Chapter 4 - The Night Someone Tried to Burn the Diner
The first fire alarm went off at 2:13 in the morning.
Sadi woke to her phone vibrating against the nightstand.
Frank.
She answered half asleep.
"What?"
"Sadi."
His voice was shaking.
"The diner."
She sat upright.
"What happened?"
"It's burning."
For a moment, she couldn't speak.
Then she threw off the blanket.
"Did you call the fire department?"
"Yes."
"Are you outside?"
"Yes."
She looked toward Ellie’s bedroom.
The little girl was sleeping peacefully.
Sadi called Mrs. Patterson, who came over immediately, then drove toward the highway.
Flashing red lights illuminated the road.
Fire trucks blocked the entrance.
Smoke rose from the back of the Copper Skillet.
Sadi stopped her car.
"No."
She climbed out.
"No, no, no."
Rafael stood beside an unmarked SUV.
He saw her and hurried over.
"Stay back."
"My diner!"
"The firefighters are working."
"Frank?"
"He's safe."
Sadi stared at the building.
For three years, she'd complained about the Copper Skillet.
The broken air conditioner.
The terrible tips.
The cheap coffee.
The smell that never left her clothes.
But it had paid her rent.
It had bought Ellie's school supplies.
It had given Hannah free pie when she was pregnant.
And it had been the last place her sister left something meant for her.
Now flames were licking the kitchen windows.
Sadi began crying.
Rafael stood beside her.
He didn't tell her everything would be fine.
He didn't make promises he couldn't keep.
He simply stayed.
Twenty minutes later, the firefighters contained the blaze.
The front dining room survived.
The kitchen suffered extensive damage.
No one was injured.
The fire investigator began examining the scene.
Frank sat on the curb.
His face was gray.
Sadi approached him.
"What happened?"
He stared at the pavement.
"I don't know."
"Frank."
He swallowed.
"I went home at ten."
"Who had keys?"
"Me. You. Marco."
She folded her arms.
"Anyone else?"
Frank didn't answer.
A terrible suspicion formed.
"Frank."
His eyes filled.
"I gave Jimmy a key."
Sadi stepped backward.
"What?"
"He said he needed to inspect the place."
"You gave the man who threatened to burn us down a key?"
Frank began crying.
"I owed him money!"
"So you let him inside?"
"He said he'd leave us alone!"
Sadi stared at him.
For six months, she'd worked double shifts to keep the place running.
She'd paid for the old man's meals.
She'd stayed late to clean the floors when Frank couldn't afford another employee.
And Frank had handed their keys to the people who threatened them.
"How much?" she asked.
Frank wiped his face.
"Sixty-five thousand."
Sadi felt sick.
"Why?"
"My wife needed surgery."
She stopped.
Frank looked down.
"Insurance wouldn't cover everything. I borrowed from a private lender."
"Jimmy?"
"His boss."
"Who?"
Frank hesitated.
Then whispered, "Mason Pike."
Sadi knew the name.
Pike owned half the commercial property along Route 9.
He'd spent years trying to buy the land beneath the Copper Skillet.
Frank continued.
"Pike said he'd forgive the loan if I sold him the property."
Sadi looked toward the burning diner.
"And you refused?"
Frank nodded.
"At first."
"Why?"
Frank began crying harder.
"Because Hannah asked me not to."
Sadi froze.
"What?"
He looked up.
"Your sister came here two days before the crash."
Her heart hammered.
"What did she say?"
"She asked if I'd sell the diner."
"And?"
"I told her Pike had been offering money."
Frank swallowed.
"She said if he bought it, something terrible would happen."
Sadi stared.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I thought she was exaggerating."
His voice broke.
"Then she died."
Sadi stood very still.
The fire engines continued humming behind her.
She looked toward the diner.
Suddenly, the loan made sense.
Pike didn't simply want the land.
He wanted access to something Hannah had hidden there.
Something beyond the envelope beneath booth four.
Rafael approached.
"The investigators want to speak with Frank."
Sadi looked at him.
"He knows Pike."
Rafael's expression changed.
"How well?"
"Apparently well enough to give his men a key."
Frank lowered his head.
Later, investigators confirmed that the fire had originated in the rear service area. They were examining evidence consistent with deliberate ignition, though the final cause determination had not yet been completed.
Frank provided information about Pike's threats and his loan agreement.
He also agreed to cooperate with authorities.
Sadi returned home just before sunrise.
Ellie was awake.
She sat at the kitchen table holding a stuffed rabbit.
"Aunt Sadi?"
Sadi stopped.
"Hey, peanut."
"Did our diner die?"
The question broke her heart.
She knelt beside the little girl.
"It's hurt."
Ellie's eyes filled.
"Like Mommy's helicopter?"
Sadi swallowed.
"No, sweetheart. It's not the same."
Ellie hugged her.
"Can we fix it?"
Sadi held her tightly.
"I hope so."
Ellie pulled back.
"Then we should."
Sadi smiled through tears.
"Yeah."
That afternoon, Gideon arrived at her house.
Celia pushed his wheelchair up the front path. The doctors had recommended he avoid unnecessary strain while continuing rehabilitation.
He carried his notebook.
Sadi opened the door.
"You shouldn't be out."
He smiled faintly.
Then held up the notebook.
I wanted to see Ellie.
Sadi stepped aside.
Ellie ran into the living room.
"Grandpa!"
Gideon opened his arms.
She hugged him without hesitation.
He closed his eyes.
Sadi watched.
And for a moment, he didn't look like a wealthy founder or a man surrounded by security.
He looked like somebody's grandfather.
Somebody who had lost too much.
After Ellie returned to her coloring book, Gideon wrote another note.
The fire was meant to frighten you.
Sadi nodded.
"I know."
He turned the page.
There is something I should have told Hannah.
Sadi stared.
"What?"
His hand trembled.
Slowly, he wrote:
I knew Adrian was stealing.
Sadi stopped breathing.
Gideon lowered his eyes.
Then added:
I didn't know he was putting aircraft at risk.
She looked at him.
"You knew he was stealing money?"
He nodded.
"And you didn't stop him?"
The old man's face crumpled.
Sadi stepped back.
For the first time, she felt angry enough to shout at the man she'd fed for six months.
"My sister is dead."
Gideon closed his eyes.
"So is your son," she whispered.
He nodded.
"Why didn't you do something?"
His pen hovered.
Then he wrote:
I trusted him.
Sadi stared.
"That wasn't good enough."
Tears rolled down Gideon's face.
He didn't argue.
He didn't reach for his money.
He didn't ask her to forgive him.
He simply wrote:
I know.
May you like
And Sadi realized the old man hadn't been sitting in booth four because he wanted someone to pity him.
He'd been sitting there because he couldn't bear to go home.
