Rosemary Run Box Set

by Kelly Utt

  Hana patted Penelope’s shoulder and looked at her sympathetically. “Hey, it’s okay. There are therapists that help with this sort of thing. And books. Help is out there. You’re smart. You can sort it out.”

  “Yeah,” Penelope said, nodding.

  They were quiet for a minute as they contemplated their situation.

  “It’s just bizarre though,” Penelope said. “The way things are happening. The danger. The police investigation. Why now?”

  “I’d like to know the answer to that, too,” Hana said with a chuckle, taking her hand back. “But I won’t look the gift horse in the mouth. I’m a lucky lady to have found Brian like this. I’m not sure how else we would have met.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Hey,” Hana said, trying to sound encouraging. “You said the situation with the party and Audrey’s disappearance made you decide to tell Marshall how you felt, right? So it brought you two together the same as it did for me and Brian.”

  “You’re right again,” Penelope said. “I guess I shouldn’t be so negative… My mom used to say that. That no one likes a negative nelly. She used to berate me, Hana. It was bad.”

  “Aw.”

  “I look at Madeline, and I wonder how a mother could be so cruel to an innocent child like she was to me. I was only a few years older than Madeline when my mom really started laying into me. I don’t care how frustrated they are. A grown adult shouldn’t take their anger out on a child. Especially not their own. What did I ever do to deserve that?”

  “Nothing, Pen. Absolutely nothing.”

  “I’m a good person,” Penelope said. “Truly, I am.”

  Hana sighed. “I know.”

  Suddenly, there was a knock at the front door. The sound rattled the screen and echoed through the little house. Penelope glanced in that direction, but couldn’t see who was there.

  “What should we do?” Hana asked. “We’d have to go all the way downstairs to see the camera feed.”

  “That seems like a flaw in Brian’s system.”

  “Not really. He has the feed on his smartphone, too. He probably knows who’s here. We could call him.”

  “Nah,” Penelope said. “That’s silly. We’re right here. Let’s look out the window first to see what we can, then we’ll open the door.”

  “Pen! It’s dangerous.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m getting a little tired of being cooped up, anyway. Aren’t you?”

  Hana didn’t answer. She followed Penelope to the window. They looked out, but didn’t see anyone.

  “Nothing,” Penelope whispered.

  Another knock came. Louder this time. And a young woman’s voice. “Is anyone there?”

  The voice was familiar to them both. Hana cocked her head to one side, trying to place it. It took her a minute, but finally, Hana remembered. She smiled with recognition and went to the door. “No way,” she breathed.

  “Who?” Penelope asked.

  Hana opened the door, confirming her recollection. Standing in front of them was the person they least expected to see.

  “Audrey! What are you doing here?”

  22

  “We thought you were dead!” Hana said. “How… ? What… ?”

  “Nice to see you again, too,” Audrey replied. “Are you going to let me in?”

  Hana and Penelope looked at each other. Penelope nodded. “Yes. Come in.”

  They led Audrey to the sofa and fastened the deadbolts behind her. Penelope took a seat in Brian’s chair. Hana sat down beside Audrey.

  “Did you come alone?” Penelope asked.

  Hana shot her a look that said she was being rude. But Penelope wanted to be careful. There was a lot they didn’t understand.

  “Yep, just me,” Audrey said.

  Her demeanor was different than it had been at the party. She seemed more relaxed. Also, more mature. She no longer seemed like a girl who might have been underage. Maybe it had been an act.

  “Did you arrive on foot?” Penelope inquired, imagining what Brian or Marshall would ask and then following that lead.

  “I did. Same as you.”

  “Wait,” Hana said, raising a hand in the air. “What? How do you know how we got here?”

  “Because Marshall sent me.”

  She said it matter-of-factly. Like it wasn’t a big deal. Penelope nearly fell out of her chair.

  “Marshall who?”

  “Marshall Erving. Are we really going to play that game?”

  “I…” Penelope was flabbergasted.

  She wondered if Audrey was dangerous. Might she have been the one with the attack dog? And could she have been watching them the day Penelope and Hana had arrived at Brian’s? None of it made sense.

  Hana took a breath, then tried her turn. “Audrey…”

  “Please, call me Marta. That’s my real name.”

  “What?” Hana’s brows lowered, and she absentmindedly put a finger in her mouth and chewed on the nail.

  “I’m Marta Pavlo. Go on.”

  This was a lot for Penelope and Hana to take in.

  “Okay, Marta,” Hana said hesitantly. “I don’t mean to intrude, but I saw that man drug you at Reggie’s party. And then I saw the other one lead you into the pool while you were out of it. And the EMTs… they pulled you out of the pool. I thought…”

  “It was all a cover,” Marta said. “I’m a federal agent. I’m fine. Fit as a fiddle.”

  “Wait!” Hana blurted. “This is silly. It can’t be real. Come on, now. Tell us the truth.”

  Penelope shook her head, trying to process. She quickly went through the motions in her mind. If Audrey… err, Marta… was a federal agent, then Marshall must be, too? Right? They must have been working undercover to take down the guys Reggie had gotten himself involved with. Maybe that was why Marshall had married Reggie. Maybe it had all been an act. And maybe Brian worked with them. Because… Well, what did he actually do for work, anyway? Was he just a stay-at-home dad who happened to have a high-tech underground bunker? There had to be more to that story. Her thoughts swirled as she attempted to make sense of it.

  “It’s real. Keep up,” Marta said with a laugh.

  “So, do you have a badge of something?” Hana asked.

  “That would defeat the purpose of working undercover, don’t you think?”

  Hana nodded. “Okay, I guess I can see that. But how do we know you’re telling the truth?”

  Marta tapped her fingers on her knee as she thought about it. “I guess you can’t. Until this is all over, anyway. Then the local police will confirm my cover story.”

  “The Rosemary Run police?” Penelope asked.

  “Those are the ones.”

  “Detectives Luke Hemming and Neal Fredericks?”

  “Yep,” Marta said, glibly.

  She seemed so unconcerned.

  Penelope stood and motioned for Hana to join her in the kitchen. “Hana, a word?”

  Hana looked at Marta.

  “Go ahead,” Marta said, waving a hand. “Talk amongst yourselves. We’ve got nothing but time. I’m hanging out with you two until this thing blows up and then blows over.”

  Hana excused herself and she and Penelope scurried to the kitchen where they could have a more private conversation while still keeping an eye on Marta.

  “Do you believe what she’s saying is true?” Penelope whispered in her friend’s ear. “Because it frightens me that we have no way to check.”

  “I know,” Hana agreed. “Brian won’t be back for hours. We don’t have phones of our own and aren’t supposed to use the ones at the house.”

  “Even if the undercover agent thing is true, we don’t know if she’s on our side. We didn’t even add her to the list of good and bad actors. It seems like an obvious oversight now. But it could be some kind of trap,” Penelope said. “And we just let her in. Like a Trojan Horse.”

  “Right,” Hana confirmed. “She says her last name is Pavlo, yeah?”

  Penelope nodded.

>   “Doesn’t that sound Eastern European to you? Or Russian?”

  “I thought so, too. And the blonde man from the dock and his look-alike female cohort who was following me… if I didn’t know better, I’d say they were Russian.”

  “If I had to guess,” Hana said. “I’d agree.”

  “Something is going on here,” Penelope proclaimed. “Something serious.”

  They stood silently, gazing at Marta. She smiled back at them, then waved. It was odd how relaxed she seemed.

  “Pen,” Hana began again. “If Marshall sent her… Do you think he’s some kind of agent, too? And Brian?”

  “Seems that way,” Penelope confirmed. Neither wanted to think about it, let alone say it. But Penelope gave voice to her doubts. “Do you think they’re using us? That our love stories aren’t real?”

  Hana closed her eyes and leaned back against the counter. “God, I hope not. But I don’t know who to trust.”

  “Me,” Penelope confirmed. “You can trust me.”

  The friends hugged quickly, but then broke it up, not wanting to show Marta weakness in case they had to be tough with her later on.

  “Look,” Hana said. “What I feel from Brian is real. We all know his love for Madeline is real. And he trusts Marshall. You trust Marshall. Let’s lean into that. Besides, we don’t have much choice.”

  Penelope nodded, and they started toward the living room. “Wait,” she said, grabbing Hana’s arm. “One more thing before we go back in there.”

  “Yeah?”

  Just the thought of it made Penelope take big gulps of air. “Damn,” she said, mostly to herself.

  “You can tell me,” Hana assured.

  “It’s not a big deal, really,” Penelope began. “It’s just… I had planned to get a message out to Zach this afternoon. I wasn’t going to tell you.”

  “Whatever,” Hana said, surprising Penelope. “I figured. I wasn’t going to let you out of my sight.”

  They laughed together. Marta eyed them from the living room, tipping her head.

  “So all that heart to heart talk was a ruse to keep me busy?”

  “Hey, now,” Hana said. “You’re the one who launched into your origin story.”

  “My origin story?” Penelope asked with a chuckle. “What am I? A superhero?”

  “Maybe.”

  Hana winked at her friend. “Come on. If Marta was really sent by Marshall, that means he’s okay. And it means that he probably knows you’re okay. Maybe all we really need to do is let the professionals work without getting in their way.”

  “You’re right. Maybe that’s why Marshall sent us here. Our seclusion serves the dual purpose of keeping us safe and out of their way.”

  “Brian and Marshall have probably been in touch,” Hana said. “Especially if Luke and Neil are in on this. In fact, Marshall’s arrest is probably part of the cover.”

  They agreed with each other. It felt good to be on the same page. Feeling determined, but curious, they returned to the living room. They sat down, piecing things together in their minds as they looked at Marta.

  “Okay,” Penelope said. “We’re beginning to get it. But please humor us awhile longer. When did you last have contact with Marshall?”

  Marta smiled. “This morning.”

  Something about the way she said it sent a wave of jealousy coursing through Penelope. Marshall was her man. And she didn’t want a young, beautiful secret agent smiling about him like that.

  “Easy,” Hana said, sensing Penelope’s reaction.

  Penelope took a breath. “Did you talk with him in person?”

  “Yep,” Marta replied. “We had breakfast at the station.”

  “The police station?”

  “Yep.”

  Penelope wanted to ask a lot more. But she didn’t want to seem jealous. She’d never felt so strongly about a man. This was new to her. It suddenly felt like no one could possibly understand how much she needed him.

  “Relax,” Marta said, finally. “He told me about the two of you. He’s yours, Penelope. No funny business from me. Marshall and I are colleagues. Nothing more.”

  Penelope exhaled hard, sputtering as if she had been telling a lie. Only she hadn’t. It was her body’s reaction to caring so much.

  Hana smiled on behalf of her friend. “Thank you for saying that, Marta.”

  “So, Marshall’s a federal agent?” Penelope asked.

  “He is,” Marta replied. “He said you might ask about that. And he said to tell you the truth. He was going to do that as soon as this case wraps up.”

  “His marriage… ? To Reggie?”

  “Part of deep cover,” Marta replied.

  Penelope practically went limp, the relief on her face plain to see. “And… ?”

  “His love for you is real,” the young woman confirmed.

  Hana stood and squealed, running over to hug her friend. “I told you! See? You knew it. We all knew it.”

  Penelope smiled. Despite the drama going on around her and the shock at hearing confirmation of Marshall’s top-secret occupation, she felt happy and content. She knew that a life with a federal agent might be difficult, and that it might involve danger. But as long as she and Marshall had each other, they could get through anything.

  Now, if she could just see him again so they could talk about all of this. Penelope missed Marshall terribly.

  23

  By the time Brian’s red and white truck pulled into the driveway, Marta, Penelope, and Hana had gotten comfortable with each other. Marta had explained much more about Reggie’s operation and how he had inadvertently gotten tangled up with a human trafficking ring based in Russia. She had told the ladies how the lesser-evil escort service had been a cover for what they were really interested in, and that had been trafficking young girls and selling them to the highest bidders.

  Marta had described Reggie as a decent guy who had gotten mixed up with the wrong crowd. She had said he’d been lured in by the taste of money and had been manipulated into participating in criminal activity that ran contrary to what he really believed in and wanted. Once in, he hadn’t known how to get himself out. The Russians had kept close tabs on his every move and had threatened his life if he didn’t cooperate.

  That’s where Marshall had come into the picture. On assignment and with the support of local police, he had befriended Reggie under cover, going as far as to fake a relationship with him to gain access to the Russian trafficking ring. Marta had been called in from D.C. to assist. It had all been set to go down the night of the party. Marshall and Marta had been close to obtaining the evidence they needed to nab the Russians. A team of additional federal agents had been in place and ready to assist local authorities. But there had been unexpected interference from a local woman. It had been enough for them to keep the cover in place a while longer while they continued to investigate her involvement.

  Marta had said it was all done now, and that authorities would announce the real arrests shortly. Marshall would be free to go about his life unencumbered. At least, until he received his next assignment.

  Brian’s key clanked against the lock as the screen door creaked. “I’m home!” he called out, stepping inside with a grin on his face. Madeline made her way from behind his legs and skipped into the living room.

  “Hi, Marta!” Madeline said.

  Marta picked the girl up and spun her around, kissing her cheeks.

  “You two know each other?” Penelope asked, making the connections.

  “We do,” Marta replied. “Madeline and I are coloring buddies. We take turns with coloring books when I get breaks from work downstairs.”

  “Ah, I see,” Penelope replied. “So, the bunker isn’t just for Brian’s overzealous doomsday prepping?”

  “Nope,” Marta confirmed.

  “Who would have thought?” Penelope mused. “A base of operations like that, right here in little old Rosemary Run...”

  Hana rushed to Brian, leaping into his arms and wr
apping herself tightly around him. They kissed passionately, oblivious to anyone else in the room. Penelope, Marta, and Madeline all smiled. Hana and Brian made a good couple. An excellent couple, in fact.

  “Penelope,” Brian said. “I brought someone with me who wants to see you.”

  Brian reached back to open the door once more, and in stepped Marshall. His face was beaming with the most genuine happy smile Penelope had ever seen. “There’s my girl,” he said as he winked at her and opened his arms wide.

  “Marshall!” Penelope exclaimed. She ran to him, practically knocking the coffee table over as she went. She jumped all the way up onto him, latching on with her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. “My hero! I’ve missed you so much.”

  “Not as much as I’ve missed you,” he said softly, kissing both of her cheeks and then her lips, deeply. Her body warmed to his touch.

  “Oh, Marshall,” Penelope said as he held her. “I had no idea before. Marta explained everything. It’s all going to be okay.”

  “So, you’re not mad at me for sticking you here and letting you think I was in jail?”

  “Maybe a little,” Penelope teased. “But it’s all good. You were working undercover. I get it. I’m proud of you.”

  “I was deep undercover,” Marshall explained. “For more than two years. Once the blonde guy, Vlad, died in the bay, we knew others would come looking. His death wasn’t according to plan, but once it happened, we had to be sure our cover wasn’t blown until we caught all the criminals involved in this thing.”

  “And that’s all done now?” Penelope asked. “Can we go home to my condo?”