This rash of incidents clustered into just under two months, isn't that a bit too abnormal?
Jimmy considered whether there was anything he might have missed, or if there was something special going on in Little Stone Town.
Of course, it could also be related to Jimmy himself; as a Reborn, according to the novels he had read before, Reborns were troublemakers, and significant events always seemed to revolve around them.
Feeling somewhat queasy inside, he called Cage and headed back to the county police headquarters ahead of schedule. Unless it was something special, he wasn't planning on going out for the time being.
Jimmy declined all the simple cases that dispatch sent over. Thankfully, due to his previous complaints and Chief James communicating with dispatch, Jimmy's daily caseload was now very light, and he didn't mind the routine cases too much.
After shift, Jimmy didn't choose to drive the police car straight home. Instead, he updated his status with dispatch, changed his clothes, and went to the bar.
In times like these, having a couple of drinks and finding someone to chat with seemed like a good way to relieve worries. Left alone with his thoughts, he truly felt he would scare himself to death.
The bartender Justin could tell that Jimmy wasn't in high spirits since the usually eloquent young man was somewhat too well-behaved today.
Justin: "Hey, Jimmy, something on your mind?"
Jimmy: "Nothing much, just feel like I've been running into bad luck recently, as if something's about to happen."
Justin: "I can't help you with that; if it's bad luck, maybe you should consider going to church?"
Jimmy: "The church, huh? I just went there not long ago, didn't feel like there was any issue."
Out of the blue, a middle-aged man chimed in: "A young man, an interesting young man, all troubles are just about two things, money and women. Kid, look where you are, this place can solve half your troubles."
Jimmy turned and glanced at the middle-aged man, clinked his glass against his, "Good advice, I like it," and then drained the glass.
"Justin, another round."
Jimmy turned to the middle-aged man, "Hey, you said this place can solve half the troubles, what about the other half?"
The middle-aged man put down his glass, thought for a moment, "Maybe, rob a bank?"
Jimmy and the middle-aged man both laughed. In a bar like this, it was easy to come across interesting people sometimes.
Jimmy: "Robbing a bank won't solve my problems, my trouble is above, not the money on me."
The middle-aged man: "Above? Oh, I see. That's quite a hassle; those folks are like K9s, they sniff out the scent and chase after people to bite."
Jimmy: "Ha ha ha, K9s, well said, cheers."
Jimmy and the middle-aged man took another drink.
Jimmy: "I'm off to tackle today's half portion of trouble, wish me luck."
Jimmy picked up his glass and left the bar counter.
After a while, Jimmy returned to the bar with an empty glass; the intriguing middle-aged man had already left. Jimmy did not bother to investigate him, but anyone who referred to dogs as K9s was likely to be a cop or have a military background, as both police dogs and military dogs were colloquially known as K9s.
"Justin, one more."
The bartender Justin poured Jimmy another drink and handed him a card. "Sorry for overhearing you earlier. If it really is an 'above' kind of problem, you can call this number, just say I referred you."
Jimmy took the card, looking at Justin, "Explain, Justin."
Justin: "Don't worry, my bar isn't going anywhere. Call that number, and your problem will be taken care of."
Jimmy stared at Justin for a while, then let out a chuckle, slipped the card into his pocket, gulped down the contents of his glass, and left the bar.
Justin was no simple bartender, and this bar was not ordinary. Jimmy had always thought the reason the bar was trouble-free was that it was located next to the police station. Now it seemed that it wasn't quite what he had thought.
He had been coming to this bar for a year, and he had known Justin for about the same time. Justin had never shown any signs of being out of the ordinary, and yet, today, just because Jimmy carelessly uttered a sentence, Justin deduced a lot and even offered a contact to solve Jimmy's problem—this surely wasn't something a bartender could usually do.