image courtesy of Ben Lopez
image courtesy of Ben Lopez

What Kind of Investigator Are You?

A long pandemic slowdown prompts a Chicago PI to recast himself in the professional role he was meant for.

The COVID pandemic gave us one of those careful-what-you-wish-for gifts: all that free time we thought we wanted, but … well, not like this. So I did what most of my P.I. colleagues probably did: caught up on things I normally wouldn’t have time for. I worked out more, fine-tuned my business, improved my skills as an investigator, attended online educational seminars, and spent lots of time with my family.

I also started engaging more with investigators on Twitter, listening to P.I. podcasts, and reading about their toughest cases in Pursuit. I was truly impressed with the knowledge my fellow Investigators were so willing to share, and even more impressed with their experience and skill sets.

Those stories and conversations also let me know that I was not alone in my stress about the slowdown. Their humor helped me get through those pandemic years and made me proud to be a P.I.

So when a Pursuit editor asked me if I’d like to write an article, I was honored, but also quite intimidated by the prospect. I wasn’t too sure what I could offer but eventually settled on the idea of sharing a small part of my journey as an Investigator.

Join the Club

It all started with a call from out of the blue. This was during the deepest, darkest time of lockdown, and the lead librarian at the Chicago Public Library was looking for creative ways to reach readers. He was a very personable gentleman, so when he asked me to “Zoom” into a detective fiction book club meeting, I agreed. The idea was to have an actual private investigator read the selected crime novel and join the virtual discussion.

The book, The Bad Kitty Lounge, by Michael Wiley, was set in Chicago, where I’m based. I liked that. But I must admit, I enjoyed the discussion even more than I did the book. The club members were mostly older women, and they asked a few initial questions about the book. But their curiosity quickly turned to my experiences as an investigator and cases I’d worked.

Then someone asked a question that I suspect all of us PIs get from curious people who only know P.I.s from fiction and film:

Have you ever found a “bug” or any other type of surveillance device in someone’s home?

I told them I didn’t do bug sweeps. TSCM (Technical Surveillance Countermeasures) investigations, I said, require special tech skills and gear.

Eyes blinked at me from Zoom boxes. I filled the silence by explaining that there are all different kinds of private investigators, and that some P.I.s focus on very technical or specialized niches.

Then came a question that stopped me in my tracks: “So, what kind of investigator are you?”

I was flummoxed. I had never really thought about this.

Back to the Beginning

I left the Zoom meeting and thought about the book club lady’s question. What type of investigator was I? What was my agency’s mission? As I considered this, my mind raced back to the beginning.

There’s more to my origin story than I can share in this article; let’s just say that I took a very long but interesting road to becoming a licensed private detective. Part of my journey was working for a national investigation agency. It was 1998, and I worked mostly surveillance cases for about a year. My takeaway from that time was that I wanted to be the corporate type, working cases exclusively for large insurance companies, even though I did not find the work all that satisfying.

I think we can all guess how that turned out.

I slowly grasped that I needed more than a paycheck. I needed challenging and fulfilling work. Cases that mattered to me. Autonomy. Purpose. How could I get all those things and still put dinner on the table?

Because eventually, life has a way of saying, ”Hey! You have bills, you big dummy.”

I worked in law enforcement for some years but always kept my side business. And then in 2010, my wife Eva (yes, there is someone patient enough to tolerate me) and I concluded that it was time to turn in the badge and pursue my dream. Those were years of chasing money to make ends meet, unsuccessful marketing, and misdirected energy. The agency was making some profit, but it felt like a game of Whac-A-Mole; I was all over the place, taking cases I really didn’t want, and I was constantly stressed out.

Mission Possible

Luckily, my home has always been full of family. It’s hard to find a weekend when there’s not a family party at the house. To us, Family means family by blood and family by choice. One of those family members-by-choice is a wonderful woman named Giselle whose tireless work, love, and care has reinvigorated a local not-for-profit organization that provides safe spaces, educational programming, and cultural events for inner city youth.

Giselle is like my sister. We solve the world’s problems on many evenings at the kitchen table over tequila and delicious food. She has a strong sense of mission in the community and acts on her beliefs. Giselle has challenged me on a few things over the years, and for that, I owe her much. Inspired by her example, Eva and I gave up on our tired old marketing plan, which wasn’t working anyway, and started sponsoring events to benefit the youth organization instead.

Once we stopped sweating the marketing and just did something that felt meaningful, our business actually increased.

Ben & Eva Lopez at a benefit concert

Soon, our extended family was helping out with these events, and our agency name was out there with some pretty large companies that also sponsored charitable events. I made contacts with some of those companies, and the whole thing just felt good—so it was a win/win. We sponsored Chicago Cruisin’ for St. Jude, a yearly custom car and motorcycle cruise run by Cares for Cancer to benefit St Jude’s Children’s Hospital. (Cares For Cancer is a great local organization run by Tom Sieja, a good man assisted by his beautiful family.) On more than one occasion, we had the opportunity to sponsor charitable events with the legendary band, Los Lobos; we gave concertgoers small notebooks and sunglasses emblazoned with our company logo.

It was funny: Once we stopped sweating the marketing and just did something that felt meaningful, our business actually increased. And I seemed to be getting more and more case types that I had a passion for. Was it good karma? I can’t say for sure, but I was happy that it was happening!

Except for our website, this is the only kind of advertising we spend money on now. It just works for us.

The Role I Was Born to Play

Another call from the blue became the next pivotal point in my journey.

It was Hollywood calling. Literally.

The caller introduced herself as a movie studio assistant and asked if I’d be interested in a consultant position in an upcoming movie to be filmed in Chicago. We set up a lunchtime interview with a producer at a high-end hotel in Chicago’s Greektown.

The night before the meeting, I went into a panic. I was going crazy trying to find just the right suit to wear.

OK, I was really trying to find a suit that still fit. 

My wife is a great cook. Don’t judge.

I then started stressing out over what tie to wear, even though I had long ago sworn off ties. At this point, my partner and secret weapon stepped in to reason with me. “Ben, just be yourself,” Eva said. “Suits are not you.”

These people would either like me for who I am, or it wouldn’t be a good fit anyway, she pointed out. My wife is truly an extraordinary woman. When I take her advice, things generally go well.

I took her advice.

The next morning, I threw on my usual Guayabera shirt, black slacks, and black leather jacket. Next thing I knew, I was sitting at a table with three Oscar winners for writing, producing, and directing, offering street knowledge of Chicago that they valued.

We had a great meeting, and I got the gig.

I am now uncompromising when it comes to what roles I am willing to play: From here on out, I will only ever play myself.

I am now uncompromising when it comes to what roles I am willing to play: From here on out, I will only ever play myself.

This philosophy has served me well so far, in work and in life.

Ben and Eva Lopez

Epilogue

Fast forward to the present: I now mostly conduct civil investigations for a local government, criminal defense work, authenticating death claims for life insurance companies, locating missing persons, and some workers’ compensation investigations. It’s a great mix of cases that I have a passion for. And because I’m not constantly stressed out and chasing the dollar, I have the time and energy to occasionally offer pro bono services and give something back to the community that has been so good to me, my business, and my family. I still have the pressures of due dates, emotional cases, and my arch enemy, report writing. (I can write a report with the best of them. But if I could report results using interpretive dance, I would probably go that route.)

But I am more fulfilled than I have ever been.

So, in response to that question “What kind of Investigator are you?” I can only say this: I am a grateful investigator who finally cast himself in the role of a lifetime: Ben Lopez, as himself.


About the author:

Ben Lopez was born and raised in Chicago. He’s a licensed private detective with over 25 years of investigative experience and is the owner of Verify Investigations.