Noah Cross (John Huston)’s Timeline and Summary

Early in the movie, we hear about Noah and see a picture of him after Jake's assistant observes Noah having an argument with Hollis.
Later, Jake meets with Noah at the Albacore Club, where Noah worries about his daughter and tells Jake to find Hollis's mistress.
Finally, Jake learns the awful truth about Noah from Evelyn—the woman he thought was Hollis's mistress is actually Evelyn's sister and daughter.
Noah is also the man stealing the city's water and Hollis's murderer.
Jake confronts Noah but Noah is unashamed—he cops to the incest, water theft, and murder, saying that most people don't realize what they're capable of doing.
But Noah's hired thug, Claude Mulvihill, forces Jake to hand over the evidence of the murder (Noah's bifocals, which he dropped in the pond where he drowned Hollis), and Noah makes Jake go with him to Chinatown, where Evelyn is trying to escape.
Evelyn tries to kill Noah, but she non-fatally wounds him. The cops kill Evelyn, and Noah takes his daughter/granddaughter with him.
So, it's a happy ending…if you love incestuous murderers who steal public resources.