Chapter 13: The Secret Beneath Table Seven
At 5:40 the following morning, Nancy stood outside Maple Street Diner with Walter's hand wrapped around hers.
The neon sign flickered above the entrance.
The parking lot was empty except for Mack's motorcycle and Thomas's vehicle.
A yellow demolition notice had been taped to the front window.
*BUILDING DEMOLITION — NOVEMBER 1, 8:00 A.M.*
Nancy read it twice.
“They're tearing it down today?””
Walter nodded.
“Richard arranged the demolition months ago.””
“But why?””
“Because he knows what's beneath the building.””
Mack examined the notice.
“How much time do we have?””
Thomas checked his watch.
“Two hours and twenty minutes before the demolition crew arrives.””
Nancy looked through the glass.
The diner was dark.
She had spent nearly nine years working inside those walls.
She knew every booth, every cracked tile, every stubborn coffee machine.
She knew which floorboard squeaked near the kitchen.
She knew where the previous manager had hidden his cigarettes.
She even knew that the clock above the register ran seven minutes slow.
And apparently, she had been working over the biggest secret of her husband's life.
“Why didn't you tell me?”” she asked Walter.
He looked down.
“Because I didn't know whether you were being watched.””
“You could have told me to stay away from this place.””
“I thought keeping you close to the evidence was safer than letting Richard's people search your home.””
Nancy pulled her hand away.
“So you let me work for the man who helped destroy our lives?””
Walter had no answer.
Mack quietly opened the diner door.
“Let's find out what he was hiding.””
The smell of old coffee and floor cleaner greeted them.
Nancy switched on the lights.
Everything looked ordinary.
The red booths.
The chrome counter stools.
The framed photographs of local sports teams.
A stack of menus sat beside the register.
But Nancy noticed something unusual immediately.
The chairs had been removed from the back dining area.
Several floor tiles were missing.
“Someone's already been here,” she whispered.
Thomas crouched beside the exposed floor.
“Construction workers?””
Nancy shook her head.
“Brad said nobody was allowed in after closing.””
Mack examined the scratches along the wooden floor.
“These marks are fresh.””
Walter walked toward the kitchen.
“Where's the old storage room?””
Nancy pointed.
“Behind the freezer.””
They followed her.
The door was locked.
Nancy reached into her purse and pulled out her employee key.
It worked.
Inside were old supplies, broken chairs, cleaning equipment, and several cardboard boxes.
Walter walked toward the back wall.
“Move those boxes.””
Mack lifted them aside.
Behind them was a narrow section of wooden flooring.
Walter crouched.
He ran his fingers along the boards until he found a small metal ring.
“Here.””
Nancy knelt beside him.
Together, they pulled.
A wooden panel lifted.
Beneath it was a metal compartment.
Nancy stared.
“That's what you left?””
Walter nodded.
“Part of it.””
Mack helped him open the compartment.
Inside was a waterproof case.
Walter removed it carefully.
Nancy expected to see documents.
Instead, there was a small leather notebook, three photographs, and a cassette tape.
Thomas picked up the notebook.
“Original property registry.””
Walter shook his head.
“Not quite. Those are the names of the people who signed the false transfers. The actual registry is on the cassette.””
Thomas frowned.
“How does that work?””
Walter smiled faintly.
“It's not an ordinary cassette.””
He removed the plastic casing.
Inside was a tiny microchip attached to a metal strip.
“Daniel helped me build this. It contains scanned copies of the original records and audio statements from the people involved.””
Thomas examined it.
“This could be enough to reopen every case.””
Walter nodded.
“If the files are intact.””
Nancy picked up the photographs.
The first showed Walter beside Richard Cole.
The second showed Brad standing next to a black SUV.
The third made her stop breathing.
It showed Emily.
She was standing outside the diner with a folder in her hands.
On the back, Walter had written:
The person who gave them the original documents.
Nancy stared at the photograph.
“Emily?””
Walter looked at her.
“She was working with Richard before she knew what the company was doing.””
“I thought she only signed some papers.””
Walter sighed.
“She gave them access to the property records I had collected.””
Nancy lowered the photograph.
“Why didn't you tell me that?””
“Because I wanted her to have a chance to make things right.””
Mack looked toward the front entrance.
“Guys.””
Everyone turned.
A black SUV had pulled into the parking lot.
Then another.
Three men stepped out.
One carried a crowbar.
Thomas immediately reached for his phone.
“Stay inside.””
The front door opened.
Brad's assistant, a tall man named Curtis, walked in.
He looked at the group.
Then at the open compartment.
His face tightened.
“Give me the case.””
Mack stepped forward.
“Wrong door.””
Curtis pulled a metal pipe from his jacket.
Thomas raised his badge.
“Police. Put it down.””
Curtis hesitated.
Then he threw the pipe toward the window and ran.
Mack chased him.
Walter grabbed Nancy's arm.
“Stay here!””
But before Mack reached the entrance, a second man appeared behind him.
He struck Mack across the shoulder with a wooden baton.
Mack stumbled.
Nancy screamed.
Walter moved between her and the attacker.
“Get away from my wife!””
The man swung again.
Walter raised his arm, taking the blow.
Thomas drew his weapon.
“Drop it!””
The attacker dropped the baton.
Outside, Mack recovered and tackled Curtis against the hood of the SUV.
The second man was handcuffed.
Within minutes, the parking lot was filled with police vehicles.
Nancy rushed toward Mack.
“Are you hurt?””
Mack winced.
“Nothing a little ice won't fix.””
Walter looked at him.
“You always did know how to make a dramatic entrance.””
Mack laughed.
“Coming from the man who faked his own death, I'll take that as a compliment.””
Nancy finally smiled.
Then Thomas came out of the diner holding his phone.
His expression was serious.
“What happened?”” Walter asked.
Thomas looked at the demolition notice.
“Someone just moved the demolition forward.””
Nancy frowned.
“To when?””
Thomas checked the message.
“Six forty-five.””
He looked at his watch.
It was 6:18.
Nancy stared at the diner.
Twenty-seven minutes.
She looked at the metal case in Walter's hands.
Then at the building where she had spent years being humiliated.
“No,” she said.
Everyone turned.
Nancy straightened her back.
“They don't get to destroy this place.””
Walter took her hand.
“Then we won't let them.””
But as Thomas called for additional officers, Nancy noticed something beneath the open floor compartment.
A small envelope.
It was addressed to her.
May you like
And the handwriting was not Walter's.
It belonged to Emily.
