The Detective heads to the Pawn Shop

Daniel decided that it was better to head to the pawn shop first. After all, he knew where the kid lived, and could return when he needed to.

He drove to the shop which, to his annoyance, was all the way on the other side of the city. Thankfully, he had that weird map and it was able to show him the route to take so he wasn't lost. Eventually, he reached the shop and parked Jim's old sports car directly in front of the store.

"Hidden Treasures," Daniel muttered as he read the sign over the place. "Friend, you don't know the half of it." He then got out of the car and entered the shop.

Inside he found a large collection of items. Most were probably junk, but a few seemed interesting. The detective's sharp eyes caught sight of a rare wooden pull toy from the 1940's on display. The price on it said five dollars.

"Hello, can I help you?" asked the old man behind the counter.

"Maybe," Daniel started. He pointed to the toy and said, "Did you know that's a 1944 Holsten Toy Craft?"

"Is it?"

"Yes," Daniel told him. "It's worth at least $400."

"No shit?" The old man looked baffled. He then laughed. "Well, I know for sure you ain't here to buy that toy then."

Daniel chuckled as well. "No, sir. I am not."

"Well then, how can I help you?" The old man moved over to the shelf that held the pull toy and took it back with him to the counter. "You a collector or something?"

"Something," Daniel stated as he flashed his badge. "Detective Daniel Sihn, Miami Metro."

"Oh shit, what did that fool kid do now?" The old man asked.

"Excuse me?"

"James, my assistant. Did he pull another stupid prank on somebody? Or did he sell something that was stolen?" The old man sighed and rubbed at his head. "He's a good boy, he really is. He's just got no direction, you know?"

"Sir, I'm not here about your assistant. I'm here because of James Hunter." The detective placed Hunter's driver's license onto the table, along with the wedding and baby photo. "I was told by Mrs. Hunter that you called her about her husband's old briefcase and other effects that were in your possession."

"Hunter? Oh yeah, I remember her." The old man smirked. "Hard to forget a pretty lady like that. But yeah, I called her about her husband, well, dead husband's stuff. A bum came in here with the briefcase. I found the guy's info in his wallet, which was in the case, and I called the lady up. She said she didn't want the stuff, but I payed her fifty bucks for it. All legit, I got the paperwork. What's this about anyway?"

"These were found in the scene of a crime and I'm just following up on it," Daniel told him. It wasn't entirely true, but he doubted the old man would believe the full truth. He pushed the three items on the counter towards the clerk.

"Hey, I remember these," the man said as he looked over the license and photos. "They were in the briefcase! But I couldn't sell a bunch of the stuff that was in it, so I threw them out. These three I tossed."

"I see," Daniel frowned. Well, that explained how Jewel managed to get his hands on Hunter's things. "Do you happen to remember what else you threw away?"

The old man thought for a bit. "Um, well, there was an expired condom. An old airplane ticket. Some keys. Some prescriptions ****. Sorry, officer, I don't really recall everything I tossed."

"Detective," Daniel corrected him. So far his description of the items he threw away matched some of the things Jewel had on him. "What about the briefcase, and the other things inside? Do you still have them? And did you make a list of what was inside?"

"Oh, sure." The old man walked over to the corner of the shop, right where some old luggage items were stored. He looked around for a second before reaching into a shelf and pulling out a battered looking aluminum briefcase. "Here we go!" The clerk brought it over to the counter and placed it on its side, popping it open. "Afraid the lock's busted, probably by the bum who sold it to me. But it's still in pretty good shape considering it's been in the ocean for so long."

Daniel examined it, feeling along the interior lining as well as the hard exterior, trying to find something, anything out of the ordinary. Unfortunately, like the paperclip, rubber band, map, and plane ticket, the briefcase looked completely and utterly ordinary.

"Do you have the other items that were inside it?" Daniel asked.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, but I sold a lot of it off, to customers, you see. I'm really sorry, I had no idea they'd be important or anything." The old man wiped at his brow, looking for all the world like he was going to pass out. "I mean it, I like cops, you know. I got a lot o' friends in the department. If I knew this was integral to your investigation, I would've kept most of it! I swear!"

"Sir, please, calm down," Daniel stated, closing the briefcase. "You are not in any trouble. I just need to find those items, and quick."

"I know, I know. I just feel bad, ya know? Like I said, I like cops, you guys do great work. And with that shit that happened on 22nd street, Jesus!"

Daniel felt his guts turn cold upon mention of the incident two days ago. In his mind he saw flashes from that day, of Jewel and his raving insanity, of the good policemen who lost their lives, of Jim. Although he felt like he was going to be sick, the detective managed to push the nausea down. "About those items..."

"Oh, right! Sure!" The old man began to look through his logs, until he found the entry with Hunter's briefcase. "Here it is. Yep, got a list here of all the stuff inside the case along with who I sold 'em to."

"Does that include their addresses?"

"Of course!" The man sounded offended. "I always take down their address, just in case we sell something stolen by accident."

"Excellent. Could I have a copy of that?"

The old man nodded, then went off to copy his records as well as collect the items taken from the briefcase that hadn't been sold. It took about twenty minutes, but eventually the clerk managed to gather all the items that were still in his shop.

"Are these all of them?" Daniel asked, looking down at the various collection of ordinary objects on the counter. Along with the briefcase, there was a deck of cards, swiss army knives, some tools, an inscribed wallet, a polaroid camera, a walkman, a compass, a keychain, and some batteries.

"Yep, aside from the stuff I sold." The old man said.

"I'm afraid I'm going to need to take these for evidence," Daniel stated. Another lie, but it was for the good of the public.

"Sure, take 'em. You helped me out with that $400 toy over there, so I made more than I lost. Hah. I just hope it helps," the old man told him. "Seriously, I wish I coulda done more."

"It's fine, sir. You were very helpful."

The clerk smiled, then held out his hand. "Name's John, by the way. If you need any more help, just come on by."

"Will do, sir," Daniel returned the smile as he shook hands with the old man.

They put all the items into the briefcase and shut it tight. Despite the broken lock, the case's lid held firm. The detective bid the old clerk goodbye and he exited the shop with his bounty.

Despite the fact that Daniel was collecting these strange items for the common good, he had to admit that a small but growing part of him was also excited. Excited at the prospect of finding out just what all these items could do. If a paperclip could control metal, or a rubber band make you invulnerable, or an old map show you the location you wished to find, then what other powers could these new items give him? Daniel could only imagine the possibilities. And the opportunities.

"Hidden treasures indeed," the detective muttered to himself as he headed towards the car.