The Service I Didn't Know I Needed to Build and why 15 minutes with the right person can change everything.

When I left federal service and started Irregular Investigations, I built the business around the work I knew best: complex investigations for law firms, corporate clients, high-stakes personal cases. The kind of cases that take weeks, involve surveillance, witness interviews, deep background research — and carry a price tag that reflects the effort.

That's still the core of what we do. But somewhere along the way, a different kind of conversation kept finding me.

Someone would reach out — through the website, through social media, through a mutual connection — and they'd have a question. Not necessarily a case. Just a question.

Can a PI legally do this? How would I even start looking for this person? Is what I'm seeing actually suspicious or am I overthinking it? Should I hire someone or can I handle this myself?

These people weren't always in a position to hire an investigator. Some were. Most weren't. But every one of them needed something specific: access to someone who actually knew the answers.

I kept having those conversations for free, informally, because I found them genuinely useful. Not just for the person asking — for me. These conversations kept me close to the problems real people were actually dealing with. Not the abstracted, legal-brief version of an investigation. The raw, uncertain, I don't know what to do version.

Eventually, I decided to build it into a formal service. I called it Ask the Detective.

What Ask the Detective Actually Is

It's a 15-minute private consultation, conducted online, for $30.

You bring the question. I bring 15 years of investigative experience — FBI Special Agent, Naval Intelligence Officer, licensed private investigator — and I give you a real answer.

Not a sales pitch for a larger engagement. Not a vague "it depends." A real answer, specific to your situation, based on what I actually know.

The questions I field run the full range of human difficulty:

I think my spouse is hiding assets before our divorce.

What would an investigation actually show, and is it worth it?

Someone has been following me.

I don't know if I'm paranoid or right. How do I find out?

I need to locate someone I've lost contact with.

Is that something a PI can do, and how does it work?

My business partner is behaving strangely.

What would a background check actually reveal at this point?

I think I'm being catfished. How do I verify who I'm actually talking to?

My elderly parent is being financially manipulated. What are my options?

Some of these questions end the call with a clear path forward to a full investigation. Some of them end with me telling someone what they can do themselves, for free, right now. A few have ended with me gently telling someone that what they're worried about probably isn't what they think it is — and watching the relief land in real time.

All of them are worth having.

Why $30?

Because access to expertise shouldn't require a $250 commitment before you know if you even need an investigator.

The consultation fee is low on purpose. It covers my time and keeps the conversation serious — people who pay $30 for 15 minutes of a former FBI agent's attention show up having thought through their question. That makes the conversation more useful for both of us.

What it isn't is a loss leader. I'm not using Ask the Detective to funnel everyone into an investigation. Some calls end with me recommending a full case. Many don't. I'm comfortable with both outcomes because the thing I'm offering — real expertise, clearly communicated, in a short window of time — has genuine value on its own.

If you end the call knowing exactly what to do next, whether that's hiring me or not, the $30 did its job.

What Happens in the Call

You book online. You get a confirmation with the meeting link. At the scheduled time, we connect.

I'll ask you to walk me through the situation briefly — what you know, what you suspect, what you're trying to figure out. Then I ask the questions I need answered to give you useful guidance.

The questions I ask are the same questions I'd ask if I were building a full case. What's the actual objective? What evidence do you already have? What would change if you knew the answer? Those questions exist because the answers to them determine what kind of investigation — if any — actually makes sense.

Then I tell you what I think. Clearly, specifically, without jargon. If an investigation is warranted, I explain what it would look like and what it would realistically cost. If it's not, I tell you that too, and I tell you what I'd do in your position.

Fifteen minutes is enough time to do that. Sometimes it's more than enough.

The Calls I Remember

I'm not going to tell you about specific clients — confidentiality is the foundation of this work and it doesn't have exceptions. But I'll tell you about the shape of the calls that have stayed with me.

The woman who spent the first five minutes apologizing for "wasting my time" with something that "probably wasn't a big deal" — and then described a situation that was, in fact, a very big deal. She needed someone to take it seriously before she could take it seriously herself. The call cost her $30. What came after it changed the trajectory of a genuinely dangerous situation.

The man who was certain his business partner was stealing from him, had built an entire narrative around it, and needed someone to tell him honestly that the evidence he had didn't support the conclusion he'd drawn. Hard conversation. Necessary one. It saved him the cost of an investigation and, more importantly, a business relationship that turned out to be salvageable.

The parent who didn't know how to frame what they were worried about — couldn't quite articulate it — and in the process of the call, figured out what they were actually afraid of. Sometimes the value of 15 minutes isn't the answer. It's the clarity.

These are the calls I find myself thinking about. Not because they were the most complex investigations I've been involved in — they weren't. Because they were the moments where access to the right kind of thinking, at the right moment, made a material difference in someone's situation.

That's what I built Ask the Detective to do.

Who This Is For

If you're dealing with any of the following, this call is worth your time:

Relationship and family situations — suspected infidelity, hidden assets, a custody dispute where you're not sure what's actually happening, a family member in a situation you can't fully see.

Personal safety concerns — stalking, harassment, someone who knows more about your movements than they should, a situation that doesn't feel right but that you can't fully define yet.

Fraud and financial concerns — a business partner who's behaving strangely, an investment that doesn't add up, someone who may be misrepresenting who they are.

Legal and litigation support — you're involved in a civil matter and need to understand what a PI can actually provide, how evidence is gathered, what would be admissible.

General investigative questions — you've been watching the same situation unfold for weeks and you just need someone with a different set of eyes on it.

If you're not sure whether your situation qualifies, that uncertainty is exactly what the call is for.

A Note on What This Isn't

Ask the Detective is not a therapy session, a legal consultation, or a replacement for calling the police if you're in immediate danger. I'm an investigator, not a counselor or an attorney.

What I am is someone who has spent years in environments where the cost of being wrong about a situation was genuinely high — and who learned, in those environments, how to read a situation accurately and quickly. That's the skill I'm offering. Nothing more, nothing less.

How to Book

The booking link is on the services page. You'll select a time, pay $30, and receive a confirmation with the meeting link. No forms to fill out in advance, no lengthy intake process. Come to the call ready to describe your situation, and I'll take it from there.

If you've been sitting on a question you don't know who else to ask — this is the call.

Tucker Witt is the founder of Irregular Investigations, a former FBI Special Agent, and a former Naval Intelligence Officer. He works with individuals, families, and law firms across Texas and nationally. Ask the Detective consultations are available online.