Ao chuckled. “Have you seen that movie?”
“A long time ago, on late-night TV. I didn’t watch the whole thing.”
“Kind of a silly movie, wasn’t it?”
Tsukuru gave a neutral smile.
“Three years ago I was invited, as the top salesman in Japan, to attend a conference in Las Vegas for U.S. Lexus dealers. More of a reward for my performance than a real conference. After meetings in the morning, it was gambling and drinking the rest of the day. ‘Viva Las Vegas!’ was like the city’s theme song—you heard it everywhere you went. When I hit it big at roulette, too, it was playing in the background. Since then that song’s been my lucky charm.”
“Makes sense.”
“And the song’s been surprisingly helpful in my business. Older customers are happy when we’re talking and they hear that ringtone. You’re still so young, they ask, so why do you like that old song? Kind of an icebreaker, I guess. ‘Viva Las Vegas!’ isn’t one of Elvis’s legendary songs, of course. There are songs that are a lot more famous. But there’s something about it—something unexpected that gets people to open up. They can’t help but smile. I don’t know why, but there it is. Have you ever been to Las Vegas?”
“No, never been,” Tsukuru said. “I’ve never been abroad, even once. But I’m thinking of going to Finland some time soon.”
Ao looked taken aback. As he walked along, he kept his eyes fixed on Tsukuru.
“Yeah, that might be nice. If I could, I’d like to go, too. I haven’t spoken with Kuro since her wedding. Maybe I shouldn’t be saying this, but I used to like her.” Ao turned to face forward and took a few steps. “But I’ve got one and a half kids now, and a busy job. A mortgage and a dog I have to walk every day. I can’t see myself getting away to Finland. But if you see Kuro, tell her hello from me.”
“I will,” Tsukuru said. “Before I do that, though, I’m thinking of going to see Aka.”
“Ah,” Ao said. An ambiguous look came over his face. His facial muscles twitched in an odd way. “I haven’t seen him lately.”
“How come?”
“Do you know what kind of work he’s doing now?”
“Sort of,” Tsukuru replied.
“I guess I shouldn’t be going into it here. I don’t want to bias you before you see him. All I can say is that I’m not too fond of what he’s doing. Which is partly why I don’t see him very often. Unfortunately.”
Tsukuru was silent, keeping pace with Ao’s long strides.
“It’s not like I have doubts about him as a person. I have doubts about what he does. There’s a difference.” Ao sounded like he was convincing himself. “Maybe ‘doubts’ is the wrong word. I just don’t feel—comfortable with his way of thinking. Anyway, he’s become pretty famous in this town. He’s been on TV, in newspapers and magazines, as a real wheeler-dealer entrepreneur. He was featured in a women’s magazine as one of the ‘Most Successful Bachelors in Their Thirties.’ ”
“ ‘Most Successful Bachelors’?” Tsukuru said.
“I never saw that coming,” Ao said. “I would never have imagined him appearing in a women’s magazine.”
“Tell me—how did Shiro die?” Tsukuru said, changing the subject.
Ao came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the street. He stood stock-still, like a statue. The people walking behind him nearly crashed into him. He stared straight at Tsukuru.
“Hold on a second. You honestly don’t know how she died?”
“How should I? Until last week I didn’t even know she was dead. Nobody told me.”
“Don’t you ever read the newspaper?”
“Sure, but I didn’t see anything about it. I don’t know what happened, but I’m guessing the Tokyo papers didn’t give it much coverage.”
“Your family didn’t know anything?”
Tsukuru shook his head.