Writing a Scene Where Your Sleuth Is Conducting a Summer Surveillance? Think About Health Concerns

[Writing PIs]

We just wrapped up one of several surveillances in sizzling summer temperatures--thought we'd share a few thoughts and links with writers whose characters might also be sitting in hot cars while watching their targets.

On a summer day the temperature inside a parked car can exceed 122° (50°C) in just over 10 minutes. Cracking a window or two isn’t sufficient to make a substantial difference. A
PI can’t compensate by drinking liquid because he or she can’t risk having to find
a bathroom and break up the surveillance. But if the PI doesn’t
drink, he’ll become dehydrated. Here’s some tips PIs use for dealing
with this situation:

· Avoid drinking coffee or tea (as they’re diuretics)

· Park in the shade.

· Use a vehicle with tinted windows.

· Carry a cooler with ice & water.

· Wear sunscreen and sunglasses.

If a PI experiences any of the below symptoms, he/she may be suffering from heat exhaustion:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Headache
• Muscle cramps
• Dizziness
• Initial moist skin changing to dry
• Rapid pulse

There are portable coolers PIs sometimes purchase for surveillances during the summer. Here’s some links to such products:

http://www.swampy.net/testmnls.html

http://www.nettrace.com.au/content/nta10002.htm

We've written other articles on conducting surveillances at our blog Guns, Gams, and Gumshoes: http://writingpis.wordpress.com/. Drop by, search for "surveillance" in the search box or look up surveillance topics in the Categories list on the left side of the page.

Have a great week, Writing PIs