A Father's Revenge
by
Chapter 1
Luke Duke pushed open the door to the Boar's Nest and stepped inside the bar. He was ruggedly handsome young man in his early twenties with sapphire blue eyes and dark brown wavy hair. With his lean muscular build and good ole boy southern charm every girl in Hazzard County fantasized about being his girlfriend. (And a lot of them had been at one time or another) But Luke had no intention of settling down to just one girl. He liked playing the field. Maybe someday he would meet that special someone but it just hadn't happened yet.
Since it was a Friday night, the bar was crowded and noisy. Several friends called out greetings as Luke made his way through the room towards the bar. Luke's cousin, Daisy Duke, was working behind the bar. She was a pretty girl with long reddish brown hair and big blue eyes. In her early twenties, she was one of the most popular girls in Hazzard County . But anyone who went out with Daisy knew better than to step out of line. If they did they knew they would have to deal with her cousins, Bo and Luke, and nobody in their right minds wanted to tangle with either one of the Duke boys.
Daisy smiled when she saw her oldest cousin come into the bar. She quickly filled a mug with beer and sat it down on the bar for him. Her youngest cousin, Bo, was already there. He was sitting at a booth in the back with his latest flame, Carla Morrison. With his baby blue eyes, feathery blonde hair, and boyish good looks, Bo was just as popular with the ladies as Luke was. Both of the boys were considered a prime catch. Luke finally made his way through the crowd to the bar and smiled his thanks as he picked up the beer Daisy had already poured for him.
“You on your own tonight?” Daisy asked, raising her voice so she could be heard above the noise in the bar.
“I'm supposed to meet Mindy here. Have you seen her?” Luke said, raising his voice slightly.
“I saw her come in a few minutes ago.” Daisy told him, waving her hand towards the back of the bar “I think she went that way…”
“Thanks, Daisy.” Luke said, carrying his beer as he made his way through the crowd once more heading towards the back of the bar. He saw Bo and his date but Bo was too busy whispering sweet nothings in Carla's ear to notice him. Finally, he spotted Mindy standing by herself over by the jukebox. Mindy Carson was a pretty redhead in her late teens with big brown eyes. Luke had been dating her off and on for the last couple of weeks. But, tonight he was breaking it off with her. She was too clingy and possessive. She was already acting as if they were an established couple even though Luke hadn't done or said anything to give her that idea.
She smiled brightly when she saw Luke. “Hi, baby…” she purred, moving in close to rub herself against him suggestively.
“Hi, Mindy.” Luke said self consciously taking a step back. He wasn't comfortable with open displays of affection. A kiss or two was okay but as far as Luke was concerned anything more than that needed to be saved for a more private setting. “Look, do you wanna take a drive? We really need to talk.”
“Sure, darling.” Mindy said, linking her arm through his. Anyone else would have picked up on those four little words We have to talk and started to get worried. But not Mindy. It was as if she hadn't even heard what had Luke said except for the part about going for a drive. Luke finished his beer in one long swallow and sat the empty glass down on a nearby table. He began to make his way through the crowd towards the front door with Mindy clinging tightly to his arm.
Outside in the dirt parking lot in front of the bar Luke led the way to the stock car that he co-owned with his cousin, Bo. With it's distinctive orange paint job, the big black 01 trimmed in white on both doors and the rebel flag painted on the roof with the name General Lee painted above each door the car was hard to miss. Everyone in Hazzard County knew the General Lee and the Duke boys. The boys were the best drivers in three counties and the General was the fastest car. Some folks even said the General seemed half human sometimes what with some of the things the boys could make that car do when either one of them was behind the wheel.
Luke slid into the car on the driver's side, while Mindy crawled into the window on the other side. The doors were welded shut so that they wouldn't fly open during a race so the only way to get in was by climbing through the windows. Luke turned on the engine and pulled out of the lot onto the highway. He drove in silence to Hazzard Pond, an isolated spot that local couples often used for make out sessions and romantic picnics.
Luke parked the General and turned off the engine and the lights, letting the darkness settle around them. Mindy scooted over closer and reached out trying to slip her hand inside his shirt. Luke gently took her hand stopping her from touching him. She looked at him with a puzzled expression on her face.
“What's wrong, honey?” she cooed “Don't ya wanna make out?”
“No, I told you we need to talk.” Luke told her firmly. He took a deep breath and continued “We need to stop seeing each other.”
“What?” Mindy exclaimed “You can't be serious! What did I do wrong?”
“You didn't do anything wrong.” Luke reassured her “Things just ain't working out.”
“You can't break up!” Mindy said in a tearful voice “You have to give me another chance. I can make it better, I know I can…” She reached out trying to put her arms around his neck but Luke gently stopped her.
“I'm sorry, Mindy. I really am but I think this is best for both of us.”
“You think it's best?” Mindy yelled, her tears suddenly turning to anger “I should have listened to the other girls. They told me not to go out with you! They said you only wanted one thing!” Her voice raised until she was almost screaming “And now that you got what you wanted you're done with me, right?”
“Mindy, it's not like that…..” Luke said trying to keep his voice level and calm. This wasn't going as well as he had hoped it would. “We can still…..”
“Don't you dare tell me that we can still be friends, Luke Duke!” she screamed in his face on the verge of hysteria. “I hate you! I hate you!” Pulling back her hand, she slapped him across the cheek as hard as she could. Before she could hit him again, Luke grabbed her hand holding her wrist tightly. “Don't hit me again.” He told her in a cold, carefully controlled voice. Luke had been raised to respect women and would never raise his hand to one and he expected the same courtesy from them.
“Fine!” Mindy said jerking her hand out of his grasp. She climbed out of the window “I'll find my own way home!”
“Mindy, get back in the car.” Luke said reasonably “I'll drive you home. It's almost five miles to your house.”
“I said I'll find my own way home!” She screamed at him, tears streaming down her face. “I'll call one of my brothers to come and git me. So just go away and leave me the hell alone!” Turning, she ran away into the darkness.
Luke sighed. He knew it was pointless to go after her. She knew the area as well as he did and could easily hide from him in the darkness. He hadn't meant to hurt her but it was better to break it off now instead of waiting. That would only have made things worse. Luke took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He hoped that Mindy would be okay and found her way home safely. He wished that she had let him take her home but she was too angry to be rational. Turning on the engine and the headlights, he headed back to the Boar's Nest.
Chapter 2
Luke was sleeping when he heard Uncle Jesse say his name “Luke?” He opened his eyes, still groggy with sleep, and looked at the clock on the nightstand between his bed and Bo's bed. It was three in the morning. “Luke?” Jesse's voice said again with an urgency in his voice that woke Luke up instantly. He leaned up on one arm and saw his Uncle standing in the doorway of the bedroom that Luke had shared with Bo since their childhood.
“Yes, Sir?” Luke said wondering what was wrong.
“Did you go out with Mindy Carson tonight?” Jesse asked
“Yeah, I was with her earlier at the Boar's Nest.” He admitted “What's wrong?”
“Her father is on the phone. She never came home. What time did you drop her off?” Jesse asked
“I didn't.” Luke admitted “We got into a fight because I told her I wanted to break up. She took off and said she was gonna call her brother to pick her up.”
“Where's the last place you saw her?”
“Hazzard Pond.”
Jesse disappeared from the doorway, apparently going back to the phone to tell Mindy's father what Luke had told him. Wide awake now and worried, Luke shoved himself to his feet and went downstairs to the first floor of the old farmhouse where he had been raised since he was three years old. Uncle Jesse was just hanging up the phone as Luke reached the bottom of the stairs.
Jesse was a big man with a snowy white beard and hair. He had the same blue eyes as his nephews, eyes that now looked concerned. In his early sixties, Jesse had the stamina and endurance of a much younger man. Underneath his rough exterior beat a kind, gentle heart. He had taken in the three cousins when their parents were killed raising them as if they were his own. He was the only father that Luke could remember.
“Uncle Jesse, maybe I should go out and help look for her.” Luke suggested, feeling guilty because he hadn't insisted on taking Mindy home even if she had been the one to refuse to let him do that.
“No,” Jesse said “You best stay right here. Her father's calling Rosco and I'm sure they'll find her.”
“I told her I'd take her home but she wouldn't let me.” Luke said “She ran off before I could stop her.”
“That's not your fault.” Jesse said. He looked at his nephew closely “You said the two of you got into a fight because you broke up with her?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Well, maybe she's just upset and decided to spend the night with a girlfriend. I'm sure they'll find her in no time.” He started to go back up stairs to his bedroom, he paused and looked back over his shoulder at Luke “You coming back to bed?”
“In a little while.” Luke told him “Think I'll have a glass of milk first.”
Jesse nodded and headed on back up the stairs to his bedroom. Luke went into the kitchen and got a glass out of the cabinet. Pouring himself a glass of milk, he sat down at the table to drink it. He was worried about Mindy but like Jesse said she probably just decided to spend the night with a girlfriend instead of going home. At least Luke hoped that was all it was. Finishing his milk, he went back upstairs and went to bed.
The boys had just finished their chores the next morning when a Hazzard County police car pulled into the barnyard. Bo and Luke walked over to the car just as Deputy Enos Strate climbed out of the cruisier. Enos was a childhood friend of the boys and had a huge crush on Daisy. He was also rumored to be the oldest virgin in Hazzard County , a fact that the boys good naturedly teased him about.
“Hey, Enos…” Luke said
“Hey, Bo. Hey, Luke.” Enos said with a silly grin “Luke, I need to ask you a couple of questions about Mindy Carson.”
“Didn't she come home yet?” Luke asked in a surprised voice
“No and her daddy is fit to be tied. You had a date with her last night right?”
“It wasn't exactly a date.” Luke told him “I met her at the Boar's Nest and we went for a drive up to Hazzard Pond.”
“What happened when you got there?”
“We had a fight because I told her I wanted to break up.”
“What happened then?”
“She got mad and took off before I could stop her. I offered to give her a ride home but she said she'd have her brother come and pick her up.”
“Do you have any idea where she might have went if she didn't go home?”
“Not unless she went to Mary Kay or Susie's house.” Luke said naming two of Mindy's closest friends
“Mary Kay Hudson and Susie Marshall?” Enos asked, rapidly taking notes on his notepad.
“Yeah.”
“Luke, I hate to ask this but I gotta know for the report…” Enos said obviously embarrassed “But you didn't hit her or nothing like that, did ya?”
“No, she slapped me.” Luke told him flushing slightly at the memory “But I didn't hit her.”
“What time were the two of you at Hazzard Pond?”
“Around midnight .”
“Where did you go after you left Mindy at the pond?”
“I went back to the Boar's Nest to pick up Bo and we came home around one-thirty.” Luke told him “Then Uncle Jesse woke me up at three and said Mindy's father was looking for her because she hadn't come home yet.”
“And that's it?”
“That's it.”
“Okay, buddyroo. Give me a call if you think of anything else that might help us find her.”
“I'll do that.” Luke said. The boys watched as Enos climbed back into his car and drove away, then they went on into the house for breakfast. Mindy's strange disappearance was the main topic of conversation.
“She ran away a couple of years ago and was gone for almost a week.” Daisy said “Maybe that's what she did again.”
“Maybe.” Jesse said “Let's just hope they find her soon. Safe and sound.”
“I hope so.” Luke said “I should have made her let me take her home.”
“Now, don't go beating yourself up for that. You said she took off before you could stop her.” Jesse told him “You offered to take her home and she refused to let you. That's not your fault.”
“I still feel like it's my fault that she's missing.”
“It's not your fault, sugar.” Daisy told him “I'm sure she'll turn up.”
“So am I. ” said Bo “It ain't like Mindy to worry her daddy too much. She knows he'll tan her hide.”
They were just finishing up breakfast when the telephone rang. Jesse excused himself to answer it. He spoke briefly to whoever was on the line, then came back into the kitchen. He looked at his niece and two nephews somberly and said,
“That was Rosco. They found Mindy.”
“Is she okay?” Luke asked, his stomach churning uneasily at the expression on Jesse's face. He had the feeling that something was wrong. Very wrong.
“She was at the bottom of Widow's Peak. It looks like she jumped.”
Luke looked at his Uncle with a stunned, disbelieving expression on his face. Local legend had it that Widow's Peak had gotten it's name after a young widow took her newborn infant and jumped to her death after her husband was killed in the civil war. Over the past fifty years, at least three other women and one man had jumped to their deaths on the jagged rocks below.
Chapter 3
Luke tugged at the tie he was wearing nervously. He hated getting dressed up. He felt uncomfortable and out of place in a suit. But Mindy was being buried today and the Dukes were attending the funeral to pay their respects. Luke was anxious about going, He knew the rumors were already flying around town that he had broken up with Mindy the night she killed herself.
“Luke? You ready?” he heard Jesse call from downstairs “It's time to go.”
Luke sighed and opened the bedroom door, going downstairs to join the rest of the family. Bo looked just as uncomfortable as Luke felt. The family went outside and climbed into Daisy's jeep, a white jeep CJ7 with a large golden eagle painted on the hood and the name Dixie written in elaborate script on either side of the eagle. The jeep was easier to get in and out of then the General, even though the boys would have preferred taking the General if they could have.
The church was already crowded with people when they arrived. As the Dukes entered chapel, Mindy's father, Cyrus, saw them and came storming over to them.
“I want you Dukes out of here!” he yelled “You ain't welcome here!”
Jesse looked at the other man in surprise. “Cyrus, we just came to pay our respects.” He said calmly
“I don't care! I want you out of here!” He glared at Luke “Especially him! He's the reason my little girl is dead!”
“Now, Cyrus…” Jesse said trying to calm down the other man, who was obviously grief stricken and distraught “There ain't no call to make a scene. You know Luke didn't have nothing to do with what happened.”
“Yes, he did!” Cyrus yelled, causing several people to turn around and stare “He broke up with her and she killed herself because of it! He killed my little girl and I want him out of here! The rest of you too! I don't need none of you Dukes paying your respects! You ain't got no right to be here!”
“Come on, kids.” Jesse said, trying to keep his own temper in check. “Let's go home.” Jesse turned and gently put his hand on Luke's shoulder as they left the church. He could see that Luke was visibly shaken by the unexpected verbal assault by Mindy's father. “He's just eat up with grief….” Jesse said as they stepped back outside “He don't know what he's saying.”
“Uncle Jesse, he didn't have no right to say something like that to Luke.” Daisy said angrily “Even if he is grieving.”
“That's right.” Bo agreed, a hard edge of anger in his own voice. “He had no call to talk to any of us that way!”
“Let's just git home.” Jesse said. He was upset himself by Cyrus' behavior but he knew the man was hurting. Mindy had been his youngest and his only daughter. Jesse knew he'd probably feel the same way if the same thing had happened to Daisy.
Luke jerked off his time and stuffed it in his pocket. He was upset too but Luke was an expert at keeping his feelings hidden and his emotions under control. He seldom opened up to anyone when something was bothering him unless it was to Bo. He tended to tell Bo everything and Bo did the same. But there was still a part of Luke that he kept hidden away from everyone, even Bo. The truth was Luke did feel a certain amount of guilt about what had happened because he had broken up with Mindy that night and he knew that she had taken the news badly. But he had never imagined that she would do something as stupid as killing herself over it. He knew that she was possessive and clingy but he never realized that she might have been emotional unstable too. If he had even thought that she might do something as drastic as killing herself, he would have found some way to soften the blow of telling her that he wanted to break up with her.
When they got back to the farm Bo and Luke immediately went to their room and changed out of their suits and back into their blue jeans, cotton shirts and boots. As he sat down on his bed to pull on his boots, Bo looked at his older cousin and asked in a concerned voice “You okay, cuz?”
“Yeah…...fine.” Luke said offhandedly
“Mr. Carson had no call to say those things at the church.” Bo said, still angry at the way the grief stricken father had talked to his family. The Dukes didn't have much in the way of material things all they really had was the family. And Uncle Jesse had taught them that the family was the most important thing. They each shared a deep bond and love that bound them together and gave them their strength.
And Bo and Luke shared an even deeper bond, closer than even brothers. Sometimes it seemed as if they were opposite sides of the same coin. It unnerved people who weren't used to it when they seemed to know what the other one was thinking without them speaking or when they finished each others sentences. And all the Dukes seemed to have an almost psychic connection that let them know when one of the others was hurt or in trouble.
“Maybe he's right.” Luke said putting his thoughts into words for the first time “Maybe I am partly to blame for what happened.”
“You ain't to blame for nothing.” Bo said defensively “You didn't make her jump off Widow's Peak.”
“No, but I should have made her let me take her home instead of leaving her out there by herself.”
“Will you stop beating yourself up for that? She's the one who chose to take off like that instead of letting you take her home.”
“Maybe…” Luke mumbled still not convinced. Let's drop it, okay? I don't wanna talk about it anymore.”
“You wanna go fishing?” Bo suggested
“We have to finish mending that fence first.” Luke reminded him
“Oh, yeah….why'd ya have to remind me?” Bo groaned not looking forward to three hours of mending fence in the hot sun.
Luke laughed and threw his pillow at his younger cousin, who caught it and threw it back at him. “Let's git to it.” Luke said, shoving himself to his feet “The sooner we get done, the sooner we can go fishing.”
Chapter 4
A week after Mindy's funeral, the Dukes were just sitting down to supper when they heard a car pull into the driveway. A few moments later, a man's voice yelled out “Alright, Jesse Duke! You send that boy of yours out here! We got a score to settle with him!”
“You boys stay here.” Jesse ordered, rising to his feet and going outside to see what in tarnation was going on. He paused just long enough to grab his shotgun on the way out the door. Cyrus Carson and his two sons, Tommy and Billy, were standing in the barnyard beside a battered blue Chevy. They all three cradled shotguns in their arms.
“Send him out here, Jesse.” Cyrus said angrily when he saw that Jesse was alone. “You send Luke out here right now.”
“That ain't about to happen, Cyrus.” Jesse told him firmly, cradling his own gun in his arms but ready to aim it in a heartbeat if he needed to. “You ain't getting near my boy. It ain't his fault your Mindy's gone.”
“You know damn it is and he's gonna pay for it!” Cyrus yelled loudly. His eyes were rimmed with red and wild looking. He looked like a man who'd lost his mind.
“Take your boys and git off my land!” Jesse demanded in a carefully controlled voice. “I don't want no trouble but you're gonna git more than you can handle if you don't leave me and my family alone!”
“That boy of yours can't hide forever, Jess.” Cyrus growled, glaring at Jesse maliciously. “One of these days…me and my boys will git him for what he did my Mindy. You can count on that!”
Go on…” Jesse said gruffly, raising his shotgun in a threatening manner “Git!”
Cyrus glared at Jesse sullenly, and then motioned for his sons to get into the car. As he jerked open the door on the drivers side, he looked at Jesse and snarled “This ain't over, Jesse. You can't count on that!” Jesse watched as they drove away, standing where he was until they were out of sight, only then did he turn and go back into the house. The two boys and Daisy were all huddled around the back door where they had been watching and listening. “Daisy, call Rosco. Tell him to get out here.” Jesse ordered as he put his shotgun back in its usual spot on the rack above the archway between the kitchen and the living room. He looked at the two boys and spoke directly to Luke “Luke, I don't want you going no place by yourself for awhile, least until Cyrus has time to cool down a mite.”
“You really think the old fool might try something, Uncle Jesse?” Bo asked with a frown.
“Right now he's a dangerous man. Ain't no need to be taking no chances.” Jesse replied. “He needs to blame somebody for what happened.”
“Maybe I should try talking to him” Luke suggested even though he knew that Jesse would never approve of that idea.
“You'll do no such thing.” Jesse told him firmly “He's in no mood to listen anyway. He'd rather shoot ya first and talk later.”
“Well, what'd ya call Rosco for?” Bo asked in a disgusted voice “He ain't gonna do nothing anyway.”
“He's still the law and we need to report what just happened.” Jesse told him “Now let's finish supper while we're waiting.”
They all sat back down at the table to finish eating even though the food had grown cold. They had just finished when Rosco P. Coltrane the Sheriff of Hazzard County arrived. Rosco was a tall thin man in his mid forties with black hair that was turning gray at the temples and brown eyes. He worked for Boss Hogg, the country commissioner of Hazzard County , and he did whatever Boss told him to. Roscoe used to be a good lawman but when his pension got voted out in the last election, he decided to join forces with Boss and he had become as crooked as Boss was. And since there was no love lost between Boss Hogg and the Duke family, Roscoe tended to ignore any problems concerning the Dukes (Unless it had to do with trying to frame Bo and Luke for something they didn't do so he could send them to jail)
“Alright you, Dukes. What's so all fired important that you gotta drag me all the way out here?” he demanded as if he had done them a favor by even coming out to the farm.
“Cyrus Carson and his boys were just here.” Jesse told him “And they threatened Luke. I just want you know that in case something happens.”
“Oh, pooh….you Dukes just lie all the time.” Rosco said brushing off what Jesse had told him. It was obvious that he didn't believe them.
“We ain't lying, Rosco!” Daisy said in an offended voice “They had guns and they said they'd git Luke one way or the other.”
“Well then I guess Luke best stay out of their way.” Rosco said with a stupid grin and his annoying giggle.
“Rosco!” Jesse said gruffly, fixing the other man with a cold stare “I want a report made about what happened!”
“Oh all right. I'll make a report when I get back to the office.” Rosco said in an irritated voice. He didn't want to get ole Jesse riled up. Everyone in Hazzard was familiar with the Duke Families volatile tempers. “Now if you Dukes are done wasting my time, I need to go. I have more important things to do.” With those parting words, Rosco was out the door and gone.
“I told ya it wouldn't do no good to call Rosco.” Bo said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
“Maybe not but at least he knows about it. Now if anything happens he'll have to do something.” Jesse said. He glanced at Luke sternly, pointing his finger at him for added emphasis, and said “And you remember what I told you, Luke….I don't want you going no place by yourself for awhile.”
“Yes, sir.” Luke said automatically. Jesse's word was law and it was always obeyed, out of love and respect mostly but always obeyed. While Daisy started clearing the dishes off of the table, Jesse went into the living room to read his paper and the boys went outside to do their evening chores.
As the screen door slammed shut behind them, Bo glanced at his older cousin and said “Hey, Luke…you really think they'll try something?”
“I don't know.” Luke answered with a deep sigh “Grief can do funny things to a man. And like Uncle Jesse said, he needs somebody to blame for what happened to Mindy.”
“I guess Uncle Jesse's right. There ain't no need to take any chances.” Bo said as they walked across the barnyard to the barn.
“Guess not.” Luke agreed as grabbed an empty bucket on his way into the barn to gather the eggs in while Bo went over to the feed bin to get the grain out for Maudine the mule and the two cows, one that they kept for fresh milk and one that they raised to slaughter in the fall. When he had finished with that, he would milk the goats along with Luke's help.
Okay, ya'll. You know what to do. Tell me what you think so far. I smell trouble, don't you?