The Homecoming: Countdown to Armageddon: Book 5 (19 page)

     And Robbie wanted it.

     But first things first. The compound would be his in a year or so, maybe as long as a year and a half.

     One step at a time. It had to be that way. And it would require a lot of planning, a lot of patience.

     But after all, it had been several years since Robbie had fallen totally, madly, deeply for sweet Hannah.

     Yes, Robbie was indeed a very patient man.

     Robbie checked the clock on his console and saw the final seconds tick off.

     58…59…00.

     It was
exactly
five minutes since his last radio call.

     He smiled and keyed the microphone.

     “Charlie Two Five, this is Charlie Three Nine. Come in if you copy.”

     This time, Scott came in clear as a bell. As Robbie knew he would.

     “Go ahead, Three Nine. What’s up?”

     “Two Five, please go to Tac Two.”

     Robbie and Scott switched to the private channel to continue their conversation.

     Scott asked, “What’s up, buddy?”

     “Scott, I got a call from Hannah and Linda. Don’t freak out, but Zachary’s been missing since about the time you left. They have two questions and they want me to relay your answers to them. First, do you have any idea where he might be? And second, is there a chance he’s stowed away in your vehicle?”

     A year before Scott would have panicked. Finding out a child is missing is any parent’s worst nightmare.

     But being a policeman changed Scott in many ways. For one, it made him think calmly, and with a clearer vision than ever before. He would never again be prone to act out by impulse, without thinking things through.

     Also, a year before Scott would panic because he’d be certain that Zachary was helpless when faced with a stressful or dangerous situation.

     But that was before Zachary proved in everyone’s minds that he was no little kid anymore. He had a clear and level head, and was as capable of getting out of trouble as he was prone to getting into it.

     Scott knew instinctively that wherever Zachary was, he was in no danger.

     And he suddenly remembered hearing something shift in the trunk of his patrol car as he left Kerrville and turned east onto Interstate 10.

     “Negative on the first question, Robbie. As for the second, give me five minutes.”

     He pulled the car to the shoulder of the highway, between two big rigs that in all likelihood would never run again.

              -37-

     “Zach, what the hell?”

     But as much as he should have been, Scott couldn’t be angry. Despite the maturity he’d shown in recent months, here before Scott was a Zach who was little more than a boy.

     A freshly awakened and yawning boy, clutching a bottle of water and hugging his backpack, looking sheepishly up at his father and knowing he had no good explanation.

     “Dad, please don’t be mad.”

     “I’m not mad, soon. But I should be furious. Do you realize what you’ve been putting your mom through? They’ve been looking frantically for you for over an hour.”

     “All they had to do is read my note.”

     “You left a note?”

     “Sure. On my pillow, where Mom would find it when she came to tuck me in.”

     “On your pillow, where Sally lays her head when you’re not around?”

     “Yep.”

     “Sally, the puppy with separation anxiety, who stresses whenever you’re not right there by her side?”

     “Yep.”

     “Sally, who tends to chew on things when she gets stressed… and who has a particular fondness for eating paper towels, toilet paper and notebook paper?”

     “Y… yep.”

     “And just out of curiosity, what did you write this alleged…
note
on?”

     “Notebook paper. Okay, I wasn’t thinking, okay? My life is in turmoil. My world is falling apart. I can’t be expected to predict what some stupid dog is going to do after I leave.”

     “’Stupid dog?’ Son, that doesn’t sound like you. You and Sally have always been so close. You’ve been inseparable since she was a newborn pup.”

     “That’s just it, Dad. She’s… she’s the closest thing I’ve got, the closest I’ll ever get to having a girl to love me and watch out for me. And she’s a damn
dog
, for cryin’ out loud.”

     “Is that what this is all about, Zach? Are you bummed because your prospects of finding a girlfriend are so limited in Junction?”

     “Dad, everybody’s got somebody except me. Now that Jordan is twenty, I’m the only teenaged boy in the compound. You know, the typical teenaged boy, with all the raging hormones and all that. I should be the first one to have a girlfriend. Instead, I’m the only one who doesn’t. It’s just not right.”

     Scott fought hard to stifle a smile. The truth was, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The situation, on the face of it, was ludicrous. Zach was smart enough to know that there was more to getting and keeping a girl than to set out on a journey to find one and drag her back.

     But he could feel empathy for his son as well. There were times in Scott’s life when he had no girl of his own. No one to hold, no one to share his life with.

     “What about Rachel? To be honest, when Hannah and her girls came to stay with us at the compound, everyone just assumed that the two of you would become a couple.”

     “Well, so did I. I mean, she’s hot and all. And I let her know from the beginning that I liked her. But she was always kind of… standoffish, I guess. She always kept a wall up to keep us from being too close. I asked her not long ago why she did that, and she said it was because she knew they were just staying with us temporarily. That she didn’t want either of us to fall in love and then have our hearts broken when it came time to say goodbye.

     “She admitted that it was a mistake on her part. That she should have just let things happen on their own, and deal with the circumstances later on, however it played out. And she agreed that we could take it to another level if I still wanted to.”

     “Well, there you go, then. Problem solved.”

     “No, Dad. The problem was, that after all that time, after dealing with the stupid wall she put up, she felt more like a sister than a potential girlfriend.”

     “I see. But don’t you see, she’s in the same boat. She has no one either. Neither does little Misty. So you’re not alone.”

     “Dad, they’re both coming back to San Antonio to live in a few days, when the big prisoner swap takes place.”

     “The big prisoner swap?”

     “Yes. That’s what Jordan called it the other day. He said it’s like at the end of a war, when two opposing countries trade their prisoners of war. Jordan said we’re getting the worse end of the deal.”

     “How so?”

     “Because we’re giving up three hot chicks. Hannah and Rachel, and even little Misty will be beautiful someday, provided she stops picking her nose and wiping her boogers on her jeans. So we’re giving up three hot chicks, and all we’re getting in return is you.”

     “Oh, thanks a lot.”

     “Oh, he didn’t mean anything by it. He was just being his usual dumbass self.”

     “So how did you think running away and coming to San Antonio would solve the situation?”

     “Rachel told me that there were bands of kids here and there. Orphaned kids, who had lost their parents. Kids who, like in
Lord of the Flies
, lived together and became a community. A community of kids.”

     “Yes, there are several such communities in and around San Antonio. The police keep a watchful eye over them, to make sure no adults try to bully them or take advantage of them. But other than that we leave them alone because they want to live the way they want to live.”

     “Exactly. So, I thought if I could find one of those groups and join them, then maybe I could find a girl to love, and a girl who would love me back…”

     “Oh, so now you want
two
girls?”

     “Oh, shut up, Dad. You know what I mean.”

     “’
Shut up, Dad?
’”

     “Sorry. So I thought I’d find this girl and then maybe I could bring her back to the compound with me, just like you’re bringing Becky back.”

     “And what if you find her and she’s happy where she’s at?”

     “Then… I guess I could stay with her and just come to visit you guys sometimes.”

     “We’d miss you. But why do you assume you’d never meet a girl up at the compound? I know Junction is small, but Kerrville is only a few miles away, and there are lots of teenaged girls there. Kerrville even has its own orphaned youth community. Did you know that?”

     “No. I didn’t.”

     “Yes. The city gave them one of the old middle schools. Even hired some contractors to turn some of the old classrooms into dormitory style rooms. They live there, run it themselves, and make their own rules. I understand there are about thirty of them, ranging from age from eleven to eighteen.”

     Zach scratched his head. It was an interesting piece of knowledge, but his mind was already made up.

     “Well, anyway, it’s too late. My bags are packed and I’m headed to San Antonio with you.”

     “That doesn’t mean I’m going to just let you wander off and join a band of orphaned youth. Besides, they wouldn’t accept you into their ranks anyway. You’re not a real orphan. You still have both of your parents. And a safe place to live…

     “Which, if you don’t mind me saying so, you’re crazy for wanting to leave.”

     “Oh, Dad. You just don’t remember what it’s like to be young and dumb and…”

     “Oh, so now I’m old.”

     “Old enough to forget what it’s like to be a teenager.”

     “You’re wrong. I remember very well how difficult my teenage years were. But my most recent experiences have been that of a father. And the most basic of fatherly instincts is to protect your children. Even, sometimes, from themselves.”

     Zachary was crestfallen.

     “So, you’re taking me back?”

     “No. Not tonight. You’ll stay with the guys and me and come back with Becky and I on Wednesday. Maybe by that time we can figure out a smarter solution to your dilemma.”

              -38-

     Zachary gave up his cozy spot in the cruiser’s trunk for the somewhat less-confining front passenger seat.

     “Hey, this is pretty cool. This has way more computers and equipment than Tom’s sheriff’s car.”

     “Yes, but I’m afraid most of it doesn’t work. Unfried circuit cards and boards are pretty hard to come by, and the companies that used to manufacture them still haven’t figured out ways to do it on a smaller scale.”

     “You should have your geek squad look for Mr. Hornsby, and see if he’s still alive. He could help them out.”

     “Who, or what, is a Mr. Hornsby?”

     “Sophomore science at my old high school. He built computers as a hobby. They were just basic computers, granted, but they worked. He would go to Radio Shack and buy empty boards and boxes of loose diodes and circuits and switches and whatever the heck else you called the little tiny parts that make up a mother board and a hard drive. Then he’d select the ones he needed, and solder them together on the boards, and somehow as if by magic they’d work. He’d repair the computers of other teachers and sometimes even the students. For just the price of the parts, which wasn’t really that much.”

     “Mr. Hornsby. Interesting. I’ll pass that information onto our technicians. But first, I have something a bit more important to deal with.”

     He reached for the radio.

     “Charlie Three Nine, this is Charlie Two Five.”

     “Thought you fell asleep on me, Charlie Two Five. Go ahead.”

     “Switch to Tac Two.”

     Scott switched channels and said, “Robbie, you there?”

     “Yes. Did you find the boy?”

     “Sure did. Hiding in the trunk. Would you call Linda and Hannah back and tell them he’s fine? Tell them he left a note saying he wanted to hang out with his dad for a few days. They’ll have to check the dog’s poop to read the note, though.”

     “Huh? Say that again.”

     “Never mind. Long story.”

     “I’ll pass the message. Anything else?”

     “Yes. Tell them I’ll bring the little delinquent back with Becky and me on Wednesday.”

     “Will do. How far away are you now? Want me to heat you up something to eat?”

     “We’re about twenty minutes out. I’ll just make us a couple of sandwiches when we get there. Who else is home?”

     “Just me. John and Randy are in the rotation.”

     He didn’t tell Scott that it would have been John’s last shift, were it not for Zachary’s stunt.

     “Okay, I guess they’ll have to meet him tomorrow, then.” We’ll see you in a few minutes.”

     “Roger that.”

     An insane mind, often a jumble of chaotic thoughts and flawed reasoning, often takes the simplest of things and turns them into something beneficial for the sick minded. A logical or clear-thinking man would have reasoned that Zachary’s poor mother, worried sick about her missing son, would warrant an immediate assurance that her son was found and was okay.

     But Robbie, despite his outward expressions of sympathy and condolence, couldn’t possibly have cared less about Linda or her agony over her lost son.

     He wanted to hear Hannah’s voice instead.

     And, he reasoned, he didn’t have to wait for John Castro to die to start playing the hero for sweet Hannah.

     “Robbie in San Antonio, calling Hannah in Junction.”

     Hannah and Linda had been standing by, on pins and needles.

     “Stop fretting, Hannah. I’ve found him. He stowed away in Scott’s police car. Scott didn’t notice it until I alerted him and told him to pull over and conduct a search. And just as I thought, there he was.

     “Scott and the boy both feel a little sheepish, as you can imagine. Scott’s gonna keep him until he and Becky head your way in a few days.”

     Linda and Hannah looked at each other, but neither wondered out loud why Robbie would give the message to Hannah instead of Zachary’s mother.

     And overcome with a great sense of relief, it didn’t really matter much to Linda anyway.

     She grabbed the microphone and said, “Thank you so much, for your help. God bless you. Would you ask them to call home when they get back?”

     “Certainly.”

     Linda collapsed into Hannah’s arms, and finally let loose the tears she wanted to shed an hour before but couldn’t because she had to be strong for everyone else.

     Hannah rocked her friend slowly back and forth.

     “Now, now… I told you everything was going to be okay. Now you can plan Zach’s beating. You have five whole days to do it, so plan something good. I’ve always favored a good old fashioned flogging myself. It teaches kids a lesson they almost never forget.”

     Linda smiled and held Hannah at arm’s length.

     “You’re a sick sadist, you know that.”

     “Oh, I know. It’s how I roll.”

     Both women now smiled.

     But Linda was still troubled.

     “Why in the world would he just leave without saying goodbye? Or better yet, why would he leave at all? This is his home. He’s safe here. He’s loved here. There’s absolutely nothing he can get elsewhere that he can’t get here.”

     “Honey, you have to remember that he’s in training to be a man.”

     “So?”

     “So, very few things that men do make much sense at all.”

     It was the laugh Linda needed to finally make her feel better.

     But deep down inside, Hannah couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

     And that it had absolutely nothing to do with young Zachary and his grand adventure.

              -39-

     “Oh, yeah. He’ll be fine. I’ve been kicking around the idea of coming to get him for a long time. So he could spend a couple of days riding around with me to see what my police job is like.

     “Well, it turned out I just never got around to doing that, so this will give us a chance to do it my last few days on the job. I think it’ll do him some good, to see what we’ve been doing to make San Antonio a city again.”

     Linda wasn’t quite convinced it would be a good thing.

     “Oh, Scott, please don’t take him on your trips to collect bodies.”

     “Oh, you don’t have to worry about that. I’ve already been taken off of the body collection detail. Chief Martinez wants me to spend my last few days tying up loose ends. Like introducing my replacement to all of my assigned block leaders, and to help them get acquainted. To train the new guy, and make sure he’s familiar with all the trouble spots in the district. And now that Zach’s here, I plan to take him around to visit some of the leaders at the youth camps. So he can see for himself that’s it’s no nirvana, with hot single chicks scattered around just waiting for guys to come and rescue them.”

     Zachary, standing behind Scott at the ham radio, just rolled his eyes.

     “Dad, can I say something?”

     “Sure. I think you owe your mom and the others an apology.”

     “Mom, as much as I hate to agree with Dad about anything, he’s right. I should have known better than to write a note and leave it within reach of my four legged garbage disposal. How is Sally, anyway?”

     “She’s been wandering around looking for you, and she’s so sad that she can’t find you. She thinks you abandoned her. Hey, wait a minute…”

     Zachary stood silent, unsure what to make of his mom’s request.

     Then she came back to explain.

     “I don’t know if her ears were burning because we were talking about her, or she heard your voice. But Sally just came bounding in here, wagging her tail. She’s licking the speaker. I think she hears your voice coming from it and thinks that’s your new face.”

     “Well, what do you expect from a dog that eats notes from her best friend?”

     “Don’t you dare blame this on Sally, young man. Next time don’t leave a note. Next time tell me you’re leaving in person, so I can talk you out of it. Or better yet, there better not be a next time. Understood?”

     “Yes, ma’am. And hi, Sally. I’ll be back soon, girl.”

     Scott suddenly remembered something important and took the microphone back.

     “Hey, speaking about notes, have y’all talked to Sara about hers yet?”

     Linda suddenly felt very foolish. Hannah felt a little ashamed.

     “Um… that would be a no. To be honest, we were so caught up in the Zachary saga, we kind of forgot her.”

     “Is she still up?”

     “Yes. She’s in her room, but the light’s still on.”

     “Please check up on her. She might not want to discuss her own note, but I get the sense that if she does, a woman’s thoughts and advice may be of help to her. The thoughts and advice of two women, even better.”

     Robbie, puttering around the kitchen, was eavesdropping. He didn’t care much about Zachary’s dilemma, or Sara’s either, for that matter. He was just listening for the sound of sweet Hannah’s voice. Even now, after secretly worshipping her for several years, the sound of her voice still sent chills up his spine. Still did things to him that no other woman’s mere voice could. Still made his impossible dreams seem possible.

     As it turned out, Hannah uttered the very last words in the conversation, before the ham fell silent.

     “We’ll go take care of Sara. Don’t forget to have John call when he gets home so we can tell him good night.”

     “Someday soon,” Robbie thought to himself, “John will be but a distant memory. You’ll tell me good night and then fall asleep in my arms.”

     Then he smiled the most evil of grins and returned to the dishes.

              -40-

     Scott had told Hannah and Linda about the note young Sara found in her old bedroom, but hadn’t elaborated, other than to say she might need some help from them in dealing with it.

     They could be forgiven in thinking it was probably a suicide note. After all, many thousands of such notes had been left behind in and around San Antonio in recent months. Almost all of them were written for loved ones or friends who might come across their bodies after they’d killed themselves.

     They fully expected to see words like, “I’m sorry to have ended it this way, but I couldn’t take it anymore. Please forgive, but don’t forget me,” type of notes that left a lot of questions unanswered and always generated more misery than solace.

     But this letter was anything but that. And it began a new saga in young Sara’s life.

     It gave her a mission.

     Sara read the note several more times in the privacy of her room. Even her new husband Jordan gave her the space everyone assumed she would want and need.

     “I’ll be right outside the door when you’re ready for some company. But I won’t come in until you call. Take as much time as you need.”

     When Linda and Hannah knocked on the door to see if they could help, she opened the door without so much as a word. Her face was wet and puffy.

     “Honey, what’s the matter?”

     She was overcome with a range of emotions. But she had no words. She mouthed them, but no sounds came out to accompany the motions. It was as though someone had stolen her voice.

     Then the tears came again. And finally the words, but only two of them:

     “She’s alive.”

     Then she felt faint and had to sit down.

     Linda’s audible gasp brought Jordan running, as well as Rachel and Misty.

     Sara seemed to be in shock, and Hannah immediately tended to her.

     “Put her on the bed, and lay her flat. All the way. Put a pillow beneath her feet. Cover her with a blanket and keep her warm.”