Read Online After Dark by Haruki Murakami - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Haruki Murakami
Tags: Fiction
Ads: Link
room photos, settling first on one, then another, and finally choosing room 302. They push the button, take the key, and after wandering in search of the elevator, they get on.
Kaoru: “So these’re the guests in room three-oh-two.”
Komugi: “Three-oh-two, huh? They
look
innocent enough, but they went
wild
in there. You shoulda
seen
the place after they were through with it.”
Korogi: “So what? They’re young. They pay to come to a place like this so they
can
go wild.”
Komugi: “Well,
I’m
still young, but you don’t see
me
goin’ wild.”
Korogi: “That’s ’cause you’re not horny enough.”
Komugi: “Think so? I wonder…”
Kaoru: “Hey, here comes number four-oh-four. Shut up and watch.”
A man appears on the screen. The time is 10:52.
He wears a light gray trench coat, is in his late thirties, maybe close to forty. He has on a tie and dress shoes like a typical company man. Small wire-frame glasses. He is not carrying anything; his hands are shoved deep into the pockets of his trench coat. Everything about him is ordinary—height, build, hairstyle. If you passed him on the street, he would leave no impression.
“Looks like a totally ordinary guy,” says Komugi.
“The ordinary-looking ones are the most dangerous,” says Kaoru, rubbing her chin. “They carry around a shit-load of stress.”
The man glances at his watch and, without hesitation, takes the key to 404. He strides swiftly toward the elevator, disappearing from the monitor.
Kaoru pauses the image and asks the girls, “So what does this tell us?”
“Looks like a guy from some company,” says Komugi.
Kaoru shakes her head, looking at Komugi with apparent disgust. “I don’t need
you
to tell me that a guy in a business suit and tie at this time of day has got to be a company guy on his way home from work.”
“Sorrreeee,” says Komugi.
Korogi offers her opinion: “I’d say he’s done this kind of thing a lot. Knows his way around. No hesitation.”
“Right on,” says Kaoru. “Grabs the key right away and heads straight for the elevator. No wasted motion. No looking around.”
Komugi: “You mean this ain’t his first time here?”
Korogi: “One of our regular customers, in other words.”
Kaoru: “Probably. And he’s probably bought his women the same way before, too.”
Komugi: “Some guys like to specialize in Chinese women.”
Kaoru: “
Lots
of guys. So think about it: he’s an office worker and he’s been here a few times. There’s a good possibility he works in a company around here.”
Komugi: “Hey, you’re right…”
Korogi: “And he works the night shift a lot?”
Kaoru scowls at Korogi. “What gives you that idea? He puts in a day’s work, stops off for a beer, starts feelin’ good, gets hungry for a woman. That could happen.”
Korogi: “Yeah, but this guy wasn’t carrying anything. Left his stuff in the office. He’d be carrying something if he was going home—a briefcase or a manila envelope or something. None of these company guys commute empty-handed. Which means this guy was going back to the office for more work. That’s what I think.”
Komugi: “So he works all night?”
Korogi: “There’s a bunch of people like that. They stay at the office and work till morning. Especially computer-software guys. They start messing around with the system after everybody else goes home and there’s nobody around. They can’t shut the system down while everybody’s working, so they stay till two or three in the morning and take a taxi home. The company pays for the cabs with vouchers.”
Komugi: “Hey, come to think of it, the guy really
looks
like a computer geek. But how come you know so much, Korogi?”
Korogi: “Well, I wasn’t always doing this stuff. I used to work at a company. A pretty good one, too.”
Komugi: “Seriously?”
Korogi: “Of course I worked seriously. That’s what you have to do at a company.”
Komugi: “So why did you—”
Kaoru
Kaoru: “So these’re the guests in room three-oh-two.”
Komugi: “Three-oh-two, huh? They
look
innocent enough, but they went
wild
in there. You shoulda
seen
the place after they were through with it.”
Korogi: “So what? They’re young. They pay to come to a place like this so they
can
go wild.”
Komugi: “Well,
I’m
still young, but you don’t see
me
goin’ wild.”
Korogi: “That’s ’cause you’re not horny enough.”
Komugi: “Think so? I wonder…”
Kaoru: “Hey, here comes number four-oh-four. Shut up and watch.”
A man appears on the screen. The time is 10:52.
He wears a light gray trench coat, is in his late thirties, maybe close to forty. He has on a tie and dress shoes like a typical company man. Small wire-frame glasses. He is not carrying anything; his hands are shoved deep into the pockets of his trench coat. Everything about him is ordinary—height, build, hairstyle. If you passed him on the street, he would leave no impression.
“Looks like a totally ordinary guy,” says Komugi.
“The ordinary-looking ones are the most dangerous,” says Kaoru, rubbing her chin. “They carry around a shit-load of stress.”
The man glances at his watch and, without hesitation, takes the key to 404. He strides swiftly toward the elevator, disappearing from the monitor.
Kaoru pauses the image and asks the girls, “So what does this tell us?”
“Looks like a guy from some company,” says Komugi.
Kaoru shakes her head, looking at Komugi with apparent disgust. “I don’t need
you
to tell me that a guy in a business suit and tie at this time of day has got to be a company guy on his way home from work.”
“Sorrreeee,” says Komugi.
Korogi offers her opinion: “I’d say he’s done this kind of thing a lot. Knows his way around. No hesitation.”
“Right on,” says Kaoru. “Grabs the key right away and heads straight for the elevator. No wasted motion. No looking around.”
Komugi: “You mean this ain’t his first time here?”
Korogi: “One of our regular customers, in other words.”
Kaoru: “Probably. And he’s probably bought his women the same way before, too.”
Komugi: “Some guys like to specialize in Chinese women.”
Kaoru: “
Lots
of guys. So think about it: he’s an office worker and he’s been here a few times. There’s a good possibility he works in a company around here.”
Komugi: “Hey, you’re right…”
Korogi: “And he works the night shift a lot?”
Kaoru scowls at Korogi. “What gives you that idea? He puts in a day’s work, stops off for a beer, starts feelin’ good, gets hungry for a woman. That could happen.”
Korogi: “Yeah, but this guy wasn’t carrying anything. Left his stuff in the office. He’d be carrying something if he was going home—a briefcase or a manila envelope or something. None of these company guys commute empty-handed. Which means this guy was going back to the office for more work. That’s what I think.”
Komugi: “So he works all night?”
Korogi: “There’s a bunch of people like that. They stay at the office and work till morning. Especially computer-software guys. They start messing around with the system after everybody else goes home and there’s nobody around. They can’t shut the system down while everybody’s working, so they stay till two or three in the morning and take a taxi home. The company pays for the cabs with vouchers.”
Komugi: “Hey, come to think of it, the guy really
looks
like a computer geek. But how come you know so much, Korogi?”
Korogi: “Well, I wasn’t always doing this stuff. I used to work at a company. A pretty good one, too.”
Komugi: “Seriously?”
Korogi: “Of course I worked seriously. That’s what you have to do at a company.”
Komugi: “So why did you—”
Kaoru
Similar Books
