Hazzard County Exemplum

[BoJamesDuke]

(OK so here's the deal. I can't round robin, not at all, i've tried but I just can't stand it but I am very intrigued by Daney Duke's Idea. So i've copied his and my first post from the round robin section and am going to continue the idea as a story. If anyone would like to colaberate with me, please message me before you post. Thanks and also Mega Thanks to Daney Duke for the idea )

A guest goes missing from a Hazzard County motel…

“Sheriff, I think we got everything.†Enos said.

“Careful with that,†Rosco answered. His attention on the deputy fidgeting with the camera strap on the department equipment in his hands. The dawn of a new day had barely begun when the motel manager had phoned the Sheriff’s Office. Another patron checking out had noticed a room door wide open. They had mentioned it to the clerk on duty. The clerk found the room just as the officers had, tidy.

The only thing missing was the customer who had checked in the afternoon before. The only indication there might be trouble was the trail of cards that led from the sidewalk to the parking lot. The cards were in the opposite direction of the hill behind the motel.

Enos had walked the hill, took a few pictures. There had been no phone calls to the room. The possibly missing person hadn't made arrangements for someone to pick them up? And it turned out they had simply forgotten to close the door all the way.

A travel case with money and identification sat on the chair next to the window.

Rosco looked at the tan and brown paisley printed travel case. He was deciding between taking a picture of the person’s id and making a flyer that way. Or taking the case back to the office. If the person wasn’t really missing, they could report his department. He really wasn’t quite sure what had happened. Sometimes a police officer immediately knew what they were getting into at a scene, but not this time.

The person could have made arrangements before they checked into the motel to be picked up. Were they a person on the run and that was why the items had been left behind? That could explain it. But then a criminal normally wouldn’t have the stuff that was in the travel case. And he had no proof at this moment, the person was a criminal.

“Alright, let’s get back to the department,†he paused. “I’ll run the name through the system,†Rosco said quietly.

“Develop the pictures while you do that?†Enos asked eagerly.

“Yeah,†Rosco replied. “Stop at the office and tell the clerk I’m waiting for them to lock this room up.â€

“Sure, Sheriff.†Enos stepped toward the door that had been left open. Rosco pondered over the possible crime scene evidence, the tip tap of the deputy’s boots on the sidewalk outside grew faint.

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Due to the fact it was an unusual start to the morning for the Hazzard County Sheriff's department, it also meant an unusal start to the day for the Duke Boys too. They'd been driving down the dusty back roads of the backwater town, testing out the General as they made their way in to see if they needed to stop at Cooter's while they got the daily grocery shopping done. The sun was warming up the land, the birds were singing, the dust was being kicked up by the powerful orange stock car as the sun gleamed off its paintwork...it was a lovely, quiet day and both boys were enjoying relaxing in it...

"Luke....does it seem odd t'you...that we ain't heard nor seen hide nor hair of any flashin lights on Rosco or Enos' patrol cars the whole time we's been drivin'? Heck, we musta driven past at least 3 speed traps an' they ain't there..."

Bo couldn't help but break the silence to comment on this unusual non-activity. Of course he wasn't really asking Luke if he'd noticed, his cousin's razor sharp mind never missed even the tinest hint something was amiss, let alone something as huge as this indication. Taking his eyes off the road for a second, he spared a glance at the dark-haired Duke, only to be met with the oh so familiar Must you point out the obvious all the time look.

"Course I noticed it Bo, puts me dang near on the edge of my seat more than jumpin the General does when they ain't around...what seems odder t'me is how many times you used the word nor in one sentence..."

"Cute..." Bo replied sarcastically, narrowing his eyes at his older cousin before turning his attention back to the road.

"Ain't nothin we can do about it though Bo, Uncle Jesse needs these groceries so we can't afford t'be thrown in jail till after we got them to him...its better we ain't seen them two around yet for that reason."

Luke explained, he never liked to leave things on an insult between them. Bo might be blonde sometimes, liked to point out the bleeding obvious a lot too but that didn't mean he wasn't as smart...or that he didn't get hurt like everyone else by things that were said. He didn't mind explaining things, he knew his mind worked about ten times quicker than everyone else's, even in the Marines he was forever the one to explain how something needed to be done. He liked it that way, it was something to keep his mind occupied in this sleepy town. If it weren't for Boss and Rosco coming up with new plans for him to think a way out of near every day, he would be downright bored. Besides, Bo was nodding in agreement with him anyway and continuing on his way to the lion's den itself.

If the boys weren't in trouble yet, after a trip into town they pretty much were guarenteed to be. That was when the day would become like usual again.

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In the meantime, the mysterious disappearing motel lodger wasn't as far away as people might have thought. They might have needed to run but they were smart enough to know that running around a place you had no knowledge of - at night no less - was a stupid thing to do. So, slipping out into the cool night air after sleeping most of the afternoon, they had absconded onto the roof of the motel to watch the tiny town square come to life in the morning...or more importantly, looking for someone to help in their plan to run as far away as possible from those that were looking.

[BoJamesDuke]

Bo pulled casually into town, not making a speedy entrance as he usually would so as not to attract the attention of the law if they happened to still be here. He couldn't help but smile as he regarded the sleepy surroundings of the town square, everyone moving that little bit slower than a larger city would...everyone more friendly and helpful than any city slicker could be....the Hazzard County Girls prettier than any other girl in the world could be. Despite the ups and downs of their life in Hazzard, there were definitly more ups to it that made Hazzard special.

His gaze and attentions were quickly diverted from the outside to the inside though as a firm, 'I need your attention' slap landed on his arm from his right. Scowling with an indignant 'Ow!', he pulled the General up to the sidewalk to get a better look at what it was Luke was now pointing at.

"We found the law...looks like somethin's goin' on at the Hazzard Motel..." Luke commented, watching with interest as Enos hurried out the building clutching a camera and disappeared inside the Sherrif's department while Rosco flitted between going inside and out.

"Well it can't be that serious can it...I mean nothin ever that serious goes on here..." Bo wasn't really asking a question, he was more thinking out loud...nonetheless he got a reasponse.

"Heck no...we've just had a couple of public enemies stay over and escape here, the mafia, drugs contaminatin' the water, bank robberies, escaped convicts holding people hostage...you're right, nothing serious ever goes on here..."

The elder Duke cousin couldn't help but retort back with sarcasm...some considered it the lowest form of wit but between him and Bo it was the language they spoke in and it suited them just fine. Always came in handy when a shuck and jive needed pulling off...when the time called for actual insults neither one of them were reluctant to use them.

"You know what I mean Luke...no one's ever got themselves...murdered or...attacked or anythin'..."

"Yeah I know...whatever it is though is enough t'get the law riled up though. Rosco looks jumpier than a long tailed cat in a room full o'rockers..."

Pausing, he tilted his head a little as he watched things being carted out the hotel, recognizable as belonging to one of the rooms. Whatever had happened, Rosco sure wasn't letting it pass by as he usually did...which meant likely Boss was not the orchestrator of the ordeal...and that unnerved him just a little bit. Knowing what you were up against, it was easy to outmanouver and outthink his opponents...an outside entity, an unknown force was something to be worried about. Shaking his head, he made a decision to monitor the situation before looking back to Bo.

"C'mon, we best get t'pickin up these supplies. Jesse's let us off mornin chores just long enough t'get em, anythin' longer and we'll never hear the end of it."

"You mean we ain't gonna do nothin'? Ain't gonna even look?" Bo queried in return, surprised at the fact his usually inquisitve cousin was willing to let this pass.

"By all means you can go look if you wanna get caught up in and charged with somethin' we didn't know about or do...I'd rather spend the night in my bed than a jail cell thanks."

"You got a point..."

With a small laugh and a friendly pat to Luke's shoulder, Bo slid his tall frame out the window of the bright orange stock car, waiting for a second for Luke to round the car before heading over to Rhuebottoms, both boys turning their backs on the scene going on opposite them.

Maybe if they hadn't, they would have seen the head and shoulders peering over the top of the building, watching their moves. The bright orange stock car had caught his eye, it was so obvious to everyone's eyes that no one really paid any attention to it. That car was his ticket to continuing his run. Waiting for the boys to enter the small shop, he quickly ducked back from the edge of the roof, and made his way along the rooftops.

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Rosco sighed as he left the Hazzard Motel and headed back for the jail. His life as a sheriff was relativly easy in Hazzard. He had his dipstick deputy to fall back on, very rarely did he ever have to do any actual police work that wasn't controlled by Boss' needs and schemes...despite all the training courses he had been on, despite his numerous years in the position, he felt completly out of his depth with this case. A possible missing person...possible kidnap...possible murder...possible anything! It was humiliating that his deputy seemed to know more of what to do than he did.

Shaking his head, he started up the steps to the jail when a glint of orange caught his eye. Turning with one of his indistinct noises, he grinned as the General Lee came into view with no Duke Boys in sight. Pulling his ticket book from his pocket, he giggled and trotted his way over there, scribbling some violations down as he walked. One thing that never failed to cheer him up was the praise he got from Boss for pulling money from the Dukes.

Just as he was about to put the ticket under the windscreen wipers however...

"Rosco!"

"What the heck are you doin', you got no call t'give us a ticket!"

"Jit! Guh..Alright you Dukes! I do so got a call t'give you a ticket!" Rosco stammered back, puffing his chest up just a little and standing up taller as the Duke Boys strode their way over, each carrying a brown bag full of the supplies their uncle had sent them to get.

"And just what call is that Rosco?" Bo retorted back, sliding the bag he held into the back seat so he could free up his arms, Luke soon following suit.

"I'm givin you a ticket for impeedin' traffic..." Rosco began, only to be cut off by Luke's sharp laugh.

"Impeedin' traffic?! Rosco, the General ain't in the way of no traffic - you could fit an 18-wheeler down this road!"

"Oh yeah, but it couldn't turn round now could it?!" The sheriff's voice sang back at him with a gleeful giggle. "I'm also writing you up as your car is a saftey hazzard! The glare of the sun off this paint job is blindin drivers and pedestrians. That's a naughty naughty!"

Rosco continued to rattle off more explanations happily, writing more down on the ticket as he got more ideas, not noticing the glance between the two Duke Boys, not noticing them creep to their respective windows and slide in...not really noticing the General was moving until the roar of the engine hit his ears. Looking up, he was just in time to catch sight of the General's rear end speeding away from him....a familiar face looking out at him from the trunk of the car for a few seconds before the lid quickly closed.

"You...you get back here you Duke Boys!" He yelled fruitlessly after him, shaking his fist angrily but also trying to wrack his brains and remember where he had seen that face. He knew it was no use trying to catch the Dukes now, he'd go later when they least expected it. In the meantime, he had real police work to catch up on.