into too much about what happened with the Campbell guy right there. He pointed his finger at his younger brother like he had done when John was a kid, "Then we're gonna talk before you head home."
"Alright." John said as Jesse headed back to the gate.
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Pauline didn't really like the idea of taking the twins to church alone. She really wanted to know where John was so she could decided whether to start getting ready or not. She picked up the phone and dialed the Hazzard operator, "Jesse Duke's please."
Gussy made the connection to the Duke farm from the out of County line.
As luck would have it the boys were doing the Sunday morning chores while Daisy had headed for the shower so no one heard the ringing phone.
Gussy said, "There is no answer would you like to try another number?'
"No, I'll try back later." Pauline said.
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Over at the Murphy household, Mrs. Murphy had explained their daughter's phone call to her husband along with the non-sense about not being able to get Charlene home until after four o'clock.
Mr. Murphy went to the phone and called the Placid County jail. "Yes, this is Reverend Murphy. I think that my daughter, Charlene is there?"
The officer looked at the paperwork, "Yes, Sir, she is."
"Alright, I'll be right down to get her." Mr. Murphy said.
"Sir, there isn't any point in coming down yet. The Judge won't be here until around four this afternoon." The jail officer said.
"Well, that is just not acceptable. As I told you I am Reverend Murphy, my daughter NEEDS to be in church by ten this morning." Rev. Murphy said.
The officer hated when people tried to use their positions in the community to get around the law. Unfortunately, there was nothing that the officer could do until the Judge came in, "Sir, she may very well need to be in church but I hate to tell you, it's not going to happen today. The Judge doesn't even come in until after church. He told me when I talked to him earlier that he has some arraignments to do in Hazzard before he even comes over here."
"Surely there must be some way to pick my daughter up before church." Rev. Murphy insisted.
"No, Sir. I'm sorry there isn't. Once the Judge gets here he will set a bond and if you bond her out then she will be released." The officer explained.
"Bond? What do you mean bond her out?" The Reverend asked.
The officer began, "The Judge most always sets a cash bond on charges like your daughters."
"Charges?" It only now hit Rev. Murphy that if his daughter was in jail of course there had to be charges files against her. He wondered what she could have possibly done to be arrested. Charlene had never been in trouble in school, always got good grades. She hadn't even asked to date until about a year ago. "Yes, what exactly were the charges?"
The officer flipped the paperwork until he saw the charges. He really didn't think the preacher was going to like either. "Well, Sir, the paperwork shows she is being charged with Underage Drinking and, ... umm, ... Indecent Exposure."
"Surely YOU are mistaken! MY daughter would do no such a thing!" Rev. Murphy said. He saw his wife looking at him with concern.
"I can only tell you what the paperwork says, Sir." The officer said.
After the initial shock of the charges the preacher replied, "Yes, yes. I know. I don't mean to take this out on you. You are certain that there is nothing that I can do until after four?"
"No, Sir. Nothing at all until the Judge arrives." The officer said.
"Alright. Thank you." Rev. Murphy said as he hung up the phone.
"What is it?" Mrs. Murphy asked.
Rev. Murphy said, "You better sit down. I found out what Charlene is charged with doing. There is nothing I can do, even after I told him WHO I am, to get her released sooner."
"What on Earth could she have done?" She asked.
"She is being charged with Underage Drinking and Indecent Exposure." Rev. Murphy explained.
"Oh Dear! She wouldn't do any of that!" Mrs. Murphy said. Then she remembered something Charlene had said when she called. She had said 'we'. So that meant that Charlene wasn't the only one arrested. She was supposed to have the Duke girl spend the night with her. Mrs. Murphy picked up the phone.
Pauline had just gotten the girls almost asleep when the phone rang causing both to start crying. She tried to sooth them as she answered the phone in hopes that it was John David. "Duke residence."
"Mrs. Duke." Mrs. Murphy said as she heard the sounds of the twins crying. She rolled her eyes. Yes, the twins were cute, but who at that age would have a baby? Let alone TWINS?
"Shhhhhh. Yes, that is me. Sorry the phone woke the girls." Pauline said.
"This is Rev. Murphy's wife. Your daughter Karen was supposed to spend the night with Charlene last night." She said.
Pauline hesitated. Karen had said she was with Charlene, but she wasn't sure that Charlene's mother knew that yet. So she replied in a neutral fashion. "Yes."
"Is Karen home?" Mrs. Murphy asked.
Pauline wasn't about to admit to the preachers wife where Karen was, "No, when I spoke to her earlier she said she was with Charlene." It was the truth, Pauline reasoned.
Mrs. Murphy nodded. That's what she had suspected. "Well, just a bit ago I got a call from Charlene. When she was talking she indicated that she may be with Karen."
"Really? Why would they be calling you? They were suppose to be at your house. Did you let them go out?" Pauline asked innocently.
"It was my understanding that they were meeting each other at the movies then maybe going out to eat then coming here. I thought it was strange that I never heard them when they came in." Mrs. Murphy said.
"You didn't? Well that IS odd. I myself can never go to sleep without knowing where my kids are. So. What time DID Charlene take Karen to your house?" Pauline asked.
"Well, that seems to be the trouble. After talking with Charlene, it seems she didn't make it here at all. That's why I was calling to try to figure out if they were indeed together last night." Mrs. Murphy said. She still wasn't ready to go telling members of her husbands congregation that their daughter was in jail.
"As far as I know, they were together all night. Since she was with Charlene, I didn't make her call home to check in last night." Pauline had a feeling that Mrs. Murphy was fishing for what she knew but she wasn't about to be the first one to admit where the girls were. "After all, if your daughter was staying here I would know her where abouts. So if they aren't there and they aren't here, where did Charlene call you from?"
Mrs. Murphy began, "Look, Mrs. Duke, my daughter has never been in any trouble in the past. This is the first time that she has not came home. If our girls are together then your daughter, ... "
Pauline cut her off, "Mrs. Murphy if you are trying to blame Karen for any of this then you better start looking a bit closer to home. MY daughter has NEVER stayed away from home before and the parents NOT known where she was."
"Well now IF they had actually made it here to MY home I would have been able to look after them. We go to bed early on Saturdays to be ready for a full day of praise on Sunday. I always hear Charlene when she comes home alone. So I just knew I'd hear her and a friend coming in." Mrs Murphy said.
"Well, why didn't they make it to your house. Karen is always where she says she'll be. She said that she would be with your daughter. So, where did your daughter go instead of home?" Pauline said a bit louder than planned which caused Emma to stir.
"You said that Karen told you she was with Charlene. So if that is true, can you tell me exactly what YOUR daughter did to get MINE arrested?" Mrs. Murphy lost it.
"What do you MEAN Karen got your daughter arrested? Karen has never been in trouble a day in her life. Just what did Charlene get arrested for anyway?" Pauline protested even louder which managed to wake both the twins up. She was trying to calm both the babies while holding the phone which wasn't working very well.
Mrs. Murphy was having trouble hearing her daughter's friend's mother over the crying babies. "That is beside the point! If YOUR daughter is with her, then what did she DO to get them both arrested?"
Pauline nearly bellowed, "My Karen wouldn't have done anything wrong. My family has been an upstanding part of this community for over a hundred years. I suppose I should have paid attention to some of what was being said about all of those times that Charlene didn't make it into church last year in high school. Now for the last time. WHAT did Charlene get arrested for?"
"Mrs. Murphy frowned, "WHO is saying WHAT about my Charlene NOT being in church? Every time she wasn't at our church she was an honored guest in other districts! How dare you imply anything less!" Mrs. Murphy replied loudly.
Pauline huffed, "Honored guest my left foot! Rumor is she was being 'honored' by all the boys in the other congregations. You still did NOT answer me. What was YOUR daughter arrested for?"
Mrs. Murphy had heard enough and ended the phone conversation by hanging up the phone.
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By the time Jesse got back to Doc's office, Luke looked to be feeling much better. Doc had re wrapped his ribs and then insisted on giving him a shot to take some of the pain. Jesse could tell that his oldest was relaxed and breathing much easier.
Doc said, "He should be awake and ready to go home by the time you are finished at church."
Jesse pulled out his pocket watch. He would be cutting it close but he could manage to get to the farm clean up and be in church on time. "Thanks Doc. What could have caused those other ribs to break like that?"
Doc gave Jesse a gentle smile, "Go get ready for church. We'll talk about that when you get back."
Jesse took another look at his resting nephew, then replied, "Well, alright. I appreciate everything you are doing for my boy."
"That is what I'm here for, Jesse." Doc Applebee said.
After Jesse left Kim looked at her Uncle, "Mr. Duke had a point. What could have made the other ribs break like that?"
Doc Applebee replied to his teenaged niece, "Never mind that. You need to get ready for church too and tell the Reverend that I am attending a patient this morning."
Kim turned to get ready for church, "Yes, Sir." She still couldn't help but wonder what the older Duke boy had managed to do to get re-injured in such a short time." She couldn't help taking just one more look at the dark haired Duke without his shirt on as he rested.
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Trooper Mitchell showed up at the jail early to finish his paperwork before the Judge arrived. He wasn't sure what time the Judge would be there but he wanted to make sure the rookie hadn't left anything out of the reports he had written. The Trooper was buzzed in the doors then went into the office. The senior Trooper had his priorities in line. The first thing he did was pour him a cup of coffee.
Danny nudged Frank who was trying to doze back off, "Something is happening. Trooper just came in."
Frank looked up. "Nah, he's just looking for a free cup of coffee. They said the Judge won't be here until at least four."
Trooper Mitchell set down on the back side of the desk. The jail officer that he'd asked to find out which females were with which males was on the front side of the desk. Mitchell was taking his portable breathalyzer readings and putting them with the right paperwork. "So did you find out who was out with whom last night?"
"I did." The officer said. He pulled a small notepad from his shirt pocket. "I got the first names for ya."
"That will work I can match the paperwork up by that." Trooper Mitchell said.
"Ok, here we go. The Danny guy was with Karen." The officer said.
Mitchell looked through the paperwork and layed the two sets of paperwork together. "Alright."
The officer continued, "Your friend Larry."
Mitchell gave him a hard look before the officer continued.
"Uhh, anyway, ..." The officer cleared his throat before continuing, "Larry was with Charlene. Get this she is a preacher's daughter."
"Interesting." Mitchell said as he put the other two files together.
"Then there is Frank and Jackie. Kid said they been dating awhile." The officer said.
Mitchell put those two files together. "So that leaves Roy and Peggy?"
"Right. The kid said he thought that Roy had heard some stuff about her and was trying to see if it was true." The officer said.
"Well from what I seen, it was true and he'd likely found out if I'd been a few more minutes getting there." Mitchell said as he began looking and the intoxilizer readings of the couples. The first two he looked at was those of Danny and Karen. Danny had just been over the limit, but Karen had blew the most of all the females and her reading was nearly as high as Larry's who had blew the most of the guys. Looking at the paperwork, Larry's date had blew the least of the girls. While the other four friends readings were all close to each other. Trooper Mitchell could see the preachers girl not drinking too much but what puzzled him was Danny. Mitchell couldn't help but wonder if he was trying to take advantage of the girl by getting her drunk to get what he wanted. "So when is the Judge coming in today?"
"He told us about four." The officer said.
"Alright, then I'm going to go grab something to eat and I'll be back." The Trooper said as he stood and threw his coffee cup in the trash.
"See you then." The officer said as he let the Trooper back out of the jail.
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Jesse made it back to the farm in time to get ready and head out to church with the others. Even feeling the effects of last night, Cooter, Mark and Jeb had managed to get the needed chores done with Bo helping as best he could.
Jesse looked around as the church service began. Other than Luke and Mr. Campbell attendance seemed to be normal.
After church, Jesse told the kids, "Ya'll can stick around here or wait out side Doc's office. I need to go check on Luke to see if he is ready to be taken home."
The group of young people decided to talk to friends while Jesse went over to Doc's office which was also his house.
Jesse managed to get to the gate just as Kim was topping the few steps.
"Come on in Mr. Duke. If Uncle Irving is right Luke should be ready to head home." Kim said.
"Fine, fine. That sounds good." Jesse said. He followed Kim into the office area of the clinic.
"Uncle Irving, we're here." Kim called out.
Irving came out of the room where Luke had been resting. "Jesse Luke is waking up now. He seems to be breathing better now and in far less pain."
Jesse nodded, "Thanks Doc."
Doc Applebee motioned Jesse into his office, "Luke should be fine. Like I said earlier, he needs to be restricted to his bed, couch, recliner, maybe the porch swing for at least a week, two would be better, to give those ribs time to start heeling. And, umm, ... Jesse, .. I ain't entirely sure but, if I were you, ... I'd stick pretty close if he had any friends of the, ummm, ... female persuasion come by to check on him."
Jesse nodded. Yes, Doc had said a lot to the man without saying anything at all. Jesse shook his head at his nephew's carelessness. He couldn't believe, ... no, ... yes, he could believe it.
A short time later, Luke was awake and dressed thanks to some help from Kim. He couldn't understand his cousin's dislike of her. Sure she wasn't his type but he didn't see any reason to dislike her like Bo did. Luke felt better but was still feeling some of the effects of the medicine Doc gave him to knock him out. He felt just a little unsteady as he and Jesse made their way to the truck parked outside the small office. Luke was just getting in the truck when he noticed the unfamiliar van at the Courthouse. Before he could mention it he saw Ralph Green being taken out of the Courthouse to the van. "Uncle Jes, ... " Luke nodded toward the Courthouse.
As Jesse turned he saw what had caught Luke's attention. He saw that Ralph Green was still dressed in orange but it was different from the orange that Luke had been wearing when he'd been in jail with him. The officers escorting him wore unfamiliar uniforms. Ralph was chained up in enough cuffs and chains that he better hope the van didn't end up in the Hatchapee River or he'd sink for sure even if he got out of the van.
Luke saw Ralph wearing the belly chain and leg irons with the connecting chain ran between the two. Luke couldn't help the bit of satisfaction he felt, then he realized just how close he had come to joining Ralph on his ride. It was NOT a pleasant thought. Not a pleasant thought at ALL!
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