The drink appeared and the bill vanished in the same motion, only to be replaced a few moments later by a stack of bills and change. Harry carefully separated a bill from the stack before pocketing the rest, pushing it forward on the bar as a tip. The bait worked, and the barman materialized again to claim the perk.
“Excuse me, my man,” Harry drawled before the man could retreat again. “I was wonderin’ if maybe you could help me out?”
“Depends on what you need,” the bartender said, his eyes wary, but he didn’t leave.
Moving slowly, Harry withdrew a wristwatch from his pocket and laid it gently on the bar.
“What can you give me on this?”
Shooting a quick glance around the bar, the man picked up the watch and examined it, front and back.
“This came from off station, right?” he said.
“Does it make a difference?”
The bartender looked at him hard.
“Yeah, it does,” he said, and tapped a finger on an inscription on the watch’s back. “I figure you aren’t Captain Anderson or his grateful crew. If you picked it up here on Lorelei, I’m holding trouble in my hand. They come down hard on pickpockets and muggers up here-bad for the tourists.”
Harry held up both hands with the fingers spread like a magician accused of cheating at cards.
“The captain misplaced that beauty before our last stop,” he explained, “and stopped askin’ around about it two days out. By now, he and his ship should be well on their way. If there was a chance he was still lookin’, I wouldn’t be showin’ it around like this.”
The bartender studied the watch again.