Page 124 of The Advocate’s Ultimatum

By noon JP had collected heat, bad coffee, and nothing useful. He stood in the shade beside his truck and watched the street. People were talking, just not to him. That meant he needed someone who lived on tips, gossip, and memory.

He tried the pawn shop next. The man behind the counter took the photo, glanced once, and handed it back. “His name’s Todd.”

First real yes of the day. “What’d he pawn?”

“Everything but shame.”

“When was he last in?”

“A week before he died.”

“Did he come into money?”

The pawnbroker laughed. “Nope. He came in trying to borrow against money he said was coming.”

That was new! “Did he say from where?”

“He said he had somebody by the throat.”

Also interesting. “Do you know if he frequented a bar around here?”

The man jerked a thumb east. “Lantern Room. If he was upright after dark, he was there.”

JP nodded. “Anyone he was mixed up with?”

The pawnbroker shrugged. “Todd was always mixed up with somebody. He was a flim-flam man and not that good at it.”

JP thanked him and stepped back outside. He had a thread.

As he drove to The Lantern Room, he processed what he’d learned: Maddox had no money, but believed money was close enough to smell. That usually meant greed would outrun judgment.

JP parked, straightened his hat, and went inside.

The Lantern Room was dim like every other bar that preferred to keep memory blurred. Neon signs hummed over mirrored shelves. A baseball game played on mute above the bottles. Three men occupied stools with the solemn commitment of people who had nowhere better to be.

JP took a stool at the far end of the bar and ordered coffee. The bartender— mid-fifties, with tattooed forearms— looked at him a long moment. “Did you lose a bet?”

“Just trying to stay sharp.”

“In here?” she said. “Bold strategy.” She poured the coffee anyway.

JP let five quiet minutes pass. Then he slid a photo of Todd Maddox across the counter. “Do you know him?”

She glanced once. “Everybody knew Todd.”

“Is that good or bad?”

“Mostly loud.”

“So, he came in often?”

“Enough.”

“Recently?”

She wiped the counter. “More than usual.”

“How so?”