Remember about twelve years back that revival of old-I mean old- pre-simsense, "hard-boiled" detective fiction? It was real period stuff, set maybe a century ago, but it seemed to really click with some people. If I'd been in business in those old days, I'd probably have had a license, an office-maybe with my name on the frosted glass door, "Derek Montgomery, Investigations"-and a gun. Now? No license, and my office is wherever I happen to be at the time. I've got the gun, though.