Today it is my privilege to interview the famous Minneapolis private investigator, Justinia Wright. I’m sitting in the equally famous oxblood oversize wingback in her office, where many have sat before me in much less happy circumstances.
cwh: Miss Wright, thank you for agreeing to this interview.
JW: You are very welcome.
cwh: To begin, how long have you been a private investigator?
JW: Eight years.
cwh: And before that you worked for the CIA, is that correct?
JW: Yes. I worked seven years for The Company.
cwh: What made you leave and decide to become a PI?
JW: I can’t give you specifics. Let’s just say I didn't see eye to eye with my boss and what he was asking me to do. As for becoming a PI, I didn’t do that right away. I opened an art gallery and sold art with a partner for two years.
cwh: Where was that?
JW: In San Francisco. When that didn’t work out, I moved to Minneapolis and got my private investigator’s license.
cwh: Why Minneapolis?
JW: The Twin Cities aren't an overly large metro area, yet are large enough. There is a wonderful mix of cultures and the area offers many opportunities for musical and artistic expression.
cwh: So why become a PI?
JW: From my time in the CIA, I knew how to get information and perform surveillance. In a sense, it was going back to what I knew without all the bureaucracy.
cwh: How is being a spy similar to being a private investigator?
JW: As I mentioned, gathering intelligence and conducting surveillance. Where it differs, is that I have to do my own analysis.
cwh: To date, what has been your most difficult case?
JW: [She rests her chin on steepled fingers for a few moments before answering.] I’d be inclined to say the case Harry has called Festival of Death.
cwh: Harry’s your brother and assistant, right?
JW: Yes, that is correct. He and Bea, his wife, keep the office and household running efficiently. [She pauses.] Although the case he is currently writing up, about the poor murdered minister, was quite puzzling. So either of those.
cwh: Do you investigate yourself or do you have a support team?
JW: A team. The best team. I don’t know where I’d be without David Nagasawa, Gwen Poisson, and Ed Hafner. Or Harry. I do a little field work. Mostly, though, I work as a handler, so to speak, and analyze the information I receive.
cwh: Do you find being a woman to help or hinder you?
JW: I don’t find being a woman to help or hinder. There are many more women in the business now than ever before. What matters is if you get results. And I get results.
cwh: Do you work often with law enforcement?
JW: Yes, I do.
cwh: How would you describe your experience?
JW: Overall, I’d say positive. I’m frequently called in to assist on difficult homicide cases, something I like very much. They especially like getting results and I, of course, get results.
cwh: Do you have a liaison?
JW: Yes, Lieutenant Cal Swenson of Homicide.
cwh: Now, Harry has given us a certain picture of your relationship with Cal. Is that picture accurate?
JW: Cal and I are friends and I think I’ll leave it at that.
cwh: What motivates you as an investigator?
JW: My sense of justice and fairness.
cwh: I understand you can be difficult to work with sometimes. Do you care to comment on that?
JW: [A big smile appears on her face.] Depends on how you define “difficult”. Do I expect competency? Yes. If that is being difficult… [She shrugs.]
cwh: Competency, yes. But what about your interactions with your clients and Lieutenant Swenson? As your brother portrays those interactions, well, it just seems—
JW: That I’m difficult? Well, that’s Harry. He does tend to get a bit melodramatic in my opinion. Sometimes, clients don’t know what they know or what they think they know can impede an investigation. My job is to cut through the crap, so to speak, so I can help them.
cwh: And Cal?
JW: The police are a bureaucracy. Sometimes Cal is a bureaucrat against my better judgement. All in all, I don’t think I’m any more difficult to work with than anyone else.
cwh: You’re an amateur painter and pianist. Any thoughts about going professional?
JW: No. Not really. But I do like painting and performing, so who knows?
cwh: I see our time is up. Thank you very much, Miss Wright for giving us this opportunity to give your fans a bit more information about you.
JW: My pleasure.
You can see Justinia Wright in action in Festival of Death and Trio in Death-Sharp Minor, available on Amazon and soon in other fine online retail establishments.
