"If you hear anything, let me know, all right?" He didn't think she could possibly guess his interest was both personal and urgent, but he added, just in case, "Someone ought to do something about it." If she asked why he cared so much, which she probably wouldn't, he could simply tell her, or remind her, that he'd been trained as a detective, a small truth to part with in exchange for keeping the larger one concealed.

The problem would be getting people to come forward. Mello wasn't unaware of the irony of wanting all the details of what had been done to others while still being deeply reluctant to spill the story of his own experience. He'd worry about that when and if he had to.