Rosemary Run Box Set

by Kelly Utt

  “And what is happening?” Cheryl asked.

  “We’ll tell you all about it once you remove the battery on your phone and place it on the table,” Marshall said as nicely as he could.

  Marshall was a nice guy. A good guy. But he wasn’t in the mood for delays. He and Penelope had already discussed this possibility privately, when Hana had gone to the bathroom. If Cheryl and Meg weren’t cooperative, they’d leave them out of it. They couldn’t afford to be hampered by someone who wasn’t fully committed to getting through this alive. The stakes were life and death, even if it didn’t seem like it. It was a fool’s mistake to miss the signs and act careless. Marshall and Penelope wouldn’t entertain such fools.

  Cheryl stood up, pulling a cigarette and a lighter out of her handbag and then lighting up. She walked towards one of the living room windows and looked out. Cheryl didn’t usually smoke. Penelope hadn’t known her to smoke more than a cigarette or two since college. Once when her cousin had overdosed, and once after a bad breakup.

  “Cheryl, you’re smoking?” Penelope asked.

  “You don’t need to make a big deal about it,” Cheryl replied. “It helps me calm my nerves.”

  “Why do your nerves need calming?” Marshall asked. “Did you see what happened to Audrey?”

  Hana stared down at the table. She knew she should let Penelope and Marshall handle this.

  Cheryl coughed as a puff of smoke filled her lungs. “I don’t have to tell you.”

  Marshall looked at Penelope, raising his eyebrows.

  “Cheryl,” Meg tried. “Don’t be a bitch. Just tell them what you know and we can move on. It’s not that big of a deal.”

  Apparently, Meg wasn’t privy to anything that would indicate the gravity of the situation.

  Cheryl coughed again and sputtered. She seemed stressed. More so than she had earlier in the day. Penelope was concerned about her.

  There were a few moments of silence as they thought about their options. Hana tried to get through to Cheryl in the best way she knew how.

  “Cheryl,” Hana began. “Look out front there. On the sidewalk below. Or maybe across the street.”

  “Okay,” Cheryl replied, peering out. “What am I looking for?”

  “Do you see a blonde woman? Tall. Pretty mean looking. Seems like maybe she could be Russian or Eastern European.”

  Marshall took a deep breath as Cheryl scanned the scene before her. It took a minute.

  “Oh!” Cheryl replied. “I see her. She’s wearing all black, which seems out of place, now that you mention it. She has sharp features. She’s sitting on the back of a motorcycle.”

  “That’s her,” Hana confirmed. “She’s been following me since yesterday.”

  “What?” Meg asked, walking to the window to see for herself.

  “You might as well wave,” Hana said. “She knows that we see her. She’s waiting for us, anyway.”

  Cheryl drew back, putting the cigarette out against the sole of her shoe.

  “Hey!” Penelope said. “Watch the flooring, Cheryl. This isn’t a nightclub.”

  “Sorry,” Cheryl said, taking off her shoe then walking to the kitchen to clean it up with a paper towel.

  Resigned to the inevitable conversation that needed to happen, Cheryl sat down and took the battery out of her phone. She tossed in onto the table as Meg returned to the seat beside her. Both ladies looked spooked. Much of the color had drained from their faces.

  “Good,” Marshall said, resting his arms on the table and lacing his fingers together. “Before we tell you what we’re planning, we’d like to hear whether you have information about Audrey’s disappearance. You don’t have to tell us what you know yet. Just whether you know something that the police or bad actors looking to cover up a crime might find valuable. Got it?”

  Cheryl and Meg nodded, Cheryl reluctantly.

  “Let’s start with you, Meg,” Marshall continued. “Did you see anything at the party the night Audrey went missing?”

  Meg was bright eyed and seemed eager to help. Penelope was glad. She wished Meg had been so cooperative on the dock. Maybe they could have saved themselves some trouble.

  “I didn’t,” Meg said. “Hand to God. I didn’t see Audrey all night. Didn’t even meet her.”

  “Where were you?” Marshall asked.

  “I was wooing a potential client in the library,” Meg explained. “Reggie had assigned me to him. His name was Dr. Mitch Bowker. A plastic surgeon from San Francisco. It was his first time at one of our parties. Reggie wanted me to convince him to hire our service and to bring some of his wealthy doctor friends with him next time.”

  “Were you his escort for the evening?” Marshall asked.

  “No,” Meg said. “Just doing the sales pitch. I had to sex it up and be alluring. But I wasn’t actually on his service.”

  “And you were in the library with him all evening?” Penelope asked.

  “That’s right,” Meg confirmed. “There was a jazz quartet in the library and Mitch was taken with them. Apparently, he played saxophone because he was telling me all about it. He was happy nursing his whisky and listening to the musicians play. We didn’t see or hear anything about Audrey until first responders arrived and we went out back to find out what was going on.”

  Meg seemed believable. She didn’t hesitate or show other telltale signs of lying. She didn’t sip and sputter air like Penelope did.

  “I swear,” Meg added, meeting their eyes. “You can check the surveillance cameras.”

  Marshall looked at Penelope and Hana to let them know he was satisfied. “Good. Thank you, Meg.”

  “You’re welcome, Marshall,” she replied. “I hope that is helpful.”

  Meg seemed happy to defer to Marshall. She and Cheryl didn’t know he’d been in the Marine Corps. Hana hadn’t either until earlier in the day. But they could all tell that Marshall had something in his background that prepared him for a situation like this. Plus, he was a natural leader. The kind that leads by example instead of by force.

  “It definitely is, Meg,” Marshall replied. “I appreciate you sharing with us.”

  “Yes, thank you,” Penelope echoed. Meg smiled and nodded, pleased.

  The group took a collective breath as the focus shifted back to Cheryl. She wouldn’t be as easy.

  “Cheryl,” Marshall began. “Now, you. Please?”

  Cheryl grew agitated. She shook her knees under the table, thumping her heels against the floor. She caused such a vibration that Penelope grew concerned about her downstairs neighbors being disturbed. Penelope had never known Cheryl to be so fidgety. Something was bothering her, that was for sure.

  “I don’t know,” Cheryl said. “I told the girls what I saw when the four of us were sitting on the dock yesterday morning. There was a handsome man who looked like Bradley Cooper, and I saw him eying Aubrey. That’s all I saw, really.”

  “What did he look like, exactly?” Marshall asked.

  “Like Bradley Cooper!” Cheryl practically yelled. “I don’t remember anything else. How about you get off my back, would you?”

  She pulled out another cigarette and prepared to light up until Penelope stopped her.

  “Cheryl! No smoking in here,” Penelope scolded.

  “Sorry! Okay?”

  Cheryl chewed her lip and continued to thump her legs as she put the cigarette back. All four of the others looked at each other now, growing suspicious.

  “Cheryl,” Marshall said gently yet firmly. “You seem scared. And we want to protect you if you’re in danger. But we need to know that we’re all on the same page here. You know? We need to know where our loyalties lie.”

  Cheryl shook her head. It seemed like she wanted to escape her current reality. The rest of them felt the same, but like Marshall had said, that isn’t always possible. It wasn’t in this circumstance.

  Penelope reached across the table and took her friend’s hand. She and Cheryl had been friends for so long, they were almost li
ke sisters. She could see Cheryl suffering, and it hurt her heart.

  “Cheryl, tell me,” Penelope tried. “Whatever it is, we can handle it together. All five of us. Marshall will keep us safe.”

  Cheryl flew into a rage.

  “Marshall? Marshall!” she yelled as she paced around the condo. “Why is Marshall suddenly in the middle of everything? Wasn’t he just screwing Reggie— his husband who, by the way, runs the illegal escort service we all work for— a few days ago? And now he’s some golden boy that we’re all supposed to bow down to? Who died and made him king?”

  “Wow,” Hana muttered, placing a hand on her head. “That’s a lot.”

  For his part, Marshall remained silent. He was thinking.

  Tears welled up in Penelope’s eyes. Aside from her brother, Marshall and Cheryl were the two most important people in her life. The last thing she wanted was to see them pitted against each other.

  “Cheryl, that was cruel. Please…” Penelope began.

  “No, Pen,” Cheryl continued, waving her hands in the air as she yelled. “It wasn’t cruel. It’s the only thing that’s been said here tonight that’s made an ounce of sense. I played the supportive friend when you told me about the two of you this afternoon, but this is too much. I can’t be involved like this. I can’t do it. I just… I can’t…”

  “He’s a good guy, Cheryl,” Penelope pleaded. “And you don’t know this, but he served in the Marines. He has experience that can help us.”

  “Oh, so I’m supposed to fall at his feet now and worship him? Because he served in the Marines? I don’t think so. That means nothing to me.”

  Marshall stiffened. He didn’t like to hear the Marine Corps disrespected like that. He took a deep breath, working to keep Cheryl’s insults from getting to him. Hana shook her head and watched Cheryl and Penelope spar, while Meg stared at the table in front of her.

  “That was rude,” Penelope said.

  “Was it?” Cheryl continued. “I think it was rude to bring him into our group and act as if he’s suddenly our leader. We’ve all been friends for what? Fifteen years? And you and I have been friends much longer. You can’t just bring someone in and expect us to put him up on a pedestal. It doesn’t work like that, Pen.”

  “Cheryl,” Marshall said softly. “You and I have known each other for quite some time. You know how Penelope and I have felt about each other. In fact, you know how I professed my love for her before Reggie and I ever got together. If Pen had told me how she really felt back then, I never would have…”

  “Married Reggie? That’s kind of a big slip up, don’t you think?” Cheryl berated. “Like what? Did you just accidently fall and slip your dick in him? A man, for Christ’s sake? And you want me to believe you really wanted Pen instead.”

  “Cheryl!” Penelope shouted. “You’re taking this too far, and you’re being rude.”

  “No, I deserve that,” Marshall said. “You’re right, Cheryl. I should have tried harder with Pen. Or waited. Or… I don’t know… The fact that Reggie is a man doesn’t have anything to do with it.”

  Cheryl waved her hand in the air, dismissive. “Whatever.” She reached for a cigarette again, then stopped. “Dammit!” she yelled.

  Penelope stood, tears in her eyes. “Cheryl, I love you, but you need to leave. I won’t let you talk to Marshall like that.”

  Cheryl scoffed. “Are you really choosing him over me? Your best friend? Your oldest friend?”

  “I’m not choosing between you, but right now, I’m asking you to leave.”

  “Mark my words,” Cheryl said, lowering her voice to a near whisper. “He’s up to something. You shouldn’t trust him.”

  Penelope closed her eyes and shook her head. She didn’t want to hear it. And she didn’t want Cheryl and Marshall to fight. “No.”

  “Oh, yes,” Cheryl said, pointing in Marshall’s direction. “He’s no good for you. You’ll see. If I were you, I’d take him back to his husband and wash your hands of the whole thing. If you don’t, you’ll be sorry.”

  14

  As the front door slammed with Cheryl and Meg on the other side of it, Penelope burst into tears. Her friendships were important to her. Especially because she didn’t have much family. She cherished her friendship with Cheryl most of all.

  “Hey, now,” Marshall said as he took Penelope into his embrace. “That was ugly. No doubt about it, but I don’t think she meant the things she said, Pen.”

  Hana fretted in her chair, almost as upset as Penelope.

  “I know Cheryl,” Penelope replied, holding onto Marshall tightly. “That wasn’t like her. It seemed like a completely different person talking. I just can’t understand why she’d say those things about you.”

  “It’s okay,” Marshall said. “I’m not mad. I understand where she’s coming from. She’s protective of you, just like I am. If we can avoid being like two gladiators fighting against each other, I think she and I will find we have a lot in common.”

  Penelope sniffed and shook her head. “Maybe.”

  “Tensions are high right now,” Marshall continued. “With Audrey missing and someone following Hana…”

  “And they don’t even know about the blonde man in the bay,” Hana added. “Speaking of him, do dead bodies float to the surface? Or do they sink to the bottom?”

  “Hana!” Penelope shouted.

  “What? Sorry,” Hana said. “I was just wondering. Nevermind. I’ll hush.”

  Penelope turned her attention back to Marshall. “I’m so hurt. You and Cheryl are more important to me than you know. I never dreamed that you’d quarrel with each other. Hell, it reminded me of being a child and listening to my parents argue.”

  “Oh?” Marshall asked. “I wasn’t arguing though, Pen. I was more trying to be rational and sane while Cheryl went off.”

  “Exactly what my dad used to say about my mom,” Penelope added. “He was rational and sane while she went off, but that didn’t spare us the drama and the stress. It was awful, just like tonight.”

  Marshall hugged her tighter, stroking her hair. “I’m sorry, Pen. I don’t want that for you. What you went through with your mom sounds terrible. I certainly don’t want to be part of anything that reminds you of that. What can I do?”

  Penelope sobbed, her body heaving, full of repressed trauma that was coming to the surface. The pressure of her current situation had put her on edge. Then the dynamic between Cheryl and Marshall had triggered childhood memories she would rather forget. She was embarrassed to be crying like this in front of Hana. And she hated to be crying like this in front of Marshall, too. She was a grown woman in her mid-thirties. She should have been over her childhood trauma by now. She didn’t want to seem insecure. She was afraid Marshall might not like her as much if she seemed delicate and clingy.

  “I don’t know,” Penelope said. “I’m sorry.”

  “Hey,” Marshall said, pushing Penelope’s shoulders away from him so he could see her face. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for. Don’t say it.”

  “But…” Penelope had a hard time maintaining any composure.

  “But nothing,” Marshall said. “You’re entitled to your feelings. I’m here for you. You cry all you want.”

  Penelope sobbed harder, unable to stop.

  Feeling like she was intruding but having nowhere else to go, Hana excused herself and went into the bedroom to watch some TV. They weren’t scheduled to leave until midnight, anyway. She figured she should give Penelope and Marshall some privacy.

  Alone in the living room, Marshall guided Penelope to the sofa where she sprawled out across his lap. They talked quietly, about childhood and love, and about how hurts from the past could sneak up on even the best of us. Penelope was impressed by Marshall’s tender care. His response to her breakdown was kind and healthy. He was solid. She could tell. It was at that moment she knew: Marshall was the man for her. The only one. So what if she was interested in him partially because he had many of the same pos
itive qualities as her dad? That was a good thing. She knew that the two of them could build a happy life together... A healthy and happy life. She’d go to counseling if necessary to work out her issues. But she would be okay.

  Marshall was her future.

  “I choose you,” Penelope said.

  “Pen,” he replied, “I choose you, too.”

  “I mean for the rest of my life. I choose you.”

  Marshall’s face turned to an expression of complete happiness. A tear fell from his eye and landed on Penelope’s forehead. He leaned down, wiping the tear away and then pulling her to him.

  “Oh, Pen,” he said softly. “You’re my one and only. I choose you for the rest of my life, too. I’m sorry we got so far apart from each other before joining together. But we’re together now. And that’s the way we’ll stay.”

  “You promise?”

  “I promise,” Marshall agreed. “I won’t let anything tear us apart.”

  “Even the people following us? Because they seem pretty scary to me.”

  “Even the people following us. I’ll protect you, Pen. With my life if I have to. No one will hurt you as long as I walk this Earth.”

  Penelope hugged Marshall tightly and cried some more. She felt seen in a real, true way. This was it. She was beyond grateful to be the recipient of Marshall’s love and affection. She’d known how good it could feel because she’d felt a similar love as a child, from Felix. Now, if she could just keep that kind of love in her life without the flip side of the coin. If she could keep the unconditional love without losing it, and without it being dampened by circumstances beyond her control. That remained to be seen.

  15

  The clock ticked toward midnight. Penelope, Marshall, and Hana closed the shades, locked up the condo, and made their way out of the building carrying nothing but their jump bags and Marshall’s gun. They had left their phones on the dining table with the batteries out.

  Penelope had debated leaving a note in case Zach came looking for her and used his key to enter her apartment, but Marshall advised her to skip it. It made sense. Any information that could inadvertently lead the blonde woman and her associates to them was a bad idea. There would be time to fill Zach in later. Penelope knew Zach was tough. That was a useful byproduct of growing up with a mother like Jean. And Zach knew that Penelope was tough, just the same. He’d be worried if he found out she was missing, but he’d know she could take good care of herself. She’d had a lifetime of practice.