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"We thought about foreign adoption too. But you know, it takes money. And time," John Marsden spoke. Jennifer and Kevin were seated across from John and Penny Marsden, undercover as a couple who was trying to give away their adopted son, Steven. The rest of the Intelligence unit was posted outside, listening and watching the interaction.
"I'm tired of waiting. I wanna be a mother now. And when I read about your little boy Steven.. I knew that this was meant to be," Penny spoke, seeming genuinely happy.
"Penny said that she found her angel," John said, smiling at his wife.
"It's true. My heart melted," Penny said, placing a hand over her heart.
"So, um, why do you want to give him up?" John asked in a more serious tone. Jennifer looked at Kevin, then down at her lap.
"Uh, trust me we- we don't. But with work and travel, right?" Kevin spoke. Jennifer pretended to look sad, fiddling with her fingers. She nodded, agreeing with Kevin. Kevin wrapped an arm around her shoulder, comforting his 'wife'. "We travel so much I just don't think we can really give Steven the time that he deserves."
"He's really a sweet boy," Jennifer said, smiling. She sat forward. "We just want what's best for him, ya know?" She added, looking back at Kevin.
"I understand," Penny said softly, nodding.
"Look, you all seem like really nice people but we just wanna make sure that this isn't going to get us into any trouble with the law or anything. We've never done anything like this before. Do you know who started the Real Promises website?" Jennifer asked, reaching out to grab Kevin's hand. The couple in front of them looked at each other, clearly clueless to the answer.
"Uh, no. But it's legal. Uh, I know of a couple that used it before. They adopted just a terrific boy from Russia," Penny said.
"Oh, really? That's so great. We would love to talk to them!" Jennifer replied. Kevin nodded in agreement.
"Oh gosh, they were friends of our old neighbors. I don't remember their names," Penny said. Jennifer could tell that they were lying about this whole story. Penny looked at her husband, who shook his head. He didn't remember their names either, apparently.
"Yeah. We understand, it happens," Kevin told them.
"So, um, can we meet Steven?" John asked. Kevin's phone began to vibrate. He picked it up and declined the call.
"Uh, sorry about that. Of course you can. But how about we check out the house. Just real quick. We know that you have pictures," Kevin said. Penny reached into her pocket and grabbed some photos, handing them over to the two.
"We are on two acres. And it is a little rural for a lot of folks but we just love it," Penny told them. Jennifer and Kevin inspected the photos. One was of a house and the other seemed to be their backyard with a playset.
