To Keep A Promise

Disclaimer: I don't own the Dukes of Hazzard, not making any money, just cheap thrills.


Warnings: Angst, Disturbing Themes, Violence


Rating: FRT


italics and/or *indicates thoughts


To Keep A Promise
Chapter 10


"Wonder where Bo is?" Cooter asked, looking around the barn for his friend.


"Think we should look for him?" Pete asked.


"Nah, he's probably outside with some girl," Cooter replied, grinning widly.


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Opening his eyes, Bo reached for his aching head, wondering why he couldn't make his arms move. As he became more aware, he realized his arms were tied behind him, while another rope went around his chest, keeping him in the chair. Looking around the room, he began to panic when he saw where he was.


"Hello Bo."


"Who's there?" Twisting his head one way and then the other, he tried to see the person who had spoken.


"You know who I am Bo," the voice softly said.


"I don't know who ya are...but I know ya ain't him."


"To whom do you refer?"


"Stop it! I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but I ain't falling for it."


"No game Bo, justice is what I seek," the familiar voice defended.


"Let me go," Bo ordered, though he didn't expect the person to listen.


"Gladly...just as soon as you confess."


"Confess? To what?"


"To being a liar of course," came the calm reply. "Your lies cost three lives...mine, Sarah's and our baby's"


"Baby?" he asked, feeling sick.


"That's right, Sarah was pregnant with my child. When I heard that she was gone, I didn't want to live any longer."


"Who are you?"


"You know who I am Bo...I'm Jonas Wyndham, returned from the grave for justice."


"No," Bo denied as he struggled against the ropes.


"Yes! I'm going to expose your lies. I will see to it that everybody in Hazzard knows what a horrible boy you really are."


"Ahhhhh!" Bo screamed as a jolt of electricity suddenly ran through his body.


"That's just the first Bo...unless you admit to your lies."


"I didn't lie," he barely got out, before the pain returned.


Dale stood in the shadows, watching as Bo's body jolted from the shocks running through it. *This is gonna work great! I'm sorry it took me so long to get your voice right Jonas. Bo shouldn't have been allowed to walk around free for so long, well no more!* Dale removed the jumper cable from one side of the car battery, stopping the flow of electricity from the battery to the other end of the wires where they were connected to Bo's back. *Just like in the movies...by the time I'm done with Bo he'll gladly sign this confession.* "Admit it Bo! Admit you lied and I'll cause you no more pain."


"No! Didn't lie...didn't," Bo denied. *A trick, it's a trick, he's dead, ain't no such thing as ghosts.* Bo kept repeating to himself as another shock sent pain through him, bringing another scream from his already sore throat.


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"Hey Cooter, you seen Bo?"


"Not in a while Luke," Cooter replied.


"When was the last time you saw him?" Luke was getting worried, he'd been having a great time with his date, until he realized he hadn't seen his cousin in a while. Excusing himself from Lisa, he went in search of his youngest cousin. He'd seen Daisy sitting on a hay bale with her date, but when he asked her, she said she hadn't seen Bo. He'd looked all over the barn, asking several people with no luck. When he'd seen Cooter, he thought for sure he'd soon find Bo.


"Well...I guess it's been about an hour, something wrong Luke?"


"I don't know Cooter, but with everything that's happened I'd feel a lot better if I knew where he was."


"You want some help looking?" Cooter quickly offered.


"That'd be great Cooter...I've already looked around inside, let's try outside," Luke suggested.


"Okay," Cooter agreed, following his friend outside. "Where you want to start?"


"You go that way, and I'll go this way, we'll meet up around back."


"Got it." Turning in the direction Luke had pointed, Cooter began to search for the missing Duke.


A short time later they met at the back of the barn. "Anything?" Luke asked.


"No, you?"


Shaking his head, Luke glanced around, desperately looking for anything that would tell him where his cousin was. Spotting something laying in the grass, he walked over to it. "Damn," he cursed under his breath as he looked down at the ground.


"What is it?" Cooter asked, coming up beside him. "Somebody dropped their drink," he noticed as he looked at the ground.


"Bo," Luke whispered, kneeling down to examine the ground.


"Bo? What makes you think that?"


"Look at the ground Cooter, you can see where something was dragged away from here," he pointed out.


"Yeah, see what ya mean. What makes you think it was Bo?"


Quickly Luke told his friend about what had happened in the barn a few days ago and who they thought had done it. "Did you see Dale here tonight?"


"No, not real surprising though, he never was much for dances and such. Since his sister died, he's been even worse about not coming to things like this."


"You know who his friends are? Where he hangs out?"


"Not real sure where he hangs out, but I know who some of his friends are. At least one of them is here tonight," Cooter said.


"Where is he?"


"Tell ya what Luke, why don't ya let me go get him? I'll bring him back here in a few minutes, okay?"


"Yeah, okay," Luke agreed, thinking he could look around while Cooter was gone.


A few minutes later Cooter returned with Roy by his side. "What is this?" Roy asked, turning to run when Cooter grabbed his arm.


"What's the matter Roy? We just want to talk to you," Cooter said, his voice friendly.


"Look that thing in y'all's barn was Dale's idea, I just helped him get it into the loft, that's all," Roy stuttered out, struggling to break Cooter's grip as Luke stepped closer.


"I don't care about that Roy."


"You don't?"


"Nope, I want to know where Dale is tonight?" Luke calmly asked.


"Why? I mean, how would I know?" Roy nervously asked.


"You're his friend ain't ya?" Cooter asked.


"Yeah, don't mean I know where he is all the time."


"What's he got planned Roy? What's he gonna do to my cousin?"


"Nothing, he said he wasn't gonna do nothing."


"After the way he's been tormenting Bo, you expect us to believe that?" Luke demanded.


"It's what he said," Roy insisted. "He said he wasn't gonna do nothing, that Bo was. I don't know what he meant though, he didn't tell me."


Taking a deep breath, Luke worked to calm himself down. "You have any idea where he is?"


Licking suddenly dry lips, Roy tried to think of any place his friend might be. "I don't know, honest, but he likes to hang out at the old indian caves, and sometimes he climbs the water tower."


"Anywhere else?"


"No, I swear that's it. Can I go now?"


"Yeah, you can go," Luke replied, nodding at Cooter.


The moment Cooter released his hold, Roy took off. "Think we should call somebody?"


"Yeah, we'll radio the sheriff on the way," Luke answered, heading towards the truck.


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Bo sagged in the chair, sobbing in pain.


"Admit you lied and the pain will stop."


"Didn't lie...didn't, you know I didn't," Bo protested in a weak voice.


"You did lie! I never touched you, you were angry because I was failing you," came the insistent voice.


"No! You said...I was failing...didn't lie, you tried to...." Bo couldn't seem to think straight as he tried to defend himself against the accusations.


"Admit you lied and your pain will end. I only want justice Bo...justice for the innocent lives you destroyed with your lies." Looking at the paper lying on the table, Dale silently promised his sister and Jonas that he would get Bo's signature on the printed note. Touching the cable to the battery, completing the circuit, he listened in satisfaction to Bo's screams of pain. "All you have to do is sign a confession Bo, admit you lied and the pain stops."


"Didn't lie...no lies...guilty...didn't," Bo mumbled, as tears of pain streaked his cheeks.


"Of course you're guilty Bo, guilty of murder! Liar! Murderer! Admit it!" Dale screamed at the younger boy, sending another shock through Bo's body. Watching his enemy jerking against the ropes, as he became more and more confused, Dale was sure a confession wasn't far away.


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"He's not here either, damn it! Where are they?" Luke cried out in frustration.


"We'll find him Luke, ya got my word on that," Rosco assured the younger man.


"How Rosco? We got no idea where Dale might've taken him?"


"That's true Luke, but Hazzard ain't that big," the sheriff calmly pointed out. "We'll get a search party organized and we'll comb through every nook and cranny of Hazzard."


"This is Roy Perkins calling Luke Duke, you got your ears on?"


Grabbing for the cb mic, Luke angrily answered, "You got Luke Duke here, what do you want?"


Swallowing nervously, Roy cleared his throat before answering. "I got to thinking about something, I forgot about one place where Dale might be."


"Where?" Luke desperately asked.


"Well ever since his sister died, he's been spending a lot of time over at Jonas' house."


"Jonas Wyndham?"


"Yeah, I don't know what he does there, it's creepy if ya ask..."


"Thanks Roy, I'm gone," Luke interrupted. Jumping into the cab of the truck, he started the engine. "Well you coming or not?"


Snapping out of his thoughts, Cooter hurried to get in the truck.


"I'll be right behind you Luke," Rosco called as the pick-up took off towards Wyndham's place.


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"Are you ready to confess Bo?"


"Lied...I lied," Bo nodded. Exhausted and in pain, he was willing to agree to anything.


"Good, very good Bo," Dale grinned, thrilled at the thought of justice being served. Picking up the note from the table, he read the printed words one last time.


*I lied about mr. windam, he wuz a good man.
he wuz failin me and i wuz mad, i's sorry i lied about
him. cause of me peple died, i can't live with the guilt
no more. i'm sorry fer the trouble i caused and the shame
i brung to my family. goodbye.*


Taking the note with him, he moved to the chair that held Bo Duke. Coming up behind him, he carefully removed the wires from Bo's back before cutting the ropes that held him in the chair. Putting the note on a book, he shoved a pencil into Bo's hand. "Sign the confession Bo, sign it and your pain will end," he whispered in Jonas' voice.


"Confess...lied," Bo mumbled. Looking down at the pencil in his hand, he saw a piece of paper being held in front of him.


"Sign it Bo."


Nodding tiredly, Bo leaned forward and shakily signed his name to the confession. Dropping the pencil, he leaned back in the chair, too exhausted to do more.


"Very good Bo, it's almost over now," Dale whispered. Helping the defeated boy to his feet, Dale led him to a chair that stood in the center of the room. "Get up on the chair Bo."


"Up?" Bo asked as he looked at the chair in confusion.


"Yeah up, stand on the chair Bo...now!" he yelled. As he heard vehicles pulling up outside, he desperately helped Bo onto the chair. " They can't save you, justice will be served," Dale mumbled as he stepped onto a small ladder next to the chair. Grabbing the noose he'd tied to the chandelier, he put it around Bo's neck, pulling it tight. Quickly stepping off the ladder, he grabbed the back of the chair as the door opened. Looking towards the door, he grinned at the men standing there, "You're too late."

"No!" Luke screamed as Dale jerked the chair from under his cousin's feet.


TBC


*Hides from angry mobs* Please feed the muse with reviews and I'll try not to leave you hanging for too long.