In a waterfront hotel in Tampa, a Miami businessman sits gulping $14 martinis in a dim corner of the lobby bar. A young woman with dark hair and a red dress enters. The businessman approaches her, tries to shake her hand, then accepts an awkward hug. They return to the corner of the bar and chat for about ten minutes before he drains his cocktail, straightens his Tommy Bahama shirt over his gut, and exits with the woman to his room. She is a recently married USF student moonlighting as a $250-an-hour escort and the man is married, or so I'm told by the two men showing me video of the encounter on a smartphone.
Alan Payton and Tim Scheuermann look like the kind of nondescript guys you’d barely notice drinking at the table next to you or driving in the car behind you. Their job depends on them being forgettable. They are private investigators for the Investigative Support Group (ISG), and every year around Valentine’s Day business booms.
"If they have a mistress, they’re going to see her around Valentine’s Day," Payton says. "Maybe a couple days before or a few days after, but it's going to happen."
Which makes V-Day high season for marital espionage.
