Besides being "fantastic," it should be noted that Mr. Glanz is highly unusual in the world of private detectives. For despite the image of the private eye as a sardonic, albeit romantic, tough who thwarts armies of evildoers with one arm while embracing a beautiful woman with the other, the work of the nation's estimated 8,1000 private investigators is for the most part humdrum, isn't especially lucrative and has long been known for attracting a goodly number of bunglers.

According to the most recent study of the subject, a Rand Corp. survey commissioned by the Department of Justice, the job of a typical full-time private investigator mainly consists of "credit, insurance and pre-employment background checks on individuals; plainclothes undercover work to detect employee dishonesty and pilferage, or customer anti-shoplifting work in retail stores and other businesses; and insurance investigations." In fact, the study says, "the relative volume of criminal and marital investigations is small and on the decline."

But it is the Gary Glanzes of the world who most excite the public's imagination. And a look at Mr. Glanz's work--half of which, he estimates, involves crime--illustrates that factual counterparts of fictional creations do, if only occasionally, exist and sometimes cause the work of make-believe to pale by comparison.

Take the case of Casa Bonita. The safe at Casa Bonita, a Mexican restaurant in Tulsa, was burglarized, and the owners discovered that $15,000 in cash was missing. Although the police were called when the crime was discovered, the restaurateurs also hired Mr. Glanz because they were uninsured against burglary. His assignment: Get back the cash.