Something I enjoy about this story is how different the side characters are from each other. Murakami writes that the detective interviews an adult woman, an adult man, an old man, and a little girl. Their conversations with the detective are not very personal or impassioned, and they often don't even give him much new information about the missing husband. Instead, they may make small talk about their lives, or answer shortly and politely the way a stranger would. All the same, Murakami includes small details about the way they speak, their appearances, their mannerisms, and so on which characterize each person rather vividly.
For example, the woman with the sharp heels is annoyed when the detective clarifies that Merrill Lynch is an investment firm: "What other Merrill Lynch is there? her tone implied."
The adult man who is running seems busy--too busy to learn the names of the people he says "hi" to in the building, and too busy to speak to the detective for very long.
The old man rambles, bringing up Descartes unprompted when he is asked about the husband.
The little girl does not feel that asking the detective whether he is a predator is inappropriate, but she is eager to help him when she learns he is looking for something.
Unspoken details in their behavior that refer to certain social conventions make it possible to imagine the walks of life behind these characters. The woman is wealthy and cares about social perceptions, she is embarrassed her husband is missing and socializes with people who would not need to ask about Merrill Lynch. The runner may be a white collar professional like the missing husband. The old man is less connected to the material present concerns than the adults are and talks about human nature. The little girl may be from a wealthy family similar to the runner and the woman, as she is going to a ballet lesson.
In The Long Goodbye, conversations with side characters were often memorable in themselves. They might be very beautiful women, or men with facial scars, or a tough guy who was going to threaten or punch the main character. Although the conversations in "Where I'm Likely To Find It" are less intense, they are memorable in a different way.
-Yelin Yao
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