The Mafia's Woman

Chapter 6

-Camilla-

I hope he didn't see me stumble and I quickly put my trembling hands in my pockets, hopefully he didn't see that either. When I am at the couch and turn back to the man I see the look in his eyes. He has seen everything. I sit down on the covered couch.

"What does she say about me Cam?" he asks and I look up at him with wide eyes.

"I never said my name," I note. A bad feeling creeps up on me, maybe this was not a good idea at all. I feel my back, my weapon is there. I have a knife by my leg under my pants. I think about the name. I would have to look back in her diaries. I have not read everything, I have had them read by the detectives. My father's name is not mentioned. Ken is one of the names that is often mentioned, but according to the researchers not important. I look at the bag that contains the diaries. I've also heard my mother call Ken. I never heard his voice, but I did hear my mother's. she didn’t trust him fully.

"Camilla?" I'm looking at Kendrick again, or Ken. He has come closer and has a worried look.

"She asked you to stay away." I tell him. He stops walking.

"Why?" I ask him. He sighs.

"Can I sit here?" he asks, pointing to a chair. I nod.

There are so many questions that go through my head. So many things I want to know, things I need to do. I didn't think of this plan well.

"I know your mother from the past, from school. She was my sister's best friend. I'm ten years older." He smiles and I can see the wrinkles in his eyes better now.

"That makes you sixty-eight?" I ask, and the man nods.

"What do you know about me Cam?" he asks and I sigh.

"You can trust me Cam, did your mom never tell you that?"

I shake my head. "My mother didn't talk about the past. Only about the present and the future. She never told us why we left here, she didn't tell us whom she knows here. She forbade me to ever come here. I promised her never to go after her past." I tell him. He laughs,

"And yet here you are, breaking your promise."

I get up and walk to the window I opened earlier.

I shrug my shoulders. "She's dead, if I knew I would get her back by doing whatever she wanted, I would do anything. But she's not coming back and I have a right to know who my father is and who her killer is." I turn to him and see his big eyes.

"You don't know who your father is?" he asks, I shake my head.

"You?" I ask. He also shakes his head. But my gut feeling says he's not shaking his head because he doesn't know who my father is, but because he's not going to tell me.

"Can you be trusted Ken?" I ask and our eyes find each other. He doesn't say anything.

"I can't help you in the search for your father, nor for your mother's killer." He answers.

"Can or will?" I ask. He's getting up now, too.

"Cam, you have no idea what world you're stepping into, once you get in, you're never get out. There are ears and eyes everywhere. You shouldn't have come back and listened to your mother for once."

The second I lift my hand and want to give the man a slap, he has my wrist.

"Stop that nonsense." He snarls and I squeeze my eyes together.

"Your mother told me about your fighting, about how they wanted so many other things for you instead of kickboxing and MMA. I'm on your side Cam, but trust me, not everyone who says they're on your side is on your side." He lets go of my wrist and pushes me back a bit. He immediately changes his attitude again, the dominance is gone, he looks like a gentleman who likes to help you. "It's clear that you don't know everything. I can't tell you everything either. Be careful who you trust at work. There are also rats in the police." He turns away and walks towards the door.

"I live downstairs in 1 If you need me. Try to stay out of trouble. As I say, once in, it's never out." Before I can respond, he has closed the door behind him and I am alone in my apartment. My mother's apartment.

I grab the laptop and only then do I hear Mister meowing.

"Ow Mister, sorry!" I quickly walk to the basket and open it. Mister stays put and I take him out to put him on my lap and hug him.

"I'm sorry my friend." I kiss his head and Mister purrs to let me know he likes it.

"Come and get your stuff." I answer. Mister jumps off my lap and he follows me everywhere.

"We don't have a litter box for you. It’s going to be the first thing to buy them and buy groceries." I answer. But I take a bowl out of the cupboard and a can of food from my suitcase and give it to Mister. I open the tap a bit and than I look for a pet store for new stuff for Mister.

Later that evening I'm sitting at my mother's dinner table, with the first diary in front of me, I've made all these notes that I can stick in the diary and have searched everywhere for the name Ken. Kendrick, Barnes and Church. She mentions him a lot in the diary that dates back to the time we had just moved. I grab a piece of pizza that I have had delivered and take a bite, I think this is by far the tastiest pizza I have ever eaten. I look where Mister is and he is on top of the new cat tower that I bought.

The gentleman from the pet store offered to bring the cat tower home, so it has just been delivered and Mister is happy with it. Like a proud king, he lies on top of the tower. I also bought him new toy mice, he just didn't fall for that yet. He thought lazing on his new tower was a better idea.

I was able to buy all the groceries on the square and after a big cleaning in the apartment, I didn't feel like cooking anymore, so pizza it is.

I called Milly and Ian also called to ask if I had arrived properly.

Tomorrow I will go here to the police station, I will give some lessons about organized crime and how the agency wants us to process these things. I indicated to my boss that I need more time for myself this year and he understood that. He gives me all the time I need. I'm on unpaid leave and with the money, my mom left behind, I don't have to worry about anything, but I didn't want to stop completely. So I'm going to teach and the police academy in Cliffs wanted me according to my boss. So everything seems to fall into place nicely.

After three hours of reading the journal and gathering information about Ken, I decided enough is enough. I close the diary and I check my weapon again, it is now on the bedside table next to the bed. I will have to buy a locker tomorrow to store my gun. I'll take it with me for now. I can carry it with me and I'd rather do that than have someone have my weapon, or find it.

I take the diary with me and I close the door behind me. I go down the stairs and stop at number 1. I knock on the door and I hear someone coming on the inside.

The door opens and Ken looks at me, he is surprised. He didn't expect me. I open the book on the page I need and I start reading aloud:

"With so much pain in my heart I had to decide this, Ken could have gone along, but he didn't want to go. He says I'm important to him, he says he's locked me and my daughter in his heart forever. But when I couldn't stay, he stayed behind. My heart is broken and I hope at the end of the day, that this has all been worth it. If there is a god, I hope he hears my prayers and will make Ken happy without me and I give myself the strength to let him go."

I close the book and look at Ken. He has a tear in his eyes.

He steps aside. "Come in." He answers and I follow him into his apartment when I hear the door close behind me.