Case of the "bed and breakfast"

Subject: 50 year female, 5'5, 150lbs, brown hair

Injury: Right wrist and knee. She is claiming 100% disabled. She worked as an county employee walking from the parking lot to her office when she slipped and fell on the wet sidewalk. She had surgery on her wrist and knee and was released back to work one year later. She claims she's in too much pain to walk and can't type, unemployable. Insurance company wants to settle the claim, they need to be completely sure she's still injured as she claims. Settlement is $300,000.00.

Day 1
6:00 am, I arrived at the subjects residence, somewhere in the Bay Area. Residence is set on a hill overlooking the San Francisco Bay, upper middle class neighborhood. Residence is a two story single family dwelling, brown with dark brown trim. Garage is located to the left with the front door just right of the garage. There were no vehicles parked in the driveway or parked on the street. Curtains are closed and no lights were on, no activity to report.

6:10 am I called local PD to my whereabouts.

7:00 am I was parked directly across the street where I observed some strange activity. Many times neighbors entertain me as I watch there activity. I observed neighbor 1, front door opened, male and female observed at the door. Female kissed male and female exited in her vehicle. Neighbor 2, front door opened moments later, male and female were observed standing in the doorway. Male kissed female and male entered his vehicle and drove off. How what happen next? Female of neighbor 2 walked over to neighbor 1 front door and entered residence without knocking. Neighbor 1&2 are observed in the doorway kissing, door closes. This could have been a case in its self.

10:00 am No activity at the subjects residence. I prepared for a door knock by putting on a disguise. I approached the front door and knocked, there was no answer. I walked around by the garage when subjects neighbor to her left came outside to ask what I was doing. I told him I represent a insurance company, do you know if ***** was at home. He said no, they are hardly ever home now since they opened up a bed and breakfast. I asked him where it was located, he said ******, up in the gold country. I thanked him and entered my vehicle and drove off. I have been sitting on a empty house, but a solid clue as to where to find the subject.

I arrived at my residence and called information to bed and breakfasts in ******, CA. I obtained a list of around thirty places. One by one I call the list until I found the subject. I said, is this **** *********. She said it is, I said, I would like to book two nights/three days at your bed and breakfast in two weeks. Room was booked, now the hardest part was about to happen, convincing Terri, my wife to go with me to place the subject under surveillance. I mean how would it look if I went by myself! Terri said she would, only because we were staying at a bed and breakfast and that it was up in gold country.

Now this case was booked before completing the case of "follow that boat" was over. I drove from that case to this one, which meant Terri would have to drive there by herself.

Day 2
I left Bass Lake around 1:00 pm, and arrived at the subjects bed and breakfast around 4:30 pm. I was late, I told Terri I would meet her there around 4:00 pm. I entered the bed and breakfast and observed Terri talking with the subject, I thought great, what were they talking about. Terri told me that she would be freaked out if she had to have a conversation with her knowing that I was putting her under surveillance.

The bed and breakfast is a three story old Victorian style home that was converted. There were six rooms, with three shared full bathrooms. The living room and den were shared rooms that the guests shared. There are stairs leading up to the front door, and stairs down to the back yard. The back yard has a flower garden and a large tree.

I entered the bed and breakfast, I observed the subject sitting in a chair with her right knee in a brace, raised up and resting on a Ottoman. She said hello, just having a nice conversation with your lovely wife, I thought great. She told me all about her bed and breakfast, how long she had it, living in the Bay Area, and the difference living here in gold country. She told me breakfast will be served in the garden at 8:00 am, lunch and dinner are on you. She got up out of the chair with difficulty. I asked about her knee with her brace, she said she fell last week and injured her knee again. There were crutches next to her chair, she picked them up and used them as she walked. She took us to our room, which was on the main floor, I though rats, I needed her to walk up the two flights of stairs inside the residence. She said I will wash your sheets and make your bed around 10:00 am. She excused herself as other guests were about to arrive.

My job is to observe her movements of her right wrist and knee. Several issues I have already about her injury as to how she can operate this business with stairs entering and exiting both entrances. The stairs inside, and serving the guests breakfast in the garden area. There are six steep stairs going down into the back yard without hand rails.

The rest of the evening I observed the subject walk around the house without the use of her crutches. She appeared to use her right wrist without any difficulty.

8:00 pm Subject retired for the evening. Discontinued surveillance.

That night sores were forming on my neck and face. I think I was bitten by a bug at Bass Lake.

Day 3
6:00 am Surveillance starts

7:00 am I walked outside to the backyard area. I observed the structure of the steps leading into the backyard, they were solid. There was a large twelve foot across round table with benches that we were going to have breakfast on. Ten feet to the right was a bench with direct view of the door leading down to the backyard. The subject will be walking down these steps as she brings food to the table, unless it is buffet style which would suck for me, means no video of subject walking down these steep steps. I placed a large duffel bag on the bench and placed my video camera inside the bag with just the lens exposed. Just before 8:00 am I will start recording and let the camera record the entire breakfast meal, I am hoping for the best.

7:45 am I walk over to my camera and start recording video.

7:55 am Ten people including myself and Terry were sitting at the table. I glanced over at my bag to make sure nothing was in the way of the lens.

8:03 am Subject opens the backyard door and walks down the stairs with a large round tray with food. I am yelling inside my head, YES, gotcha. The subject moved in a normal manner without any restrictions, and wearing no knee brace or any wrist supports as she carried this large tray down the steps and into the backyard.

Over the next fifteen minutes, the subject walked up and down the steps carrying trays of food.

8:18 am Subject walked down the steps and sat down at the table, facing the camera with full view of the camera as video was recording her movements of her right wrist as she ate.

9:00 am Breakfast was over and the subject removed the plates, glasses, and empty containers of food back into the house.

9:14 am Subject cleaned the table and walked into the house and out of view from the camera.

9:16 am I entered the backyard and picked up my duffel bag and walked into the house and into my room. An hour and a half of video was taken of the subject as she served and ate breakfast.

9:50 am I placed the duffel bag on a stuffed chair that was inside our room. I placed the video camera inside the duffel bag and started recording and left the room. Hopefully it will record the subject changing the sheets, with the movements of her right wrist.

Walked downtown with Terri and shopped the local stores, a total tourist trap.

11:55 am I arrived back inside my room and stopped the recording. I viewed the video and was surprisingly happy with the results. Showed subject moving her right wrist, bending at the waist with pressure on her right knee. So far this day, the subject performed the duties of running a bed and breakfast without the use of any form of a brace.

Two hours of video was taken of the subject. Discontinue surveillance for the day. Time to be a tourist and have some fun.

7:30 pm I arrived back at the bed and breakfast and observed the subject in the back den sitting at a desk. She was observed without any braces, and the crutches she was using yesterday were not seen.

Discontinued surveillance.

Day 4
6:00 am Surveillance starts

I performed the same activities with my video camera as yesterday. Video taping the subject serve breakfast and changing my sheets on my bed. A total of three hours of video was taken of the subject run and operate a bed and Breakfast, but most important, doing this without the use of any braces.

9:40 am I observed the subject in the den and engaged her in conversation. I asked her what she had planed for the day. She said she had a medical appointment in the Bay Area regarding an old injury at 3:00pm.

Check out was 11:00 am

9:55 am, The bug bites were getting serious so I went to a local medical center. I have staff infections on my neck and face. They were at this point oozing liquid from the sores. I had around twelve in total, and I looked a mess, people were staring at me as if I were a leper.

10:45 am I checked out and set up surveillance and Terri drove home.

11:30 am Subject exited the bed and breakfast and entered her vehicle without any braces, but she placed the crutches inside of her vehicle.

2:30 pm Subject drove to a medical office somewhere in the Bay Area. Subject opened the door and pulled out her crutches and used them as she walked very slowly. She walked as if she was in pain. She also wore a right wrist brace.

3:45 pm Subject exited the medical office with the use of her crutches, she moved very slowly as she entered her vehicle, subject drove off.

4:15 pm Subject drove to her Bay Area residence. Subject opened her door and exited her vehicle without the use of any crutches or braces of any kind. She walked in a normal manner without restrictions.

Video was being taken from the moment she exited her bed and breakfast until she drove to her residence in the Bay Area.

5:00 pm Discontinued surveillance.

The attorney was very happy with my investigation on this case, he said good job. Let me tell you, that means more to me than anything else.


Trail
This case went to court and I was called to testify against the subject. I entered the court and observed the subject with crutches and wearing a wrist brace. The subject nor her attorney knew about me and the video I had. When the subject saw me walking into court carrying a TV and my video camera in my hand, she RAN, I mean she RAN over to her attorney and had a conference, leaving her crutches behind at the bench she was sitting on, oops she forgot something!!!

Our attorney said I could go home, you scared the crap out of her. As I was walking out of court, I walked past her and she said, tell Terri I said hello. She was a nice lady, last time I will ever get close to anyone I am investigating.

The case never went to trail. The subject received no money and had to pay back thousands of dollars.

Case solved