Interesting. Mello returned his own book to the shelf, sliding it into its appointed place. This was the third time he'd spoken with L within the institute, and once again, he cross-referenced the tone with the one he'd heard as a young adolescent, when L had told him of the BB case. L did not seem to be broken--not as badly as Near had implied, at any rate--but it was too soon to tell. Even the deeply damaged, like B, were capable of hiding their faults behind a facade of mere eccentricity. If it were at all possible to determine the depth of a crack in someone as complex as L, it could only be done by comparing him to a similar specimen. One such specimen had already declared him broken. The second was about to verify or reject that claim.

At first, Mello had blamed his uneasiness on the fact that he was in a library after so many recent revelations about fictionality, and once he'd dismissed that, he blamed it on the visitor session. It took a few seconds for the vague disorientation to reveal itself for what it was: deja vu. He'd been in this situation hundreds of times, but never in this role. Mello wondered if L knew he was being tested.

"Which book?" The method of experimentation wasn't hard to deduce: a dog-eared page, for instance, or a piece of paper slipped between the pages. Supplies were replaced every night, but Mello hadn't thought to see if modifications survived. It could be useful, especially in the more well-stocked rooms, and with enough subtlety there was a chance it could give an advantage at night as well. Of course, that was dependent on the results.

He waited to be led to whatever book L had used for his experiment.