Outside the Adama Bar.
In a black Honda, Pari Jones reclined in the passenger seat.
Her eyes were fixed on the window. With no lights on inside the car, it was very difficult to see inside from the outside.
Two people came out of the bar, and Pari Jones lay down even lower, seemingly worried about being seen by them.
Fortunately, the two did not notice and left in a black SUV. Pari Jones also let out a sigh of relief.
A white man then came out of the bar and walked over to the driver's side of the car. He opened the door and said, "Pari, promise me, no next time."
"No, I was far away; they couldn't have noticed me. But it was really nerve-wracking. I'm just a photographer and I don't want to follow cops again."
Pari patted his arm, "George, you did great. Take a deep breath. You just went for a spin in the bar and didn't follow anyone. Los Angeles is a free city, don't put too much pressure on yourself."
"Is it useful to keep an eye on them? Captain Lee has a grudge against you, I don't think he can give you any valuable leads."
Pari Jones took out her makeup case and started touching up her makeup as she spoke, "I don't trust him either and never thought I could rely on anyone. I only believe in my own investigation.
Come on, what did Luke do in the bar?"
"He sat at the bar, ordered a drink, then just chatted with the bartender wearing a cowboy hat.
I didn't dare to get close, so I don't know what they talked about."
"Didn't he do anything else?"
"What about the rookie white guy?"
"He also chatted with the bartender at first, then started asking bar patrons about Helson Swiney. I feel like he didn't get much."
Pari put away her makeup case and turned to the photographer, "How does it look?"
"You rest in the car for a while, I'll take care of the rest.
Trust me, the exclusive coverage of the headless woman case will definitely be ours." Pari got out of the car and sashayed into the bar.
The bar had a few more patrons now. Pari scanned the area and directly took a seat next to the bar.
The cowboy bartender glanced at her, "What would you like to drink, miss?"
The cowboy bartender crisply poured a beer and placed it in front of Pari, "Here's your beer."
"Thank you, cowboy. I like your hat." Pari took a sip from her glass.
The cowboy bartender smiled, "I appreciate your taste. Is this your first time here?"
"I know every single customer here, and I couldn't possibly forget a young lady coming in."
"Wow, with so many people here every day, I don't believe you know everyone." Pari tilted her head, showing an expression that said she thought he was bragging."Then don't believe it."
"Why do you cave so quickly? I thought you were a tough guy."
"I indeed am, but I don't want to play the 'OK, let's try this' game again."
"What does that mean?"
"Nothing." The cowboy bartender shrugged and poured another drink for a different patron.
Pari pieced together in her mind what probably happened. The bartender had bragged in front of Luke, and Luke took the opportunity to ask him to recognize a picture of Helson Swiney, after which the bartender was left flustered.
That's typical LAPD behavior.
But it also made her envious.
"Cowboy, can you do me a favor?"
Pari took out her phone and showed a picture of Luke, "Do you recognize him?"
The cowboy bartender looked at the photo and his expression turned wary, "What do you do?"
The cowboy spread his hands, "Oh my god, are you kidding me?
One LAPD just left and now an FBI? God, this is a bar!"
"Don't be nervous, I'm just kidding." Pari Jones flashed her press ID, "This is my real identity."
"Listen, that's not funny."
"Sorry, forgive me this once." Pari started to play the pity card.
"Since you're the first female customer tonight, I'll forgive you."
"Thank you, you're a generous person."
"That's right, everyone says so."
"So, Mr. Generous Cowboy, can you tell me a little secret?"
The cowboy bartender looked around, pretending to be mysterious, "15cm."
"Don't look at me like that, endurance is what really matters," said the cowboy bartender, swinging his hips.
Pari rolled her eyes, "That's not what I'm asking."
"I don't care, that's what I want to say."
After a moment of silence, Pari took a sip of her beer, "Do you want to earn some extra cash?"
"No, I'm quite satisfied with my current job and don't have much need for money."
Pari took out a hundred US dollars from her bag, "Answer a few questions for me, and this one hundred dollars is yours."
The cowboy bartender looked at the hundred dollars, seemingly tempted, "It's that simple?"
"Yes, just by having a chat you could earn a hundred dollars. That's a lot more lucrative than selling drinks."
The cowboy bartender took a deep breath, "What do you want to ask?"
"What did that LAPD tell you just now?"
"Uh... not much, just some small talk."
Pari was not satisfied with the answer, "After you talked, did he give you money?"
"No, I would be thankful if that stingy guy paid for his drinks."
"That's the point, talking to me can get you money. So don't brush me off, on Franklin's face."