Questions, so many questions. They swirled around my mind, biting at the edges, making me second-guess everything I was doing.
I was so lost and confused in my own mind as I stumbled along the hallways that I didn’t even realize it when I ended up at a dead end.
I sighed and looked out the window. I could see green grass rolling along, perfectly manicured and beautiful. It was almost easy to forget that everything I could see belonged to very violent, very dangerous people.
As I turned to leave, one of the doors opened and a young, pretty woman stepped out.
She looked at me and smiled. “Hi there,” she said.
“Hi,” I answered, surprised. Everyone else had just ignored me.
“Surprised that I’m talking to you?” the girl asked.
“Actually, I am,” I said, laughing. “Everyone here seems so busy.”
“I’m Kaley.”
“I’m Emma.”
“Don’t worry about most people here, Emma. Everyone pretends to be important, but the truth is nobody really knows what they’re doing.”
I laughed. “Thanks. That makes me feel better actually.”
“Are you someone’s wife?” she asked me.
I shook my head. “No. Not at all. I guess I’m Louisa Barone’s guest now.”
She cocked an eyebrow. “Really?”
I nodded. “I came in with someone else, but I guess she’s taking me in.”
“Really?” she asked again, smiling. “Louisa Barone?”
I laughed again. “Yeah, Louisa Barone.”
“I’m sorry. It’s just that I’ve never really seen her take to anyone. I mean, except for Natalie, but they’re sisters-in-law.”
“Do you know Louisa?”
“Sure, I know her,” Kaley said, laughing. “She’s a strange one. We’ve become friends though, I think.”
“Hard to read, right?”
“Very hard to read. The trick is, you can’t assume that she’s a normal human being.”
“That seems like good advice.”
“Trust me, it is. Lou operates on her own level.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.” Kaley smiled and leaned up against the wall.
“If you’re busy, you can totally go.”
“No. I was just going for a walk actually. Fire away.”
“Is Louisa a good person?”
She smiled and laughed. “What a weird question.”
“I know. I’m sorry. It’s just hard to tell here.”
“Complicated, right? On the one hand, we love these people. But on the other, they are criminals. I guess I’m not supposed to say that, but, come on, we all know it.”
I laughed. “Do people pretend like this isn’t the mafia?”
She made a face. “Oh, absolutely. You’re not a cop, are you?”
“Not even a little bit.”
“Good. But coming back to your question, it’s tough to say. I do think most of the people here mean well, but a lot of the things they do to make money is difficult to swallow.”
“How do you handle it?”
“I just trust my husband. His name is Vince Mori. He’s one of the captains.”
“Oh,” I said, nodding. “I know that name. My father used to be . . . someone, I guess.”
“Vince, he’s someone all right. I don’t always agree with what he does, but I know he has his reasons and I trust him. That’s all it is for me.”
“So what about Louisa?”
“She’s different, of course. She’s not part of the organization, but she’s still part of the family. I think she has an incredibly good heart and wants to help everyone around her, but she doesn’t always go about it the right way. She goes about it her way, but sometimes that way is a little extreme.”
“You sound like you’re speaking from experience.”
She smiled. “I suppose I am.”
“Will you tell me about it?”
“Maybe another time,” she said. “I’m going to get going. What was your name again?”
“Emma. Emma Karsov.”
“Well, Emma Karsov, it was nice to meet you. I’m Kaley Mori.” We shook hands. “Don’t get too lost. This place is like a giant maze.”
“Thanks. I’m finding that out.”
She waved and headed off, disappearing around the corner.
I stood there and watched her go, still conflicted. I felt like that conversation hadn’t fixed anything, and really it only made me more torn.
She was right that the methods by which these people did things were sometimes difficult to understand. They broke laws, they hurt people, and they even killed people. Louisa was no different. She did what she thought was right, even if that was a really hard choice.