by: Marty Chrisman

Jesse Duke pulled his battered white pickup into the barnyard behind the weather beaten two story frame house where he had been born and raised. The farm where Jesse lived with his two nephews and his niece had been in the Duke family for over 5 generations. Parking the truck and turning off the engine, he climbed out of the cab and walked towards the screened in back porch.

Jesse was sturdily built man in his early sixties but he had the energy and spring in his step of a much younger man. He had a headful of shaggy white hair and a full white beard with faded blue eyes that still held a friendly twinkle. He pushed open the back door and went into the kitchen of the old farmhouse.

His niece, Daisy, was standing at the stove cooking supper. She was a pretty girl in her mid twenties with big blue eyes and long reddish brown hair. The only girl in a houseful of men, she grew up a tomboy and stayed that way to a certain extent. She glanced at her Uncle as he came into the house, her eyes troubled and worried.

“What’s wrong, honey?” Jesse asked when he saw the expression on her face

“There’s something in the paper you better read, Uncle Jesse” she told him “I laid it in your chair.”

Jesse walked through the archway into the living room and picked up the newspaper that was lying on his favorite chair. Scanning the front page, it didn’t take Jesse long to find the article that Daisy was referring to. Frowning, he laid the paper back down in the chair.

“What are we gonna tell Luke?” Daisy asked, eying her Uncle worriedly.

“I don’t know, baby” Jesse said “But we’re gonna have to tell him. He’ll find out sooner or later even if we don’t.”

“It can’t be true. Can it?”

“I don’t know. I just don’t know.”

Daisy turned her head towards the kitchen window as she heard the sound of a powerful engine pulling into the barnyard. Through the window, she saw a bright orange stock car pulling in beside the pickup. The General Lee was the most famous car in Hazzard County. With the big black 01 on each door, the rebel flag on the roof and the name The General Lee written above each door, the car was as well known as the two boys who owned it.

Daisy watched as her two cousins climbed out of the car (since the General was a stock car, the doors were welded shut so they had to climb in and out of the windows)

Bo Duke climbed out from the driver’s side. With his blonde hair and baby blue eyes, he had more girlfriends than he could shake a stick out. Tall and lean with a muscular build he was a handsome young man in his early twenties.

The oldest of the three Duke cousins, Luke Duke, climbed out from the other side of the General. With his dark curly hair and azure blue eyes, he was as popular as his blonde cousin with the ladies. Shorter than his cousin but with the same lean, muscular build, Luke was a ruggedly handsome young man. He was the only one of the three cousins who had ever left Hazzard County for any period of time. He had been in the Marines for two years. And he was the only one who had ever been married. But his wife had been tragically killed a little over a year ago and he had been left a grief stricken widower.

Daisy kept her eyes carefully averted when the boys came into the kitchen, laughing and joking. She knew if Luke saw the expression on her face he would know something was wrong. She had never been able to hide anything from her older cousin. Most of the time he seemed more like an overly protective older brother who still treated her like a kid sometimes

Daisy finished dishing up supper and the Duke family sat down to eat. They made casual conversation during the meal with the boys telling Jesse and Daisy about their day and Jesse telling the boys about some chores he expected them to do the next day. Jesse waited until supper was over and Daisy had done up the dishes before he approached Luke about the article in the newspaper.

“Luke, there’s something in tonight’s paper you best take a look at.” Jesse said, as he picked up the paper from his chair and handed it to his oldest nephew. With a puzzled look at his Uncle, Luke took the paper and scanned the front page. His eyes narrowed when he found the article that Jesse intended for him to read. When he had finished reading it, he tossed the paper down on the sofa and said,

“It can’t be true. There has some mistake.”

Without waiting for his Uncle to reply, he abruptly turned and climbed the stairs to the second floor. A few moments later the sound of his bedroom door slamming echoed through the house.

Confused and not sure what was going on, Bo picked up the paper and scanned the front page. It didn’t take him long to find the article that had upset Luke.

 

MAJOR DRUG RING UNCOVERED IN HAZZARD COUNTY

 

A major drug ring was uncovered in Hazzard County by federal agents based on a year long investigation. Two arrests were made in connection with the operation, Cory Lynn and Shelby Lynn of Iron Mountain in Hazzard County. Several felony charges are pending against both suspects. Additional arrests are expected to follow.

 

            “Luke’s right, Uncle Jesse” Bo said in a stunned voice “There has to be some kind of mistake. Shelby would never do anything like that.”

“You best go check on Luke.” Jesse told him somberly “Make sure he’s okay.”

“Yes, sir.” Bo said. He climbed the stairs to the second floor and went into the bedroom that the two boys had shared all their lives. Luke was sitting on the edge of his bed on the far side of the room, head bowed and staring at the floorboards.

“Lukas, you okay?” Bo asked, sitting down on his own bed which was closest to the door.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Luke said looking up at his younger cousin. There was a strange look in his eyes that Bo could not immediately identify.

“I don’t believe what it says in the paper.” Bo told him “Shelby would never do something like that.”

“I know.” Luke said “The question how can we help prove it?”