What It's Like to Hire a PI

 By Catherine Dilts

This summer, I hired a Private Investigator. The experience had little in common with what I’ve seen in movies or read in novels. This being a rather mundane missing person’s case, there were no late night stake-outs and absolutely no gun play.

Me, being the customer, didn’t fit the classic mold of a glamorous redhead puffing on an opera-length cigarette holder with gloved fingers. I was wearing baggy sweats when I contacted the PI via email, and my mousey hair was pulled back into a messy bun with a cheap plastic clip.

Nope, no glamour. Just my family needing to locate a person none of us had heard from in years. My father passed away in March. His second wife preceded him in death by several years. In his will, Dad left a bequest to his estranged step-son. Before my brother, the executor of the estate, could finish the legal paperwork, we needed to find our step-brother. Let’s call him “James.”

Step One: DIY investigation. We began with my brother requesting a paralegal in his law office attempt to track down James. That quickly reached a dead end. My brother decided since I write mysteries, I could find our step-brother. So I tried. I started by contacting James’ aunt. She hadn’t heard from him in a couple years.

I was very concerned about throwing out a “you’ve inherited money” message to potential strangers. Aren’t we warned constantly to beware the dangers of the internet and social media? In fact, this may be why my brother’s and my efforts failed. Would you open an email or respond to a social media message promising you an unexpected, if modest, reward? What if the wrong person answered? Would I end up with creepy stalkers demanding money from me?

Step Two: Hiring a PI. I told my brother I was uncomfortable with the idea of contacting sketchy potential strangers, and my efforts to connect with who I thought was the real James went unanswered. But I did know a Private Investigator from my mystery writing group. Anxious to close the estate, my brother gave me the go-ahead.

Enter Steve Pease, aka author Michael Chandos, our own Type M for Murder contributor, and an honest-to-goodness licensed PI. He quoted me a retainer price my brother approved. We hoped the case wouldn’t become too lengthy or complicated. 

My first lesson in hiring a PI was that the more info you already have, the less time it will take to track down the missing person. Less time = less money. I did mention the bequest was modest? My family didn’t want to spend our entire inheritance trying to find James. “Oh great, we found you. But we spent what all of us would have inherited on locating you. Oops. Our bad.”

Thankfully, we had some info. His last known couple of addresses and phone numbers. His mother’s sisters’ contact info. What we didn’t have was James’s social security number or employer. We were reasonably certain he was in Colorado. If he was still alive. Or maybe (sorry James) in prison.

The hunt began.