The Honeytrappers
Cheating spouse? For a price, Butler & Associates will ping 'em and sting 'em.
By Lauren GardArticle Tools
Mary arrives early for her one o'clock, a promising sign since half of Chris Butler's prospective job applicants never show. He ushers the 26-year-old into the room. Everything about her is larger-than-life beautiful. The wide, blush-brushed cheekbones. The pillowy lips. The long, toned legs that carry her to the wooden conference table, where she nervously exchanges greetings with the two attractive older women already seated. They're sympathetic. They were in her shoes not long ago.
The applicant shrugs out of her stylish leather coat and reaches down to smooth the pleated black miniskirt ruffling against her bare thighs. The neckline of her striped top dives through her cleavage. She must be six feet tall in the heels. Mary sits. "Can you tell me why you were looking in the TV and Film section of Craigslist?" Butler asks in a friendly tone.
"I've been working in corporate recruiting for a Fortune 500 company since college," Mary explains. "I quit a week ago today, actually. I've been exploring new options." Butler nods. He's heard all sorts of replies. After describing the basics of the job, he throws a few curveballs.
"Do you drink?"
She purses her lips. "I do," she replies carefully, unsure of the right answer.
"I ask you this because men will be buying you drinks, so it's important for me to know how you handle yourself around alcohol," Butler says. He recounts a tale of near-disastrous on-the-job inebriation.
Mary laughs. "I have a high tolerance," she says.
If she didn't drink, one of the women interjects, that'd be okay, too. They'd work around it.
"How would you handle a guy whose attention you didn't want?" Butler asks. Mary considers this. "I'd make it clear that I'm not interested, probably just through my body language," she says. "I'm a pretty big person, so I'm not easily intimidated."
"Good." Butler bobs his head. "I see that you're married?" A diamond glints on Mary's left ring finger.
"Yes, for two years now."
Had she discussed the job with her husband?
"Yes, and he's fine with it. My husband and I don't have a jealous bone in our bodies," she says.
Butler asks for her résumé. The document is impressive. She'd long worked for the Fortune 500 company, had attended a well-known Midwestern university. "Conversational French," Butler recites. "Are you fluent?" She isn't.
"How about speaking English with a French accent?" Nope.
"I think you're a good fit for us," Butler concludes after a few more questions. Mary beams.
"I think so, too," says one of the women. "I'd want to work with you. That's what's so great about this job — we all work together. Chris and us girls really watch out for one another, support one another."
Butler pulls out a camera and snaps two photos of Mary for the book he shows to clients. After she leaves, he's pumped. Mary had the look, he says, and seemed remarkably bright. His colleagues concur. "That's why I ask them to bring résumés," he explains. "I want to know what they've got in their educational backgrounds. Say they speak a language — well, that's a great twist."
It turns out Butler had asked Mary to dress in nightclub garb. "We want to see what she'd look like on a sting," he explains.
And that's that. Chris Butler, private investigator, has gained another freelance employee. He may never use her as a decoy on a case. Then again, the very next client who requests a sting operation may decide she's the ideal bait to snare her cheating husband.
The perfect honeytrapper.
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I read the whole article about Chris Butler but the 800-lb elephant never addressed was:How much is Butler charging for his services? I'm a private eye who also does domestics and I'm darned curious. It seems so basic that the reporter would ask this. Was it a condition of the article. Chris and his crew seem very well qualified; I just want to know how much folks are shelling out for his service. PS: PIs in California need 6,000 hours of work and must pass an exam to become licensed. Not many people know that. MIke Spencer, CA PI 18828 owner/manager Spencer Investigations www.spencerpi.com oakland, ca
Butler & Associates' are quite open about their fees. They charge $125 an hour for stings, which was mentioned in the story, on page 3 of the online version. ("That's really what the wife is paying $125 an hour for.") Rates for other services are disclosed on Butler & Associates' Web site, uncover-truth.com.
While the article was intriguing (I want to do that job!), I am more interested in how this PI Mr. Spencer could not figure out how much Butler charges. And this is coming from a PI, who is supposed to be able to solve complex cases. Maybe I should be the PI, because here's what I did (Spencer, take note): I called his office and asked!
Um, Dieter. You missed the point. Of course, anyone can call and get the information. My point was that I wanted the article to contain the information--not for me to do unpaid research. The article touched on the price but did not go into much detail. I was looking for more information from the article. So the comment was really a journalistic one.
Lately, my staff has had a large number of calls inquiring about certain aspects of this article. The most common has been about fees (your question was well-founded, Mike). Lauren did an excellent job on the article and it was a pleasure having her around (she's quite a naturally talented, self-taught investigator in her own right), but we did not want to turn the article into an advertisement for services. Infidelity is an extremely traumatic experience that oftentimes causes one's life to come to a complete standstill. Eating, thinking, and temperment are just a few aspects that are drastically affected. I would rather the reader of this piece remember that while we are out chasing the truth, there is still a spouse in a home somewhere feeling sick and dreading my call. For the spouse's sake (and for those contemplating hiring a P.I.), I hope the article shed some light on the inner workings, and speedbumps, of this profession.
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