She suddenly caught sight of a bar at the nearby roadside with a neon sign shining outside the door, on which wrote its name: Bar 11.
It reminded her of the thing Bella had handed her: 11.
Did they mean the same thing?
The Deputy started the car again as the traffic lights had changed into green. Without much consideration, Arya said to the Deputy, "Drive the car across the road."
The Deputy followed her instruction.
Soon, the car drove on another road. Arya asked the Deputy to park the car when they were about a few meters away from the bar.
Jacob followed her as she opened the door to get out of the car. "Where are you going? I'll go with you."
Arya did not refuse. Actually, she didn't say anything. Jacob followed her into the bar.
It was very quiet with only two or three people sitting in the bar. A young man was sitting on a chair on the round stage in the middle of the bar, who was singing a soft song as he played the guitar in his arms...
Arya sat at the bar. The bartender asked her, "Can I help you, Miss?"
"Anything you recommend will do." Arya was busy looking around the bar, trying to find a clue.
But she couldn't.
The only connection between them was probably the same number.
Arya lowered her head. Was it just a coincidence? Did she think too much?
The bartender served her a shot. He pushed the glass in front of her. "This is our bar's specialty, Lover's Tears."
Arya took a look at the shot. The white liquid was crystal clear without any impurity. Maybe that was the reason why it was called "Tears".
Spinning her glass slowly, Arya asked unintentionally, "Do you have Box 11 here?"
The bartender smiled. "You must be an expert, Miss. Few people know that we have boxes here."
Arya smiled as well, whose eyes darkened. "Well, is Box 11 available now? I'd like to use it if it's okay."
It was just a question without thinking. She hadn't expected that there was indeed such a box here.
"I'm sorry, but that box has been booked for a long time."
Arya realized that she had probably guessed the right answer by mistake. She was sure that the box had something to do with what she was holding.
"Oh, who's booked that? A man or a woman?" Arya asked.
The bartender stared at Arya. "You're not here to drink, are you?"
Jacob grabbed the bartender's hand and handed him some money. "We're here to drink. That's all."
The bartender stared at the two of them for a while. Finally, he bent down, whispering, "Box11 is booked by a man, who comes here and stays in it for a while on the 18th of every month."
Arya turned to Jacob. Jacob said instinctively, "Tomorrow is the 18th."
The bartender stared at Arya. "Who are you?"
Jacob slapped the money on the bar counter. "Just customers."
Now that she had got the answer she wanted, Arya stood up and got ready to leave. Before she left, she stared at the bartender as if she had thought of something. "We did nothing but have a drink here. Do you understand what I mean?"
The bartender nodded. "Don't worry, we're not allowed to talk about what happened in the bar. I won't say anything."
Arya nodded with satisfaction. After they walked out of the bar, Jacob asked, "Do you suspect that this bar has something to do with what you got from Bella?"
Arya looked at him. "It's just a guess now."
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