angling

'I'm looking for someone," the man said leaning across the counter.
"Aren't we all" was the reply.
He wondered if this was the kind of place where the truth would be the best bait for knowledge. He fished a small photo from his jacket pocket. "Ever seen him?"
He waited.
"Can't say that I have. Can't say that I haven't. Who's asking?"
He flashed the business card in his wallet.
"We have a procedure here, you can leave your name and number. Can't say that anything will come of it."
The man nodded. "Much obliged."
Now the word was out.