After Dark Read Online Free PDF Page B

bloody. A floor lamp lies where it was knocked down. On the table is a half-empty bottle of beer and one glass. The TV is on and tuned to a comedy show. The audience laughs. Kaoru picks up the remote and switches it off.
    “Looks like he beat the crap out of her,” she says to Mari.
    “The man she was here with?” Mari asks.
    “Uh-huh. Her customer.”
    “Customer? She’s a prostitute?”
    “Yeah, we mostly get pros at this time of night,” Kaoru says. “So sometimes we have problems. Like they fight over the money, or the guy wants some perverted stuff or something.”
    Mari bites her lip and tries to gather her thoughts. “And she only speaks Chinese?”
    “Yeah, she knows like two words of Japanese. I can’t call the cops, though. She’s probably an illegal alien, and I don’t have time to go testify every time something like this comes up.”
    Mari sets her shoulder bag on the table and goes to the crouching woman. She kneels down and speaks to her in Chinese:
    “
Ni zenme le?”
(What happened?)
    The woman may not have heard her. She doesn’t answer. Shoulders quaking, she sobs uncontrollably.
    Kaoru shakes her head. “She’s in some kind of shock. I bet he really hurt her.”
    Mari speaks to the woman again. “
Shi Zhongguoren ma?”
(Are you from China?)
    Still the woman does not answer.
    “
Fangxin ba, wo gen jingcha mei guanxi.”
(Don’t worry, I’m not with the police.)
    Still the woman does not answer.
    “
Ni bei ta da le ma?”
(Did a man beat you up?)
    The woman finally nods. Her long black hair trembles.
    Mari continues speaking, quietly but persistently, to the woman. She asks the same question several times. Kaoru folds her arms and watches their interaction with a worried look. Komugi and Korogi, meanwhile, share the cleanup duties. They gather the bloody paper towels and stuff them in a vinyl trash bag. They strip the bed and put fresh towels in the bathroom. They raise the lamp from the floor and take away the beer bottle and glass. They check replaceable items and clean the bathroom. The two are obviously accustomed to working together. Their movements are smooth and economical.
    Mari goes on kneeling in the corner, speaking to the woman, who seems to have calmed down somewhat at the sound of the familiar language. Haltingly, she explains the situation to Mari in Chinese. Her voice is so faint, Mari has to lean close to her in order to hear. She listens intently, nodding. Now and then she says a phrase or two as if to encourage the woman.
    Kaoru gives Mari’s shoulder a little tap from behind. “Sorry, but we need this room for the next customer. We’re gonna take her to the office downstairs. Come along, okay?”
    “But she’s completely naked! She says he took everything she had on. Shoes, underwear, everything.”
    Kaoru shakes her head. “He stripped her clean so she couldn’t report him right away. What a bastard!”
    Kaoru takes a thin bathrobe from the closet and hands it to Mari. “Just get her to put this on for now.”
    The woman rises weakly to her feet and, looking half-stunned, drops the towel, exposing her nakedness as she puts on the robe, her stance unsteady. Mari quickly averts her gaze. The woman’s body is small but beautiful: well-shaped breasts, smooth skin, a shadowy hint of pubic hair. She is probably the same age as Mari, her build still girlish. Her steps are uncertain. Kaoru puts a supporting arm around her shoulders and leads her from the room. They take a service elevator down, Mari following with her bag. Komugi and Korogi stay behind to clean the room.
     
    T he three women enter the hotel office. Cardboard cartons are piled along the walls. One steel desk and a simple reception area with couch and armchair. On the desk are a computer keyboard and a glowing liquid crystal monitor. On the walls hang a calendar, a framed piece of pop calligraphy by Mitsuo Aida, and an electric clock. There is a portable TV, and on top of a small refrigerator