Editing Character:Ernie Pitt (section)

== Character Description ==

''&quot;This isn't where I planned to be at 43, I can tell you that.  For starters, my mother wanted me to be a lawyer; I tried for a few years, but that didn't work out and now look at me.  Sure, I own the business &mdash; &quot;E. Pitt, Private Investigator&quot; on the door and windows.  But up until about a week ago it was &quot;Pitt & Willoughby&quot;. Then <strong>she</strong> came in.''

''&quot;Said her name was Mather, Mary Mather.  Claimed to be from an old New England family &mdash; may have been related to old Cotton himself, for all I knew or cared at the time &mdash; and she certainly had the cash to back it up.  Said she'd been robbed recently of some book.  She knew who'd taken it, and could we get it back.''

''&quot;Archie asked her why she hadn't gone to the police.  She said didn't want to get them involved.  Sometimes money makes people like that, but I don't argue &mdash; as long as they don't ask me to do anything illegal, then I'm more than happy to take the cash.''

''&quot;With the stack of bills she shoved under our nose, something was fishy, and then she wouldn't tell us the name of the book.  Said the man that we were to meet with would know what we were talking about.  Had I been smart, I would have asked more questions but Archie jumped in and said he'd take care of it.''

''&quot;He was supposed to meet the man that night around 9.  Name of Archer, or something.  Around 3 in the morning I got a call from a friend of mine down at the station: could I come 'round and identify someone for them.  Sure enough, it was Archie.  But whatever had killed him hadn't done it normally.  He was covered in bite marks, and it damn near looked like someone or some<strong>thing</strong> had eaten parts of him.''

''&quot;Well, I never saw Ms. Mather after that, but that's not going to stop me.  As someone else said: when a man's partner is killed you're expected to do something about it.  Whoever did that to Archie, ass though he was, better make sure he's caught up on his prayers, because what ever's up, I intend to puzzle it out.&quot;''