Murder Allegations and Babysitting

The novel makes a big jump in chapter 21. The Narrator is just settling back into his apartment and routine in Tokyo when two police men arrive at his door.

He is questioned about the murder of Mei, a prostitute that he slept with at Gotanda's house. He had given the girl his business card, and it was the only identification found on her. He is questioned by the officers for three days, but denies knowing the woman because he doesn't want to give up Gotanda's name.

This jump seems very illogical at first. For me it is one of the most absurd turns in the book. I know he has met and slept with this woman, but I don't see the connection in her dying. However, the entire novel is about making connections, so one has to read on and see where it comes into play. For me, this death never makes sense to the very end.

The next connection made is with 13-year-old Yuki. He met her at the Dolphin and escorted her back to Tokyo because her mother forgot her. They become good friends, and begin to hang-out a few days a week.

Yuki is a special girl. She is beautiful and possess this talent that allows her to see things in other people. For instance, she knew about the encounter with the Sheep Man.

Yuki's Explanation of her Power:
"A strong thought, but not only that. There was something behind it. Something powerful. Like energy that was creating the thinking. I could just feel that it was out there. They were like vibes that I could see. But not like a dream. Like and empty dream."

Yuki's parents are divorced and they both live a famous artists lifestyle, which means that there is no time for Yuki. She is on her own, and has trouble getting along with others because of her unique personality. She takes a liking to the protagonist, and her dad asks him if he will look after Yuki.

The narrator is a bit non-committal about the entire thing. However, he does like being around Yuki because she is able to connect him with the things he has lost, and he feels sorry for her. She becomes one of the essential elements in connecting all of the dots.

This babysitting job takes him on a trip to Hawaii where he meets Yuki's mother and her one-armed boyfriend, Dick North.

The introduction of these characters seems a bit odd as well. The cast seems impossible to intertwine because they are all so unique and impossible, when the narrator is really an ordinary man in what seems to be a mid-life crisis. He is running all over the globe, has nothing to hold him down, and says that he is just waiting for something to happen. In the mean time he "dances" and attempts to put together the characters.

"All you have to do is wait. Sit tight and wait for the right moment. Not try to change anything by force, just watch the drift of things. Make an effort to cast a fair eye on everything. If you do that, you just naturally know what to do. But everyone is always too busy. They're too talented, their schedules are too full. They're too interested in themselves to think about what's fair."

A couple nights into their Hawaii vacation a prostitute comes to his door in the middle of the night. She says that a man in Japan paid for her, which turns out to be Yuki's father. He turns her down at first, but eventually gives in.

She gives him a card with her phone number, which turns out to make a connection later.

The novel begins to revolves more and more around a high-class prostitution ring. A special club that only superstars and men with money and power can be apart of. After his night with the Hawaii prostitute, June, this is the third woman he has had sex with from this club, and the third to just disappear.

"But how did I get to this spot? It started with me looking for Kiki, except that I didn't know that was her name at the time. I'd retraced my steps to Sapporo, and ever since there's been one weird character after another. And now, look at me, lying in the shade of a coconut palm, tropical drink in hand, listening to Kalapana."