“Because that's where your father used to sit.”
Noah stared at her.
“What?”
“Before he died, Daniel used to meet Walter at this diner.”
The booth wasn't random.
Walter hadn't been drinking coffee there.
He had been waiting.
For twenty-five years.
Waiting for Daniel's son to become old enough to hear the truth.
That evening, Walter finally returned.
He looked exhausted.
Noah approached him.
“You knew my father.”
Walter lowered his eyes.
“Yes.”
“You knew what happened to him.”
“Yes.”
“You've been sitting in his booth for months.”
Walter swallowed.
“Yes.”
Noah's voice shook.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I wasn't sure you were safe.”
“Safe from who?”
Walter looked toward the front window.
“From the people who killed your father.”
The diner suddenly felt much smaller.
Noah sat across from him.
“Tell me everything.”
Walter opened his coat.
Inside was a small metal box.
He placed it on the table.
“I've carried this for twenty-five years.”
Noah stared at it.
“What is it?”
“Your father's final evidence.”
Walter pushed it toward him.
Inside were account numbers, photographs, handwritten notes, and a small cassette tape.
Noah looked confused.
“A cassette?”
“Your father didn't trust computers.”
They found an old player in the diner's office.
Walter inserted the tape.
Static filled the room.
Then a man's voice emerged.
Noah knew it instantly.
His father's voice.
“If you're hearing this, I'm probably gone.”
Noah's eyes filled with tears.
Daniel continued.
“I discovered where the money is going. I know who is involved. I also know they are watching me.”
The recording continued.
“They will probably tell Noah I died in an accident.”
Noah covered his mouth.
His father had known.
“I want my son to know one thing. None of this was his fault. And if Walter is still alive, trust him.”
The recording ended.
Noah sat silently.
Walter looked down.
“I promised your father I'd protect you.”
“You couldn't.”
Walter's eyes filled with tears.