Page 58 of Caged
"Do you want to talk about those things?"
"Yeah, but not in the car. When we get home. It's the stuff Jessica said I should probably mention to you."
"Ah, okay. So, since we are waiting until we are home, I wanted to let you know we've been invited to go to Jeremy and D's house for another team dinner on the fourteenth. Are you okay going?"
"Sure. Do they live far?"
"Nope, and you'll love their house. It's huge. I thought you could make one of Jessica's cakes to take with us. You know there is never enough." Marshall smiled.
"I could do that, or I can try a new recipe for a banana cake that sounded really good that I found online."
"Sure, that sounds good too. I've never had banana cake, but I love banana pie. I'm up for trying it."
"Maybe I'll make it for you first and make sure it's good." He had a million things he wanted to attempt to bake and cook.
"We can hit the store tomorrow and get what you need." Marshall slowed. "Look." He pointed at the house next to theirs where Larry had held him for so long. The lights were on and there was a police car out front.
"Wonder what that's about? You don't think Larry came back, do you?" A wave of nervousness rushed through him. He swallowed it back, trying not to show how scared he still was of the man.
"I don't know, but we can ask. Do you want to come with me or go inside?" Marshall asked as he parked.
"With you." The last thing he wanted right now was to be alone.
They slowly exited the car, and Danny was thankful that Marshall waited for him. It still wasn't fully dark out, and the glare of the sun setting made it hard to see. He shaded his eyes with his hands. "Are you just going to knock?"
"Yep." Marshall gave his hand a squeeze. "You deserve more than anyone to know if there is something new going on." He led Danny to the front door.
They didn't have time to knock as a burly officer exited the house as they approached.
"I'm sorry, this is a crime scene." The officer hardly looked at them.
"We're aware of that. Danny was one of the people who was held here. We saw the activity and wanted to make sure nothing's happened we need to be aware of," Marshal told the officer.
That got the officer's attention. He paused, looking Danny over for a moment, then nodded. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize who you were." He ran a hand over his bald head. "We had some information on some possible new evidence, but haven't been able to locate it."
Danny frowned. "Evidence?"
The officer sighed. "Let me grab my sergeant, and make sure I can discuss this with you." He turned and hurried back inside.
"What could they have missed the first time?" Danny couldn't imagine anything that they wouldn't have found.
"I'm not sure. They spent days going through the house." Marshall let go of his hand and wrapped an arm around his waist instead.
The older officer and another younger one walked out. The younger glanced at Danny and smiled. "Mr. Gilbert." He offered his hand. "I'm Sergeant Gilroy."
"Nice to meet you." Danny shook his hand. "Did Larry return to the house?" He hated the nervousness that filled his voice.
"No, we've had no leads on his location. What we did have were several legal papers and journals that were found in a back room. We've had detectives reading over the journals and one of them found something today we thought we should check out. Perhaps you can help us since you lived in the home?"
Danny took a step back. "Journals?" He'd never known Larry to keep journals, but then again, he never knew what went on in the back room. It was always locked. "How could I help?"
Marshall moved to his side again, taking his hand, giving him the support he needed.
"One of the journals talks about a hidden panel in the floorboard. It said that was where he kept what he needed if there was ever an emergency. We never found a loose floorboard, and looking tonight, we still can't locate it." The officer gestured to the home. "We assumed it would be in the back room where everything else was kept, but there was nothing. We looked around the rest of the house, but saw no signs of one."
Danny nodded. He knew exactly what the officer was talking about. He'd seen Larry get into it several times when Larry had thought he was asleep. "It's in the bedroom. I can show you."
"Please." The officer gestured them to go inside.
