Free Dance Dance Dance by Haruki Murakami Page B

the buyers agreed to."
    "But c'mon, why?"
    "It's not such a bad name. 'Dolphin Hotel' sounds fair enough, as names go."
    "Well, I guess," I said.
    "What's more, this hotel was supposed to be the flagship for a whole new chain of hotels that A enterprises was planning. Luxury hotels, not their usual top-of-the-middle class. And they didn't have a name for it yet."
    "Voila! The Dolphin Hotel Chain."
    "Right. A chain to rival the Hiltons and Hyatts of the world."
    "The Dolphin Hotel Chain," I tried it out one more time. A heritage passed on, a dream unfurled. "So then what hap-pened to the old Dolphin owner?"
    "Who knows?"
    I took another sip of my beer and scratched my ear with the tip of my pen.
    "When he left they gave him a good chunk of money, so he could be doing almost anything. But there's no way to trace him. He was a bit player, just passing through."
    "I suppose."
    "And that's about it," said my ex-partner. "That's all I could find out. Nothing more. Will that do you?"
    "Thanks. You've been loads of help," I said.
    He cleared his throat.
    "You out some dough?" I asked.
    "Nah," he said. "I'll buy the guy dinner, then take him to a club in Ginza, pay his carfare home. That's not a lot, so forget about it. I can write it off as expenses anyway. Every-thing's deductible. Hell, my accountant tells me all the time to spend more. So don't worry about it. If you ever feel like going to a Ginza club, let me know. It'll be on me. Seeing as you've never been to any of those places."
    "And what's the attraction of a Ginza club?"
    "Booze, girls," he said. "Kind words from my tax accountant."
    "Why don't you go with him?"
    "I did, not so long ago," he said, sounding absolutely bored.
    We said our good-byes and hung up.
    I started to think about my ex-partner. He was the same age as me, and already he was getting a paunch. All kinds of prescription drugs in his desk. Actually concerned about who won elections. Worried about his kids' education. He was always fighting with his wife, but basically he was a real family man. He had his weaknesses to be sure, he was known to drink too much, but he was a hardworking, straightforward kind of guy. In every sense of the word.
    We'd teamed up right after college and gotten on pretty well. It was a small translation business, and it gradually expanded in scale. We weren't exactly the closest of friends, but we made a fine enough partnership. We saw each other every day like that, but we never fought once. He was quiet and well-mannered, and I myself wasn't the arguing type. We had our differences, but managed to keep working together out of mutual respect. But when something unfore-seen came up, we split up, perhaps at the best time too. He got started again, kept up both ends of the business, maybe better than when we were together, honestly. That is, if his client list is anything to go on. The company got bigger, he got a whole new crew. Even psychologically, he seemed a lot more secure.
    More likely I was the one with problems. And I probably exerted a not-so-healthy influence over him. Which helps to explain why he was able to find his way after I left. Fawning and flattering to get the best out of his people, cracking stupid jokes with the woman who keeps the books, dutifully taking clients out to Ginza clubs no matter how dull he found it. He might have been too nervous to do that if I were still around. He was always aware of how I saw him, worried about what I would think. That was the kind of guy he was. Though, to tell the truth, I didn't pay a lot of attention to what he was doing next to me.
    Good he's his own man now. In every way.
    That is, by my leaving, he wasn't afraid to act his age, and he came into his own.
    So where did that leave me?
    At nine o'clock the phone rang. I wasn't expecting a call —nobody besides my ex-partner knew I was here—so at first the sound of the phone ringing didn't register. After four rings I picked up the receiver.
    "You were watching me in the