CHAPTER SEVENTEEN I: THE LAST CALL FROM RUSSELL

The deputy asked Jake to return to the station when Russell’s lawyer requested a review of witness accounts.
Jake arrived with Simone and learned that he might be asked to identify the man he had seen at the electrical disconnect.
The deputy explained that Russell denied being at the diner that night.
“He says you mistook someone else for him,” the deputy said.
Jake felt his throat tighten.
“I saw his face when the kitchen door opened,” he answered.
“I recognized him.”
“How long did you see him?”
“A few seconds.”
“Was there enough light?”
“The security lamp was on before the power went out.

”
The deputy asked Jake to describe the jacket, the truck, and the direction Russell had run.
Jake answered carefully.
He admitted that he could not remember the license plate.
He admitted that rain had obscured part of the parking lot.
“I don’t want to say I saw more than I did,” he told the deputy.
“That’s exactly what I need,” the deputy replied.
Afterward, Simone walked him outside.
“You’re worried they’ll think you’re uncertain,” she said.
“I am uncertain about some details,” Jake answered.
“Then you should say so.”
Jake looked across the parking lot.
“What if that makes it harder for Owen’s family?”
“A case built on guesses won’t protect them,

” Simone replied.
Jake thought of the nights when he had been sure Warren was wrong about everything.
He knew now that certainty could be comforting even when it was incomplete.
“I just want this to end,” he said.
“So do they,” Simone answered.
“That doesn’t mean it ends today.”
Jake returned to the kitchen and finished his shift.
The investigation continued without requiring him to be the center of every conversation.
That was a relief he had not expected to feel.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: THE CHOICE AT THE COUNTER

Warren called Jake a week after the storm.
The manager said the diner was short staffed and offered him his old job back.
Jake asked whether the offer included an apology.
Warren was silent for several seconds.
“I was wrong to fire you,” he finally said.
“I was wrong to accuse you of stealing food.”
Jake waited.
“I was wrong to care more about looking in charge than about the people standing in front of me,” Warren added.
Jake believed the apology was difficult for him.
That did not mean he wanted to return.
“Thank you for saying it,” Jake answered.
“Will you come back?”
“No.”
Warren exhaled.
“I figured.”
Jake looked around the community kitchen.
Mrs. Sloane was arguing with a delivery driver about bruised tomatoes.
Mara was helping a family find a safe route home.
Gideon was washing trays at the sink.
“I have work here,” Jake said.
Warren wished him well and ended the call.
Jake placed his phone in his pocket.
He had expected refusal to feel like revenge.
Instead, it felt like making a decision for himself.