The sound of a pool cue striking a ball greeted him as he entered the Six Nine, and he looked around. A few men sat at the bar, while a man and a woman were in one of the booths, holding hands across the table.
Two men studied the lay of the balls on the pool table at the rear of the bar.
On the TV above the bar, a muted black and white movie played—something he recognized from the 1930s—while music on the jukebox blared, and the song wasn’t something familiar.
The bartender grinned at him and gave him a nod as he approached the bar. “What’ll it be?”
“Let me have a Jack, straight up.”
“You got it.” The bartender reached for the bottle of Jack Daniels and poured a shot. “Do you want to run a tab?”
“Thanks, but no.” As much as he needed this, he didn’t want to go overboard. It was alwa
