WORKING IN LAW enforcement wasn’t an easy gig. The hours are long, the job thankless, and public opinion swayed policy. From the brass to the politicians, the scrutiny was daunting. And the same criminals kept cycling through the system. The elusiveness of justice and fairness slipped through the cracks. And there wasn’t enough putty to fill all the holes. As a private investigator, those were some things I could avoid. I set my own hours, didn’t have to contend with bureaucracy, and my methods were just that—my methods.
I wasn’t a stranger to law enforcement and as a criminal profiler of serial crimes my consulting services were renowned across the globe. My short-term, once or twice per year contracts with police departments kept my profiling and policing knowledge up-to-date.
Like any enforcement profession dealing with criminals, the challenges were significant. Those challenges naturally go with the territory. But as a vampire, at times it was hard to manage. But after all these years, I made it work to my advantage.
The bureaucracy and the scrutiny were some of the reasons I quit working as a detective in the police force and became a private investigator. The time I served was time well spent. I learned what I needed to become a good detective.
As good as I was, the case I now had, the one plaguing my thoughts, blurred as I stared at the images on the wall—a missing person and dead reporter. So far, what I’ve uncovered led nowhere. Jennifer Schultz was still missing. And Keith Daniel, well, a week later still dead.