poker face

so i've learned this new skill fostering. i call it my poker face and it gets me a LOT of useful information. the thing is-every kid has about 7 people that work them through the system. so. what i do is...when someone hints at a development in the case, i hold onto that bit of information and when i see the next person i say "so how's _______ coming along? any developments?" and then when they begin i say "oh, ya." or "right." well, i'm really meaning "oh ya?" "right?" but i just don't use the questioning tone at the end. it gets me TONS of information. well today i got a call and again it started out with a bit more information than i had before so i said "oh yes...mhmmm" and then the beans are SPILLED out in front of me. so i found out today that they are trying to reduce sweet pea's visits because of the way things are developing.
i've also learned how to read between the lines VERY well. it's very useful. so when i'm given information and then later i say it back to myself but i emphasize different PARTS of the information i'm able to decode quite a bit more. like when you say "HOW are you?" "how ARE you?" and "how are YOU?" all three are the same question right, but the MEANING behind each question is very different from the next and you can glean all KINDS of information. boy, i'm getting smart in my old age.