The staring contest lasted for a while. Jack was not sure why the hostility but he was not backing down. 'A bartender's job was to be friendly, for God's sake!' Jack complained within.
The bartender finally broke his silence, "What's your purpose coming into this town?"
"I was planning to buy a drink first before going into this talk, but since you insist, ok," Jack said as he pulled out Aubelard's picture. "Have you seen this man around here?"
The bartender gave the picture a brief glance and answered, "never seen him before."
"Are you sure? You just glanced at it. You probably should take a better look," Jack insisted as he moved the picture closer to the bartender's face.
"Hey! A bartender is used to recognizing people's faces, don't you think? If I said I never see him before, then I never see him before."
"Aw, hell…" Jack said dejectedly and slumped down onto one of the chairs of the bar counter.
