General Lee's Revenge

Chapter Three: A Sickening Feeling

Once the Dukes left the law office, Boss Hogg, Rosco, and the investigator got down to business.

"So, ah, what's this all about?" Rosco asked.

The investigator held up two files. "I know you two were indirectly responsible for this. The Dukes say otherwise, but I know they're just trying to protect you, for whatever reason. Unfortunately for you, I'm a government official, government officials know everything."

"We ain't gonna be, you know, locked up, right?" Boss Hogg asked nervously.

"Not unless you cooperate. If you do, I'll be convinced you gave them that fake money because you didn't want to be framed, after all, it was their counterfeit, not yours."

Boss Hogg nodded mischievously, he was beginning to like the way this man thought. The investigator set one of the files down and opened the one he was holding.

"This is everything we know about Bo and Luke Duke. Their parents, the car wreck, and their part in Hazzard County ever since you began conning."

Boss Hogg interrupted him. "What car wreck?"

"You don't know?" Rosco asked.

"You do?"

"Gentlemen if I may." The investigator butted in. "Sixteen years ago, there was a car wreck in the desert, about four-hundred eighty-three miles outside of Los Angeles. The wreck killed Jesse Duke's siblings, and what remained of his sisters-in-law."

"What do you mean by remained?"

"Daisy's mother died when she was born, and Luke's mother died in a hospital fire when he was just three years old. His father became abusive towards him, and two years later he was sent to live with Jesse.

Bo's parents had quite an unhealthy relationship as well. His mother was reported to be quite the drinker and smoked as often as she could, while his father did his best to keep their relationship intact. It came as no surprise when his body was never found at the scene of the wreck."

"He killed his own family?"

"It's what we believe. They were making his life miserable, and he did what he thought he needed to do. The man's a ghost, Hogg, he dropped off the face of the earth after the wreck, nobody's seen nor heard of him."

"Oh, it puts a quiver in my liver every time I hear that story," Rosco said with a shudder.

Boss Hogg was quiet, his face had guilt written all over it. "I got a bad feelin' in my stomach."

"Oh, you're hungry Boss, you want somethin' to eat?"

"No, no, no, the mere thought of eatin' makes me feel like I'mma throw up."

"Can we get back to the task at hand?" the investigator asked.

"Does it get worse?" Boss Hogg asked.

"A lot worse."

"I ain't gonna eat for weeks."

The investigator pulled some pictures and papers out of both case files. He handed the items to Boss Hogg and Rosco. The papers consisted of medical reports, psychological evaluations, and profiling done on Clayton and Russell.

"This contains what little we know about Clayton and Russell. For instance, we know that Clayton has never been married and that Russell pushed his car down a ravine with him inside. The car was never recovered. The man smokes large cigars and seems to suffer from sleep insomnia, as well as malnutrition. He's known for wearing a suit and tie. Eyewitnesses say that the man himself is the devil.

Now, Russell, he's been married, and he's been divorced. A man with a horrible drinking problem who needs serious anger management therapy, he's known for the rings that he wears on his fingers, which leave long-lasting effects on his victims," the investigator explained.

He showed Boss Hogg and Rosco some pictures of Bo and Luke's faces, as well as one of the medical reports. Boss Hogg sifted through the pictures looking at the scars and cuts, his stomach tightened. Bo had scars over his left eye that made a disconnected Y. He had another scar on his forehead that could be seen underneath his hair, as well as four, smaller scars on the curve of his left cheek, and two vertical cuts over the right side of his mouth. A large, black bruise covered his chin beneath them. 

Luke had a large split at the back of his left eyebrow. His right cheek was bruised badly, and the bridge of his nose curved an odd way. Lastly, his lip was busted open.

Boss Hogg buried his nose in the medical report to see what'd happened and what could be done about it. According to the report, the external injuries weren't a major problem, it was the internal ones that would take the biggest toll.  As well as impaired vision in his left eye, Bo had suffered injuries to the lower jawbone, injuries that would take a minimum of eight weeks to heal. Luke had fractured his cheekbone as well as the bridge of his nose. His lip would have to be stitched shut.

"Please don't tell me there's more," Boss Hogg begged. He didn't know how much more of this he could take.

"We're not even halfway through, Hogg," the investigator said.

He dug more items out of the files. More pictures and more medical reports, along with the results of the evaluations. Boss Hogg was handed a few pictures as was Rosco. There was a picture of Luke's arms. They had long, jagged scratches of various lengths.

"This was the result of a failed escape attempt. The barbed wire on top of the fence did some damage on Luke's arms after he fell from the barn roof," the investigator explained.

They were trying to get out, Boss Hogg thought. He flipped to a picture of Bo's right arm. There were stitches lining the surface, the area was circled with red ink, some writing on the bottom with an arrow pointing to the circle: dog bite??

"We aren't sure if it is or not, seeing as there's a chunk missing from his arm. Evidence suggests it's the bite of a very large dog breed, possibly a cane corso. Either way, according to the medical reports, there seems to be a sizable portion of muscle missing," the investigator explained.

They looked through some more pictures that showed visible malnutrition, how rigidly Bo and Luke's bones showed through their skin. The next set of pictures, however, nearly put Boss Hogg and Rosco into cardiac arrest. The color drained from Rosco's face, he let the pictures slip out of his shaking hands.

"Why?" Boss Hogg asked, his voice soft, and low.

"Remember Russell's temper? This is the result of his problems. Drinking wasn't enough so he started taking his anger out on other people. He's been known to be mentally unstable," the investigator explained.

"What kinda an effect will this have?" Rosco asked.

The investigator took a deep breath and exhaled. "When someone goes through an experience like this, chances are, they'll never be the same again. As for the scars, they're likely to last the rest of their lives. Furthermore, the psychological evaluations did come up positive, both victims are showing signs of intense trauma."

"Is that... somethin' that can be fixed?"

"No, post-traumatic stress can be lifelong. Treatment for it doesn't exist yet. I'm sorry, but there's nothing you can do for them."