Nobody had seen the complete picture.
That was the strange truth.
There had not been a room full of villains planning how to exploit children.
There had been a collection of compromised decisions.
One secret justified because it helped people.
Another silence justified because revealing the first secret might destroy a useful program.
One employee noticing something odd but assuming somebody else would address it.
Another person benefiting because everyone around him had learned not to ask too many questions.
By the time Thomas understood what was happening, trust inside the organization had become so damaged that nobody knew whose records could be believed.
Then he died.
And the questions went into an attic.
Until Julian sold a guitar.
Several months after that first knock at our door, Officer Daniels visited without Officer Cooper.
He was off duty and carrying a cardboard box.
Julian opened the door.
“Am I in trouble?”
