The Homecoming: Countdown to Armageddon: Book 5 by Darrell Maloney

Sara’s suspicions that her parents hadn’t made it, up to now they were only that. Suspicions. Now that he knew for sure her parents were dead, he’d have to be the one to confirm those suspicions. He’d be the one to dash any hopes she might have that they’d somehow survived.
         He’d have to be the one who would break this young girl’s heart.
         And it would be one of the hardest things he’d ever have to do.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    -9-
     
         Tom spent the night in the back seat of his old Ford Galaxy, parked in front of an abandoned Walmart Store. A San Antonio Police cruiser rolled through the lot a little after three a.m., and the officer wondered why a Kerr County Sheriff’s unit came all the way to San Antonio just to sit in an abandoned lot.
         Then he wondered if it was really a lawman’s car. It was older than he was, after all, and probably was more suited to a museum than street work.
         But then he put it out of his mind and moved on, knowing that even if it were stolen, the perps were probably long gone. And even if they weren’t, there was nothing left in the Walmart to steal anyway.
         As the cruiser rolled out of the parking lot, Tom Haskins snored softly in the back seat, totally unaware he’d been visited.
         The seat didn’t quite accommodate his 6’2” frame, of course. But even folded up a bit, he was comfortable. The seat itself was soft enough to allow him a good night’s sleep, but firm enough not to cause any problems for his bad back.
         He was a toss-and-turn sleeper, and he knew he’d be a bit stiff in the morning from having to sleep in the same position all night. But he figured he could walk it off at first light.
         It was really a small price to pay to get his mission done.
         Tom had brought a small thin blanket to cover himself up with. It was the blanket Linda used to cover her legs on cool nights when they sat together under the apple tree, watching the stars and talking into the morning hours. He hadn’t noticed it before, but it smelled of her perfume. An added bonus to help him sleep better.
         He’d been just a bit apprehensive about leaving the people behind at the compound. Sure, Kerr County and Junction in particular was a different place now. All the hoodlums and bad men had been arrested or had scattered into the wind. It had become a safer place, and was rapidly returning to the Junction of old.
         But there was just something about leaving behind all the people in the world he loved, even temporarily, that gave him an uneasy feeling.
         So before he left he’d made arrangements with his most trusted deputy, Paul Swain, to watch over the bunch.
         “Stay at my old place, just north of the compound,” he’d asked Paul. “I was over there last weekend, dusting it and cleaning it up a bit. The water tank is full, so there’s plenty of running water. The toilets work, and I filled the tank on the generator so there’s electricity.
         “I even put some things in there that you probably haven’t experienced in awhile. There’s a microwave and some packets of microwave popcorn. A small refrigerator with a smaller freezer. But the freezer is big enough to hold a couple of frozen pizzas. There’s also a TV and DVD player I borrowed from the compound. When’s the last time you watched a movie?”
         Paul swallowed as he thought about it.
         “I don’t know, Sheriff. Probably the better part of two years now.”
         “I don’t want you to do anything except be ready in case there’s some kind of trouble. In fact, I don’t even plan to tell the folks in the compound that you’re there. They might get the idea something’s in the wind to warrant the extra security. And there isn’t. I just want you close by for my own piece of mind.”