I went through a phase when I was younger where I loved to watch old PI movies. There’s something glamorous about the way the profession used to get the Hollywood treatment; it’s danger and sex all wrapped up in the sad, suave face of Humphrey Bogart.
That’s obviously not what it’s really like. Just ask these 14 AskReddit users:
14.Here, kitty kitty…
Someone wanted to know what their cat was up to when they were working. Paid me to tail it. I don’t like wasting my time but the work’s not always busy as a PI. Turns out the cat just walks around the streets, licks itself and climbs trees….
13. Oh, shit!
Been a P.I. For a going on a year now and the strangest case I had was of a woman asking us to find out if her husband was cheating on her. She said there was something off in the house as if feeling something and she wanted to know what it was. So she suspected her husband of cheating.
So I show up and install Nanny Cam’s in her house for the weekend upon her approval and where to place them. She works all weekend and this was the best route. Well 3 days go by and I collect the footage and come to find out the husband was “touching” his 8 year old step daughter. After seeing that I rushed to the court house with a copy of the footage and got a court order for the police to go and get him.
12. …come on, lady
Was hired to follow a woman who claimed she was completely blind (collecting insurance money of course). Spent the day following her around as she DROVE from store to store in a church van.
11. “Over and over and over”
I worked for a PI firm (not as a PI though).
The saddest case we had was a stunning 24-26 year old woman who’s 60ish year old accountant husband was suspected of sleeping with his secretary.
The client hired us to follow him on a night he was ‘working late’.
Sure enough he and the secretary left the office on time and went to a bar together. After a few drinks they retired to her car and we got some footage of them shagging in the back seat (classy!).
We gave the footage and report to the client who promptly burst into tears and paid the $1800 or so invoice.
The saddest part of the story is she came back 4 times. Each time he was caught literally with his pants down. At the secretary’s house, shagging in the car, shagging in the office with the blinds open in the middle of the day – you name it.
After about $15k worth of invoices we actually sat down with her and explained we were going to stop taking her work. It was just cruel to keep taking her money to show her footage of her husband banging his secretary over and over and over.
We never saw her again. I hope she took him for all he was worth.
10. Ew
A couple was divorcing and the wife was sure her husband was sticking random items of hers up his rectum.
He was.