Notes Concerning Kyle Hyde Introduction, Part 1: Hands-on Investigation

Notes Concerning Kyle Hyde

Introduction

The notes in this envelope consist of extracts from extensive research carried out by the author of the novel, Martin Summer. In these notes, the author endeavors to give his readers a picture of the real Kyle Hyde, the man who inspired this novel. It is hoped that these selected episodes will help readers gain a better understanding of the man behind the protagonist.

Notes Concerning Kyle Hyde

Part 1: Hands-on Investigation

In 1969, a 22 year-old Kyle Hyde joined the NYPD and was assigned to the 89th precinct. Now, the 89th of the late 60s was a rough place. Every single person there was a cop in body and soul, the force was in their blood. It was in the rough, no-nonsense atmosphere that Kyle had the basics of policing drummed into him.

The first case Kyle was put in charge of at the 89th precinct was a murder investigation connected to drug trafficking. Using the attention to detail instilled in him by his superiors, Kyle began his investigation of the crime scene.

I conducted an interview with Kyle's superior at the time, Willy Taylor. He remarked that he had never seen anyone be so meticulous until he met Kyle Hyde.

According to Willy, it was perfectly normal for officers to miss small clues and details on their first case. But Kyle was different.

'Despite being a rookie, Hyde never had the decency to keep his desk clean. He was a mess. But as soon as he hit a crime scene, he did a complete 180. Calm, commanding and meticulous, that was our Officer Hyde.

The man was unflappable, even when confronted with that secret door mechanism. There were two buttons on it, and the combination of presses required to open the door changed every day. Kyle just walked up to the door, cool and collected, and pushed both buttons at the same time. The door opened.

'Then, when he was searching the scene, he found the murder weapon before any of the other cops - hidden inside a sofa. Genius.

'But I didn't congratulate him, didn't commend him, didn't give him nothing. Hyde was the kind of guy who didn't need no ego boost. So I took him aside, showed him the gun he'd found at the scene and gave him a solid grilling for wasting hours searching for the thing when it was in such an obvious place.

'The guy couldn't believe what he was hearing. I told him, always search the crime scene with a fine-tooth comb. There is always a clue there, always. And once you have that clue, you're sailing. Don't do it half-assed, don't give it to the rookies. Do it yourself, hands-on."

If Kyle's experiences at the 89th taught him anything, it was that. Even after taking his leave of the police force and starting to find things for Ed, he lived by that principle. When I contacted his colleague, Rachel, to ask about his work ethic, she had the following to say:

'Kyle would never leave a job half-done. The guy would just keep trucking until the bitter end.'

I knew, of course, that she was referring not to his sales strategy, but to his less well-publicized job.

Rachel corroborated Willy's story about Kyle's meticulous nature. To support it, she told me about a time when he'd been asked by a woman in his apartment to find a piece of lost jewelry. He'd turned the apartment upside-down until he found it.

'But,' Rachel told me with a small sigh, 'he was never any good at tracking down a woman's heart.'

While I was conducting this research, I happened upon another worthwhile piece of information. It concerns a tragic event in Ed's past that might well have set him on the path towards setting up his side business.

Ed Vincent left the LAPD in 1972. The same year his girlfriend Catherine was killed. The murderer was a man whom Ed had sent to jail for theft. Upon finishing his sentence, the man discovered where Ed lived and bluffed his way in. Ed returned home later to find Catherine dead. The murderer was later caught and is still in jail today.

According to a colleague of Ed's, Tony Caraway, Ed later found a letter among her belongings. It said this:

'You always say your life is too dangerous and I'd never be happy if we were together. I'm sick of that excuse, Ed, so if you can't propose to me then I'll do it for you. I love you, Ed. I know that we can live life to the fullest together. No matter where our perfect life tries to hide, no matter how fast it runs, I know we'll track it down together.'

I am unsure as to whether Ed ever shared this particular detail about his past with Kyle.