'I smell the sea.'
Hoshino went to the window, opened it, went out on the narrow veranda, and breathed in deeply. No sea smells that he could detect. Off in the distance, white summer clouds floated above a pine forest. 'I don't smell anything,' he said.
Nakata came over beside him and started sniffing, his nose twitching like a squirrel. 'I can. The sea's right over there.' He pointed to the forest.
'You have quite a nose there,' Hoshino said. 'I have a touch of a sinus problem myself, so I'm always a bit stuffed up.'
'Mr. Hoshino, why don't we walk over to the ocean?'
Hoshino thought about it. How could a little walk on the beach hurt anything? 'Okay, let's go.'
'Nakata has to take a dump first, if it's all right.'
'Take your time, we're in no rush.'
While Nakata was in the toilet Hoshino walked around the apartment, checking it out. Like the Colonel said, there was pretty much everything they needed. Shaving cream in the bathroom, a couple of new toothbrushes, Q- tips, Band-Aids, nail clippers. All the basics. Even an iron and ironing board. Very considerate of him, Hoshino thought, though I imagine his secretary did all the work. They haven't forgotten a thing.
He opened the closet and found fresh underwear and clothes. No aloha shirts, unfortunately, just some ordinary striped shirts and polo shirts, brand-new Tommy Hilfigers. 'And here I was thinking Colonel Sanders was pretty quick on the uptake,' Hoshino complained to no one in particular. 'He should've figured out I only wear aloha shirts. If he went to all this trouble, he at least could've bought me one.' He noticed the shirt he had on was getting a bit rank, so took it off and pulled on a polo shirt. It was a perfect fit.
They walked through the pines, up over a breakwater, and down to the beach. The Inland Sea was calm. They sat down side by side on the sand, not speaking for a long time, watching the waves rise up like sheets being fluffed into the air and then, with a faint sound, break apart. Several small islands were visible offshore. Neither of them had been to the sea very often in their lives, and they feasted their eyes on the scene.
'Mr. Hoshino?' Nakata said, breaking the silence.
'What is it?'
'The sea is a really nice thing, isn't it?'
'Yeah, it is. Makes you feel calm.'
'Why is that?'
'Probably 'cause it's so big, with nothing on it,' Hoshino said, pointing. 'You wouldn't feel so calm if there was a 7-Eleven over there, or a Seiyu department store, would you? Or a pachinko place over there, or a Yoshikawa pawnshop? But as far as the eye can see there's nothing-which is pretty darn nice.'
'I suppose you're right,' Nakata said, giving it some thought. 'Mr. Hoshino?'
'What's up?'
'I have a question about something else.'
'Shoot.'
'What's at the bottom of the sea?'
'There's like another world down there, all kinds of fish, shellfish, seaweed, and stuff. You've never been to an aquarium?'
'No, I've never been. The place where Nakata lived for a long time, Matsumoto, didn't have one of those.'
'No, I don't imagine it would,' Hoshino said. 'A town like that off in the hills-I guess a mushroom museum or something would be about all you could expect. Anyhow, there's all kinds of stuff at the bottom of the sea. The animals are different than us-they take oxygen from the water and don't need air to breathe. There're some beautiful things down there, some delicious things, plus some dangerous things. And things that'd totally creep you out. If you've never seen it, it's hard to explain, but it's completely different than what we're used to. Way down at the bottom it's totally dark and there are some of the grossest creatures you've ever seen. What do you say when all this blows over we check out an aquarium? They're kind of fun, and I haven't been to one in a long time. I'm sure there's one around here.'
'Yes, I'd love to go to a place like that.'
'There's something I wanted to ask you.'
'Yes?'
'The other day we lifted up that stone and opened the entrance, right?'
'Yes, you and I opened up the entrance. After that Nakata fell sound asleep.'
'What I want to know is-did something take place because the entrance opened up?'
Nakata gave a nod. 'Yes. It did.'
'But you still don't know what that is.'
Nakata gave a decisive shake of his head. 'No, Nakata doesn't know yet.'
'So maybe it's happening someplace else, right this minute?'
'Yes, I think that's true. As you said, it's happening. And I'm waiting for it to finish happening.'
'And once whatever it is finishes taking place, everything will work itself out?'
Another definitive shake of the head. 'That Nakata doesn't know. I'm doing what I'm doing because I must. But I have no idea what will happen because of what I do. I'm not so bright, so it's too hard for me to figure out. I don't know what's going to happen.'
'At any rate, it's gonna take some time, right? For whatever this is to finish up and some conclusion or something to happen?'
'That is correct.'
'And while we're waiting we have to make sure the cops don't grab us. 'Cause there's still stuff that needs doing?'
'Correct. I don't mind visiting the police. I'm ready to do whatever the Governor tells me to do. But now is just not a good time to do that.'
'You know what? If the cops heard your crazy story, they'd just blow it off and make up some convenient confession, something anyone would believe. Like you were robbing the house and you heard somebody, so you grabbed a knife from the kitchen and stabbed him. They don't give a damn what the real facts are, or what's right. Framing somebody just to jack up their arrest rate. They wouldn't bat an eye. Next thing you know, you're thrown in jail or some maximum-security psycho ward. They'd lock you up and throw away the key. You don't have enough money to hire some fancy lawyer, so they'd stick you with some court-appointed bozo who couldn't care less, so it's obvious how it'd end up.'
'I'm afraid I don't understand all-'
'I'm just telling you what cops are like. Believe me, I know,' Hoshino said. 'So I really don't want to take 'em on, okay? Cops and me just don't hit it off.'
'I'm sorry to cause so many problems for you.'
Hoshino sighed deeply. 'As they say, though, 'Take the poison, take the plate.''
'What does that mean?'
'If you're gonna take poison, you might as well eat the plate it came on.'
'But if you eat a plate, you'll die. It's not good for your teeth, either. And it'll hurt your throat.'
'I'd have to agree,' Hoshino said, puzzling over it. 'Yeah-why do you have to eat the plate?'
'I'm not so bright, so I really can't tell you. But aside from the poison, the plate's way too hard.'
'Um. You got that right. I'm starting to get confused myself. I never was one for using my head, either. What I'm trying to say is, I've come this far so I'll stick with you and make sure you escape. I can't believe you did anything bad, and I'm not going to just abandon you here. I've got my honor to consider.'
'Much obliged. Nakata can't thank you enough. I'll presume on you again, though, and ask one more favor.'
'Go for it.'
'We'll need a car.'
'Would a rental car be okay?'
'Nakata doesn't really know what that is, but any kind is fine. Big or small is all right as long as it's a car.'
'No problem. Now you're talking my specialty. I'll go pick one up in a while. So we're gonna be heading out
