To Keep A Promise

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


Warnings: Angst, Disturbing Themes


Rating: FRT


italics and/or * indicates thoughts


To Keep A Promise
Chapter 12


Sandra Richardson was still sitting next to the phone when her husband came home an hour later. The moment he saw his wife Carl felt his blood run cold at the grief clearly etched on her still pretty face. "Sandra, honey what is it? What's happened?" he asked worriedly, kneeling in front of her.


"Carl? Oh Carl," she cried out, "Dale's been arrested!"


"Arrested? For what?"


Swallowing hard, she looked into her husband's concerned eyes, "Kidnapping and attempted murder."


"What?" Carl yelled. "I'm sorry honey, I didn't mean to yell at you, but that's not possible."


"The sheriff said he kidnapped Bo Duke and nearly killed him."


"Are we going to be allowed to see him?"


"Yeah, but Sheriff Coltrane said he doubts there'll be any bail."


"I'm not surprised, guess you were right," Carl said guiltily.


"Right?"


"You said we should tell Dale about the tapes the prosecutor has, maybe if we had he wouldn't have hurt Bo."


"Oh Carl, please don't blame yourself, you were only trying to protect him from the ugliness of the world, there's nothing wrong with that. There was no way either of us could've known he would do something like this, and we don't even know yet why he did it."


"I appreciate you trying to make me feel better Sandra, but we both know it's got to be connected to Sara and Jonas' deaths."


"I suppose we ought to go down to the jail and find out for sure, did you want some supper first?"


"I don't think I could eat right now if I had to," Carl replied. "No, I think we should just go to the jail, or perhaps I should go alone," he suggested, thinking to spare his wife some pain.


"No Carl, he's my son too and if we are indirectly responsible for what he did, I should be there too." Standing up she went and got her purse, returning within seconds, "I'm ready," she resolutely said.


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"Luke?" Dr. Appleby called quietly when he saw that Bo was asleep.


"Yeah Doc?"


"I'm going to bed now but I wanted to let you know that if you get hungry or want something to drink, help yourself to anything in the fridge."


"Thanks Doc, don't think I'm gonna want anything though," he softly said as he brushed the hair back from Bo's face.


"I understand but I wanted to let you know," Amos said. "Don't hesitate to wake me up if there's any problems, even if you're not sure that it's anything important. If it's enough to make you think about getting me then it's best if you err on the side of caution and wake me up."


"Yes sir, I will."


"Goodnight then," Amos said, leaving the room and shutting the door quietly behind him.


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Rosco looked up from his paperwork when the door opened, standing up he approached the couple that had just entered. "Mr. and Mrs. Richardson, I suppose you're here to see Dale?"


"Yes sir," Carl replied, "my wife said it would be okay."


"Yes sir it is, just go down the stairs there," he said, pointing to the doorway that led to the cells.


"Before we do that I'd like to ask you a few questions if I may?"


"Of course, I don't guarantee I can answer them but I'll try," Rosco said, sitting down on the corner of his desk.


"Sandra said that Dale kidnapped Bo Duke and nearly killed him, are you sure of that?"


"Yes sir I am," Rosco sadly confirmed. "Dale took Bo to Jonas Wyndham's house, his cousin Luke, me and Cooter Davenport got there just in time to watch him try to hang Bo."


"Hang?" Sandra asked, her hand over her heart and tears in her eyes.


"Do you want to go outside while I talk to the sheriff?" Carl softly asked.


"No, I need to hear this too," Sandra refused. Taking a deep breath, she fixed Rosco with a penetrating gaze, "Go on sheriff."


"Yes ma'am," Rosco said. "There ain't much else to tell, Dale tried to run, but he tripped over something and I arrested him."


"Did he say why he did it?" Carl asked.


"He said that Bo's lies had cost his sister her life and he had to pay for it."


Nodding sadly, Carl couldn't help the surge of guilt he felt at hearing that.


"It's not your fault Carl," Sandra assured him. "You did what you thought was best and I agreed with you."


"No you didn't, you went along with it but you never agreed with me," Carl argued.


"Alright, but that still doesn't change the fact that you only did what you thought was best."


"Um, excuse me folks, but are you saying that you knew Dale was going to do this?"


"No sir," Sandra answered. "Carl is upset because he decided that Dale shouldn't be told about the evidence against Jonas Wyndham. He had no idea that this would happen, he only wanted to protect our son from the ugliness of the world."


"If that's the case then your wife's right, you aren't responsible for what your boy did."


"Thank you sheriff," Carl sincerely said. "I guess we should go see Dale now," he said, taking his wife by the arm and leading her downstairs.


"Mom, Dad," Dale cried out when he saw them. "I'm sorry I failed, I almost managed to make him pay but they got there too soon. He did sign a confession first though, Bo admitted he lied," he told them, "guess the sheriff'll probably hide it though."


"Dale I want you to listen to me and listen carefully," Carl said, wrapping his hands around his son's hands where he gripped the bars. "Bo didn't lie about Jonas..."


"Yes he did!" Dale protested, jerking his hands free and stepping away from the bars. "He admitted to it."


"Dale after your sister and Jonas died your mother and I went to see the district attorney." Carl told him. "We wanted to find out what evidence they had against Jonas, in case Bo had lied and charges could be brought against him."


"And you believed whatever they told you?" Dale asked disbelievingly.


"No, we believed Jonas."


"Huh? You mean he talks to you too?"


"Dear Lord," Sandra gasped, bringing her hand to her mouth.


Looking down at the floor, Carl sighed heavily before answering. "No son, he doesn't talk to us. The prosecutor had a tape of Jonas' attack on Bo Duke. He also told us that Sara had come to see him the day she died, that he had told her about the tape as well."


"It ain't true, Jonas wouldn't do that and Sara wouldn't be with somebody like that," Dale protested.


"It is true son," Carl assured him. "Jonas Wyndham wasn't the man we thought he was, he was a predator and I believe that when your sister found that out she was so upset that she lost control of her car."


"No! Jonas told me that he's innocent, he says that Bo lied. He wouldn't lie to me, Jonas wouldn't ever have hurt somebody like that."


"Come on Sandra," Carl said, wrapping an arm around his wife's waist. "We're going to see a lawyer son, we'll get you the help you need."


"I don't need any help," Dale growled. "You'll see, I'll make sure Bo pays with his life for what he did," he snarled as his parents were walking to the door.


Shaking his head sadly, Carl didn't reply but only continued on, keeping a tight grip on his wife as she leaned against him.


Rosco looked up as they came up the stairs, sighing heavily when he saw the Richardsons, both looking ten years older and Mrs. Richardson sobbing heart-brokenly. "Is there anything I can do for y'all?" he quietly asked.


"Thank you sheriff but I'm afraid there's not," Carl answered. "We'll be hiring a lawyer for Dale of course, but I won't be bailing my son out of jail, assuming the judge sets bail."


"You won't?" Rosco asked, clearly surprised.


"No sir, I don't want to take the chance that he'll go after Bo again."


"Sheriff?" Sandra quietly asked, pulling away from her husband and standing straight. "Do you think the prosecutor would be willing to let Dale go to a hospital instead of prison?"


"I don't know ma'am, you'd need to ask him about that. You do mean a mental hospital right?"


"Yes that's what I mean," Sandra confirmed. "Don't get me wrong, I know Dale did wrong, we both understand that," she said, looking at her husband.


"That's right we do," Carl said.


"But it's obvious that Dale isn't really himself, did you know that he thinks Jonas is talking to him?"


"I wasn't sure, but with some of the things he said I thought maybe that's what was happening."


Nodding her head, she again leaned against her husband for support.


"Thank you for letting us see him sheriff, would you tell him we'll be back to see him tomorrow?" Carl asked.


"Yes sir, I will," Rosco agreed. Leaning back in his chair, he watched the Richardsons slowly walk out of his office, two more innocent victims of the mess Jonas Wyndham had created.


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*"No! Please...don't...no..." Bo sat tied to a chair, pain filling his body as Jonas kept insisting he'd lied. Shaking his head, Bo kept denying the words of his former teacher, each denial bringing pain with it. Suddenly he found himself on the couch, Jonas laying on top of him, both of them naked. As Jonas raped him, he thought he heard a baby crying. Turning his head to the side, he saw Sara Richardson standing there watching, a baby held in her arms, tears streaking her face. Suddenly the specter of Sara and her baby began to change and what was looking at him was a horrific thing, as both mother and baby began to bleed from the gashes that were erupting on their bodies. "No!"


"This is your fault Bo...you killed us...why did you do it?" Sara asked.


"No...please it's not my fault," he cried out.


"Yes it is Bo, you killed us all with your lies," Jonas told him.


"Didn't lie...no...please leave me alone...please I didn't lie, not my fault," Bo begged.


"You did lie and now you have to pay," Dale said, walking into the room, holding Luke by the arm.


"Luke?"


"He can't help you Bo...nobody can help you," Jonas whispered in his ear.


As Bo watched, Dale tied a rope around his cousin's neck and jerking the chair from beneath Luke's feet, he laughed as Bo's cousin fell to his death.*


Bo jerked awake, his mouth open in a soundless scream, sweat pouring down his face. Frantically he looked around the room, relieved when he saw Luke sitting in a chair, sleeping soundly. Bringing his hand up to wipe at his face, he forgot about the i.v. in his hand, his action causing the pole to rattle softly, waking Luke up.


Coming awake with a start, Luke immediately looked at his cousin, concerned when he saw the state the younger boy was in. "Bo? Ya okay cousin?" he quietly asked, moving to the bed and taking Bo's hand in his own.


Giving a small nod, Bo closed his eyes.


"Bo, please tell me what's wrong," Luke plead.


Picking up the tablet and pencil he quickly wrote something, turning it so that Luke could read it...Don't matter.


"Of course it matters Bo, please let me help you."


Bad dream. He wrote on the tablet, closing his eyes again, not wanting his cousin to see the tears that were trying to form.


"About what happened?"


Bo nodded, still not opening his eyes.


"You want to tell me about it?"


A shake of the head was his only answer.


"Want me to lay down with you?"


Bo shrugged, he wanted that more than he could say, but he didn't want Luke to think he was a baby.


"It'd sure make me feel better," Luke softly said.


Bo looked at his cousin, his eyes shimmering with tears and gratitude. Nodding slightly, he shifted on the bed, making room for Luke.


Smiling sadly, Luke lay down on the bed next to his baby cousin. Carefully wrapping his arms around the younger boy, he was reminded of when they were children and Bo would climb into his bed after a bad dream. As he had done then, he began to softly hum a soothing song to his cousin as he instinctively rocked Bo until he felt safe enough to fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.


TBC


Sorry it took so long to update this, hope y'all enjoyed it. Please feed the muse with reviews and I will try to update quicker next time.