“We’re losing $30k a month” the restaurant owner said to Kit over a flat white at the café round the corner. “Our cost of sales is so high, and I think I know what’s happening”.
Kit took some notes as the owner outlined his suspicions. The restaurant seemed to be buying a lot more meat than it should have for the amount of meals it served. It all seemed to be used up, or at least there was none left in the freezer at the end of each month.
All Kit Bradley stories are adapted from real P.I. cases, to show you the many ways a private investigator can help. Some details have been changed to protect privacy.
The staff member responsible for purchasing the meat had been there for 15 years. There wasn’t a problem to start with, but it slowly got worse. And for the last few months things had been really bad.
Getting as much information as he good, Kit developed a plan. Often the first part of any case is doing surveillance. Watching people to see what they’re doing. Kit would set up surveillance on the restaurant on an evening when the staff member in question would be working late.
After the restaurant closed for the night, all the other staff members left. It was just the subject inside. ‘So far so good’ thought Kit as he sat in his vehicle some distance away, watching through his powerful zoom camera.
It didn’t take long for the back door of the restaurant to open, and the subject to walk out carrying three bags. Not so much walk out as stagger out. They must have weighed at least 15kg each. One in each hand and one on his back.
After struggling across the road the man quickly put down the bags and pulled out his phone. Moments later a taxi drove up to pick up the man and his heavy load. Kit had already started his car and pulled in behind them, keeping his distance.
Just as Kit was settling in for rush hour traffic, which always makes following someone incredibly difficult, the taxi pulled into the carpark of a nearby train station. It was just around the corner from the restaurant. Those bags must be heavy.
Racing to find a carpark, Kit managed to watch as the man got out, picked up his bags and walked to the platform. Heart pounding, Kit ran from his car to the platform, hoping the man hadn’t already boarded a train and left. He slowed to a stroll just before he rounded the corner, and managed to blend in among some other commuters.
Kit saw the man sitting on a bench seat. Carrying the bags had clearly tired him out. Plenty of time for Kit to get some more photos and video before a train rolled up. The man boarded and Kit followed, a couple of doors down on the train.
The train went all the way to its last stop before the man got off. After a short walk, there was another man waiting for him. He helped him with the bags and they continued walking. Kit managed to get close enough to overhear them talking about how much meat was in the bags, how much they could sell it for, and what else they could get from the restaurant. Talk about a confession!
The next day Kit went back with his partner to confront the man with the evidence. The man wasn’t upset at being caught. In fact he was almost relieved! This is more common than what you’d think. Some people get so tired of keeping secrets that they welcome the day they can confess and move on.
It turns out the bag of stolen goods wasn’t the only thing weighing him down.
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