Since they’d be leaving the protective invisibility bubble when they stepped away from the bikes, they pressed the buttons on their belts that would enable them to move about on their own. Dominik led the way to the porch and climbed the short flight of concrete steps in order to peer through the large window next to the door. Babs waited on the lawn.       He shook his head. “They have the curtains drawn over the blinds. I can’t see a thing.” He pressed his ear to the glass, and again shook his head. “I don’t hear anything, either.”       “Let’s check the bedrooms.” Without waiting for him, she went to find the next window. However, it was too high for her to look inside. Dominik moved up behind her, took her by the hips, and gave her a boost up.       “Better?”       She checked. “It’s a bedroom. I don’t see anything.”       They looked through every window but came up empty. Like her husband, Babs failed to detect any sound coming from within the house. “Guess there’s no one home.” Instead of him suggesting they try to come back later, she was surprised to find him grinning from ear to ear. “What are you thinking?”       “That’s our cue to go in and case the joint.  That’s the phrase, right? Case the joint?”       “It’s also breaking and entering.”       “What are you going to do about it? Put me in—”       She held up a hand to cut him off, but she couldn’t help laughing. “Okay, okay. You’ve made your point. Lead on, McDuff.”       He chose to go in via the back door. Placing his hand on the doorknob, he paused, waiting for it to unlock, when a voice came through their jingle bell earpiece.       “Hold off, Dom! The place has an alarm set. Give me a sec to disarm it.”       “Thanks, Doodle!”       It actually took the elf five seconds. “Okay. It’s safe to go in now.”       Even with Doodlepuff’s reassurance, Dominik slowly opened the door and pushed it to the side as he and Babs listened for some sort of backlash. When none came, they went inside.       “You go ahead,” Dominik suggested.       She moved past him and concentrated on looking for any clues related to Gertie or her son. She checked the living room, the kitchen, and both bedrooms, including the bathroom. Nothing stood out.       “Dom, this place is clean, but I think these people are being extra careful to keep it devoid of any evidence in case the police come back.” “Babs?” His tone caught her attention in more than one way. She backtracked to find him in the living room, next to the Christmas tree. He was staring into the kitchen.       “What?”       He pointed to a pantry. “Look inside.”       Opening the door, she did. “Okay. What am I looking at?” She bent over to check closer. “I don’t see anything unusual.”       “That’s because you’re looking for something that’ll jump out at you.”       Straightening, she tossed him a derisive smirk. “All right, smart ass. What am I missing?”       Walking up to the front of the pantry, he held out his arms, one hand touching one side of the door frame and the other hand on the other side. Glancing over his shoulder at her, he asked, “Notice the width?”       “Yes.”       He indicated the interior. “How deep do you guess this is?”       Babs made a rough estimate. “Twelve, eighteen inches?”       Stepping to one side, he pointed into the kitchen. “And yet this side wall extends a good six feet or more.” Moving to the opposite side, he noted the same thing.       She stared at the pantry. “It’s a hidden passage.”