The Team

So, Claire has informed me that due to OSHA regulations I'm not actually allowed to give out any information about my employees without having them sign an assload of paperwork. Seeing as I've already given out my name (Jordan Drake, tall, dark, and handsome, that's me) and Claire has already filed the paperwork for herself, I see no reason as to why I can't list the rest of the team off, but I suppose rules are rules and I'd prefer not to have to go back and remove this post later on when I'm brought up on negligence charges. So I'll change the names to protect the guilty.

Jordan Drake-40s/African-American/Single

What better place to start than right here? Like I said I'm tall, dark, and handsome. Ok I know what you're thinking, and you're right I am exaggerating slightly. Alright fine no sense beating about the bush, I'm not tall. Like most of the rest of the team I like to think I have a good sense of humor, hopefully for your sake I hope it comes out better than the above joke. I've got a pretty good work ethic. I've been doing PI work since '97 so I've also had quite a bit of practice at it, mind you I haven't spent this whole time in New Orleans, but for the moment I can't think of any place better.

Claire Walters-late 20s (but really early 30s)/(she claims) Haitian(but she's white)/Divorced

I've known Claire for over five years now, and to be honest I'm fairly certain that there hasn't been a day go by since we've started working together, that I'm not grateful to have met her. She married her high school sweetheart and they decided together to enroll in the police academy. Of course after they both graduated he was put on a fast track for promotion and she was set aside by sexist bosses. Needless to say this ruined their marriage and eventually her views of the force in general. We started working together four years ago just as I had gotten my first physical office space for the business. Claire is by far the most dedicate partner I've ever had and it'd be a sad day if this firm were to lose her.

Andrew Stevens (it's not Stevens but it kind suits him)- 20s/white/single

Drew is our resident computer tech he goes to college, though I've never bothered trying to ascertain which one. I can only hope he's using his paychecks to either pay for his schooling or that he's saving up to buy himself a whole new wardrobe. Ok, that's not nice but it's hard to make him seem credible when he's on a student-related COINTELPRO mission and he refuses to take off his WoW t-shirt. Different generation I guess, anyway he's the best damn computer man we could find and the fact that he's willing to help us for the amount of cash we give him is good enough for me.

Jack O'Meoff (writer's block, I'll come up with something better)-40s/Irish/married

Jack, though perhaps not as dedicated as Claire, is the best snoop in our firm. He likes to claim he's got connections with the Irish mob. Whether that's true or not I don't know but he's damn good at finding out things when we need it. I want to say he's lived here all his life, but I'm not certain about that. In any case he knows this city like the back of his hand.

So that's the basic intro to our crack team of PIs, I'm sure you'll all get to know them better soon.

The Pitch

I've always been wary of 'the pitch', the line your clients try to feed you when you open the door to them. There's always the tension of putting your trust in complete strangers. Yeah, I took the classes and I got my PI license so I'm not an outright criminal, but who's to say I'm not going to screw my clients over in other more subtle ways. I wound never intentionally hose a client (unless they deserved it), but regardless, the same thoughts flow through my clients heads you can see it in their eyes and you can even read it in the new ones' faces; the raised eyebrows when they first walk into my office, the skeptical looks that carry on even after they look at the photos. The photos are a slight misdirection; pictures of myself standing beside celebrities, political officials, even a few world leaders. I should of course be more honest about the origins of these photos but I consider it to be part of my pitch, it helps to convince the customer that they're in the right place.
Of course the tacky props I use only work some of the time. They work on the 'missing cat people' or the 'stolen rims clients' however, they typically don't work on the potential clients with actual interesting problems. They often require other offerings. For example, body language and basic use of psychology have always proved to be helpful when trying to snag important clients. I like to say that if people actually paid more attention to 'Posture Pals' then we'd be sunk as a business. Sitting up straight and listening to the client's story is often the key to just getting them to open up to you. Sometimes I wonder if should have actually pursued a degree in Psychology, but I've got a doctor pal who seems convinced I'd make a shitty therapist.
In the end for the sake of the firm it doesn't matter how interesting the case is (trust me I've survived whole weeks on ramen and 'missing dog' jobs), but i promise only to write about the interesting ones I come across. And I guess on that note I should get around to actually explaining what I'm writing this for. Claire my partner/secretary/boss/mother has been nagging me to do this for quite some time. She's convinced that it'll help business pick up, I'm skeptical, but I guess it can't hurt to get the word out by new technological means. I'm also bored, we haven't had any new cases yet this week. No lost lover or missing valentines, no lost rings, hell, not even a damn pet. So boredom and the fact I kind of want to flex my writing muscles have me semi-sold on this idea. I guess if we don't get anything interesting this week I'll go back through my files and pick out a good story for you.