Cupid — and gumshoes — working overtime
TORONTO — Adrianne Fekete and the paramour police will be out in full force on Valentine’s Day.
Fekete is the boss lady at Star Quality Private Investigations in Toronto. As she can attest, there’s nothing like all the hearts and flowers of cupid’s special day to bring out cheaters everywhere.
Lovers pull out all the stops on Valentine’s Day — some of them twice.
Someone cheating on a partner often buys romantic gifts in duplicate: two diamond pendants, two cashmere sweaters, two hotel reservations, so many sex toys.
What’s more, assignations don’t stop because of COVID. Valentine’s Day inspires lots of men and women to slip away for a few hours with a lover, risking their own health and that of their spouse and children.
“Do people ever lead interesting lives,” jokes Fekete.
Her private investigation business increases 150 per cent around Feb. 14 each year. But a COVID lockdown has changed the lay of the land, so to speak. People are stuck at home together, nose-deep in each other’s business, bills and behaviour.
“So now business is up 400 per cent.”
It’s the little things. Retailers don’t want to take cash right during COVID, so even savvy cheaters are forced to use a credit card.
That leaves a paper trail …
“Spouses see a bill for this negligee, this hotel, this jewelry, whatever. It’s sending our business skyrocketing.”
A woman will see an expensive purchase on her husband’s credit card.
“But then Valentine’s Day came and went, and she didn’t get that tennis bracelet. That’s when they call me.”
Shopping for a lover has forced some to learn how to shop online out of nookie necessity, said Fekete.
“But curbside pickup? I can’t tell you how many we’ve caught being somewhere they shouldn’t be.”
There are always tell-tale signs, said Fekete.
Fekete has a sure-fire list of things to watch for if you think your partner is cheating, but first and foremost: the obsessive care and guidance of a cell phone is a huge red flag.
“Is their phone passwordprotected? Unless they’re a secret agent, why would they freak out if you ask to use their phone? Do they ever leave the phone and walk away, or is it always with them? These are all tell-tale signs, because the phone is their connection to their other life.”
Other things to watch for include new attention to appearance, a change in your sex life, a sudden change in habits, stretches where your partner is unreachable, unexplained or hidden credit card statements, lying and other attitude changes.
These can be signs of sexual infidelity, shopping/gambling/sex addiction, or substance abuse. (Or signs that someone is planning your surprise birthday party — sometimes it is all benign.)
As Fekete says, by the time people hire a private investigator, they already know what’s going on.
She sees amazing things in a day’s work.
Some clients are married men who want their mistresses surveilled.
“They tell me, ‘I’m going to leave my wife to marry this girl, but I think she’s cheating on me.’”
Women clients sometimes put the truth on hold.
“I’ve had women tell me, for example, their daughter is getting married in July and they don’t want that to get messed up, so I should hang onto the information and give it all to them after the wedding. ‘I can’t look at it now,’ they say. We all walk around with blinders on.”
COVID is taking the blinders off for many people, she said.
She doesn’t judge. Fekete and her couple dozen investigators offer empathy and support to clients, knowing the person’s world is at risk of falling apart.
One of the few women agency owners, Fekete brings intuition and compassion to the job and says she sees herself as a healer, not just a private investigator.
“People come to us in their darkest moments, and with information they can’t share with anyone else. That’s a big responsibility. And what we’re after is a gift, the gift of the truth.”