Page 9 of Caged
Marshall wasn't sure why he was going to the hospital. He didn't know Danny. But there had been something in his eyes, in the way he asked that Marshall couldn't say no to. He hurt for the guy. He'd seen enough through his work to know what Danny must have gone through and to think he'd survived it for ten years. It was unthinkable.
What he really wanted to do was get on a computer and dig into the past. He wanted to look at Danny's kidnapping and see what was said about it. He wanted to know how a child could go missing ten years ago and turn up now. It made no sense.
Reaching over to the display on his dash, he quickly called Jeremy. He needed to let him know what was happening. While this had nothing to do with the team, any contact with the police was something that needed to be reported.
"Hey, what's up? Thought you were enjoying a night off." Jeremy sounded happy.
"That was the plan, but something came up." Marshall sighed as he stopped at a red light. "This shouldn't have any effect on the team, but I figured you and D should know. I'm sure you'll hear about it on the news tonight or tomorrow."
"What happened?" The happy tone was gone from Jeremy's voice and he was suddenly very serious.
"You won't believe it." He sure as hell didn't. "I was mowing my lawn when this guy runs out of the house next door screaming for help. Of course, I helped him. Got him safely into my house and called the police. Turns out, the guy was kidnapped around ten years ago and has been held hostage since then. Tonight was his first chance of escaping, and I happened to be directly in his path."
"What the fuck?" Jeremy gasped, then yelled away from the phone. "Hey, D, you need to hear this." Then back into the phone, he said, "I have you on speaker."
"That's fine. I'm driving to the hospital now. This guy asked me to stick with him. I'm not sure why. Maybe some form of hero worship or some kind of imprinting to the first nice person he's seen in ten years." Marshall tried to focus on the road, but his mind was racing with the events that happened.
"So this guy has lived there the whole time?" Jeremy asked after giving D a quick rundown of what was going on.
"I guess. We didn't have a lot of time to discuss things, but there were two younger boys in the house too that he was concerned about. In fact, I'd say he was more worried about them than himself. The boys looked young. Ten or less. He didn't know their names but said they'd been held with him for about two years. The pervert kidnapped them after Danny got too old for him."
"Yet the pedo didn't kill this guy?"
"Nope. He said he used him as a servant. It sounds like he took care of the house. I'll find out more later. The guy's in shock and scared to death."
"What did you say his name was?" D asked.
"Danny Gilbert."
He heard tapping on a keyboard, then Jeremy curse. "Fuck, he was taken when he was seven. He's been gone nearly twelve years."
He swallowed hard.
"Jesus. This guy is going to have a hard time," D said. "No wonder he's in shock."
Marshall couldn't speak. Twelve years of abuse. Twelve years of being held inside that house. How did that shit happen? Had no one noticed? "He hasn't been outside in twelve years." His voice was hoarse with emotion. "You wouldn't have known it. He was scared, in shock, but mostly just worried about the kids that had been in the house with him."
"That's one strong soul to survive something like this. You said you're headed to the hospital?"
"Yeah, he didn't want to go. I think he asked me so he didn't have to face it alone. I'm not sure they'll even let me in once I get there. I don't know this guy. I'm not family. Still, I couldn't say no to him. Not after all this. Besides, I'd like to hear what happened to him. Cops started with questions, but they took him for medical care before they got too far into details. The pedo took off. I have no clue if the cops caught him."
"Got a name?" Jeremy asked.
"Larry is all I know, but I have a plate number and car." Marshall rattled off the info to Jeremy, then heard more tapping.
"There's an APB out for the car, so it looks like he got away." Jeremy sighed.
"Fuck. If anyone deserves our kind of justice it's a man like this. The fuck was living next door to me. I stared at the house at night wondering why I hadn't seen anyone there the last few weeks, but I couldn't have dreamed it was something like this."
"No one would. Danny's lucky to still be alive. Most would have killed him as soon as he got too old to give the guy what he desired."
"Well, however he managed to get away today, he saved those other two boys' lives. They were beat up and injured, but the police say it didn't look like either would die. God, this is so fucked up. Listen, I'm pulling into the hospital lot now. I'll text you later if I hear anything more. Otherwise, I'll be into work in the morning as usual."
"No. Take the day off. The cops will probably be by to interview you more tomorrow. It's best to stay away from the team for a day or two until things quiet down. Hell, this is going to be big news. Kidnapped child shows up as a grown man twelve years later. I can see the headlines now. I wouldn't be shocked if the media ends up at your door over this one," D told him.
"Just what I need." Marshall groaned.
"Just remember your cover story and everything will be fine. Keep us in the loop and we'll be here to help if you need it. As for work, enjoy working on your basement for a few days and we'll pull you back in when it's safe." Jeremy paused for a moment. "We'll keep an eye on police reports and what is going on with the case."
