Chapter 15

The Dukes decided to continue to follow their normal routines and to include Luke in those routines as if he were back to normal. So bright and early the next morning, Jesse woke the boys up as usual for breakfast. The only difference in his routine was that he woke Bo up first instead of Luke. Bo yawned and swung his legs over the side of his bed as Jesse left the room. Pulling on his clothes, he stood up and walked over to Luke's bed, shaking his shoulder gently to awaken him.

“Come on, cuz….” He said quietly “Time to get up.”

Luke slowly opened his eyes and looked at Bo. For the briefest of moments, Luke's eyes seemed to flicker with recognition and then clouded over again with the same blank stare. But it was enough to give Bo hope that bringing Luke home was the answer. Home where he felt safe and in familiar surroundings would help him come around more quickly then being in that hospital in Atlanta around strangers.

Bo grabbed a shirt and pair of Luke's jeans out of his dresser and laid them on the edge of the bed as Luke sat up on the edge of the mattress. “Come on get dressed, cuz….” Bo told him “Then we can go downstairs and eat.” Luke could dress himself but he needed verbal cues to do it. As they started downstairs, Bo stayed close by Luke's side with one hand resting on his elbow to guide him. Bo had discovered the night before that as long as he kept his hand on Luke's arm to guide him, Luke would go wherever Bo wanted him to. If it weren't for the blank stare in his eyes and the fact that he refused to talk, to anyone else Luke would have appeared perfectly normal.

The Dukes sat down for breakfast and Jesse said the blessing, adding a special thanks to the lord for sending Luke back to them and making their family complete once more. As they ate, Jesse noticed the same thing that Bo had noticed that morning. Once in awhile, Luke's gaze would shift to one of their faces and for a moment, there would be a glimmer of recognition and then the blank stare would return. Jesse was confident that Luke was starting respond because he knew that he was home and back with his family where he felt loved and safe.

It was hard to describe just what Jesse, Daisy and Bo were all feeling that morning. After three months of being so torn apart by their grief because they believed that Luke was dead, to suddenly discover that he was actually alive, well, it was overwhelming to say the least and to a certain extent it was still hard to believe. It truly was as if a ghost had come back to life. And with the family circle complete once more, they closed ranks to protect one of their own.

After breakfast, Bo took Luke outside with him while he did the morning chores. Bo sat Luke down on a bale of stray so he could feed the chickens, gather the eggs and milk the goats. Bo grinned when he saw one of the baby goats go up to Luke and nudge his velvety nose against Luke's hand looking for some attention. When Luke didn't respond, the baby goat nudged his hand again, more insistently this time. Bo caught his breath as he watched Luke move his hand and gently run his fingers through the baby goat's fur. Luke was still in there somewhere all Bo had to do was find a way to get him to come out. Suddenly, he had an idea. It might be a long shot but it was worth a try. He hurried through his chores so he could put his plan into action.

After finishing his chores, he took Luke and went into the house to find Jesse, who was sitting at the kitchen table having a second cup of coffee.

“Uncle Jesse,” Bo said in an excited voice “Can I borrow the truck for a little while?”

“Well, of course you can.” Jesse said looking at Bo in surprise. His youngest nephew hadn't driven any vehicle in almost 3 months so his sudden request to borrow the pickup was a little unusual. “Where ya going?”

“I got an idea on how to help Luke…” Bo said, grabbing the keys from the peg board by the back door. “I'll let ya know if it works.” He grabbed Luke's arm and guided him out the door. Jesse frowned wondering just what Bo had in mind but he trusted his youngest nephew to be careful and not to put any Luke in any kind of danger.

Bo helped Luke into the cab of the pickup and climbed under the wheel. It felt strange to be driving again, but right at the same time. He drove to Cooter's farm and parked the pickup next to the barn. He knew that Cooter was in town working at the garage but Bo knew where to find what he was looking for. Pushing open the barn doors, he left Luke standing in the barnyard by the truck and went into the interior of the barn. Grinning, he walked towards the tarp covered vehicle sitting inside the barn and pulled off the tarp to reveal the General Lee in all his glory.

“Hello, General…” Bo said gleefully, as he slid in the window on the driver's side and inserted his key in the ignition. The powerful engine roared to life. Pulling the General out of the barn, he climbed out and went over to take Luke's arm. “Come on, cuz…” he said “Let's go for a real ride…..” He led Luke around to the passenger's side of the General and helped Luke into the car. Climbing back into the car himself, Bo settled himself beneath the wheel and then reached over to fasten Luke's seatbelt and shoulder harness securely in place. When they were just driving around the county, they usually didn't bother with the belts but in Luke's present condition Bo wasn't taking any chances with his safety. Luke's reflexes were virtually non existent at the moment. With a loud excited “YeeeeHaaaawww!” Bo tromped on the accelerator and headed across the field for open land.

For a few minutes Bo forgot about Luke being with him as he lost himself in the sheer thrill of being behind the wheel of the General Lee once more. With an almost reckless abandonment, he brought the General up to top speed as they bounced along the rough terrain. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the faint smile tugging at the corners of Like's mouth. Bo was convinced that Luke remembered the General and that was what he was hoping for. He was fast approaching Chestnutt Creek and he braced himself to make the General fly.

He hit the incline on the creek bank at just the right angle and the general lifted off, flying through the air. Automatically, Luke reached out and put his hand against the dashboard to brace himself for the landing on the other side. The General landed with a bone jarring jolt and kept right on going. Bo was having so much fun driving the General again that he almost didn't notice when Luke said softly “Slow down….”

When he realized that Luke had actually spoken, Bo slammed on the brakes and brought the General to a sudden stop throwing both boys forward in their seats. He looked at Luke in amazement and said, “What did you say?”

“Slow….down….” Luke repeated slowly. Then just as suddenly, Bo watched with bitter disappointment as Luke's eyes glazed over again and the blank look crept back into his face. But Bo was also encouraged. If Luke came out of it once, he could and would do it again. Smiling to himself, Bo headed the General towards the farm and home to tell Uncle Jesse that his plan had been at least partially successful.

Chapter 16

Over the next two days, Luke continued to show brief flashes of awareness, responding to each of his family members at one time or another. It was an encouraging sign and gave each of them hope that soon they would have the old Luke they all loved back with them again. Jesse was pleased that his instincts had been right. All Luke needed to snap out of it was to be back home with his family where he belonged.

A week after Jesse brought Luke home, Enos stopped by during his lunch hour. Jesse ushered him into the house and offered him a cup of coffee. “No, thanks Uncle Jesse.” Enos said “I ain't got that much time. How's Luke doing?”

“Fair to middling but getting better every day.” Jesse told him

“I'm sure mighty glad to hear that.” Enos said in a relieved voice “I just wanted ya to know that I did some checking and as best I can tell, nobody has seen or talked to Luke's brother, Judd, in the past three months. He had a fight in Atlanta just before the accident but that's the last time anyone has seen him,”

“That fits.” Jesse said thoughtfully “And Luke would have been in Atlanta the same time Judd had the fight scheduled, so they could've got together while Luke was there…..”

“It looks that way.” Enos agreed “Judd's manager said that after the fight he saw Judd talking to another man with a strong resemblance to Judd, so I figure that had to be Luke.”

“Well, hopefully Luke will be able to fill in the blanks before long.” Jesse said

“Yes, Sir” Enos said with his trademark giggle. “I gotta get back to work. If I hear anything else, I'll let you know, Uncle Jesse.”

“Thank you, Enos. I appreciate it…”

As the young deputy left the house, Jesse looked out of the kitchen window and smiled when he saw Luke sitting under the old oak tree while Bo sat near by milking one of the goats. The baby goat had taken a shine to Luke and was curled up on the ground beside him with his head lying in Luke's lap. Without even realizing that he was doing it, Luke was stroking the baby goat's head while staring blankly at the horizon.

Jesse smiled when Bo said something to Luke and then burst out laughing. The change in his youngest nephew was phenomenal. Overnight, Bo had gone from an almost suicidal depression back to his old self again. And in a direct role reversal, he had been fiercely protective of his older cousin instead of the other way around. Although nobody in Hazzard except for Enos knew that Luke was still alive, Jesse had called the rest of the family members and told them. They were all overjoyed but just as confused as Jesse was about what had really happened and wondering if it was Judd that they had buried instead of Luke.

Just then Jesse saw Cooter's tow truck pull into the drive. He hurried outside just as the mechanic climbed out of his truck. He turned to greet Bo andthen stopped in his tracks when he saw Luke leaning against the tree. Cooter turned as white as a ghost and leaned heavily against the truck to keep from collapsing in shock and surprise. Bo jumped to his feet and ran to Cooter's side from one direction while Jesse ran to him from the other direction.

“He ain't dead…..” Cooter stammered as the two Duke men reached his side. He looked at Bo's grinning face and then at Jesse and stammered “Luke ain't dead…..”

“No, Cooter…he ain't.” Jesse said, taking Cooter by the arm. “Why don't you come on in the house and I'll get you a cup of coffee and tell ya all about it…..”

“Luke ain't dead….” Cooter repeated stupidly, as Jesse led him into the house, glancing back over his shoulder for one more look at Luke. He looked back at Jesse and grinned broadly “Luke ain't dead!”

“No, Coot….Luke ain't dead.” Jesse told him with a chuckle.

“Then who is?” Cooter asked with a frown as they stepped into the kitchen.

“We're not sure yet.” Jesse told him as he poured two cups of coffee from the pot sitting on the stove and handed one to Cooter “But we think it may have been Judd.”

“Luke's brother?”

Jesse nodded and explained about the identical birthmarks that Luke and Judd had shared and how they had found out that Luke was still alive in the first place. “Now who in the devil would wanna keep Luke tied up all that time and shoot him full of drugs?” Cooter demanded angrily “I ain't never heard of no such a thing…”

“That's exactly what somebody did to my boy.” Jesse muttered gruffly. “And I aim to find out who and make ‘em pay for it.”

“Well, you can count me in.” Cooter said “Anything I can do to help find whoever did this to Luke, I will….”

“Thank ya, Cooter. I appreciate that.” Jesse told him as the two men began to drink their coffee.

“Actually, I came over here because I realized that someone took the General and I just wanted to make sure that Bo was the one who came and got it.” Cooter explained “I'm glad now I did….I just wasn't expecting to find what I found.”

“Bo figured riding in General might help Luke snap out of it and it did for a minute.” Jesse told him

“Well, at least the General's back home where he belongs….” Cooter said with a satisfied grin “And so is Luke.”

Chapter 17

Bo was awakened from a sound sleep by the sound of Luke thrashing around in his bed. Opening his eyes, Bo pushed himself out of bed and glanced over at Luke. He was asleep but obviously dreaming again and it wasn't a pleasant dream. Luke was agitated and whimpering in his sleep, throwing his hands around as if he were fighting someone off. Even as Bo reached out to try and calm him down, a ragged scream tore from Luke's throat, almost scaring Bo to death.

“Luke!” He said sharply, grabbing his cousins shoulders with both hands and shaking him “Wake up, cuz….you're having a dream….that's all…”

Luke's eyes flew open but Bo knew that Luke was still caught in the dream and didn't recognize him. Catching Bo by surprise, Luke suddenly shoved him backwards. Bo stumbled and fell on his butt as Luke scrambled out of bed on the opposite side and crawled into a corner, sitting with his back to the wall and his knees drawn up against his chest.

That was the scene that met Uncle Jesse's eyes when he threw open the bedroom door to see what was wrong. He had been sleeping soundly until the sound of Luke's scream woke him up. “What in the devil is going on?” Jesse growled

“I don't know, Uncle Jesse…” Bo said scrambling to his feet “Luke was dreaming and when I tried to wake him up he shoved me down and crawled into the corner like that…” Bo's eyes were wide with fear as he looked to his Uncle for reassurance and guidance.

Luke…” Jesse said in a quiet, calming voice, approaching his oldest nephew cautiously “Luke….it's alright, son….it's Uncle Jesse.” He knelt in front of Luke and gently reached out to touch his oldest charges shoulder. Luke flinched and pulled away from his touch, looking at Jesse with eyes that reminded him of an animal caught in a trap and unable to understand its own pain. Without taking his eyes off of Luke, he told Bo “Go call Doc Applebee and tell him to get here as soon as he can.”

“Yes sir” Bo said, turning and running from the room to do as his Uncle ordered.

Jesse carefully reached out and touched Luke's shoulder again. Luke whimpered pitiful and tried to pull away from Jesse again, his eyes wild with fear. “Shhhhhh….” Jesse said soothingly “Luke…you're alright now….you're at home….home with me, Daisy and Bo….nobody's gonna hurt you anymore……”

Luke gulped, a sob catching in his throat as his eyes filled with tears. “Uncle Jesse….” He whispered in a barely audible voice. Suddenly, he threw himself into his Uncle arms, crying heavily, his entire body trembling and shaking. Jesse felt the tears burning his own eyes as he held Luke close, gently rubbing his back in a comforting gesture as he tried to calm him down. He was still sitting there, holding Luke in his arms when Bo came back into the room followed closely by Daisy and Doc Applebee. Luke had calmed down but was still sobbing quietly with his face buried against Jesse's shoulder. Bo shifted nervously from one foot to another. He had never seen Luke cry before except when Aunt Martha died and that had been years ago.

“Luke, Doc Applebee's here…” Jesse told his nephew quietly “Let's get you back in bed so he can take a look at you.” Luke allowed Jesse to help him to his feet and lead him over to the bed. He sat down on the edge of the mattress with his head bowed, staring at the floor and wrapping his arms around himself tightly. Without making a sound, Luke began rocking back and forth on the bed. Jesse ushered Bo and Daisy out of the room, leaving Doc alone with Luke.

He closed the door to the room but stayed in the hallway in case Doc needed his help with Luke. Daisy and Bo both looked at Jesse with frightened eyes. Bo spoke first “Uncle Jesse, what's wrong with Luke? What happened to him?”

“I don't know….let's wait and see what Doc has to say.” Jesse suggested. He didn't want to worry Daisy or Bo by admitting how worried he was himself at Luke's violent reaction to the dream.

A few minutes later, Doc came out of the room, gently closing the door behind him. He looked at the anxious worried faces of the Duke family and said “Why don't we go downstairs so we can talk and you can tell me what's going on here….”

They went downstairs to the kitchen and gathered around the table. Quickly, Jesse filled Doc in on how he'd found Luke at the hospital in Atlanta and what the doctor there had told him. When he'd finished, Doc nodded his head slowly and said “That makes sense and would definitely explain Luke's condition.”

“Is he okay now?” Bo asked in a worried voice

“I gave him a pretty strong sedative. He's sleeping and he'll probably sleep for at least 24 hours. If he was dreaming, then waking him the way you did was a pretty serious emotional shock to his system.”

“Is that good or bad?” Jesse said unable to keep the worry out of his own voice

“Well, obviously it was an emotional trauma for Luke….but I think it probably pulled him out of the catatonic state he's been in. He was talking while I was examining him…more to himself than to me but he was talking. When he wakes up maybe he'll be able to answer your questions. But….don't push him that could just send him back into the same state he was in…..let him tell you what happened….at least what he can remember and he may not remember a lot. But let him do it in his own way and when he's ready to….” Doc smiled encouragingly “I think Luke is going to be just fine…..for a dead man.” Doc chuckled “I tell ya, Jess, I nearly had a heart attack myself when I walked in and saw Luke….”

“Sorry, Doc” Bo said with a crooked smile suddenly remembering that he hadn't told Doc who they needed him for when he called to tell him to come to the farm. “I guess I just forgot that most people in Hazzard still think Luke's dead.”

“And I think it's probably best that you keep it that way for now. Luke doesn't need any more trauma right now…it's going to be enough of a shock when he finds out that y'all thought he was dead and actually buried a body thinking it was him.”

“Thanks for coming out, Doc.” Jesse said

“You're more than welcome….and I am really glad for all of you that Luke isn't dead….” Doc pushed himself to his feet and showed himself out of the house.

“Well,” Jesse said “I guess we all best try and get back to sleep.” Nodding in agreement, Daisy and Bo stood up and went back to their rooms.

Bo closed the door behind him and walked over to Luke's bed, looking down at his peacefully sleeping cousin. “I knew you were in there somewhere, Lucas….” He whispered “And I swear that one way or the other, I'm gonna find out what they did to you and make ‘em sorry that they ever messed with a Duke.” He gently reached down to touch his cousins shoulder and then turned back to his own bed to try and get a couple more hours sleep before he had to get up again.

Chapter 18

Luke slowly opened his eyes and then blinked in dismay as his gaze slowly swept around the familiar surroundings. It wasn't a dream, he really was home. A sense of relief overwhelmed him so strongly that it took his breath away. He wasn't sure how he'd gotten home but he didn't care as long as he was really here.

Slowly, he shoved himself up to the edge of the bed. From the metallic taste in his mouth, he knew that he'd been given something to make him sleep. Luke had always been hypersensitive to certain drugs. Every time he was given anesthetic for any kind of medical procedure, he became violently ill afterwards. His system just didn't seem to handle certain drugs very well. He didn't remember much about the last couple of months but he remembered enough to know that he had been given a lot of drugs and most of them were street drugs that he'd had some pretty strange reactions to. He shook his head, refusing to think about that now. All he wanted to do right now was see his family again.

Swaying unsteadily, he shoved himself to his feet and walked over to his dresser, grabbing some clean clothes and putting them on. Taking a deep breath, he left his bedroom and walked down the stairs to the first floor of the farmhouse. He found Uncle Jesse sitting at the kitchen table, reading the mail. Jesse looked up, grinning widely and jumping to his feet when he saw Luke standing in the archway. Rushing to him, Jesse gave him a huge hug “There ya are!” Jesse said happily “There's my boy…”

“Hi, Uncle Jesse…” Luke said unable to think of anything else to say as he returned the hug fiercely.

“Are you hungry?” Jesse said gruffly, tears glistening in the old man's eyes as he released his oldest nephew and looked at him joyfully.

“I'm starving.” Luke admitted with a grin, sitting down in his usual spot at the kitchen table.

“I'll fix you up something.” Jesse said, walking to the refrigerator and looking inside. He found some leftover ham and pulled it out to make some sandwiches. He also grabbed the milk and poured Luke a glass, sitting it on the table in front of him, while he made the sandwiches.

“Where's everybody else?” Luke asked, anxious to see Bo and Daisy, especially Bo. He could vaguely remember Bo being with him almost constantly for the last few days, so he knew he must have been home for awhile. It was unnerving. There seemed to be huge chunks of his memory missing for some reason.

“Daisy's at work and Bo's out in the north forty trying to catch a calf that wandered off.” Jesse told him, as he sat a plate on the table in front of Luke with two sandwiches on it.

“How long have I been home…” Luke asked.

“Almost two weeks.” Jesse told him

Luke looked surprised at Jesse's answer. He didn't realize it had been that long. “I don't remember…just bits and pieces…” Luke admitted, as he took a bite of his sandwich, washing it down with a drink of milk. He looked at his Uncle his eyes troubled “Something bad happened to me, didn't it?”

“It'll come to ya…” Jesse said “Just don't try to force it…” Jesse had a mindful of questions he wanted to ask Luke but he remembered Doc Applebee's warning about not trying to push Luke to remember what had happened to him. So he would have to be patient until Luke could tell him whatever he remembered on his own about the past 3 months.

Luke had finished eating and was putting his dishes in the sink when the back door opened and Bo came into the house. He let out a loud whoop when he saw Luke and grabbed him in a bear hug that almost broke Luke's ribs. “Ok, cuz…” Luke said with a laugh “Lighten up a little you're breaking my ribs…”

“Sorry,” Bo said rather sheepishly as he released his older cousin “I'm just so glad to have ya back …”

“I'm glad to be back.” Luke said with a grin, as he gingerly rubbed his ribs. He looked from his Uncle's face to his cousin and frowned slightly. “I get the feeling that there's something the two of you ain't telling me….”

“Uh….Luke….” Jesse said, choosing his words with care “Do you remember how long you was gone before you came home?”

“No…not really….” Luke said slowly as he tried to force his foggy memory to cooperate. “A couple of weeks maybe…”

“Try three months.” Bo said before Jesse could stop him

“Three months?” Luke exclaimed in a startled voice unable to believe that it had been that long.

“Do you remember where you were?” Jesse asked carefully watching Luke as he thought about his answer. Jesse could see that Luke was struggling to remember.

“Somewhere in Atlanta …..” He paused, then looked at his Uncle with a startled look in his sapphire eyes “I was tied up….and they kept giving me drugs….” A muscle tightened in his jaw as he tried to make sense out of what he could remember and what he couldn't. “What the hell happened to me?”

“We don't know, Luke….we was kinda hoping you could tell us…” Jesse told him “But don't try to force it….it'll come to ya in time.” Jesse and Bo exchanged glances hoping that Luke wouldn't ask any more questions.

Seeing the glance they exchanged, Luke automatically said “Is there something else you're not telling me?”

“Well…uh….” Bo stammered nervously, looking at Jesse for help.

“There is one more thing.” Jesse said, deciding that there was no point in putting off something they were going to have to tell Luke eventually. “We thought you was dead….we had a funeral and everything….”

“What?” Luke exclaimed with half a smile that quickly faded from his face when he realized that Jesse was serious. “What made you think I was dead?”

“Cause we didn't know it wasn't you that got burned up in that car!” Bo said bluntly, ignoring Jesse's warning glance.

Luke held up his hand to silence his cousin and said “Whoa….back up…what car? What the heck are you talking about?”

“Luke,” Jesse said quietly “Do you remember bringing a car back from Atlanta for Cooter?”

“Yeah….I took a truck down there for him that he traded for an old sedan with a racing engine in it…” Luke said slowly, as his patchy memory pieced together the reason for his trip to Atlanta . Suddenly, he sat down heavily at the table, a stunned look on his face. “Judd must've been driving……he was with me….” He looked at Jesse asking the one question he wasn't really sure he wanted to know the answer too “You thought it was me driving, didn't ya?”

Jesse nodded his head solemnly. “Luke, what else were we suppose to think? Rosco was chasing the car when it wreaked…..Earl said something about your birthmark….Enos gave me a envelope from the coroner with your wallet and your ring in it…..” Jesse stopped as he started to choke up. “We thought you were dead….we buried ya three months ago….”

“Excuse me y'all….I think I need some fresh air.” Luke shoved himself to his feet and went out the back door.

“Go keep an eye on him….” Jesse ordered Bo “Make sure he's okay….”

“Yes sir.” Bo said, jumping to his feet and following his older cousin outside.

Bo didn't see Luke immediately but he knew where to look. He crossed to the barn and went inside, climbing the ladder to the loft. And that was were he found Luke, hidden away in a corner with his back against the wall, his legs drawn up to his chest and his head resting on his knees.

“Luke?” Bo said softly, kneeling down beside his older cousin and gently slipping an arm around his shoulders “You okay?” Luke shook his head without looking up or speaking. Bo gently rubbed Luke's back, attempting to comfort him. “Its gonna be okay, cuz….I'm right here…..”

Finally, Luke raised his head and looked at his cousin a deep sadness mirrored in his eyes. “I can't believe y'all had to go thru something like that….thinking I was dead and all….”

“Yeah…” Bo said trying to keep his voice from breaking as he thought about how much it had hurt when he thought that he'd lost Luke. And how dangerously close he had come to hurting himself because of it. “Tell you what, cuz….you and me is just gonna have to die together cause I ain't gonna go through that again….”

Luke couldn't help but chuckle at Bo's comment. “You don't have to worry about that none….I plan on being around for awhile….” He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly trying to calm his nerves. ““What the hell's goin' on here, Bo?” Luke asked, looking at his cousin. He didn't really expect an answer he was simply stating the question that was on his mind.

“I wish I knew, cuz….I wish I knew.” Bo said

Chapter 19

Over the next few days, at Jesse's request, medical records were compared, the coroner's report was examined, and other evidence was collected. In the end, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that it had been Judd that was killed and buried in Luke's place. But the question still remained as to how and why Judd was in Hazzard County by himself while Luke was being held captive somewhere in Atlanta . That may be the one question that was never answered.

To help close the investigation and for his own peace of mind, Enos decided to take a trip to the jail in Atlanta to talk to the two men who were arrested in the raid on the house where Luke had been found. He hoped that they would be able to shed some light on the mystery.

After identifying himself at the jail and explaining the reason why he was there, he was granted permission to see the two prisoners. Enos checked his gun belt at the main desk and was escorted into one of the tiny interrogation rooms. A few minutes later, 2 men were escorted into the room. They were both in their early thirties with stringy hair and vacant, listless eyes. They took seats at the table across from Enos, eyeing the Hazzard County Deputy suspiciously.

“You got a cigarette?” one of them asked

“No, sir.” Enos told him “I don't smoke. I just came here to ask you a few questions about Luke Duke.”
“Who?” said one of the men, identified as Tommy Collins., a petty thief with a rap sheet dating back to when he was a teenager. “Ain't never heard of him.”

“Me neither.” echoed the second man, identified as Jack Danials, a drug addict with an extensive rap sheet for possession, distributing and manufacturing drugs.

“He's the man you had tied up and shot full of drugs.”

“Oh, him…” Tommy said in a disinterested voice

“Yeah, him.” Enos said “The man you're charged with kidnapping and attempted murder….those are both federal offenses. Y'all finally hit the big time, Tommy.”

“Weren't our idea.” Jack grumbled “It was the other guy's idea.”

“Shut up, Jack.” Tommy snapped glowering at the other man angrily

“What other man?” Enos asked “Give me a name and the judge might go easier on ya when ya go to court.”

“Don't got no name…” Tommy said flatly “Just some guy that paid us five thousand dollars…”

“What were you supposed to do for that five thousand dollars?” Enos asked

“What do you think?” Tommy sneered “We was supposed to keep him tied up, pump him full of drugs and make it look just another Atlanta junkie that O.D.'ed.”

“Yeah,” Jack snorted “We was told it'd be easy….that he had some kind of sensitivity to drugs and that it shouldn't be hard to find one that would kill him….”

Enos frowned at that particular statement. Enos knew about Luke's hypersensitivity to certain kinds of drugs but not many other people did. He didn't like the way this interrogation was headed. He chose his next words carefully

“Did this other man ever tell you why he wanted to get rid of Luke?”

Tommy shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly “He said he was in the way. That he had everything this other guy didn't have and that he hated him for it….said he always had.”

A nagging suspicion started tugging at his mind, a suspicion that made Enos mighty uncomfortable and one he knew could totally destroy Luke if it was true. Still, he had to know for sure. Enos opened the envelope lying on the table in front of him and pulled out a picture of Judd, Luke's brother. Laying the photo on the table in front of the other two men, he asked quietly “Have either one of you ever seen this man before?”

“Sure…” Jack said with a short laugh “That's the guy that hired us.”

“Yeah….” Tommy agreed “He even brought the other guy to us already drugged up, along with the money.”

“Possum on gum bush…” Enos muttered to himself as the pieces of the puzzle started falling in place and he didn't like the picture he was getting. He had to do some more investigating before he told anyone what he'd found out, especially any of the Dukes. Enos signaled the guard that he was finished talking to the prisoners. Gathering up the picture, he slipped it back into the envelope and stood up. Leaving the interrogation room, he collected his gun belt and left the police station.

Outside, Enos sat behind the wheel of his cruiser for several minutes, mulling over what the two prisoners had told him. He had done a background check on Judd and had come up with some interesting information that could be used to back up what Tommy and Jack had just told him. But Enos knew that he needed more before he presented his evidence to the Duke family, especially Luke. He had the address for Judd's manager and Judd's address here in Atlanta . He decided to check them both out before heading back to Hazzard.

His first order of business was to talk to Judd's manager. Enos found his office and introduced himself to the secretary, telling her that he needed to talk to Judd Kane's manager on a personal matter. He was instantly shown into the private office. Judd's manager, a slick type named Billy Raye stood up with a phony smile and shook Enos's hand, then motioned for him to sit down.

“So you're here about Judd? Have you seen him? He seems to have went missing a couple of months ago….blew off a couple of big fights I had scheduled for him.”

“Well, sir…I hate to be the one to have to tell ya this but it looks like Judd was killed in a car accident about three months ago up in Hazzard County.”

“Hazzard? What the hell was he doing up there? Hanging out with that brother of his?” he said, accepting the news about Judd's death as if it meant nothing to him. “I saw him talking to him after his last fight.”

“Did Judd talk much about his brother?”

“Yeah…..usually about how he had it all and Judd didn't have nothing. And how he was closer to his cousin than he was to Judd. To tell ya the truth, I got the feeling that Judd didn't like his brother all that much.”

“Did he ever say why he resented him so much?”

“He said it was cause his brother got sent to live with his Uncle on this farm up in Hazzard, while Judd ended up with this woman that abused him pretty bad all his life. I guess he was jealous as hell of his brother because he had the one thing that Judd never had and wanted more than anything else….a close loving family.”

“Did you ever hear Judd threaten his brother or anything like that?” Enos said.

“I heard him say more than once that he wished he could take his place….”

“Well, thank you for your help. I appreciate it.” Enos told him, rising to his feet.

As he gathered more information about Judd, the more Enos was convinced that Judd was behind what had happened to Luke and the motive seemed to be either jealousy or hatred, or more likely a combination of the two emotions. It seemed like Judd had fooled everybody when he made contact with the family to let them know that he was still alive. He'd wanted to find his brother all right but not for the reasons Luke had been led to believe.

Chapter 20

Enos looked at the phone anxiously. He had been trying to find the nerve to call the Duke farm for the last ten minutes. He knew that he had to tell them what he had found out in Atlanta but he also knew that the news would devastate Luke. He wondered if he should tell Jesse first and let him decide if Luke should even be told but Enos knew that was just an excuse for him to take the easy way out. Luke needed to know the truth no matter how much it hurt him. Finally, Enos reached for the phone.

An hour later, he was pulling up at the Duke farmhouse. Inside Bo, Luke and Jesse were waiting. Enos had told them he had some information about what had happened to Luke in Atlanta but he didn't tell them anything more than that. The Dukes were his friends, his closest friends, and he hated to tell them what he had discovered but he knew that they had to know. It would hurt them but it would at least give them some closure to the whole sordid affair.

Bo opened the door when Enos knocked, greeting him warmly. Jesse and Luke were both sitting at the table. They greeted Enos just as warmly and looked at him expectantly as he accepted Jesse's offer of a cup of coffee and sat down at the table across from Luke. They all knew the young deputy well enough to see that he was upset and nervous about whatever news he had to tell them.

It had been three weeks since Jesse had found Luke at the hospital in Atlanta and brought him home. Luke was pretty much back to his old self although his memories of the past three months were still sketchy and disorganized.

“Alright, Enos…” Jesse said quietly “Suppose you tell us what you came all the way out here to tell us.”

“Yes, sir.” Enos said nervously “First of all, I wanna tell ya that I'm mighty sorry to have to be the one to tell y'all this, especially you Luke…”

“Why don't you just tell us, Enos?” Bo said with a thin smile “Instead of beating around the bush?”

“Bo's right, Enos.” Jesse told him “If ya got bad news, it's best to just say it…”

“Yes, sir….I went to Atlanta and talked to the two guys that were in the house where they found Luke….and they admitted everything….they said they were paid five thousand dollars to try overdose Luke on drugs….”

“Why would anybody wanna do that to Luke?” Bo demanded, a hard edge creeping into his voice as his anger flared.

Enos took a deep breath and decided to just say it. There wasn't any easy way to tell them. “They said that Judd was the one that hired them.”

“What?” Luke said sharply, his own anger showing in his voice and his eyes at Enos' accusation against Judd. “That's impossible! He's my brother! Why would he do anything like that?”

“Now, Luke…” Jesse said quietly, reaching out to put a restraining hand on his nephew's arm and eyeing Enos carefully “Just hear Enos out….let's see what he has to say….” Jesse had always had his own doubts about Judd and now it sounded like Enos had some evidence that proved that Jesse's doubts had been justified.

“I'm sorry, Luke…..I talked to Judd's manager too and I searched his apartment in Atlanta . It seems like Judd resented the fact that you had Uncle Jesse and Bo and the kind of family that he always wanted….but never had. Somewhere along the line, he went off the deep end….got the idea in his head that if he got rid of you…then he could take your place….”

“What?” That's crazy!” Bo said, his voice rising angrily “How could he ever believe anything like that?”

“I don't know, Bo….” Enos said “But I found letters in his apartment that back that up….he wanted to kill Luke and take his place….” Enos looked at his friends sadly “I got the letters in the car if you wanna see ‘em…”

“That won't be necessary, Enos…” Jesse said, glancing at Luke anxiously to see how he was reacting to the news. Luke's face was pale and he was staring at Enos in disbelief, a deep sadness and pain reflected in the depths of his eyes and etched on his face. Suddenly, Luke jumped to his feet, knocking over his chair in his haste and went out the back door, slamming it behind him and ignoring Jesse's voice calling his name. Bo instantly bounded to his feet and followed his cousin outside.

“I'm sorry, Uncle Jesse….” Enos said close to tears “I didn't wanna have to tell any of ya about Judd….but I knew ya had the right to know.”

“It's alright, Enos. You did the right thing. You're a good friend to all us Dukes.” Jesse reassured him “And you're right….we needed to know what really happened.”

“Is Luke gonna be okay?”

“It's gonna be hard but he's got us to help him deal with what Judd tried to do to him.” Jesse said “And once he accepts it….he'll be grateful to you for finding out the truth….”

“Well, I guess I best get to work….y'all let me know if there's anything I can do…anything at all…and you tell Luke how sorry I am….”

“I will, Enos. I will.” Jesse told him. He watched as Enos shoved himself to his feet and slowly left the house. Jesse sighed, his own anger reflected in his eyes. Finding out the truth about Judd answered a lot of questions but also left a few unanswered. Jesse just hoped that finding out the truth wouldn't destroy Luke completely. He was going to need his family now more than ever, especially Bo.

Luke was already out of sight by the time Bo made it through the back door. Bo had headed for the barn, assuming he would find Luke hiding in the loft. He was surprised when he didn't find him there. “Oh, no….” he muttered as he suddenly realized where Luke must have gone. Scrambling down the ladder, he ran out of the barn and into the field around back of the barn. In the distance, he saw Luke entering the family cemetery at the top of the hill. Bo broke into a run. He had to get to Luke.

Bo was out of breath and panting when he reached the top of the hill. He opened the rusty old gate and slowly entered the cemetery. He saw Luke kneeling in front of the freshly dug grave…the grave that held Judd's body now instead of Luke. Luke didn't even seem to notice as Bo approached and knelt down beside him but Bo sensed that Luke knew he was there. Without saying a word, Bo slipped his arm around Luke's shoulders. He could feel the tenseness in Luke's body and he knew how close he was losing it.

“If Judd had his way it really would be me in there instead of him…” Luke said in a flat emotionless voice. Although Luke seemed calm and in control, Bo knew his cousin well enough to know that Luke was hiding his real feelings, stuffing them deep inside so he wouldn't have to deal with them right now.

“At least his plan didn't work…” Bo said trying to reassure his older cousin as best he could “You're okay and back home where you belong…”

“But I wouldn't be….not if his plan had worked….I'd be dead.” Luke shoved himself to his feet and began to walk away. Bo straightened up and hurried after him. Luke didn't say a word as they walked back the hill towards the farm. Jesse looked up as they walked into the kitchen. Still without saying a word, Luke walked past Jesse and climbed the steps to the room he shared with Bo and closed the door behind him.

Jesse looked at Bo questioningly. Bo shrugged his shoulders helplessly and looked at his Uncle glumly “I don't know Uncle Jesse….he's holding it in…he's not dealing with it right now.” Jesse nodded. He knew that was Luke's way. All any of them could do was wait until he was ready to talk about it or until he let it fester too much and he fell apart. Either way, Jesse knew that Judd's betrayal would leave Luke with emotional scars for the rest of his life. All Jesse could do was pray that those scars wouldn't change the man that Luke was.

Chapter 21

Over the next few days, Luke remained quiet and withdrawn. Jesse noticed the pain in his nephew's eyes when Luke thought nobody was looking and Jesse's heart ached at what he knew Luke was going through. Finally, Jesse couldn't stand it any longer and he decided to talk to Luke about what had happened. After supper, Jesse told Bo to go ahead and start his chores that he wanted to talk to Luke alone.

Luke looked at his uncle warily as the door closed behind Bo. He knew what his uncle wanted to talk to him about and he didn't want to talk about it. Sometimes Luke could be as stubborn as a Georgia mule especially when it came to sharing his innermost feelings.

“Alright, Luke.” Jesse said gently “I ain't gonna tell ya that I know how ya feel about what Judd did to you…cause I don't…but you can't keep it bottled up inside of ya either…”

“What am I suppose to say, Jesse?” Luke asked with a thin smile “My own brother tried to kill me….he wanted me dead and out of the way….What is there to say about that?”

“There's no excuse for what Judd tried to do…and he paid for it…paid for it with his own life…” Jesse said “Maybe if we had known that he wasn't killed in that fire and could have found him after that woman took him….things would been different….but we can't change the past….as much as we all would like to sometimes.” Jesse could see Luke struggling with the emotions that lay just below the surface. Gently he reached out to touch his shoulder “It's okay to be mad at him for what he tried to do and it's okay to still love him too because he was your brother….and it's okay to hurt and grieve because he's dead and you'll never have the chance to ask him why he did such a thing or to really get to know as your brother…..you need to let yourself feel all those things, Luke…it's the only way you'll be able to heal….”

“He was my brother….” Luke said quietly, tears glistening in his eyes “My baby brother…my family….”

“This is your family too, Luke…” Jesse reminded him “And we love you…more than you'll ever know….”

Luke bowed his head and finally let the tears come, tears of grief for the brother he'd lost and never really known, tears of anger and rage at what Judd had tried to do to him, and tears of sorrow for himself and what Judd had put him and his family through. Jesse leaned closer and pulled his oldest nephew into his loving embrace and let him cry until he had no more tears left to cry. Jesse knew now that in time Luke would heal. He would never forget but he would be able to go on with his life, the life that god had chosen to spare. Jesse said his own silent prayer of thanks to god for giving him back his oldest child and for watching over him while everyone thought he was dead. The family's wounds would heal too now that they were all back together again. They had all taken the first step towards recovering from the ordeal of the past four months. Bound together by the love they shared with one another, the family would continue to be each other's strength and each other's salvation. The family unit would remain intact and as strong as it ever was.